Never Alone

We never go through a trial without God in the midst of it with us. He never leaves us or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5). Christ and the Holy Spirit reside within us (Galatians 2:20).

Even through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with us (Psalm 23:4). Whenever we feel that God is not with us, it is due to our behavior, not the Trinity. We leave them or grieve them by our choices and behavior (Psalm 13:1-6).

This causes us to lose courage, strength, joy and heart. We feel abandoned and forlorn. We have no will to go on any more. We may even feel betrayed by those who are supposed to love us, including God.

God is just waiting for us to completely surrender to His love. The Way, Truth and Life is always with us and in us, giving us wisdom and bringing us into God's glory (Colossians 1:27; John 14:6).

The Lord wants us to accept His will without any conditions or self-will. Praise opens the gates of hell, which we are experiencing, and allows us to understand the freedom of our union with God (Act 16:16-40).

Praising God for the negative circumstances, for the seed for a miracle within the trial and for His goodness, even when we are hurting, is the key to spiritual victory.

Jesus knew Calvary awaited Him. He first requested that God save Him from the cross (Matthew 26:37-42). Then, He prepared Himself for this trial through a time of prayer in the garden with His disciples.

Jesus knew that the only way to traverse any trial is to embrace the will of God in and through it. Therefore, He changed His focus to the glory, which awaited Him (Hebrews 12:2).

We follow Jesus' example and praise God regardless of His deliverance or blessings for us in this life, because we know the glory, which also awaits us in Heaven (Romans 8:18).  

We know that God will work out everything - even the most unbearable circumstances in this life - for our ultimate good.

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to worship You in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Remove any hypocrisy in us and help us to live, move and have our being in Christ (Acts 17:28). Draw us close to You, because we know You will never, ever let us go.

We will pour out our love for You even when the flames of the fire, winds of the tornado, or destruction of the disease rip our life out of our clutches; because we know that our last breath on earth is followed by our first breath in Heaven.

Thought for the Day:

The God of the universe never, ever leaves or forsakes us; so, what is there to worry about? - Hebrews 13:5

Never Alone

I want to encourage every lonely person reading this post to realize from your innermost depths - not just in the surface of your thoughts, but down in the depth of your soul - that you are not alone (Hebrews 13:5; Psalm 46:7, 62:5). God is your husband and Jesus is the lover of your soul (Isaiah 54:5; John 3:16). Having a loving and nurturing mate in your life is just not as important as you think it is.

If God wanted you to have a special human relationship right now, He would certainly provide one for you. He cares about every area of your life. You can enjoy God’s total peace, if you will completely surrender this issue to the Lord. It is usually not until you are completely happy with Jesus, and realize that you do not really need a loving mate, that God will provide you with a fulfilled marriage.

The only thing in this life that is truly exciting and fulfilling is serving our King Jesus. When we look for happiness from people or circumstance, we are disappointed. But, when we allow God's Spirit to direct our steps, we find pure joy. Listen to the Spirit, and let Him direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5-6). Soon you will be so busy for God that you will realize that you are already complete and whole in Him (Colossians 2:10).

We cannot change our life by worrying about anything, or by wishing, hoping or dreaming that it will change. We can take a lesson from the flowers. They bloom right where they are planted. God provides everything they need. We can have the assurance that God will provide for us too. We are even more valuable to God than any bird, animal or tree (Luke 2:27-28).

Start counting your blessings. Stop looking at what you do not have and start thanking God for what you do have. Before long, He will start giving you even more than you ever dreamed possible. He puts His desires in our heart and fulfills them for us (Psalm 37:4). If having a mate is His desire, He will certainly bring one to you in His timing and way.

·       I met my husband at a bookstore. What are the odds of that???? 

·       My girlfriend met her future husband when her plumbing leaked and she called a plumber. 

·       A friend met his future wife when she came in Walmart singing praises to the Lord and he joined her in singing. 

·       Another man went to the wrong house looking for a certain address and met another of my friends; a week later he returned to that wrong address and asked my girlfriend on a date. 

·       Another girlfriend went to visit a sick friend and was introduced to her future husband at their mutual friend’s sickbed. 

