Words of Inspiration BlogInspirational and Uplifting

Proverbs 15:13b – …but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

 Dear Friends – No matter where you may be at this moment, no matter what your circumstances and the effects of such may be dictating to you, God has not left you or forsaken you. God has not given up on you. Perhaps in the overall analysis of  one’s seemingly hopeless situation, which we do over and over to the  point of exhaustion on any given day, the fact of a loving God’s faithfulness to His children has been overlooked. In times of extreme distress, overwhelming sorrow and despair, we as mere humans become fatigued and restless. Questions begin to plague us such as where we might have made a wrong turn, a bad decision, a careless error. But ultimately at some point as we come up for air in stressful times we may just ask ourselves if God hasn’t left us and we haven’t left God, perhaps what we consider brokenness and hopelessness is actually a gift, a blessing in disguise, could it really be?

I have read many articles lately on the aspect of letting God have His way in our lives. In hard times we begin to complain. In tough times we start looking for new ideas and new paths. In the darkness we grope for answers never stopping to consider that God, our loving and faithful Savior, is right there with us. Scripture tells us God is with us in all that we do and wherever we go. If we soar the heights of heaven, He is with us. If we make our bed in hell, even there scripture says He is with us with  unending mercy and love. So what can we say then, if God never leaves us and we at times feel lost and alone, broken and hopeless, where is our God when it hurts?

God is all knowing, all powerful, present everywhere. On a recent church billboard I read “Jesus knows me, this I love”. Yes, He knows us, deeply, intimately, better than we know ourselves or are known by anyone. And if He knows us and we trust He is leading us and molding our lives, can we let Him lead through the pain? Can we trust Him enough to give Him our brokenness knowing of a truth we are blessed, truly blessed, even in this condition? There are extremes in life we struggle to understand, extreme loss, extreme heartache, extreme confusion. But in all these things God is no less God, no less loving, no less faithful, no less attentive and caring of His children. Yes, I love that He knows me when no one else truly does. I love that He knows me and loves me anyway!!

So where as mere humans do we miss it and get so deeply entrenched in gloom, despair and agony rather than the joy that is deposited on the inside of each believer that Christ in us is our hope of glory? I believe we hear a lot today about how God just wants to bless us continually, bigger this, more of that, and from the depths of my being I believe His desire is to bless us exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever ask or think. But there are exceeding abundant blessings in trials and tribulations. When He is all we have we find He is more than enough. When nothing else satisfies or has any lasting value He offers us eternal life. When all else fails He is faithful as He promised.

Our lives are being molded and formed by the God that created the Universe. He sent His Son to die that we might be reconciled back to Him once and for all. The sin debt was paid on the cross and He sent His Holy Spirit in our hearts to comfort us and help us. We are in reality never alone, never rejected, never out of His hands, though we may feel as though we are at times. We can take our lives and make a terrible mess of them but God can change our course with just one word. God can heal the brokenness or use that brokenness for His glory, but either way we’re in His hands and in His will if we are trusting Him. Rather than remain on the run from pain and sorrow, might we stop and ask ourselves just what God may be trying to show  us? Who around us will benefit from our steadfastness and trusting God even when it hurts and we do not understand?

Sorrow of the heart does break the spirit, but scripture says a broken spirit God accepts, and a contrite heart He will mend. We have to be absolutely submitted and trusting in the dark night of the soul. We may have been in the furnace heated seven times hotter but we weren’t alone. We may feel broken beyond recognition but God is pruning away all the unfruitful  parts of our lives. God is burning away all the dross that is of no benefit to us and harmful at times. The bottom line is GOD IS, God is busy in our lives, God is working in our lives, God is leading us and guiding us, God is loving  us and protecting us, God  is and always will be working things out for our good and His glory.

If you’re drowning in a sea of doubt and despair, be encouraged in your inner man today. Ask God to open the eyes of your heart to see His marvelous work in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to comfort you, to aid you, to allow you to feel His presence. Fellowship with Him, spend time in prayer. As you begin to look to Him, to focus on His love and care, His lovingkindness and tender mercies, less of the pain and heartache will be seen and felt. Less of the world and it’s stranglehold of cares and concerns will so easily trip us up if we keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

If you have lost heart, dear ones, take hold His hand again and allow Him to mold you again, again. Nothing is too difficult for God. No need is above Him. He knows what we need and how to provide it. He is not looking for perfection. He is looking for submission. In rebelliousness we lose our way so quickly. In stubbornness we miss His best plan. But in submission, a quiet and peaceful trust that He will show us the way when we just can’t seem to get on the right track, will bring a new outlook on life, a refreshing we surely thought would never be felt again.

Let that refreshing flow over your life today and all it consists of, your body, your mind, your spirit. Feel His strength begin to surge back into the limp hands and weak knees. For all you may have given up on, God was faithful. He will restore. Trust Him today to do just that. Baby steps at first if that’s what it takes, then leaps and bounds, but scripture says they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, and so you shall, my beloved, so you shall.

