God Does Not Make Empty Promises

God does not make empty promises. If He brings you to it, He is faithful to empower and equip you to accomplish His will. His gifts are irrevocable; His Word and promises are immutable. He equips the called and gives strength to the weary.

Lord, we praise You and claim the victory of what You are doing in and through us...equipping us for every good work...according to Your perfect will. Father, thank You for strengthening and sustaining us as we walk on your lighted path; we pray to follow the promptings of The Holy Spirit and to discern Your will in all areas of our lives. We give You all the glory, Abba, and pray for wisdom and courage to do what is pleasing unto You.

In the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,

Amen!

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Isaiah 40:29

He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.

2 Timothy 3:17

so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

Romans 8:31

What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 11:29

For God's gifts and His call are irrevocable.

1 Corinthians 1:9

God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold resolutely to the hope we confess, for He who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 13:20-21

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Buried Alive

Often people who are experiencing emotional pain have difficulty expressing their feelings in a healthy way. A common cause is buried feelings due to loss or past hurts.

Ignored or denied feelings won’t go away. They are buried alive, deep inside your soul, where they fester and create an infection that produces poison in your body.

As long as emotional pain continues to be suppressed and undealt with the symptoms will only get worse such as relationship conflict, unhealthy behaviors, depression, addictions, and all sorts of other coping mechanisms that wound the heart and separate us from self, others and God.

That’s why it’s so vitality important to face your feelings.

Bring your heartache and hurts, your anxiety, your fear, and frustration to Jesus. Pour out your heart to Him and receive His comfort. He alone understands the depth of your hurt and pain. His word assures us in Isaiah that He was a man of sorrows acquainted with our grief. Hold on to the assurance found in His Holy Word…

“We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. “

Hebrews 4:15-16

Godly Sorrow VS Worldly Sorrow

Repeated apologies, promises never to do it again, remorse, tears, pleading for another chance are things repeat abusers say to those they hurt. Whether they are causing harm through emotional or physical abuse, committing adultery, being deceptive, lying, cheating, or are engaged in other destructive behaviors such as addiction, they genuinely feel bad when exposed and confronted and offer appeasement for the moment but nothing changes.

The behavior continues causing pain and destruction at all levels in families and relationships. That’s because God’s word says there is a huge difference between being sorry and repentance, between regretting the wrongs we have committed and committing to change behaviors that bind and hurt others.

Worldly sorrow does not lead to the brokenness and humility needed to get the human heart to a place of genuine Godly sorrow and repentance before a Holy God that produces a desire to change. Worldly sorrow causes the heart to harden and brings forth death in all areas of our lives, while Godly sorrow softens the heart and brings forth life.

If we continue to allow others to appease us with worldly sorrow, then we must understand that things will remain the same. This is called enabling. We can’t change another person’s heart but God can. Release them to God, guard your heart, and pray the Lord will orchestrate whatever needs to take place to produce Godly sorrow in someone who is hurting themselves and others. That’s where true change begins.

Heal Me, Lord And I Will be Healed

Heavenly Father,

You know the wounds that are in my heart….the lies, the faulty thinking, the fear, the sorrow left over from the hurts of my past.

I give them all to you and ask that you would heal me and release me from all emotional strongholds hindering me from experiencing the fullness of your love and grace.

I choose to live in Hope even when I feel hopeless. I will not harbor hate even when I am ignored. I will live with Your peace even when I am rejected.

I will love with Your love even when I am scorned. I will pray with Your heart even for those who hurt me. I will forgive with Your grace even when I’m betrayed.

I won’t focus on fear, for I know You are faithful. I won’t let heartache reign; I’ll move forward with faith.

I will stand on your Truth no matter the circumstances because I know that Your love never fails.

“I will give you back your health and heal your wounds,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 30:17

“The Lord nurses them when they are sick and restores them to health.”

Psalm 41:3

“Lord, help!’ they cried in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them. snatching them from the door of death.”

Psalm 107:19-20

“And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.’ “

Mark 5:34

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He Shall Direct Your Path

It is easy for us to get carried away in our thinking about what we want. We tend to plunge into the waters head first before first consulting with our Lifeguard...you know, the One who walks on water.

Regardless of our desires and plans, we should bring it all to the full counsel of God present our petitions and align our emotions with His truth. We must lean into Him for understanding and ask Him to lay on our heart what His will is for our circumstances...and for our life.

When we bring Him into our decision-making, we receive the full measure of His promises. Only our Creator can lead us on our authentic and ordained path, as He is the Architect who designed it! He delights in the innermost desires of our heart and will guide us in the way that is holy, righteous and pleasing unto Him.

Praise The Lord that His plans, ways and thoughts are not like our own! He is the eternal resource with every correct answer. He is able to produce results far beyond what we can achieve alone. Complete surrender to His way is not always the path of least resistance, but we are assured peace as we progress...and to always receive what is His best for us. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding."(Prov 3:5)

 

You Are Honored And I Love You

If you knew how valuable and treasured you are, you would do all you can to lift others up when they are down, and not want to put them down or try to find fault with them.

If you knew how valuable and treasured you are, you would always encourage others and never discourage them.

If you knew how valuable and treasured you are, you would help people see beyond their present circumstances into a bright and shining future filled with hope because all of us have a bright and shining future anchored in the hope we have in Christ.