·       Another girlfriend met her Canadian fiancé at a church in the USA.

·       Several of my friends wanted to divorce their ungodly husbands. Each one decided not to get a divorce and instead to get her own apartment. She continued to be friends with her husband. God honored their commitment and trust and worked in all of these men's lives.

·       Trust God and you will have your own story to tell too.

Prayer:

Father God, we want to seek You and Your Kingdom first and stop worrying about the things, which unbelievers are concerned about (Matthew 6:25-33; Luke 12:22-31). We know that You have our best interest in Your heart and that You will supply every one of our needs from Your glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). Help us to focus on You and Your will for us instead of our own will for our life. Remind us that You love us so much that You sent Your Son to die for us.

Thought for the Day:

As we place our hope solely in the Lord, we will find true joy, contentment and peace.

We Never Walk Alone

God is our Shepherd who cares for us as His own. He abundantly supplies all of our needs according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). He provides green pastures upon which we feed and revitalizing, quiet water to quench our thirst. He gives us rest for and heals our weary soul. He directs our steps in His way of holiness (Luke 22:42). He calls us to obey Him and to follow His directives even when we have no idea of where He is leading us (Hebrews 11:8). He loves us and He gave His life for us (Ephesians 5:2). He never leaves us or forsakes us (1 Peter 5:7).

Although life is often out of our control, it is never out of God’s control (Ephesians 1:11). When we are in pain, we cannot go around it. We have to go through it. However, we do not walk alone. God is with us and in us, bringing us comfort, peace and joy. No matter what trials await us, He is there to shelter and provide for us. He encourages and protects us with His rod and staff. His goodness and mercy surround each of our days. He honors us in front of our enemies. He prepares a place in His Kingdom for us to abide forever (Psalm 23).

Tomorrow comes with no guarantees.  However, our confidence in our Savior grows with each passing day. As we surrender our life to Him, He proves His faithfulness to us. Our focus gradually changes from what He does for us, to who He is. We rejoice not in His blessings, but in His blessedness. His love frees us from the tyranny of fear and the bondage to our self-effort (1 John 4:18). He created nature to give us proof of his eternal authority and divine character (Romans 1:20). Every newborn baby is a testimony of the miracle of His creative forces in the earth.

God adopted us as His sons (Ephesians 1:5), and we are now His people and members of His household (1 Timothy 3:15; Ephesians 2:19). We are strangers and aliens in this world (Hebrews 11:13). Our citizenship is in Heaven (John 17:16; Hebrews 11:16). We, along with all of creation, eagerly await His return (Romans 8:19). Eventually, God will exchange our mortal body for an immortal one like Jesus had after His resurrection (Philippians 3:19-21). Our bridegroom is preparing an eternal home for us in the Heavenlies, which will descend to earth at the end of the Millennium. New Jerusalem, a 1500-mile cubed city, will be our dwelling place forever.

We never walk in darkness, because we have the light of life living within us (John 8:12). We are children of the Light (John 12:36), and we are to walk as children of the light (Ephesians 5:8). Jesus within us continually leads us, even during times when we cannot see the way, along unfamiliar paths upon which we never walked before. He turns the darkness into light before us and makes the rough places smooth (Isaiah 42:16). He never leaves us or forsakes us (Isaiah 42:16), and He is always with us (Matthew 28:20). 

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You promised that in You we will live in peace. No matter how much trouble we experience in this world, we never need to loose heart. You live within us and You already overcame the world (John 16:33). Everyone experiences temptation, but because of Your sanctifying work, it no longer holds any appeal to us. You are faithful and You keep us from any temptation, which is beyond what we can withstand. Even in those times when we are tempted, You always provide us with a way to escape it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Thought for the Day:

God heals our broken heart and binds up our wounds. – Psalm 147:3





Thank you, Donna's Corner, for the use of your photo.

Lonely, but Never Alone

 

Are you lonely and despondent? You really do not deserve to be in this pit of depression. Don’t allow Satan to tell you that you do. I have been where you are, so I am not belittling your circumstances, just encouraging you to go deeper in God during this time. I felt like you feel, but I learned a secret. Connecting to the Spirit of God in times of aloneness gives us the opportunity to walk in His peace and joy in each moment of the day. We cease our striving and daily enter His eternal rest (Psalm 46:10; Hebrews 3:19).

