ISAIAH 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ It is easy to say, “Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!” when times are good. It is easy to believe that God loves you when you are on the mountain top enjoying the sunshine. But what happens when you are down in the dark valley surrounded by your enemies? Perhaps today, you are in the valley of marital, financial or bodily trouble, and you are asking, “Where is God?” My friend, He is right there with you. The God of the valleys says to you, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” When King Jehoshaphat was surrounded and outnumbered by his enemies, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel and he said to the king, “Don’t be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you. Don’t fear or be dismayed. Tomorrow, go out against them for the Lord is with you.” (2 Chronicles 20:14–17) What King Jehoshaphat did next was brilliant. He acted with wisdom from on high. Instead of putting his commandos in front, he put worshipers in front! What did the worshipers sing? They sang of God’s love for them—“Praise the Lord for His love endures forever!” And God utterly destroyed their enemies! (2 Chronicles 20:21–23, NIV) Beloved, it is not the trials that make us strong, but our responses in those trials. The devil wants us to respond by asking, “Where is God?” But God wants us to respond with faith in His love for us. We are more than conquerors not because of our love for Him, but through Him who loves us. (Romans 8:37) So whatever valley you are in today, don’t be afraid. God is there with you strengthening and upholding you. Just sing of His love for you and let Him fight your battles for you! "Immediately they left their nets and they followed Him." Matthew 4:20
The Bible tells the story of Andrew and Peter going from fishermen to becoming fishers of men. We are introduced to them with this verse: “Immediately they left their nets, and they followed Him” Frankly, this verse disturbs many. Imagine a stranger walking up to you while you are working. You don’t know this man, but He says, “Follow Me.” And it means giving up all that’s familiar in your life, to follow Him. Yes, He’s dynamic and charismatic. But dropping everything and blindly following him? Fortunately, it didn’t happen that way. Look at Scripture in light of Scripture. The fact is that Andrew and Peter were introduced to Jesus and spent a day listening and talking to Him. (John 1:35-42) Then they heard Him preach. They even saw how Jesus knew a whole lot more about fishing than they did. (Luke 5:1-11) And they began to be convicted of their sins. Soon after that, Jesus approached them and said, “Follow Me and I’ll make you fishers of men” At that point, they were ready to drop everything and follow Jesus. (Matthew 4:18-20) No, they didn’t blindly follow Jesus. They had seen and heard enough to believe He was the man. If you take the time to get to know Jesus through His Word, you may want to follow Him, too. If you do, your life will never be the same! Does it feel as if your prayers are not answered ? You are not alone:
It happens to all of us and it even happened to Paul the Apostle: 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. So right now, declare with us the Word of God over the situation: "Lord Jesus, we confess that we believe your grace is sufficient for us, no matter what we are going through. Your strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore Jesus, we will rather glory in our infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon us. We take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions and in distresses for Christ's sake, because: When we are weak, we are strong." WE ARE STRONG! WE ARE STRONG ! Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR GRACE. AMEN. Now for the rest of the day, walk in Jesus' grace. "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless."(Psalm 84:11, NIV)
God wants to pour out His favor and goodness in your life. He longs to be your sun and shield. What does that mean? The sun lights our way; it keeps us warm; it nourishes the plants of the earth so that we can have food. The entire earth is sustained by its relationship to the sun, and God wants to sustain you through your relationship with Him. He wants to be your shield of protection against all the fiery darts of the enemy, and He wants to light and direct your path. Is there someone or something else you’ve been relying on for protection or direction? Why don’t you let go of whatever you’ve been leaning on and choose to lean of God. Open your heart and trust that He has great things for your future. Receive His favor, blessing and protection today because He is your sun and shield! Father, thank You for directing and guiding me. Thank You for nourishing my heart and mind as I daily put my trust in You. Show me Your ways so that I can walk with You all the days of my life in Jesus’ name! Amen.— Joel & Victoria Osteen 1 CORINTHIANS 11:26