I pray these words of encouragement have blessed you. I pray these words of inspiration have motivated  you to absolutely humble your heart, come to God in total submission of your will, and allow Him to help you. Allow Him to bless you in over-the-top, most unexpected ways. Scripture says God is able to make all grace abound toward you that you always having all sufficiency may abound to every good work. Yes GOD IS, whatever you need. GOD IS ABLE, He’ll fix this for you with ALL GRACE from His infinite supply.

In His Love, 

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The Darkness Before Dawn

Psalm 18:28 – Lord, you have brought light to my life; my God, you light up my darkness.

Dear Friends – Step out into the early morning hours and look up at the stars. They seem to be shining brighter in the darkness before dawn. It is as if each one is dancing across the cosmos to its own rhythm. Each star is melodiously hanging there in all its glory, singing songs of their creator, songs in the night that  only God can orchestrate. So it is with our lives and circumstances. When the darkness seems overwhelming and the black closeness would seem as if we are smothering in pain, brokenness, confusion and turmoil, listen with your heart to the songs of the morning stars. For it is in this quiet oneness with yourself, your Creator, and beneath the starry deep displayed overhead that God speaks to us. Let these words of hope, these words of encouragement touch the pain and brokenness in your life and awaken in you the knowledge that with God truly all things are possible.

God is ever speaking to us of Love. His arm is outstretched to us in want of a loving embrace if we will allow it. His love is there for us as we call on Him in desperation for deliverance, for relief from oppression, and direction when we seem to have lost our way. His Spirit speaks softly to the brokenness. His healing balm flows over the schism in our bodies, the confusion in our minds, reaching the very core of mankind, inspiring one to arise and soar with Him. His will is not that we suffer and die in a tormented state, but rather that we turn and let ourselves be healed.

Turn today, beloved, and let the songs of the morning stars ring loudly in your spirit. Let the darkness before the dawn become a beacon of hope as you allow His love to lighten your life, His strength to lighten your load, and His way become your way. So much time is wasted in worry and concern. So much time we could be spending with God, sharing our thoughts, our longings, our innermost pain, and yet we avoid this closeness as if our Savior is not concerned about the smallest of issues in our lives.

Truly if one could only grasp this agape love and it’s most basic meaning so many lives could be transformed from darkness into light. For He loved us when we were not lovable. He sent His Son Jesus into the world to save us while we were yet sinners. We have no words for our defense. There are no works we can do or merits we can earn to open the door to so great a love. All we need do is ask Jesus to forgive us our sins, to come into our hearts and be the Lord of our lives. Lay it all on His altar of sacrifice. Lay down your heavy burdens for scripture says His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Make that switch today. Why continue to carry a load that is much too heavy to bear?

In one of my poems I used the phrase “I sense my smallness standing neath a starry moonlit sky”. It is humbling, yet exhilarating, to just take a moment to look up at the Cosmos, all its vastness, all its beauty, and know that God that created this Universe created each one of us. The God that hung every star, called them all by name, calls each one of us by name as well. He calls us precious, beautiful, His beloved, His bride. He gives us counsel, comfort, love, encouragement, inspiration, hope in failing times, motivation in times of lackluster existence. He gives us strength in our times of weakness, the oil of joy for the spirit of mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. He stands by us when others walk away. He stands with us in times of loneliness. We come before Him as walking wounded and He stands ready to help and to heal. He has sent His Holy Spirit to come alongside, to aid us in our time of need.

Yes, beloved, He never leaves us or forsakes us. It is not by our righteousness or by any works that we have done but through faith in Him we have become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Take your eyes off the overwhelming problems and brokenness in your life today and place them on Jesus. Focus on His love and His care of His world and we as His dear children. We will not always have the answers to our petitions as we had hoped. Our questions may still be staring us in the face. But in the gift of another day, gazing up at the twinkling stars, let us be reminded that our God is still in control of our lives. He is still very much aware of the pain and lostness. Yet for just a moment let your mind be at rest, your troubled spirit find solace in the starry space, your loneliness and sorrow be replaced by the overwhelming Love hanging in the heavens and the absolute truth that the God that created such a beautiful existence for the whole of man is still working miracles and opening doors to greater destinies than our finite minds can grasp. Our God, through faith in His Son Jesus, waits to pour this Love into each heart that will open unto Him and allow Him to begin a work of grace that will change us from the inside out.

The answers will come in His time and not ours. We may not receive what we had hoped for, all wrapped up and tidy, hand delivered before we get up off our knees, but we will receive the greatest love that man has ever known. We will receive grace to help in time of need, a renewed strength for our journey. Meditate on His unconditional love. Meditate on His grace and His unending mercy. Meditate on His unfailing forgiveness. Listen to the songs of the morning stars and be reminded that nothing is too difficult for our God. No path is so dark that He cannot send out His light and show us His way. No problem is beyond Him, no need He won’t supply. Believe it today, dear friends. Look up for your redemption draws nigh.

In His Love,

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The Voice Of God

Psalms 40:12b, 13 – Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me.

