Home » encouragement (Page 6)
Category Archives: encouragement
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!!
Love is Practical
“The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.” Proverbs 11:24-25 MSG
Real love is practical. It almost always wears work overalls. Do you want to be loved? Then love those around you. Here’s what that looks like…
Babysit for a single parent or give a date night to coupled parents so they can have a break. If you can do it for free, even better.
Do you feel like no one ever listens to you? Than give a listening ear to someone else.
Are you struggling to believe a promise from the Lord? Then pray for someone else to be strengthened and encourage them.
Do you have a need that is beyond what you can do? Then find someone else who has a need you can meet and bless them! Maybe give away nice clothes that don’t fit you, help clean or do yard work, pay an electric bill or drive someone to the store or pick them up for church.
Are you fighting depression or feeling miserable? Then find someone to compliment or encourage. Send a card or bring balloons or flowers. Call and tell someone you’re thinking about them.
Think about this…you can’t give a hug without getting one back.
I Watch and I Wait
Make this your meditation today!! Speak it out loud!
The world may be stressed & anxious, “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” Micah 7:7
Expect good today my friends. God likes to exceed expectations!
New Level Of Trust
“With Your very own hands You formed me; now breathe Your wisdom on me so I can understand You. When they see me waiting, expecting Your Word, those who fear you will take heart and be glad. I can see now, God, that Your decisions are right;” Psalm 119:73-75 MSG
You may not know exactly what the Lord is doing in your life right now because you do not see everything He sees. But you can get to know Him better. You can personally experience and know that He is trustworthy & faithful.
My prayer for you is that you receive His grace to trust Him more than you ever have, in areas you’ve never been able to trust Him before. Ths t you reach s new level of trust within your relationship. I also pray that you have a personal revelation of the width, height & depth of His love for you.
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.
Great Expectations
I came into this year with great expectations. But I have to admit that I’ve been feeling disheartened and frustrated. My life has become a series of closed doors lately. I keep trying to be positive but, I’m finding it hard to hope and to trust in God’s goodness.
So today I’m reading the story of the Shunammite woman found in II Kings 4:8-37. It’s my favorite.
The Shunammite woman was wealthy and well connected. She had a good life and gave generously to those around her. She expected nothing in return. She just gave. It’s who she was and what she did. For her setting up a free room for the Prophet Elisha to use when he wanted was nothing extraordinary.
This is the woman everyone saw. But what people couldn’t see was the ache in her heart for a dream she thought was dead.
That’s why I relate to this woman. I am battling to believe my dream is not dead. To hope even when everyone and everything around you tells you to let it go.
God is the only one who knows the full extent of the dream in my heart. Just like the Shunammite woman.
In verse 15-16 Elisha tells her that in one year her dream will be come true. She will hold a son in her arms. Many would rejoice at this point, maybe dance a jig or something. But not her. She begs him not to raise her hopes. As if hope were the enemy of her heart. She didn’t want to go through yet another heartache.
I can relate. It seems easier for us to just settle for what we can do or what we can see. We seem to forget that we serve a good God who wants more for us than we do.
“When You came down long ago, You did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked! For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like You, Who works for those who wait for Him.” Isaiah 64:3-4
We need to focus on the truth in times like this. And the truth is that God is good. Always has been good and always will be good. His plan is so good that sometimes we see it as an impossible dream, something we don’t deserve, or we believe it couldn’t ever happen. So we settle for what WE can do or what WE can see. But when we trust Him and wait on His timing He moves in ways we cannot possibly imagine!
When I struggle like I have been, the only thing that really helps me to come out of it is to focus on God’s goodness. Reading the verses from Isaiah and the Shunammite woman’s story remind me that God is good. That God is for me not against me. That God loves me and my dreams matter to Him. Knowing this, I cannot help but to keep believing.
Please don’t give up on your great expectations! Please keep believing even if no one but God knows the dream of your heart. God is the God of the impossible and He is good.
Fear is a Liar!
Worry. Stress. Anxiety. All 3 are a type of fear. The Word tells us do not worry, do not fear, and to be anxious for nothing. God desires you to have a life filled with joy! Not fear. So instead of freaking out, remember He loves you and “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thess 5:16-18
True Wisdom
“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peaceable, gentle at all times. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.” James 3:17
This is exactly the opposite of what we want to hear when we are afraid, angry or our emotions are running high. Truth is that our feelings aren’t good or bad, they are just feelings. But letting our feelings run the show often leads to rash behavior and bad decisions, usually followed by guilt and regret. SO not worth it!
David is a great example of how to deal with our emotions. In Psalms it’s very clear David was an emotional man. But he took those out of control feelings and vented them to God. Then sought the Lord’s wisdom to handle the situation.
The times David didn’t do this were the times he made the worst decisions. But when the guilt & regret came, he realized His error and took those feelings to God. He didn’t stay trapped in condemnation.
God is always willing to give wisdom when we need it. He won’t think less of you for asking for help. He will simply give you the wisdom you need.
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” James 1:5
Seek out God’s wisdom the way David did in Psalms. Vent to Him & move on so you too can live with no regrets. #wisdom
Never Doubt
Never doubt that you are loved! You are loved every single second of every single day. Behavior is not a qualifier nor a disqualification.
“God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.” 1 John 4:9
Now with that knowledge…believe you are loved. And pass on that love to someone else.
jillbeingstill 