When we sit alone, we are never lonely as long as the Spirit of God resides within our spirit (Psalm 46:10). You will not find fulfillment with your first child, a new mate, job, hairstyle, wardrobe, car or home, another city in which to live, a facelift, etc. You will only find fulfillment in the center of His will, and this may or may not include any of these things. If His will for you does not include what you want, you will be living out of His will if you have it. You will also be miserable if you get it anyway.

The story is told: “Two teardrops meandered down the stream of life; one belonged to the girl who lost the man she loved, the other belonged to the woman who found him!” It’s all a matter of perspective, and God knows what is best for us.

When you feel lonely, or long for what you do not have, put on your praise music and sing in thanksgiving to God for what you do have. If you want to get your mind off your problems, bake a cake and take it to a neighbor. Go to the homeless shelter and help out any way you can. Go grocery shopping for an elderly person. Take a walk in the park and join in with nature as it sings praises to God. Sit at the beach and soak up the warming rays of the sun. Open your Bible and ask God to speak to your heart through His Word.

In the early morning, during our lunch hour at work or in the later part of the evening, make time to enjoy concentrated alone (all-one) time with the Lord. The world around us may just be waking up or going to sleep. The phone is silent and no one demands our attention. As we get more in-tune with God’s Creation around us, we might hear crickets chirping with an occasional frog adding his opinion to the conversation, or the waves of the sea lapping the shore or the birds singing; and we join our voice to theirs in praise to our God (Psalm 69:34; Psalm 19:1; Psalm 145:10; Luke 19:40).

We develop a deeper relationship with Him with each passing day. We find fulfillment by focusing not only on His benefits, but primarily on who God is (Psalm 103:2). Rather than quoting scriptures at Him and demanding that He fulfill His promises in our life, we simply praise Him for who He is, receiving what He gives us with a grateful heart. Do not waste your time begging God for what you want. Seek first His Kingdom and He will add to your life everything you need (Matthew 6:33). If He does not add it, you do not need it!

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to focus on what we have, rather than on what we do not have (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Then, we will move through the routine of our daily life led by Your Spirit with unending blessings and fullness of joy singing in our heart (Psalm 21:6). If we take time to listen, You make Your will known to us and You fill us with the joy of Your presence in every moment of our life. We receive eternal pleasures in our daily life as we sit at Your right hand (Psalm 16:11). Make us grateful for what You already provided for us, so we will not yearn for, cry over or be upset about what we think we need (Matthew 6:33).

Thought for the Day:

If you are home alone, and you start to feel lonely, either get out and serve, or spend time growing deeper into the presence of God.

Beyond Our Abilities

Read: Ephesians 3:14-19

“Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” - James 2:22 (NKJV)

My talents are in the area of crafts. I love to do anything that involves string and a needle or paper and glue. Therefore, when I turned my life over to Christ, I feared that I had no talents to offer, which He could use for His Kingdom. I had little more than genuine trust in Him. Then, I learned that with salvation comes the gift of faith to accomplish all that God calls us to do in our lifetime (Matthew 17:20).

We never walk alone, because God fills us with all of His fullness. Works become an indication of our salvation, rather than a prerequisite for it. We can obey the Spirit’s promptings in our life regardless of our talents or knowledge. No task, which God asks us to perform, remains beyond His anointing on us to carry it through.

On the other hand, sometimes we see a need and our compulsion prompts us to fill it. That is not always wise. Jesus helped everyone He felt God leading Him to assist, but He did not help everyone. Likewise, if we give aid to someone outside of God’s will for that person or for us, then we are actually enabling and rescuing, rather than assisting them in a healthy way. Our goal in life is to follow the Spirit’s leading in everything we say and do.

Prayer:
Precious Lord, lead us by Your Spirit moment-by-moment throughout the day, so that we may accomplish the greater works that You commissioned us to perform.

Thought for the Day:

God's Spirit in us is infinitely greater than the boundaries of all of our abilities.