Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. (Psalm 55:22 NIV)
Are you facing circumstances that seem hopeless? Most Christians experience discouragement at some point in their lives. Maybe you have prayed night and day about a problem, and it has only gotten worse. Maybe years have passed, and your prayers are still unanswered. Maybe you are going through a difficult time, and you feel that no one understands or cares. Be assured that Jesus cares, and you’re not alone, for He is with you. When you come to the end of your strength, you’ll find God’s grace to strengthen and sustain you. Trust Jesus, and He will see you through.
Now let me ask you to look back over your life for a moment. Think about the trials you’ve faced and how God brought you through them. Remember when you were sick, and God healed you. Remember when your bank account was low, and God supplied your needs. Remember when He comforted and sustained you through a time of loss. Throughout all your troubles, He has never left you nor will He ever leave you. Keep praying, keep trusting, and keep believing. You are His precious child, and He will never stop being faithful. —Susan Ferguson
Heavenly Father, pour out Your strength on those who are discouraged or weary. Touch them with Your love and give them Your peace. Assure them of Your faithfulness that will continue throughout their lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Millions world-wide share in my efforts to create a luscious flowering garden, a place of beauty and serenity to while away the summer hours. The most important ingredient for a garden’s sustenance is water. Without it, the beauty of summer fades, leaving a sun-scorched land. Lifeless. Dry. Thirsty.
The theme of water flows through the pages of Scripture from Genesis through Revelation. There are actually 722 references to water in the Bible, making it an important theme. In the creation account of Genesis, water brought life to all the living creatures in the sea. Then and now, God provided water as a necessity for sustaining life.
However, God did not merely generate water for the survival of our physical life, but also extended His tender care for our souls by sending Jesus, called the “fountain of living waters” in Jeremiah 2:13. God’s “living water” will nourish us through the driest times and weariest days. His provision of water is evidence of His grace and His eternal love for us.
When we find ourselves in a dry, barren land and weariness has set in, let us pray like the psalmist David did in Psalm 63:2: “…for You my soul thirsts. Like a land parched, lifeless, and without water.” Whether we call out in abundance or in the deserts of life, Jesus, the living water, will deliver life to our souls and bring into being a beautiful well watered garden for all to enjoy. —Karen Pourbabaee
A righteous man may have many troubles but the Lord delivers him from them all. (Psalms 34:19 NIV)
Can’t figure out why things have turned out the way they have? Searching for answers all around while racking your brain for some sort of understanding? Does this sound familiar?
Just in case you don't know or may have forgotten nothing happens in this life by accident, chance or coincidence. We know this because everything that has taken and will take place from birth to death has already been spoken of by God (all things have been predestined according to the PLAN of God-Ephesians 1:11 NIV). So it's safe to say that your heartache didn't just fall into your lap because you're unlucky.
Heartache is wonderful and beautiful! Now I know that you're probably saying "WHAT" and how in the world can despair be viewed as wonderful much less beautiful? Well it can be! Living through heartache creates an increase in prosperity (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV). Now do you see the beauty? I sure hope so.
If your heart is hurting count it all joy (James 1:2 NIV) because your heartache isn't in vain. —Shandha Woodard
This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' (Jeremiah 6:16 NIV)
The crossroads of life, isn't it funny that we always seem to find ourselves standing at a crossroad? I suppose it could better be said; that we always find ourselves standing before choices. What choice do I make, will it work out for me, how do I know if it is God's will, what is the best way? How do I know when I am using wisdom or maybe how often do I even make a choice and not even inquire at all?
What I love about this scripture is that it tells us that at some point in our lives we will be standing before a crossroad; a choice. But it doesn't just say to stand there, the Holy Spirit is careful to tell us to stand and look. So often we are just standing, standing but stagnant, sometimes we are paralyzed, and other times we are just oblivious to where we are at.
What I love in this verse is that it reminds us to pay attention; take personal inventory, look, be alert and sober, assess where we are at, then it tells us to ask where the good way is. Stand, look and ask, it sounds so simple but rarely ever is.
It is so easy to stand but sway, to look but not see and to ask but not expect an answer. How many times have we come upon the crossroads of life and never even saw them as roads at all? Maybe we saw them as big dirthills and were blinded by fear, maybe we were distracted by the flood of defeat that runs right through it, maybe we see every obstacle as a stumbling block instead of seeing every stumbling block as a footstool to bring us closer than we were before.. Maybe were so accustomed to walking by sight that faith never has a say.