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Some time ago, one of our church members developed deep vein thrombosis (DVT) while on a flight to Israel. As she was disembarking from the plane, she collapsed. She was rushed to the hospital. But on the way there, her heart stopped beating. Apparently, the blood clot in her leg had gone to her heart, causing it to stop beating. The doctors managed to revive her heart after a few attempts, but she remained unconscious. When I arrived at the hospital with some of my church leaders a few days later, I was told that her condition had worsened. She was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). My leaders and I decided to partake of the Holy Communion in the ICU, proclaiming that Jesus had borne all her diseases, including DVT, and that His blood had already redeemed her from all curses, including diseases and death. The next day, she regained consciousness! Her recovery was so supernatural that after a week of observation, she was discharged and was soon touring Israel with the next tour group that arrived there. In another case, a church member’s elderly mother underwent a series of operations and her condition deteriorated to the point where the doctor told the family to prepare for the worst. The family took Holy Communion in the ICU. They even put a small crumb in their mother’s mouth and poured a little grape juice in. On the third day, something miraculous happened—their mother regained consciousness, got well and was discharged not too long after! You see, each time you eat the bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death for you. You discern that the Lord’s body was broken so that your body can be whole. You discern that His healthy body has borne your diseases and pains, so that your body can be well. So when you eat the bread, you say that by His stripes you are healed. And when you drink the cup, you are drinking the life of Jesus which is in His blood. Beloved, the life of Jesus is pain-free, disease-free and poverty-free. It attracts the favor and blessings of God. And because you have that life in you, it causes good things to happen to you! DEUTERONOMY 28:8
“The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. Do you remember the story of King Midas and his golden touch? He made a wish that everything he touched would turn into gold, and his wish came to pass. He touched his food, the trees in his garden and his palace, and they all turned into gold! Then, he hugged his daughter whom he loved very much and she immediately turned into a gold statue! God’s way is better and it has no side effects. He wants to bless everything you touch. The Bible says, “The Lord will command the blessing on you…and in all to which you set your hand…" This means that whatever you touch, whatever you set your hands to, God will command the blessing upon it, be it a person, thing or business. So if you touch your child, he is blessed. If you touch your guitar, anointed music flows forth. If you touch your business, it prospers. When you touch a sick person, he gets healed. When you touch someone who is facing lack, his needs are met. In the Bible, everything that Jesus touched prospered. He touched the eyes of two blind men and their eyes were opened. (Matthew 9:28–30) He touched the open coffin of a widow’s son, and the young man sat up and began to speak. (Luke 7:12–15) He touched the leper and the leprosy departed. (Mark 1:40–42) Under the old covenant laws, no one was supposed to touch a leper as lepers were considered unclean. If you touched the unclean, you became unclean. But Jesus touched the leper and the unclean became clean! Everyone whom Jesus touched received a blessing. And because Jesus lives in you by His Spirit, what you touch will be blessed too. He paid the price for you to have this blessing. His loving hands which imparted blessings to so many were nailed to the cross so that today, God can command His blessing on all to which you set your hands! “When you yell at someone there’s a part of the brain that shuts down —it’s the part of the brain that houses how we reason through a situation.”
