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When You Feel Weak…

Sep28

Ever find yourself burnt out, stressed out and just not sure what is happening in your life? Ever felt like the weight of the world is upon your shoulders and you have no clue what to do?

There are times that it seems like we hit every brick wall imaginable.  There are times that seem like nothing is going right and we become so worried, stressed and plain ol’ worn out.  We tend to try and fix things ourselves, just to realize that nothing is working.

The one thing we can always be certain of is that God can be mysterious and unpredictable.  We don’t always understand why things are taking so long or why things don’t seem to be going our way – it drains the very strength and life out of us.  Making us feel weak, clueless and insecure along the way.

BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS…GOD SHINES THE GREATEST WHEN WE ARE AT OUR WEAKEST!

II Corinthians 12:9:  “But He said to me, My grace is enough for you; for My strength and power are made perfect and show themselves most effective in your weakness.  Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ may rest upon me!

When we feel like we don’t have the strength to go on and we want to give up; the best thing we can do is:  STOP – DROP – THANK

Fall to your knees and tell God that you can’t do it!  Tell Him you can’t go on!  Tell Him that you don’t have any more strength!  In other words, TELL HIM EVERYTHING and don’t forget to THANK HIM FOR HIS ANSWERS!  Then, let go and let Him do the rest!

God knows what is best.  He knows the perfect timing for the amazing “thing” to happen in your life; catapulting you to greater heights.  His best is far beyond what we ever can imagine for ourselves.  Let Him raise you up and strengthen you – FOR HE IS GOD AND NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM!

Struggles

Sep21

Have you ever found yourself facing many struggles all at once?  Has every door shut in your face and you just couldn’t understand why?  Do you ever feel like you are walking in God’s chosen path and everything seems to go wrong?

During those difficult times, I’m always reminded of two Biblical stories that really help put things back into perspective.

The Book of Job

Job was a man of God and very blessed.  He had a loving family, a home and many possessions.  However, Job had a great fear.  He feared for his sons and their sins against God.  This fear festered and was his ultimate demise.  It allowed Satan access into his life.  Job ended up losing everything; His livestock was stolen and destroyed, his servants and children were tragically killed, and everything was taken from him in a blink of an eye.  His closest friends came and tried to analyze why all of this happened and kept asking Job what he had done wrong.  Even, Job’s wife asked him to curse God and die.  Talk about pain and suffering.  Poor Job was all alone during his most trying times.

Yet, Job’s reaction to it all was to get on his knees and worship God.  When all was said and done, Job stood his ground and God rewarded him greatly.

JOSEPH

Then, you have Joseph.  From a very young age, God had a real purpose for Joseph.  But Joseph’s brothers were jealous and hated him.  They wanted to be superior and in good favor of their father.  So, what did they do?  They sold Joseph into slavery and told their father that Joseph was killed.  Just imagine how Joseph must have felt through all that betrayal.  You know he must have asked, why?

Nonetheless, Joseph excelled during his hardships.  He was even thrown into jail for something he didn’t do.  But, even in jail, he excelled.  By Joseph keeping his eyes on God, Joseph became one of the greatest men alive.  He was placed in a very high position where God’s favor shined through him for all to see. (Genesis 37-50)

These amazing stories are a great testament of God’s ultimate best! They had to STAND STRONG and dig their heels in deeper; totally relying on the Lord, and God rewarded them for it.

I will be the first to tell you, it is sometimes easier said then done.  As I was being attacked from every angle possible and attempting to dig in deeper; things were spiraling out of control.  I knew I needed to call in reinforcements.  My PRAYER WARRIORS came to the rescue.  I desperately needed them to pray with me and since the Bible says, “when two or more agree, it will be done”(Matthew 18:19); I knew everything would be alright.

We may not always understand God’s plan during the whole transitional period of difficulties.  But one thing is for certain…in His perfect timing, all will be revealed.  So, DON’T GIVE UP!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO MY PERSONAL PRAYER WARRIORS

Bobby, Denise, and Grams…From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for your love, support and prayers when I needed them the most.  You are all amazing and are very special people who I’m blessed to have in my life.  May God prosper each of you beyond your wildest imagination, for your futures are BRIGHT!

If you need a prayer warrior, send me an email.  I will be happy to pray in agreement with you so God’s incredible plan for you shines through.  God Bless!

Patience

Sep7

Have you ever found yourself wanting something to happen right now, but it seems to take longer than expected?

Well, I sure have.  We live in a world of instant gratification.  Just take a quick look around and you’ll see fast food restaurants, drive-thru pharmacies, quick remedies for weight loss and the “quick draw McGraw” of news…the internet.  Isn’t it amazing how addicted we are to instant things?

It really becomes prevalent when you have to wait in a checkout line at the grocery store and you realize just how impatient you are to get out of there; even if you don’t have anywhere else to go.

When time is of the essence and you have absolutely no understanding of what is happening; the most important thing you can do is have PATIENCE!  It is certainly one of the hardest lessons to learn.  Yet, it is one of the most crucial in your daily walk with God.

Here’s why…In James 1:2-4, God is very specific why we must learn patience.

“Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.  Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.  But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfectly and fully developed, lacking in nothing.”

In other words, God is telling us that we should rejoice in difficult situations, knowing that God tests our faith to bring out patience.  During trials, all kinds of junk are brought to the surface.  Things like anger, rebellion, self-pity, complaining and pride.  It is so important to deal with this stuff so that God can take us to the next level.

So, let’s put it in a step-by-step process:

  1. Trials come and we face all the “icky” stuff
  2. This in turns helps us develop Patience
  3. Patience helps us develop Endurance
  4. Endurance creates a mature character
  5. A mature character brings us to absolutely nothing lacking within our lives.

Let’s face it; most of us have absolutely no clue what God is up to when He calls us.  But one thing for certain is that He knows the end from the beginning.  Ecclesiastes 7:8 reminds us, “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patience in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” And Galatians 6:9 tells us, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

So, I don’t know about you but the ending sure sounds better than the beginning.  It doesn’t matter how long we have to wait, it is far more rewarding to wait on the Lord’s timing because His timing is perfect and the outcome will exceed all your expectations.