Thanksgiving Friday

It’s Friday again! God has been good. I am so thankful to be in the land of the living!

This week I am thankful for God’s joy. As I am expecting great things, my heart has been bubbling up with joy knowing that my future is better than where I am right now! The Bible is true, my heart has been glad and my spirit is benefitting from the happiness.

I am also grateful for the Word of God that helps me stand in the face of the enemy. Even while I have been expecting great things, other issues have popped up, trying to steal my joy. But I determined in my mind to stand strong, believing that God would be faithful to his word. I’m praising God because I am still smiling and jubilant in spite of how things may appear.

So, as you go into your weekend, keep expecting greatness and keep pulling up the joy of the Lord! God will stay faithful to the righteous. Be blessed!

Verse of the Day: A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22

Expecting Great Things!

Currently, I am enjoying Jonathan Nelson’s song Expect the Great. Every time I hear it, I am encouraged and remember that God has plans and is doing great things for my life! It’s so exciting to know that God has you in mind.

Now, those of you who know me understand that I am a pessimist by nature. I enjoy stoic sarcasm over sugary cheeriness, and I usually view the glass as half empty versus half full. This may be an odd view for a Christian, but it’s where I am right now. (Pray for me if you feel I need deliverance.) However, that song challenges my thinking to come to a different level.

As a child of God, great things are in my future! Though I may be facing a crisis, despite my present situation, regardless of what I may think about things, God is going to do exceedingly, abundantly, above what I can ask or think! (Ephesians 3:20) So, that provokes me to take my thinking higher. Hey, if God can do exceedingly over what I think, I should definitely motivate myself to bring my thoughts up as high as I can in God!

Expecting great things also brings on a more positive attitude. You can’t help but smile and feel invigorated when meditating on what you know that God is about to do for you. It causes you to react differently to the things around you while you wait for the manifestation of the promise. I must say, I have been smiling more the past few days as I muse on what God is bringing into my life.

So, today: Expect the Great! Expect God to turn things around. Expect God to fulfill His Word. Expect God to move in your situation. You’re already depending on Him to be the Lord of your life. Now, expect Him to act as that Lord!

Verse of the Day: ...I have never seen the godly abandoned… Psalm 37:25 (NLT)

You Know What to Do

It’s so amazing to know God’s call for your life! It gives you a sense of direction and purpose and allows you to align yourself to fulfill His will. It’s a great feeling to be at peace knowing that you are living your life according to the direct leading of the Lord.

This can mean a whole different story when God’s calling you to do something you have no desire to do! This past week I have been studying the book of Jonah. Here is a man who was determined to run away from the call of God on his life. His running, however, only brought him turmoil and trouble until he finally succumbed to the will of God.

I know there has been many times where God has called me to do something or say a word to someone, and my whole being resisted. I tried to ignore His tugging, acting like I hadn’t heard Him. I tried to rationalize why I shouldn’t act. Still, the Lord kept me unsettled until I came into obedience with what He was asking of me.
Once I finally gave up the struggle and walked in His calling, I obtained peace of mind and spirit. And, usually, the very thing I was afraid of doing brought about such a blessing in another person’s life that my moment of discomfort or anxiety amounted to nothing.

Maybe God is tugging at your heart to do something for Him. Are you fighting His will? Are you acting like you didn’t hear what He said? God has a way of pausing our progress until we get in His will. Jonah had plans to move to a completely different city to escape God, but the Lord stopped Jonah’s plans with a great storm. Are you experiencing a roadblock because of your own disobedience? Are the winds and waves raging because you are ignoring God’s quiet voice? Take some time to repent and get back in the will of God! You won’t find peace until you do.

Verse of the Day: ...Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. Jeremiah 7:23

Rose Colored Storm Clouds

I am not a fan of rainstorms. To me the storms symbolize long traffic delays and inconvenience to my plans. Waking up this morning to rain and heavy winds made me want to stay under the covers. I was in an ill-mood upon arriving at work and really wanted to go back home. The storm had definitely soured my attitude.