O Thou, to whose all-searching sight
The darkness shineth as the light!
Search, prove my heart; it pants for Thee;
Oh, burst these bonds, and set it free!
G. TERSTEEGEN

Yes, this sin which has sent me weary-hearted to bed and desperate in heart to morning work, that has made my plans miscarry until I am a coward, that cuts me off from prayer, that robs the sky of blueness and the earth of springtime, and the air of freshness, and human faces of friendliness,–this blasting sin which perhaps has made my bed in hell for me so long,–this can be conquered. I do not say annihilated, but, better than that, conquered, captured and transfigured into a friend: so that I at last shall say, “My temptation has become my strength! for to the very fight with it I owe my force.”
W. C. GANNETT.

Dear Friends – May these words of encouragement bless you deeply today and motivate you to take a second look at your circumstances, a reevaluation if you will of the hurts and pain, the brokenness and bitterness, and yes, even the  agonizing anger that has taken deep root within your soul to the depths that you are barely able to lift your head. And as you take a second look may you, by God’s grace, come to the revelation that your life is not over. Your best days are yet to come. The innermost desires of your heart are still God’s desires for you and He is still willing and able to bring about great things in your life if you are trusting Him.

So often in life we allow things to overwhelm us when we’ve truly prayed and asked God for guidance. People disappoint us and hurt us. People betray us. Friends walk away. Disasters happen at inopportune times and catch us unawares. The enemy likes nothing better than to see us struggling in pain and disillusionment. He is at work in our discouragement, slowly isolating  us because when we are discouraged and depressed the first thing we do is want to be alone in our misery. Once we’re isolated there is a constant barrage of destructive thoughts. We begin to feel that our situation is somehow an exception to all the rules. We are certain that our pain is different than what others suffer, deeper, more devastating, more traumatic, and in allowing these thoughts to continue, before you know it the enemy has moved in and set up a stronghold.

Beloved, scripture says there is nothing new under the sun. That means every human experience is not new even if we’ve determined in our hearts that surely no one has been hurt like this, surely no one has suffered so many blows that they are no longer able to function. The worst thing we can do in desperate times is convince ourselves that our situation is too far gone for God to give assistance, our situation is too heavy for God to carry us through, and worst of all, God doesn’t seem to even notice our situation anymore and Heaven seems silent.

When we have suffered so much for so long it begins to look hopeless to us. When the darkness is unrelenting though we pray fervently to the best of our ability, we stand on the brink of giving up. But the good news is this is when God is doing His greatest work in us. For you see, the seeming silence of Heaven, when it seems God is not talking to us, is actually just the opposite. God is preparing us for great things. We have others around us watching us, watching what we will do, how we will react, and just when is our God going to show up. Well it may not seem like it but God is always on time. Just when we think we’ve surely lost our minds  and everything else in our life, He shows up. God knew you could handle the stress, the anxiety, the seeming overload because He gave you what it takes beforehand. He knew you could do it but did you? He never left your side. He has every confidence in us but do we have the same confidence in Him?

In Joel Osteen’s book “Every Day A Friday” he says, “When He (God) is silent, don’t assume He has left you. He is right there with you during the test….God is not mad at you when He is silent. He has not forsaken you. His silence is a sign that He has great confidence in you. He knows you have what it takes…”.  Scripture says He never gives us more than we can handle without making a way of escape. Knowing this, we should be rejoicing even in the tough times because what a privilege to discover the God that created the Universe has such confidence in us. So may we never be tempted to throw away our confidence as it is truly one of God’s priceless treasures and His word says it has great recompense of reward.

If you want the deeper things of God it takes a greater faith. You must learn to trust Him with your life and all that it encompasses. If your wounds are always open and bleeding then the pain is easily triggered by sometimes unexpected events, but usually a more familiar happening, a song, seeing a particular person, a certain locale. You may go back and relive the painful experience. You may revisit the devastating circumstances over and over in your mind. Yes, you may even feel justified in doing so because in your reality, it was an exceptional pain, an exceptional injustice. But beloved, in doing so we only hurt ourselves. God wants us to let it go and let Him heal us. We can’t be healed if we constantly look back, constantly indulge ourselves in these excuses that no one understands us or how bad our pain really is. God understands us, God understands how deep the pain is and how devastating to our lives the wound has become, but He not only offers healing if we trust Him, His word says what the enemy means for evil God will use for good, our good, and the good of those around us.

There will always be opposition to our faith. We have to understand that to go higher with God usually means more opposition, greater obstacles. But God is the one that will fight for us. When we come to the end of ourselves and can’t seem to find a way to keep going then God will carry us. He doesn’t want us to spend our lives running around putting out fires. He doesn’t want us to waste our days avoiding every trigger of that familiar failure, pain, etc., running from life looking for some safe haven with which to rest. No, He will fight our battles for us while we continue to trust Him and grow and begin to experience all the life He’s providing, exceeding, abundantly above all we could have ever asked or thought. As Tullian Tchividjian so profoundly states it, “The gospel is not a command to hang onto Jesus. Rather, it’s a promise that no matter how weak your faith may be in seasons of spiritual depression, God is always holding on to you”.

