Tag: trust

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Trust through the Test

Testing – God does this from time to time.  He either puts us through situations Himself or allows the enemy to put us through things.  I, personally, rarely know which is happening when I’m thrown in the middle of a battle…whether it is from God or the enemy, but I know both are watching me.

It’s often not the test that matters.  God knows everything before it happens (Psalm 139) and He puts the time things happen in place (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) so He can take care of everything before we even know what is happening.  God is good and wouldn’t put us through it just for spite.  That isn’t the character of God.  He allows these things to happen to see how we react.  Even when we reap what we sow, He is watching and seeing if we turn to Him or not.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

Being absolutely transparent with you – I received some scary medical news about a close relative yesterday.  It had “tumor” and “in the head area” together so it was a trying day.  I had two choices – do what I normally do in bad times and be riled with anxiety or put faith in God.  I chose faith – got as many prayer warriors praying for my relative (I don’t play with this stuff) and waited for God to move.

And man, did He move!  What sounded so scary in the afternoon – after a second opinion, the doctors told my relative they are just going to monitor it, the tumor isn’t dangerous and doesn’t want to subject them to an unnecessary surgery.  Praise God!!!  Whoo! (And thanks also to Alli Worthington for her book Fierce Faith – I don’t think I would have reacted this way without that message.  Buy it on Amazon now!).

So – going through a hard time? Lean on Jesus.  Dealing with grief, rejection, financial issues, family issues, etc.?  Lean on Jesus!  He is watching you to see if you can move on from where you are.  Have you spent too long away from Him?  That’s okay, He’ll take you back.  Have you held a grudge against Him?  No worries, He won’t hold that against you.  God is good and He loves us (Jeremiah 31:3; Ephesians 2:4-5; Psalm 86:15).  Put your TRUST in God and watch what happens!

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

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Buy Fierce Faith here.

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Shelter

I am in a rather long season of singleness. Being alone can make you lonely sometimes, but it is in this time of “aloneness” that I’ve found a special relationship with God.

He is my shelter & my foundation. My lack of person, in the wee hours of the night, has lead me to late night talks with the Holy Spirit. I can lean into Him and find my hiding place – my safe place, where I can share those things that no one else know.

Psalm 91:3-6 says “Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stocks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.”

This is the promise for me & for you. In the darkness, he will cover you…when the arrow flies, he will cover you…when the person talks behind your back, when you are overlooked, when you feel defeated, broken or misunderstood, he will cover you.

In those “wee hours of the night” talks, remember to tell the Holy Spirit all that is on your heart & let him wrap you up in himself. You have shelter in him.

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Unity

Unity – the state of not being multiple. That is what Christ wants for His church. If you consider yourself a Christ-follower, He is speaking about you & I. It is no secret that, in America, unity is not where we are in our country. So many of us are waiting for our government to unify us, make this country better. But we can’t depend on them to do that. It must start in the church…with us!
So many things could divide us if we let differences matter. I am very blessed to attend a church that is multiracial, multigenerational, and multi-socioeconomic. We aren’t a perfect church because that doesn’t exist. But the fact that we have many differences and yet we are one family says so much. It shows me that unity within the body of Christ is possible.

We are going to be different. We are going to have Democrats & Republicans, different races, some people wealthy and others that aren’t – and still work for the same goal. The Church should be where unity starts.  

Let’s show love to others regardless of how different someone is to us. Speak truth, yes. Preach the word, yes. Live righteously, yes. But love people like God loves. Seek justice for those who deserve it. Treat all people like they have value…because they do. Everyone is made in God’s image.  

Let’s start being the change we wish to see in the world & living boldly. Who is joining me?

““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.””

‭‭John‬ ‭13:34-35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:1-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:12-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3:26-29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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Light The Way

I’m not going to comment on what is happening tomorrow morning.  But I do know that the outcome is going to trouble some of you who sit on one side or the other.  Let me just encourage you with this:
Jesus is all that matters.  He is the center.  We should always have focus on letting His light shine through us no matter what is going on in the world.  So don’t get so caught up in who wins.  Keep your eyes on Jesus and He will get you through this.

Never ever stop shining your light for all to see and bringing glory to His name.

““You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:14-16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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Him Before Me

God has gotten me through so much.  I would not be where I am or who I am if it were not for the Father’s unconditional love.  You would think that I would always trust God without question or fear after knowing how awesome He is, right?  But that isn’t the way the story goes.  Nope – I struggle too many times in simply believing God has it under control.

What is the deal?  I ask myself this all the time.  God spoke the world into existence and breathed life into dirt to make Adam.  But I want to trust my perception over God’s.  I think sonehow I know better than Him.  It’s laughable that I keep struggling with being able to believe that God has it.  All I got to do is just trust.

I had a moment this past week where I freaked out…thinking I knew things were going all wrong. But God kept saying – I got this!  Yet I still worried and stressed.  You know what happened?  You got it – I made it through just fine.  My perception was not reality.  

Yep, I’m not God.  It’s silly writing it, but the fact that I kept worrying after God said it was going to be okay meant that I trusted myself over the all knowing & all seeing Father.  I put myself in His position and put Him in the backseat.  If I would learn to give that up, I could live a better life.  When I realize that I don’t have the ability to make those calls – I would be able to enjoy the freedom surrender carries.