There’s a co-worker at my job who is the exact opposite of me. Every time it pours she is exultant. She revels in what she sees as a majestic display whenever it showers. I honestly think she would be okay with it raining on her wedding day. She enjoys the rain that much. My co-worker always comments on the “beautiful” days that we have whenever it storms. She always makes a point to mention it to me because she knows I don’t care for the rain.

However, as I thought this morning, I realized that my co-worker is on to something. Often, when the storms of life come, we want to hide from our issues like I wanted to hide under my covers. We allow the darkness of the clouds to filter into our spirits and impact our mood. We only see the storm as a delay to our blessing and an inconvenience to our happy lives.

But just as my co-worker can look out the window and see the rain as another facet of God’s glorious creation and majesty, we too should view our storms with rose colored lenses. We should remember that God is allowing those dark times to come into our lives because He knows we can handle them. We should be waiting with expectation to see the almighty way that God will choose to bring us out of our dark place.

God always has our best interest in mind, and we should trust the paths that He leads us down. Instead of expecting defeat and embracing the doom and gloom, we should assert ourselves in our faith during our times of storm and distress. If anything, we should be excited knowing that the storm is the perfect opportunity for God to display His awesome power.

Verse of the Day: We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:3-5 (NLT)

In Your Face Devil!

Yesterday afternoon, I went through a small situation with my Father. He is currently fighting the good fight of faith against the disease ALS. As my dad was trying to eat, he experienced some difficulty.

Never one to miss an opportunity, the enemy tried to feed me thoughts of fear about my father’s health, doubt about whether God was really going to heal him, and depression about the continuing fight that is on my family’s hands. Yet the instant those thoughts came, I fortified myself on the inside and chose to stand strong in faith. I reminded myself of God’s word, and said a prayer asking for strength.

God was right there with all the strength I needed. Where I would have previously had to retreat to my room and have a good cry in despair, I was able to soldier through and help my father have his meal. God is truly helping me grow during this time!

Saints, this is why it is so important that we keep a reserve of God’s Word on the inside of us. If there is no Word stored up, we won’t have anything to draw on in the time of trouble. The Bible addresses any and every situation that we will ever have to face. It is in our best interest to be students of the Word, so the any time the devil shows his ugly face, we have ready ammunition to shoot his fiery darts down!

Verse of the Day: Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. Joshua 1:8 (NLT)

Thanksgiving Friday

Hey! We made it through another week, and it's time to give God some praise!

I am so excited that I am back writing on this blog. I'm thankful for the gift that God has given me, and I'm glad that He reminded me that I need to walk in that gift. I've had a wonderful time this week brainstorming and planning. Thank you, Jesus!

I'm also thankful for a renewed prayer life! God has been talking to me every single time I sat down in prayer this week. He is so awesome! I am so glad that I have a God who will speak to me personally and help to guide me directly. Thank you, Lord!

This week has been peaceful, restful, and filled with Vision. I'm thankful for all of God's blessings, and I know that it's not over yet! There's more on the way! God is so good!

Have a blessed weekend everyone! Continue to send up the praises!

Personal Therapy

For the last couple of days I have been pressing in and making a concentrated effort to get into God’s presence each day. The experience has been so uplifting and beneficial to my spirit.

Yesterday, I discovered a wound that I didn’t even know was there during my time of prayer. As tears flowed down my cheeks, I allowed my Heavenly Father to minister His love and comfort to my heart. It was like I was in my own personal therapy session, but I didn’t have to pay a dime for the premiere professional service.

You too have access to this same kind of love. Take some time to dig deep during your times of prayer. I love how the Scriptures talk about pouring out the heart before God. How often do we actually practice this? We may lay our concerns at His feet. But, how many times do we pour out every emotion, every fear, every single item even down to the parts that we’ve hidden even from ourselves?

I’m not saying that everyone’s walking around with some deep hidden hurt like I was, but it may surprise you what desires, dreams, and feelings reside within you. Take some time to pour out your heart before the Lord. He can handle anything you pull out.

Verse of the Day: Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. Psalm 62:8