If you’re plagued with torment from the past, past hurts, past failures, commit it to Him. Commit it to Him and leave it alone. God is able to deal with it. Scripture says He will vindicate us. Scripture says He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. By trusting Him explicitly, even if you just start with baby steps, soon you will be sitting at that table dining on God’s bounty while your enemies look on. What a testimony! And by baby steps I mean perhaps you are deeply troubled, so troubled that you can’t even lift your head or speak, but give God a day, give Him a week, totally let it go and trust Him for a short amount of time. Then as  you see He is faithful in the short-run, trust Him for the long haul. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. What He’s done for others He will do for you. With man these things seem impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible.

Don’t let the enemy isolate you and convince  you you can’t be fixed, your problems are too complex, too far reaching. No shut the door on him and  his wiles for scripture says he comes to steal, kill and destroy. As believers we are commanded to take captive every thought that sets itself up against God. Yes, we may feel bad about life, but we’re not failures utterly. We may have been down for a season, but don’t count us out. The pain may have been devastating but give it to God. Allow Him to take whatever brokenness and/or bitterness that is keeping you from living life to the fullest and bring about His good in your life. For when you allow Him free reign in your life you often find the scope of His Love and healing is far greater than you ever imagined. Not only do you find peace, joy, healing, strength for the journey that you’re on, but His Love touches others in your life, and before long you’ve got a powerful testimony rather than a pitiful mess.

If you are so distraught that the only prayer you can utter is, “I commit this to You”, that is good enough for God. Do it every time you feel like you can’t make it. God is a God of justice and He will not allow us to be used and abused indefinitely when we are trusting Him for our care. God will show up when we least expect it and show Himself strong on our behalf. Those who stand against us or those who may not necessarily stand against us but have hurt us deeply will see God show up and bless us. Yes, dear ones, you will set at His table and dine in their very presence. Man may have counted you out, but God says you’re just getting started.

So if Heaven seems silent to you, my friends, just know of a certainty that you are much farther along than you realize. Know assuredly that God has been at work in your life in a powerful way. For in the silence you’ve been searching, searching the scriptures, praying for wisdom, direction, deliverance. Take heart, for God has heard your prayers and the pit you have been in for so long will soon be forgotten when His glory is revealed to you, in you, on you, through you, and all to the glory of God. Scripture says “by grace ye are saved, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God”, and what a gift it is. We don’t earn it, we can’t buy it, we just reach out and by faith we believe it, and we receive it. This great grace is touching your life today because you have chosen to trust Him, and the glory is about to be revealed. Don’t give up and don’t give in, only believe. Let the very thing that broke you, the very circumstance that brought you into the pit you’ve been in for so long, be the catapult in your life to be all that God created you to be. Let the very thing that makes you feel the weakest, hurts unbearably, and causes you the greatest fear, be the thing  that with God’s help you capture and conquer, so that as W. C. Gannett said,  ”My temptation has become my strength! for to the very fight with it I owe my force.”

In His Love,

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For Such A Time As This

Dearest Friends – For such a time as this you were created! Scripture says “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22). You may be groaning under the weight of your load. You may be faltering, stumbling, unsure of your footing in troubled times. But the sufferings of these times are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

You ask how can this be? How can our lives, that at times seem so dark and hopeless, be in reality a beacon of hope to a lost world? Because you are being led by the Spirit of God and you are the sons and daughters of God. You can shrink back in fear in troubled, chaotic times. You can run from life and hide your gifts and talents from the world rather than believe God to do a beautiful work in you and through you. But in all these things God’s word tells us we are MORE than conquerors through Him that loved us (Romans 8:37). We are in essence children of God, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus if so be that HE is truly our Lord and Savior.

When we are overwhelmed by life the Spirit helps our infirmities. When we don’t know how to pray the Spirit makes intercession for us. God has provided a way where there might not seem to be a way in your life. If He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not then with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32). Freely! His only requirement is that we believe Him; believe Him that He is able, believe Him that He will do what He said He would do. The Way is the only way in yesterday’s world, today’s world, and tomorrow’s world for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

If your heart is broken from hurts of the past He has you covered and will bring miraculously good things out of it if you will commit them to Him. If you are living in fear of today’s turmoil, today’s pain, today’s seeming harshness and helplessness, He is the God of your today. He will hold you and help you without fail and without condemnation. And if your thoughts constantly run to tomorrow and where you will be, what you will do, what of your loved ones, that too is covered. For the whole of creation rests in the palm of God’s hands and we as His beloved children are above all safe, saved, delivered and redeemed from our own destructions and downfalls.

Truly, beloved, there is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ, nothing. Romans 8:38-39 says ”For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. These times may be troubling but NO THING and NOTHING can separate us from the love of God. God has called us into His family, and who He calls He also justifies, and those He justifies He also glorifies (Romans 8:30). It’s powerful beyond what man can reason in his finite mind. It takes simple faith and trust in Jesus to believe that no matter what kind of dire straits we may find ourselves in God is right there with us. Nothing is too difficult for our God. His arm is not shortened that it cannot help. His ears are open to our cries. And when we are without strength there is no greater time to let go of our efforts, our worries, and just experience a free-fall right into His loving arms, for scripture says in Deuteronomy 33:27 “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…”. What a beautiful expression of total Love and care for us. He’s our refuge, and if we fall, we fall right into His everlasting arms. Think of it. That thought of falling into the everlasting arms brings the phrase “Let Go and Let God” into virtual focus. Let go today precious ones, and let God show you a true and better way. He will not fail you and He will not leave you.