Did you read that right? Yes! It’s been proven scientifically that when yelling starts there is a part of the brain that goes offline —much like a computer goes offline when its circuits become overloaded. That proves all the more how true it is when the Bible says, “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control” (Proverbs 29:11). In other words, a fool yells (shutting off all reason) but a wise person stops, listens, and is then able to better reason. Dr. Dan Siegel, who is an associate professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, and author of the book, The Mindful Brain, talked about this on a Dr Phil television program. He told Dr Phil McGraw that there is a part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex that “allows us to think and pause before we act. …It’s what makes us human. It lets us think, and plan and actually look at other people and think about what’s going on inside of them.” It houses our reasoning centers. Dr Siegel then points to a diagram of the brain and says: “This is where the more animalistic brain is centered. In general, our higher human brain controls that, but if we get really upset, if these emotional centers are getting active, it will literally shut that off, and this won’t be functioning. What do you think life would be like if we try to talk to each other, just from an animal brain?” Dr Phil added: “When you start yelling, these other centers become pervasive. They grow and take control, and so all reasoning stops. Now, it’s animalistic: attack, fight, flight, survive, and that’s not a problem-solving mode.” Dr Phil then addresses Dr Siegel: “You talk in your book about the fact that if you’re going to live consistent with the principles of The Mindful Brain, you’ve got to stop reacting and start reflecting and looking for something called attunement.” Dr Siegel explains that when a person stops before he or she acts or speaks, it gives them the opportunity to reflect and then better tune into what the other person is trying to communicate. In essence, what this means is that when you’re being yelled at, the reasoning stops and the more animalistic part of the brain takes over, along with fear and frustration, and you react rather than think things through in a rational way. I’m reminded of a proverb that speaks of this concept, which says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12). We may think that when we yell, we’re getting our point across in a stronger way. Yelling may make sense to us and may seem to be the only way that we’ll get our spouse to grab onto the gravity of what we’re saying. “But in the end,” it really leads to the death of the conversation going in as productive a direction (and can eventually lead to the death of the relationship if contempt enters in). It shuts down reason and ushers in chaos and frustration in the other spouse to try to defend rather than listen. It proves all the more that, “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin” (Proverbs 13:3). We may rationalize that “this is the only way I can get them to listen to me —when I yell!” And it may seem to be effective (although I wonder if we reduce ourselves to a lower level when we do this and if the other person really listened, or if instead they stopped talking because of your reaction). But for most of us, I believe, that the Lord would rather have us find ways to act wisely and use all the parts of our brains and allow others to do the same, to come to a more peaceable solution. God tells us: “A wise man fears the Lord and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless. A quick-tempered man does foolish thing…” (Proverbs 14:16-17). “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may BENEFIT those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:29-31). As you read all of this, please consider what you’re doing when you yell at your spouse. I know it’s tempting to yell when you’re frustrated, angry, hurt, confused, and don’t know what else to do. I’ve been there —both Steve and I have done that, much to our shame. But when I’ve found myself getting heated beyond reason when Steve confronts me with something I don’t like or want to accept, and when I’ve told him that we need to take a break for a time so I can compose my thoughts because our “discussion” is going in an unhealthy direction, I’ve never been sorry. Eventually we come back together in a more reasonable way and work out a solution that is satisfying for both of us. I realize that not all of you have a spouse who will allow this type of “break” to occur. And for that I’m so sorry. I encourage you to ask God (as persistently as you have to) to give you guidance as to how to get through this situation in the most peaceable way that is possible. We’re told in God’s word, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:17-18). That doesn’t mean that you just let them run over you with their words, but that you look for healthier ways to resolve things, to the best of your ability. I also realize that some of you have allowed yourself to give into the habit of lowering your impulse control and have yelled when you knew you shouldn’t. Again, my heart goes out to you. I’ve done the same and deeply regret it. But I also know that God will show us a “way of escape” from even our own impulses when we sincerely pursue His help. “Because He himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). We pray this gives you “food for thought.” Please work to find ways not to yell at each other, shutting down the parts of the brain that helps reason to come through. We have many articles on our web site that can help you with this and many resources that are recommended that will continue to help you on this mission. We’ve found it to be freeing and helpful to our marriage to work through this issue in our lives. We hope you will also. Cindy and Steve Wright "But Samuel replied: 'Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.'" (1 Samuel 15:22)
"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." (John 14:15) To ignore God's Word is to put your spiritual life in jeopardy. It won't matter how many verses of the Bible you know by heart, how many powerful experiences you had at the altar, or how intensely you can sing Gospel choruses... you will not find God's rest without obedience to His Word! |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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