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Category Archives: Believing
Stray Thoughts
“But when he asks he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6
Just because a stray negative thought comes into your head doesn’t mean you have to believe it and let doubt toss you around like a toy ship in a hurricane.
Maintain your hope (your joyful and confident expectation of good from God) by casting down those negative thoughts and reminding yourself in whom you’ve placed your trust. Hope feeds faith!
PS Casting down simply means to throw. How do you throw a thought? By calling it out and saying NO! Then replacing it with God’s truth.
Superabundant
So many people read the first half of this verse and stop…but the life is in the second half.
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life; and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
Abundantly means super abundant in quantity and superior in quality. Even when the thief is trying to steal, kill and destroy, Jesus enabled YOU to have a lifetime full of exceedingly abundantly above!
Greater is He that is in you, than he who is in the world.
Joy of the Lord
God does not want us to live sad little lives, bearly squeaking by. He doesn’t want us to be beaten down by circumstances and our enemies. He wants us to enjoy our lives even when they are difficult. He wants us to have peace that passes all understanding and joy unspeakable. He knows that when we remain in peace and maintain our joy, we are stronger.
In Nehemiah 8, the leaders were reading the Book of the Law to the people. The people realized they had been living against God’s law and they were grieved. The realization that you need to change the way you are living is good, but God does not want you to stay there and beat yourself up. Staying there makes you weak and vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. He wants you to be in a position of strength.
Ezra and Nehemiah wanted the people to understand that the Word of God should inspire celebration and hope. Not dread and fear. They told the people that the joy of the Lord was their strength.
“Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” And the Levites, too, quieted the people, telling them, “Hush! Don’t weep! For this is a sacred day.” So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.” Nehemiah 8:9-12 NLT
The Bible is a love story. It is full of stories about hope and joy. The Old Testament shows that God never gave up on the Children of Israel. He kept pursuing them even when they ran amok. When the Children of Israel pursued God, He poured blessing on them. But even when they turned their backs on Him, He never abandoned them. Not one single day. Were there repercussions for their poor choices? Yes. But when they came back to Him, He always received them. He didn’t reject or abandon them. The New Testament is the fulfillment of the love God has for people. We were the joy set before Jesus, that made Him willing to go to the cross. And He is our hope.
Knowing that God will never leave or forsake me, fills me with joy! Knowing that despite my past choices and mistakes, I am loved, fills me with joy! Even though my present circumstances are difficult, I’m not going through it alone. I will not be swallowed up. This makes me smile in the face of unemployment and not enough money to pay my bills. I am rejoicing that God will turn everything around for my good. This joy in the face of hardship, is the joy of the Lord.
Find a reason to rejoice today. That joy will make you stronger.
Allow Yourself To Believe
“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Hebrew 11:1
Sometimes we stand in our own way. We are afraid to just believe that we will have what we hope for. Don’t allow fear to steal your hope. Instead allow yourself to be persuaded that God is good & He will do what He said He will do. He desires to give us His best for us even more than we want His best for us.
Waiting As Worship
“But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.” Psalm 71:14 NIV
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the faith walk is not for sissies. Waiting can be boring, annoying, frustrating, painful, sad, and on and on. Essentially waiting sucks.
But!! I know that God knows more than I do. I know that His timing is stop on a dime perfect. I know God is faithful. I know He always keeps His word. I know these things in both my heart and my mind, because I’ve experienced them in my relationship with God.
I have hard days where I want to complain too. I really do understand. But I’ve learned that complaining doesn’t really do me any good. So I’ve started using my words to praise Him for what He’s doing and thanking Him for what He’s promised as though I already have it. This turns my waiting from frustrating into worshipping!!
Peace is your First Line of Defense
“And Jesus arose & rebuked the sea, ‘Peace. Be still.’ And the wind ceased & there was great calm. And He said, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?'” Mark 4:39-40
Do you see that as soon as the disciples lost their peace fear replaced their faith?
It only took fear a few minutes to change everything. They no longer trusted the Word from Jesus, that he’d just spoken 4 verses before. Their sole focus became their anxiety, which caused panic, even though Jesus was asleep in the same boat!
Fear is a liar & a thief! It steals more dreams and destinies than anything else. Peace is your first line of defense, so maintain your peace!
Action Required
I was lamenting (also known as whining and complaining) to God yesterday that not being able to do anything about a situation in my life was torturous.
As I was waking up this morning (literally only had one eye half open) He told me that I am doing something, I’m being still and trusting Him.
He explained that faith always requires action. Sometimes that action is getting out of the boat when He bids me to come. (Read Peter’s story in Matthew 14:25-32) But sometimes the action is being still. Both are actions. Both are equally challenging.
Choosing to trust God and waiting on Him is walking by faith just as getting out of the boat and stepping onto the water is walking by faith. Both require believing and trusting God.
Being still isn’t passive. It’s active. It’s praying. It’s believing and trusting God. Being still means knowing that God is for you. It’s perseverance in long waiting periods. It’s maintaining your hope, joy and peace even when you cannot see beyond today.
When I got out of bed I flipped my verse of the day calendar to today’s verse. Guess what the verse was about today? Yep. Waiting on God.
“I wait for the Lord my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen wait for morning, more than watchmen wait for morning.” Psalm 130:5-6
I’ve prayed that you will know for certain if are to do something specific or to be still in your present circumstance and situation. I pray that no matter the action required or how long it takes that you will be able to maintain your peace and joy.
A Willing and Able Rewarder
Your opinion and beliefs about God will affect how you deal with the ups and downs in your life.
Do you believe God is good and that He loves YOU? Not just that God is love, but that He loves YOU! Do you believe you are loved? Because you are!
Do you believe that He turns everything around for YOUR good? It isn’t enough to believe God is able to do anything. You need to know that He is able AND willing to do it for YOU.
If you begin to doubt either (or both) of these things when your situation is difficult it doesn’t mean you’ve lost faith or that there’s something wrong with you. It means you’ve forgotten your value. And it means you need to spend more time seeking Him. The Word tells us that when we seek God, we find Him. God doesn’t play games with people. He is always good. He is always love. He is always for you. And He never changes.
Remember… “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
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