I heard a song long ago that goes something like “In times like these, we need a Savior. In times like these, we need an anchor. Be very sure, yes very sure, your anchor holds, and grips the solid rock”. Jesus is the Rock that is higher than we are. Jesus is the anchor of our souls. So may these words of encouragement touch your heart today and inspire you to be sure, be very sure, that for such a time as this you are trusting in the Anchor of life, the Love that is unconditional, and in so doing your Anchor WILL hold. For in times like these nothing material, nothing secular, nothing of this world and its goods shall be able in any wise to save you, it is in Christ alone that we are saved, in Christ alone.

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Numbers 6:24-26.

In His Love,

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His Eye Is On The Sparrow

 Psalms 139:10 –Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

THE MASTER’S HANDS

The Master’s hands, so tender, yet, in strength they hold the earth.

They reach out, touch and heal our wounds, and lead us to rebirth.

In sorrow those hands carry us, in pain with stroke so precious.

The Master’s hands hold all our cares, give strength that does refresh us.

I know those hands will carry me and safely lead me home -

Where I shall reach and touch those hands that claimed me for His own.

And as I touch them, feel the warmth of love that brought me o’er -

I’ll lift my hands and praise Him, sing with angels evermore.

Dear Friends – Recently I witnessed a  little bird fall to the ground. It seemed as if its wing was broken. I watched the little bird writhing in seeming pain. It’s head was thrown back as if it was gasping for air and it seemed for all intents and purposes to be dying. I was so stirred with emotion in that moment. I stretched my hand out toward that little bird and just prayed for God to intervene and send healing.

I walked away and just sat some distance away thinking of what I had just witnessed and why my soul was so stirred into action. In about five minutes I walked back over to check on the bird and he flew up into the trees. I felt as if I had just witnessed the hand of God reach down and heal one of His own little creatures and I was reminded of the song “His Eye Is On The Sparrow” and realized what it truly means. For if God cares for the sparrows and sees everyone that falls, as scripture tells us, how much more He cares for His children.

Your life may be in turmoil right now. Your situation and circumstances may seem hopeless. You may be despairing and distraught. But God is aware of your needs and His eye is watching you even now. Perhaps you have others praying for you and praying with you. You may be among the fortunate that have family and friends around, people that truly love you and truly assist in any way they can. But if you are alone in your suffering, take heart. God said He would never leave us or forsake us. He instructs us to cast all our cares upon Him because He cares for us. He is concerned if you feel you have “crashed and burned”. For all you may feel is wrong in your life, He has a list of all that is right, for His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts, as scripture says.

Often, some of the most devastating and painful moments in life are used by God for great things in our lives, those over-the-top things we could have never expected. More often than not what we consider an absolute disaster with no way out, is just an opportunity for God to do His greatest work, an opportunity for God to touch not only our personal lives, but the lives of those around us, all for the glory of God and to accomplish a greater good. And the more you yield your painful circumstances, your “crash and burn” moments, your “I can’t go on another minute” moments, the more He reveals Himself to you and the more strengthened you begin to feel. His word says to draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you. He meets you just where you are, just as you are. As scripture tells us, if God be for you who can be against you?

Yes, I saw the hand of God reach down and rescue a little bird and I was reminded of how much God is in control of His Universe. I witnessed in nature His tenderness and His unfailing love, and perhaps it was just what I needed that day, a gentle reminder that He’s right there with us in the everydayness of our lives, the trials, tribulations, tragedies, and victories. These words of inspiration are given to you as a reminder of the same. These words of encouragement are fresh from the Spirit, so know, dear ones, He is caring for you.

Look for Him in even the most trivial and/or unexpected circumstances. See His hands at work and feels His presence in your life. Be encouraged and have faith that He loves you. Begin to see Him in the beauty of nature and know that if He reached down and saved a little bird, how much more is He willing to touch your life and your circumstances with healing, with provision, with salvation, with His peace and His love of which there is no end. He gave us His son, Jesus, our  Supreme Sacrifice, that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Yes beloved, our God is in all things all around us every day. A miracle is waiting to be witnessed just as His touch is waiting to be felt. Ask Him into your heart today. Take hold His hand and trust His love, His unending mercy and grace, and His undying care for you for nothing is too difficult for our God.

In His Love, 

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Beauty Fair

Isaiah 61:3 – To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. 

BEAUTY FOR ASHES

I will take the ashes turn them into beauty fair.I will take your hurting soul and heal it with My care.I will take the weariness from trudging uphill milesand turn it into restfulness with strength for every trial.I will take the saddened face and tears that flow like rainand paint a smile with joyous stroke, in Love allay the pain.I will take confusion’s grasp, put wisdom in its stead,and I will set you free from fear, anxiety and dread.New paths I’ll lead you on and doors I’ll open just for youthat you may know I am the Lord of all you seek to do.I’ll hold your hand, if you’ll allow, if you’ll believe in me.I’ll always walk close by your side, now and eternally.You’ll never have to be alone, we’ll fellowship in prayer.Yes, I, the Lord, have spoken and will keep you in My care.For I’m your Savior, Jesus, and I died that you might live.Call on me in faith and I will all your sins forgive.Your life will be like flakes of snow, no stain or spot to see,For I will cleanse you inside out if you’ll believe in Me.

