Tag Archive | pain

Shakened Confidence?

Aug30

Angry_God's PromiseHave you ever notice that when you choose to follow Jesus…instead of finding life like a bed of roses, you seem to encounter some of the most difficult times in your lives? Is it coincidence or something else?

This year alone, two very special people in my life were called home to heaven. First, my amazing grandbaby. My son had just surprised my mom and I with an unexpected visit. His purpose was to visit mom (aka grams), pray over her and just spend some quality time with us. We had all just started getting ready for bed when his cellphone rang. The next thing I knew, we were rushing him to the airport as my daughter-in-law had been hospitalized. Unfortunately my first grandbaby, Christopher Lamar Tovar was not going to get a chance to live his wonderful life as he was called to be with the Lord instead. Within a few months, my mom was rushed to the hospital on Mother’s Day. To add insult to injury, she too was called to heaven. She had battled cancer for four very long years. She wasn’t going down without a fight. She had a warrior spirit within her that gave her courage, strength and much love through it all. She was the epitome of “fighting the good fight of faith”. But none the less, God chose to call her home.

It’s during times like these, we are reminded how valuable and special life really is. However, it’s also a time when you find yourself battling to remain rooted in faith. It’s the ultimate battle of the mind where you feel your confidence shaken to its very core? It’s about all the “why’s” in life that seem to go unanswered? It’s when doubt creeps in and you can’t seem to find stability or grasp the reasoning.

Life is a very precious commodity and none of us know how long God has us planned on this earth. It is during the unpleasant and heartbreaking situations that we can find our confidence shaken. Not just in ourselves but also in the Lord. You find yourself wondering why God did not miraculously heal them or why He didn’t show up when you expected and in the way you expected.

It’s easy to believe God is a good when everything is going our way. It’s when your faith and confidence is shaken so badly you truly find out what you believe. You will either believe He is truly there no matter what you face, or you will believe that you must being doing something wrong because things aren’t working out, or worse…you will begin to wonder if God really exists.

We will have trials and tribulations in our lives. Good and evil happen to us all. However, our God is a loving and caring God. He wants our lives filled with love, kindness, happiness and wholeness. He wants the absolute best for you; actually more than you can imagine. We might not understand why bad things happen…BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS…when you find yourself in battles that are beyond your comprehension…you have someone who understands it even when you don’t. You have someone that will provide you the strength and perseverance to get through it when you’re struggling to get your head off the bed.

God’s plan is bigger and higher than we can imagine. We don’t have to understand it. We don’t have to go through it alone. Instead, we can tell God exactly how we feel and He will understand. He wants you to enjoy life. Stop trying to figure it all out! Some things we may not understand until we find ourselves in heaven. Our loved ones will be waiting for us. They have been blessed to be called home sooner than we are. They have completed their course no matter how big or small their time was here on Earth. They no longer have the cares of this world. Instead they are with the Creator of the Universe and that’s a pretty amazing thing, isn’t it?

We must choose every day if we are going to believe every word of the Bible or just pick and choose scripture that we like. Will you follow God’s lead and choose to walk it out no matter what you face? Will you be bold against all odds? Will you be like David, Job, Joseph, Paul or Ester who went through difficult times yet found the strength to overcome? Just because things don’t seem to be working out like you thought, it doesn’t mean God has turned His back on you. Don’t fall into the negativity traps of the mind. Your faith is a necessary component to manifesting and healing. Choose your path wisely and choose to stand on the Word of God. You are more powerful than you think! There is always a time to mourn, to dance, to love, to care, and most importantly, a time to fulfill your destiny. Be an overcomer today! You are a child of the Most High!  Your confidence is not in your circumstances but in the Lord Almighty!

Confidence-in-character-of-God.jpg-500x375

 

Hebrews 10:35-36 “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.”

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

1 Corinthians 2:3-5 “And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

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Stinkin’ Thinkin’

Aug24

Everyday we are bombarded by thoughts. Maybe you heard a song on the radio and started to reminisce about days gone by. Or, you’re at work and a thought pops into your head and you wonder where did that come from?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with thoughts. They are a part of our everyday life. With all the memories created throughout our life, it would be impossible not to think of them from time to time. However, there is a different side to our thought life that has devastating consequences.

When you are going through difficult times, your thoughts tend to be on the negative side.

Thoughts like:

  • I don’t have enough money.
  • I’ll never make something of myself.
  • I don’t have the right education or skills.
  • I can’t do it, it’s too hard.
  • I will never get over this sickness.
  • I’m a failure.
  • And so on, and so on, and so on…

One of the quickest and sure-fire ways to pain and suffering is to allow STINKIN’ THINKIN” into your life. They are extremely harmful. John 10:10 tells us that “the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy”. One of his ways of trying to destroy you is through your mind. As soon as a negative thought pops into your mind and you allow it to stay there; mulling it over, the devil has you under his control. Yet, the worse part is, is that if we allow ourselves to constantly think these stinkin’ thinkin’ thoughts; we remain in the difficult situation and it actually begins to spill into other areas of our life, becoming much worse than before.

Proverbs 23:7, tells us, “as he thinks, so is he.” So, let’s stop for a moment and really grasp this concept. If I am thinking that I’m a failure then, by this scripture, I am a failure. If I’m thinking that I’ll never have enough money then it tells me that I will continue to live in poverty. So, as you can see, just by this scripture alone, the Bible makes it very clear that our thought life is powerful. What we think about ourselves and our lives is exactly what it will become.

Then, what should we do about it? Overcoming stinkin’ thinkin’ can be quite simple. The best way to start is by realizing that Jesus defeated everything that could ever come against us. In 1 John 3:8, it explains the very reason why Jesus came to Earth, “…The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” It simply doesn’t matter if you are being attacked in your health, relationships, finances, or in any other area of your life…Jesus WON long time ago.