Overall I think it is all part of the growing process, how will we learn to stand if we never knew what it is to fall? how will we learn to walk if we didnt at first learn how to crawl?
What I love about the Lord is that He knows that the crossroads will come, He knows how sometimes we will choose the wrong way, He knows that even every wrong path will ultimately lead to the right one. I felt the Spirit of the Lord whisper to me that when the way is good, it's good, but when the way is bad, it's still good. For all things work together for the good of those who are the called and chosen according to His purpose.
Why do we feel we need to have lightning flash and a thunderous shout from heaven telling us what to do? Are we really trusting that 'many are the plans of a mans heart but the purpose of Lord is what really will remain?" Is the Lord truly ordering our steps, or are we?
If the Lord instructs us to look and ask, can it really be as simple as asking and then walking?
To trust doesn't mean we know everything, why should we trust in something if we already know what is? No,trusting is not knowing all the details, trusting is; standing in the what if's and still pressing on, trusting that if a heart is truly seeking Him, that even if we veer off to the right when we should've gone left that God is bigger than our miscalculation.
I'm sensing that someone needs to know, it's ok, relax, He is in control, He has you covered, you do hear his voice and you will get to where you need to be, in fact you are already on your way, just trust, He really is ordering your steps and the 'NO'S" that you have been faced with are really God's YES, don't you realize that ordering and closing doors is more important than opening them?
God only needs to open but one door at the right time, but until your appointed time comes, He has to close every other door in order to get you to the right one.
Just hold on, your standing at the crossroads right now, look, then ask for the ancient path and go, walk in it and when your soul finds rest a.k.a- the peace of God, you will know that the road and the good way you've been looking for, you've been traveling on all along. —Shannon Heiden
First published @ Heart of Conversation
The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep." (John 21:17 NIV)
With so little time available at hand to do so many things, I am frequently left with not much time to engage in conversation with my friends and family members. This, I know, is not good or helpful in caring for others and in bringing others to Christ.
A heart to heart conversation is so important when it comes to expressing care, and although there are many ways of communicating across a message today, nothing beats a personal conversation with another. This is because a conversation face to face requires presence, and presence means taking time to communicate with each other. We may be able to get connected with someone via phone call, email, instant messaging or social network, but we cannot read the other person's state of mind unless we are engaged in conversation face to face.
In the Bible, we read about what the apostle Peter did after he denied Jesus three times. He was deeply grieved (Luke 22:56-62), and it was not long before he went back to his former trade as a fisherman (John 21:1). When Jesus appeared at the shore, however, Peter was quick to jump into the water and get to shore to meet Him (John 21:7). After the disciples had finished eating breakfast of bread and fish, Jesus conversed with Simon Peter (John 21:15-17 NIV).
"Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," Peter said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
The third time He said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?"
He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."
The conversation between Jesus and Peter shows the kind of heart to heart talk that engages one to become stirred up from within, leading to repentance, forgiveness and restoration. It is the kind of conversation we can engage in to lead others to Christ—a conversation for action. If we genuinely care for someone, we will want to spend time and engage in conversation with that person.
In bringing others to the Lord, therefore, let us find time to converse with others and tell them how we feel and what the Lord has done for us. It is through such witness, the sharing of thoughts and feelings, that people will know we are speaking from our hearts, not just telling them about Jesus in order to group them into the Christian faith. Like Simon Peter who responded to the Lord in confessing his love, let us also express the love we have for others by speaking from our hearts that they may desire to know more about Christ and His love. In similar ways, we can also nurture the young in faith—the lambs and sheep—by feeding and taking care of them, while at the same time restore the backslidden by redirecting them back to the right path.
Thank You, dear Lord, for showing us how we should engage in conversation to restore a soul. Grant us Lord the wisdom and sensitivity to the leading of Your Holy Spirit in knowing how we should converse with another. Forgive us Lord for the many times we fail to spend time with our friends and family to engage in heart to heart conversations. Create in us Lord the desire to care for Your sheep, the ones that have been saved and the ones that have yet to be saved. Renew us Lord in Your love, and restore to us the burning desire to be fishers of men, not just to group the unsaved into the fold, but also to feed the saved in helping them grow in spiritual maturity.