In His Love,

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The Refining Colors

Psalms 103:2-6– Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

A CHANGE OF COLOR 

I walk among the meadows, grasses deep and shiny green.

Wildflowers paint the landscape, none so fair I’ve ever seen.

As I take in all this beauty, my breath’s near taken back,

to think of the Creator, all He’s made, there is no lack.

For He can paint the meadows, wash them clean with heavenly rain,

and He can take a hurting soul and bind up all its pain.

He can take the vilest life and cleanse it for His pleasure.

He can take the coldest heart and warm it beyond measure.

A broken spirit He accepts, a contrite heart He’ll mend,

if we’ll but give our lives to Him and all our burdens rend.

He’ll paint our lives anew, afresh, with colors brightly shining.

Our lives once dark, in pain so drear’, will glisten with refining.

 Dear Friends – The colors of life take many forms in our everyday existence. There is the red of anger that is both harmful to ourselves and others, and most destructive if not brought in check. Of course, the green of jealousy and suspicion is similarly harmful and destructive to relationships when ignored and left to run rampant. There is the blueness that comes when one is absolutely depressed, despairing and in dis-ease. And there is without a doubt the blackness of loss and destruction.

But all of these colors can be beautiful when Jesus is made Lord of our lives and we learn to trust Him with emotions and pain. How beautiful are the sunsets with deepest reds in glowing  hues? How inspiring and renewing are the meadows thriving with green grasses, dotted with wildflowers; the azure blue sky; the blackened sky at night with stars like glitter blown. It’s all in our perception of life. The beauty is always there for our enjoyment, but in painful circumstances we often lose our ability to see the glory of God, to see the things that really matter in life.

In the human experience it rains on the just and the unjust, bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to “bad” people, in our estimation. But the common denominator here, and the often overlooked solution to any malady, is our God. He is in control of all. His way is the best way at all times. And blues are little more than anger turned inward, a depressive state fed with self pity, perhaps confusion, maybe even a “life isn’t fair” attitude; certainly we become angry with ourselves when we feel used and abused, rejected or discarded. Our reaction is usually one of shock and dismay that we could have been so short-sighted as to allow someone else to get the “upper hand” in our lives and circumstances.

In the pain of life, no matter what form it may take, we are easily distracted and soon find ourselves looking for a way out. The severity of the stress and anxiety is a good indicator of how quickly we will take our eyes off of our Savior and begin to dwell on our circumstances. How precious though that we have a God that loves us so  much that none of the tangled web we feel trapped in can keep us from His “lovingkindness and tender mercies”. He never leaves us and is pouring all His “benefits” into our lives daily. He forgives all our iniquities, heals all our diseases, redeems our life from destruction, crowns us with lovingkindness and tender mercies. So why do we miss it so often? I believe a great part of our “missing it” in life is simply unbelief and guilt. Perhaps we don’t feel worthy of so great Love. Maybe we’ve tried to earn our way to Christ through works and good deeds. Whatever keeps you on the path of disbelief and condemnation needs to be examined. For scripture says Christ didn’t come into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved.

Beloved, scripture says in Psalms 103: 10-14 – that “He hath not deal with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.” So knowing this, that God doesn’t treat us as we deserve, He knows we’re only human with human frailties and weaknesses, but still He has pity on us, should give us pause to reconsider the state of our emotions in trying circumstances. These “ugly” colors can be beautiful and even useful when committed to Christ. And as regards self pity, I figure if God pities me I can’t spend too much time feeling sorry for myself. After all, His pity must certainly accomplish a good in me my own self pity cannot even touch. And above all, after you’ve walked with the Lord for a long time, you come to the point that you can commit the “mess” you’ve made of your life to God knowing He can turn it into a message, a message that you can share with others in their time of need. You accept the trials and testings knowing this too shall pass and your test will become a testimony, again which you can share with those God has brought into your life to further their progress and give encouragement. If hard times come don’t be shocked or dismayed. If the bottom drops out, do not give up or get discouraged for God is right there with you, always leading, always loving, we just have to let Him have His way. Yes, it all becomes worth it in the end because the gospel is furthered and you allowed God to get the glory, all because you chose to submit to Him and trust Him with your life, the good, the bad, and the ugly, the trials and tests, and every mess you may find yourself in that seems utterly impossible to fix from a human perspective.