So with this in mind, what does the Bible have to say about the things we should keep in our minds?

  • Philippians 4:8   “…whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely…dwell on these things.”
  • 1 John 3:1            “…great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we be called children of God….”
  • John 10:10          “…He came to give us life and life more abundantly.”
  • Psalm 23:1           “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not lack.”
  • 2 Samuel 22:2     “The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress and my Deliverer.”
  • Isaiah 55:8           “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways.”
  • Philippians 4:13  “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

If you stop and really think about these scriptures, any stinkin’ thinkin’ that comes into your mind has absolutely no right to be there. God’s word simply tells us that no matter what we’re going through…We are WINNERS!  We are VICTORIOUS!

Since, Jesus already WON the battle and He is certainly more than capable of handling our situations, then all we need to do is…keep our thoughts on Him. And I for one believe that there is absolutely no better place to be, but, in the hands of Jesus.

So, as you can see, maintaining positive thoughts is detrimental to your well-being. Take a stand against negative stinkin’ thinkin’. Keep your thoughts on His word and become aggressive, for you are already a WINNER!

THINK LIKE IT…ACT LIKE IT!

 For your best days are just ahead!

 

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Enemies Don’t Stand A Chance

Aug9

abuse-clipart-verbalabuseLast week, we discussed what to do when you’re facing insurmountable odds and tipping the scale into your favor. Well, I would like to expand on it a bit this week as this topic isn’t discussed enough in my opinion yet it affects us all!

When people mistreat you, what’s the first thing you do? If we’re honest with ourselves, most of us immediately get angry and want revenge. Anger tends to linger until you are so full of rage that the situation is the only thing you can think about. If festering is allowed, it will affect your mind, thoughts, and temperament. This in turn, could easily lead to depression and sickness.

If we allow anger to fester, it is giving the person total control over your life. They don’t deserve that control and you don’t deserve the pain and suffering they’ve caused. So, how do we turn these situations around?

I know most people are going to cringe when I say this…but…PRAY FOR YOUR ENEMY! I know, I know, I know…how dare I say that, right?!?!?

We all have things happen that we don’t understand or things that make us so angry where you just want to punch them out. And yes, that’s not very Christian to think but hey, we are human and there are many times in our lives that we either think or feel un-Christianly. Let’s get real, we are human and those are human traits. Even Jesus got angry in the temple and against heresy. Having those feelings are normal. However, how we react to the feelings determines your future path. Do you give into those feelings or do you follow God’s way of doing things? Now that is the real question, isn’t it?

As we discussed last week, we will encounter trials in this world. We will come up against evil in the craziest of times. That is a part of life. But God gives us such a profound outlook as to how we are to deal with the pain and anger. Let’s see…

Matthew 5:43-45: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.…”

Romans 12:19-21: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

From these passages, you get a real feel for what God says. He tells us to love and pray for our enemies. He knows that isn’t the typical humanly response. So why does He tell us to do it? Because He wants to take care of it for you. He wants us to focus on Him and not the unfair situation. PERIOD!!!!

See, our true battle isn’t the situation or the person. Our true battle lies in how we react to the unfair situation and what we will focus upon. We must strive to keep our eyes on the Lord at all times. If we can do that, then it gives God free reign to help us in all situations. So today, I ask that you begin praying and doing good towards your enemies and watch God resolve the issues into your favor!

HAMG-IN-THERE

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Tip The Scale

Aug3

dont-quitHave you found yourself up against insurmountable odds? Do you look back and find yourself wondering if the good fight of faith is really worth it? Have you found yourself wondering if things will ever get better?

Well friends, I think we could all answer with a resounding “YES”! We all have had times in our lives that make us wonder what the heck is going on. We have all faced difficulties that seemed so overwhelming that the stress of it all weighs so heavily that we really think about quitting. Today, there are so many believers facing their toughest challenges. However, the biggest challenge of it all is how will you respond to it?

When we face trials, it is so easy for us to throw up our hands and say “I quit”. It’s those times where you don’t feel like praying, don’t feel like getting out of bed, don’t feel like dealing with anything and just allow yourself to fall into a pity party. But the problem with quitting is that it allows depression to set in. It gives your enemies and situations total control over you.  You ultimately give them the power to determine your outcome. If they are doing terrible things or saying hurtful things about you, why would you want to allow them to control your path and outcome?

There are numerous instances in the Bible about opposition, impossible situations and feelings of hopelessness. Just read about Jonah, Job and David to name a few. They all found themselves in impossible situations where it didn’t look like things were ever going to change. You read about them going through stress, worry, hopelessness, sadness, anger and grief. Jonah even ran away from God completely. Atleast he tried to. How many of us are in these type of situations right now?

In times like these, you really need to dig in and “Tip The Scale”.

See, God works in steps. Most of us have no clue what God’s ultimate plan is for our lives. God usually gives us one step at a time and at each step, we find ourselves in some sort of a battle. But what God really wants to see is if we will continue through the trial and trust Him to work it out for our good. God told us that we would face many trials in this world but He also promises to restore and establish us through His grace.

1 Peter 5:10 ESV “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

So what do we need to do in order to “Tip The Scale”?

James 1:12 ESV “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

God promises to work it all out for our good. You don’t have to understand the circumstances. You don’t have to ask the “why me” questions. You don’t have to wonder how in the world you are going to get out of your situation. God will make a way when there aren’t any. God will turn things around and restore your life far greater than you could ever imagine. So be of good cheer when you are facing a trial because God must be closer than you think to “Tipping the Scales” in your favor. Pray, rejoice and sing to the Lord for impossible odds set the stage for God’s amazing miracles to happen!

Blessing

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