Paradoxical?  Absolutely.  Surrender = freedom.  “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.” Proverbs‬ ‭3:5-8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Surrendering the trust you have in your own knowledge and ability to God and allowing His knowledge and ability to lead you – freedom will be yours.  I’m not saying bad things won’t happen, but when bad things do happen – you will have the tools to get through.  Because God honors those who honors Him.

 ““Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.” ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭2:30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Throw your trust in Him and stop trying to take control.  Let God handle the hard stuff.  Cling to Him and He will take you far!!

Be blessed my friends.  

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How’s the view?

Can I be honest with you readers? Christians do not always have it all together. Nope, we are lost at times. Sometimes, we even get discouraged. We are like sheep who forever need a shepherd. I am a sinner in need of a Savior every day. On my good days and on my bad days I need Jesus.

It’s life. We sometimes find ourselves in a hole where life becomes so overwhelming we don’t know which way is up. I wish Christianity was all rainbows and sunshine, but it isn’t. It’s scary and uncertain when life takes unexpected turns. We don’t always have it together. But we know the One who does.

We often allow our situations to skew our view of life. This world doesn’t determine the outcome of our life. No, we do and how we relate to God and our view of His grace. When we go through things, when we find ourselves in a dry place spiritually (it happens to everyone), and when life becomes overwhelming — our success is based on where we place our trust.

Do you trust your own view of the situation – the way the world sees it – or do you see it through the eyes of God? Is your faith in how things look or in God?  How easily we can get stuck in seeing things as we perceive them. But we must realize God has it all in His hands. We just have to trust Him and His plan! It is perfect!

So don’t get discouraged when things don’t happen the way we think they should. God knows and sees all. Place your life in the the One who has nail-scared hands and all things will work out for your good!

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.””

‭‭John‬ ‭16:33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3:4-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“The LORD is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him.”

‭‭Nahum‬ ‭1:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28-30‬ ‭NLT‬


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Bring It

I have a lot of plans that I want to see fulfilled in my life.  Most of those things bring me great fear.  So much can go wrong!  It baffles me to think that it all will come to pass.

But we must remember who holds my world in His hands!  We must remember who sent His Son to die for us& the one who willingly took the cross for us.  We have an amazing supporter who has our backs!

So no more fear.  No more doubt.  No more feeling inadequate or unworthy.  He called you for a reason!  Don’t be afraid to take that next step!

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

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Trust Vs Mistrust

If you are anything like me, you have a problem of giving up control.  I know, for me, it is a trust issue.  Being trusting and vulnerable is hard for me.  Letting someone hold my fate scares me…a lot!

I even have this problem with trusting God, but as He leads me in this journey, He is teaching me that He has my back.  He wants to fight for me (to fight for us)!  That’s why He is a great Father.  

I keep finding myself in situations that require trust in Him.  I have have two choices: go crazy (ha!) or trust God.  Trusting Him seems the better option because I can honestly tell you I’ve tried the other way and it’s not fun.

He is showing me that He fights my battles.  All that is required of me is that I let Him.  That is easier said than done!!  I’d much rather just do it myself.  Anyone else feel that way most of the time?  But to be successful in this life, we must allow God to be God.

Let’s take this journey together.  Let’s learn to let God lead us.  Let’s give our problems over to the King of Kings and live in peace.  It’s so much better for us!!

“He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the LORD supported me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭18:16-19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Be blessed, dear friends.  We are in this journey together!!

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Stand firm

The battle is set.  It’s time to take your fighting stance.  When you look around, you see that you are the only one standing.  Know that you are not the only one who experienced this.

A young man stepped up as the army of Israel cowered behind him.  Standing by himself in front of a giant from the enemy’s camp, he won the battle in one swift move. His name was David. (1 Samuel 17:41-54).

A young Jewish girl living in captivity risked her life to save her nation from annihilation.  She knows this weight is carried only on her shoulders.  If she doesn’t step up, her race could be wiped out.  So she reveals herself to her enemy and he ends up being the one taken out.  Her name was Esther (Esther 4:14-17).

A carpenter’s son, a nomad with 12 friends who travels Israel to share His word, is betrayed and abandoned by His friends because they are afraid of the fate He must face.  He faces it anyways.  In one painful death and one marvelous resurrection, He saves the world and gives us the gift of Grace and Eternal Life.  His name is Jesus (Matthew 28:55-56).

Their secret is that they never were alone, but God was with them the entire time.  Don’t ever think that you have to face anything truly by yourself.

With God, all things are possible.  Sometimes God wants to strip us from anything that might distract us from Him.  Have faith that God has it under control.   Stand firm in your stance and follow God to lead.  He will get you through it!  Just trust Him!

Be blessed, dear friends.  Don’t forget God has you!!

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Give it over

I am an independent person. When I was a baby my aunt gave my mom the book How to Raise a Strong-Willed Child.  This is a true story.  I was that kind of kid.  I wasn’t mean, but I wanted my way & found ways to get it.  This can be a good trait to have in order to survive life, but it also can be a thorn in my side.

One of the hardest things I’ve learned as a Christian is that my way is not always the best way.  I must rely on God.  I’ve learned that the key to relying on Him is having a rich and fruitful prayer life.  Going to Him when I want to take care of something myself.  It is hard for me at times, I must admit.  But it is necessary.

I encourage you to try this the next time you want to take control of a situation.  Spend some time on your knees talking to & listening to Him.  Allow God to fight your battles and teach you how to handle situations His way.  You will see change in you & in those around you.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:5-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Be blessed, dear friends!