So let God execute righteousness and judgment in your life, for according to scripture, if you have made Jesus the Lord of your life then you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Let Him vindicate you for revenge is not ours to take, it is His and He will repay. But above all, take your eyes off the pain, the problems and distractions, and fix them on Jesus, our healer and deliverer. Let Him settle you and establish you. He said He would never leave us or forsake us so know that He is with you in the pit or on the pinnacle. Let that refining fire do its work in your heart until the glistening becomes a reflection of Christ, all of His beauty, His love, His compassion and care, His undying devotion to His children. Let your colors so change that Jesus is all those around you can see. You’ll be blessed to be a blessing, your life will become a testimony of God’s grace and mercy, and in the sweetest of ways you’ll never be the same. No matter what color your life is now, Jesus can paint you “beautiful and precious” as my friend, Jon Freeman, so eloquently states in his poetry. “Do unto others” is still the golden rule, and still the best way to let your Light shine to a dark and hurting world.

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Num 6:24-26

In His Love,

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Inner Uncertainty

 Isaiah 50:7 – For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

Dearest Friends – The following is a poem by Jon Freeman. Jon paints pictures with his words. Jon paints tragedies and triumphs. Jon paints circumstances most of us find ourselves in, boxed in, hope is fading, yet precious and beautiful are his words. His poetry is like a breath of fresh air, the first spring rain, and always leave you a better person after reading his poetry. I am using this poem about being misunderstood because it so honestly describes the emotions that most of us have when we feel misunderstood, and yet it relates God’s love for us in spite of ourselves.  It is not merely being misunderstood by those around us but allowing ourselves to mistakenly feel worthless and useless when negative circumstances and experiences leave us exhausted, and doubtful of ever seeing the Son shine again on our spiritual journey.

“Hello Misunderstood, how are you today? Can I feed your lonely soul with a word of warm embrace? You don’t expect the world to turn a blind eye to your waste, but I refuse to settle for less than the best scenario case. You won’t accept a penny more than what your mind states it’s worth, but you were set at priceless the day of your birth. You cannot find a reason more to push through closed or open doors. You will not listen to shouts except from your own skin. I know because I know, I’ve been where you have been. So let me speak a color that you will surely know, a shade from my heart and to this heart is sewn. I will paint you beautiful for all the world to see. You thought you were nothing, but you’re very precious to me.”  by JON FREEMAN

Beloved, sometimes we struggle to relate our innermost feelings to those closest to us. Sometimes no matter what we say about how we feel, how we stand on a matter, what we want out of life, we are met with blank stares or rolling of the eyes. People often will pretend not to understand us for their own protection. After all, if they admit to understanding our pain and frustrations in relational experiences, would they not also have to own up to their responsibility in being a part of the pain, and many will not man-it-up for that reason. It may not help us in feeling less misunderstood but hang on to the fact that things may not be as bad as they seem.

But sometimes people do not truly understand us. It is at these times that we can feel isolated and begin to feel there is something wrong with us. Just because others do not understand us does not mean we are in error in our thinking or feelings. We are not always in the wrong because others look at us like we are a “fruit cake”. The scripture above says God will help us and we won’t be left confounded, confused and distraught. God will help us because He understands us. He made us and He understands everything about us for He knows us better than we know ourselves. That’s a good reason right there to cheer up and let Him have His way in your life and circumstances. For our momentary feelings of  ”lostness” are actually when we are right in the palm of His hands if He is our Savior. And when we feel the most useless, that is when He can step in and use us for the most glorious and unexpected plan. Our emotional turmoil doesn’t matter but our willingness to trust Him with it matters greatly, and will determine an outcome of victory or defeat.

Our life is a testimony to others in good times and bad, in times of trial and turmoil, or times of ease and comfort. Being misunderstood is only how we perceive things, or perhaps how others make us feel. But how awesome that God knows all. God is aware of the confusion and pain in the heart.  He knows exactly how we got that way and what it will take to deliver us again to walk in the glorious Light of His Love.

Think about it, we see ourselves as worthless at times, useless, and so weary from trying to make people understand us, that it is true, we don’t have the strength to deal with the closed or open doors standing right in front of us. But God doesn’t see us that way. He sees us as priceless and unique since the day of our birth. He had a beautiful plan for our lives the day we were born. When we hold His hand and trust in Him, He brings us through the dark places and hard times, emerging on the other side more beautiful, stronger, with a greater faith and trust in Him. We come out of tragedies and times of feeling lonely and misunderstood with a greater understanding of not only ourselves and His work in our lives, but the impact our lives have on those around us, those whose lives may not be otherwise changed by His goodness if we ourselves did not allow Him to work in us and through us for the greater good.

So what is being misunderstood? To me it is an open doorway to a greater Love walk with Christ Jesus, our Lord, allowing God to turn the mess in your life into a message, the test into a testimony, and the trial into a triumph, as I saw it so sweetly written recently. Being misunderstood can be frustrating, but knowing God understands all and is at work in our lives even when we find ourselves at odds even with our own selves is exhilarating. You will feel a new wind in your sails with God at the helm, and being misunderstood won’t seem that important knowing He is in control. You’ll never be ashamed if you trust Him. And beloved, if God be for you, who can be against you?

In His Love,

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Darkness Before Dawn

Psalm 30:5 – For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Dear Friends-It may not be this morning, or tomorrow morning, but the joy of the Lord will return to your  heart and your circumstances will turn around for your good if you continue to seek the Lord. Don’t give up and don’t turn back. You’ve come too far to drop out of the race now, continue to run for the prize. Too much of you has been invested in Him, and He has invested His Son in you. His hand is outstretched still. In His favor is life, and that more abundantly.