If you knew how valuable and treasured you are, you would see people through their brokenness and not their faults because that is how your beloved Father in heaven sees you.

If you knew how valuable and treasured you are, you would pray daily for others, especially the lost, and the unlovable who are seldom on anyone’s prayer list. You would understand that hurting people hurt people and often lash out because they don’t know what to do with the pain they carry inside.

If you knew how valuable and treasured you are, you would know that it is impossible to love others unless you receive God’s love first. We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

Precious child of the living God, when you know your value and worth in Jesus, you will go from a head knowledge relationship with the lover of your soul to a heart knowledge relationship overflowing with love, mercy, and grace that will freely pour out on others.

You are His treasure! Of so much worth! “See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)

Prayer for Emotional Healing & Strength

Oh Lord, I feel that both my heart and my life has been shattered into a thousand pieces and I don’t know what to do or which way to turn. I feel that I have no strength left and that everything in my life has become an utter failure. Have mercy on me I pray, according to Your great goodness and abundant grace.

Lord, I know that Your Word says that You will give strength to the weary and hope to the distressed and I feel both weak and in distress, and ask for Your help and strength.

Help me to wait on You, abide in You and rest in Your love, because I know that You have promised that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength and rise up with the wings as eagles.

Thank You also, that You have promised to heal the broken-hearted and restore those that are hurting. Heal my shattered heart I pray, and restore to me the joy of my salvation. This I ask in Jesus' name,

In Jesus name, Amen.

What is Unseen is Eternal

Let us fix our eyes on things unseen and eternal, and seek The Lord our God with our whole hearts.

Let us have everlasting hope in our omniscient Creator, regardless of our human perspective, and fully trust in His perfect plan.

And may our faith be refined like silver when tested...glorifying our Holy Father in Heaven.

Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

James 1:3

...because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance...

2 Corinthians 4:18

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

1 Peter 1:7

These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

I Will Rejoice In The God of My Salvation

 

These final lines of Habakkuk’s prayer, and the way his book closes, are some of the most beautiful and gut-wrenching passages of prayer in the bible.

Even through loss, uncertainty, scarcity, famine, and drought, yet I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

That kind of response in those kinds of circumstances requires deep faith.

I pray that we can have this song in our hearts to carry us through this very difficult season. That we, too, would rejoice out of a place of deep faith and trust that the Lord will strengthen us and carry us through.

“Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. 

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭3:17-19‬ ‭

A Hardened Heart

 

A deep wound, a broken heart, disappointments, bitterness and unforgiveness can cause the heart to become hardened with time. It causes us to put up walls. Our defenses go up. We self protect and we don’t let anyone in including God.

Self protection leaves us running on reserve and is the cause of intimacy issues and conflict in relationships. It seems that it’s easier to be hard than soft and vulnerable, because we don’t want to get hurt. But you were not created to live that way. God made you to be tender and responsive.

It’s hard to shape stone.  As long as your heart remains hard you will miss out on the abundant life Jesus came to give. So let the living God come into your heart, heal your wounds and tear down your self protection and defenses.

The amplified version of Ezekiel 11:19 says “And I will give them one heart, a new heart, and I will put a new Spirit within them and I will take the stony, unnatural hardened heart out and give them a heart of flesh, sensitive and responsive to the touch of their God.”

Give your hurts to the Lord. Let God shape you. When you do that…He will leave His fingerprints all over your heart.

God Doesn't Waste A Drop

 

Just close your eyes and picture for a moment...

Your tears cascading as precious jewels and being meticulously collected by the Abba Father as He watches you from Heaven on His Magnificent Throne...His heart grieving with you, mourning each and every tear with you...tenderly cleansing, healing and sanctifying you through each and every drop.

Could David's impression of our Lord be accurate? I believe so! This is in His Word for a reason! He longs for us to know the measure of His Love for us! He desires great intimacy and involvement in all areas of our lives; we just have to turn it over to Him.

When I read this, I am reminded and comforted that, through His Mercy and Love, He does not waste a single, solitary drop of our suffering. Through our trials and by His Grace, we can gain compassion, strength of character and revelation...if we partner with Him, we become more diverse in ways He can utilize us for His Glory!

Friends, I once cried for myself and my pitiful life, until I actually reached a point where I was so hardened that I could not cry at all. In His Mercy, He took my hand and showed me that He had collected and cried every tear with me. The tears came once again, this time in the form of renewal. And through all my unworthiness, He increased my compassion and love for Him, myself and humanity.

Take heed friends...He knows and feels your sorrow. Cry out to The Lord and ask Him to sanctify and restore you! And one day, He will wipe away ALL our tears...That is a promise! (Rev. 21:4)

Cure for the Troubled Heart

May we turn to The Lord when our hearts are heavy...for He alone is The Rock and the source of our joy, rest, peace, healing, and everlasting salvation.

The Father designed, created, and breathed life into us; only He knows our need and has the capacity to fix and fill us eternally. He is faith and hope perfected...and we can absolutely trust Him to shield and strengthen our heart. 

Run into the arms of the God of all comfort...invite Jesus into your troubled heart. He sustain you and fill you with incomprehensible, eternal peace. Selah!

Psalm 61:2

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psalm 18:2

The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. 

Nehemiah 8:10

Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I will thank Him with my song.

1 Peter 5:7

Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Philippians 4:7

and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.