Scripture says in Psalms 29:8a – The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness. There will come a day when the sorrow will end. This wilderness experience has been only a season, even if perhaps a prolonged season, for soon the voice of the Lord will be heard in your ears and you will be able to praise Him with a song, though life is not always fair and as humans we struggle to understand really painful situations.

But there are times, beloved, when it hurts so deeply that trusting God is the only way to find life again. The 6th Psalm is a deeply touching Psalm, charged with emotion and a stirring passion for the Lord’s help in overwhelming circumstances. Psalm 6:2-7 – Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord,  how long? Return O Lord, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies’ sake. For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks? I am weary of my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of mine enemies. We can relate to the human experience in this Psalm. We can identify with being weak, being in physical and emotional pain to the  point that we become weary of hearing ourselves groan and complain. And there are the tears, many,  many tears. Yes we cry out for mercy sometimes and the heavens seem silent. Sometimes this season is lonely and dark. The long, dark night of the soul seems to never cease, and the heart cries out to God for mercy, for help that can come only from Him. There can be such a turmoil going on inside and out, fightings and fears, cares and concerns, that it seems almost like a smothering sensation.  We can only glance toward the heavens and meekly ask, “How long, Lord, when will you come and rescue your child?” We even feel as if we might die in the very pit that has become our existence so we feel we must remind Him that the grave cannot praise Him, in case He somehow forgot that?

How often have you found yourselves in that very predicament. You see we’d like to think that once we come to Christ, once we ask Jesus into our hearts and choose to live for Him, that life will somehow be mountaintop experiences from that day forward. Friends, I can only speak from my own personal experience when I tell you it is not a mountaintop experience all the way, but when He takes you to the mountaintop there’s nothing else like it in the world. But choosing between living life with God or living life without God, I’d rather have God by my side every step of the way. For once the weeping has ended and His joy comes in the morning, there is no experience that compares to that. The more life hurts, the more I’ve learned to lean on Him and trust Him. In the face of failure I submit all the more and allow Him to get the glory, allow Him to use for good what the enemy meant for evil. When pain and rejection become more than I can bear I am reminded of Jesus, and what He suffered so man wouldn’t have to. For scripture says in Isaiah 53:3-6 – He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our grief, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. What a beautiful Savior!

Scripture says in Psalm 5:12 – For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield (or crown him). If you have asked Jesus into your heart and made Him the Lord of your life, then you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. This scripture is speaking words of healing and encouragement to  you. The journey may seem long but He is with you all the way. When you can no longer walk, He will lovingly carry you. When  you can no longer speak, can no longer find words to even pray, He knows your heart and holds you that much closer. For scripture says in Isaiah 54:10-11 – For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. To feel afflicted with no comfort, tossed like the waves of the sea, behold, your foundation is being laid with sapphires. That’s reason to celebrate!

So in the most painful times of life, think of Jesus and what He did for us because He loves us unconditionally and eternally. I can’t understand it sometimes, such a great love and willing sacrifice. Surely this is mercy and grace in its most basic and purest form. One can’t dress it up. The cross experience was ugly. Yet His sacrifice for us is just that, the Supreme Sacrifice. One can’t try to do good works, maybe to tip the scales in their favor once in a while. Nope, the gift is free, we have only to receive it. Believe it and receive it, it’s a life-changing decision.

So no matter what you are facing today, take it to the Lord, cast the care of it onto Him, and know that because of His mercy on you His kindness will not leave you and His peace shall not be removed. They’re yours if you can only believe. Life will throw curves on a good day, it will get really ugly and painful on a bad day, and the bottom may drop out, but underneath are the Everlasting Arms. Trust them today and find healing for your soul. Scripture says in Psalms 29:11- The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. I pray He blesses each of you this day.

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God’s Light Of Life

Isaiah 26:19 – Yet we have this assurance: Those who belong to God will live; their bodies will rise again! Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy! For God’s light of life will fall like dew….

Heaven’s Reunion

When loved ones die there’s so much pain.

Tears cloud the eyes and fall like rain.

You rise each day to greet the sun…

But only sorrow and missing one

You’ve held so close and loved so pure,

And wonder how long you’ll endure.

Your heart’s aware they’re safe with God

As through this life alone you trod.

But memories now are bitter sweet -

You cling to them, for comfort seek.

But tarry not in suffering long.

You’ll meet again with heaven’s throng.

Tenderly you’ll touch the heart

Of one so soon you’ve had to part.

And warm embraces will replace

The loneliness you’ve had to face.

Those tears of joy will freely flow

And once again your heart will know

The love complete you’ve so longed for.

No pain of separation anymore.

Just love and joy for endless days,

With angel choirs in endless praise.

Dear Friends – May these words of encouragement bless your heart today. May these words of inspiration relate to you that you are not alone in your time of sorrow. Accept the love and fellowship of family, friends, and loved ones. And may the God of all comfort comfort your heart this day and give you peace.

In His Love,

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