Tag: Encouraging Bible Devotions

1 Corinthians 13:12 inspirational scripture picture - when we see the full revelation of God

Snapshots | God is So Much More!

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“… This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord…” Ezekiel 1:28

Whatever you may think you know about our Heavenly Father, no matter how deeply you have studied and pondered, my friend, even if you have spent years uncovering the riches of His Word (we don’t take away, but celebrate your devotion to the Word), all you or I can know only amounts to a small snapshot.

All the knowledge that has been acquired is only a drop in the ocean of the vastness of who He is. All that one could think or envision of our great God still can only be qualified as indescribable.

Ezekiel, a man privileged to see the things of heaven that we could only possibly dream about, still could not properly articulate the true glory of God. His description was basic compared to what his eyes really saw because God’s glory cannot be defined, described, or fully understood with our human scope of perception.

All one can do is live this life with a holy expectation. Live so that you may see beyond the human descriptions. Live in a way that your own eyes can behold His infinitely royal beauty, take in His true wonder, and view the fullness of His majesty for yourself.

One day, all the layers of living in this world that blur our clear vision of God will be pulled back. One day, we will no longer wonder. We will see God face-to-face for ourselves. Oh, what a day that will be when we experience the full revelation of our God!

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12

“And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” Revelation 22:4

More Encouraging Posts:

“I Am the Lord!”

“The Sweet Wonder of the great, ‘I AM!'”

“Every Morning | Pursuing God Daily!”

“God, My Satisfaction!”

“Dear God, You are Wonderful!”

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, X, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details. 

“Before there was Egypt, there was a promise!”

Many times when we discuss the land of Egypt within the confines of the Bible, our minds automatically track back to the time when the children of Israel were in bondage there.  We see them under the weight of the taskmasters, dealing with oppressive circumstances that are beyond their control.  They stand by and watch as some are beaten, others are killed; lack and degrading situations run rampant throughout their time there.  Fear, hatred, and jealousy by others drove them to the place where they are residing; a place where tough days seem like they will never come to an end.

Oftentimes, when people find themselves in a hard spot of life, or when they find themselves coming up short and just not happy with the way things are turning out at this particular time, they refer to that circumstance as their place of “Egypt.”  This is where heartbreak and troubling times lie.  This is the place where it seems everything is fighting against them, and no matter what one does, it just doesn’t appear that they will ever come out on top.  People may not have taskmasters’ whips to deal with, but other things just lash and lash out at them, making it hard to get back up again.

As hard as this may be to believe, I assure you your Egypt will not last forever.  I’m sure the children of Israel had doubts about this.  After all, their time there lasted about four hundred years.  Yet, even before this family of seventy ventured into the land and grew to the astronomical numbers we see in Exodus, God knew all about their time there before they were even there.

In Genesis 15:13 God told Abram, “Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.”  Outside of that prophecy God also said, “And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance,” (Genesis 15:14).  In this we see, there was a promise before they even set one foot in Egypt; before they even encountered a problem, God already had a blessing lined up for when they came out.

Today, we fight against so many unknowns.  We deal with all the this’s and that’s of life that simply weigh one down.  One might not find themselves in a literal state of captivity, but something just sits on them heavy, becoming an almost unbearable burden, and they just don’t know what to do.  With a feeling of exasperation, some just give up, content to go through the motions of life, without grabbing hold of the feeling of hope because of the fear of being let down again, just to drift back into that state of uncertainty once more.

But, I am here to tell you today, continue hoping and never give up.  Your “Egypt” is not lost on God.  God knows what you are facing.  He knows every disappointment you are dealing with.  He knows every struggle you are battling.  He knows everything that you are fighting through, and that’s fighting against you.

It may be hard to see the proverbial silver lining in a dark cloud at times or the light at the end of the tunnel, but we have something better.  We have a promise!  God told Abram that when his people came out, they would be coming out better than when they went in.  God was going to judge those who did them wrong, and God was going to bless them greatly.

Another promise Abram received was in a few verses before those noted above.  God told him, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be,” (Genesis 15:5).  Not only were they going to be blessed, but they were going to come out increased in the people they were.  To go from one individual to the millions they would come out to be, they were going to grow not only in number but in experience through their troubling times.  They would have to learn to endure some stuff to be the people who would eventually be fit to take on the Promised Land.

While it may at times seem like the hard times are breaking you, they may actually be making you.  So remember, before there was Egypt, there was a promise.  And, I don’t know about you, but I will take a promise of God over a so-called silver lining any day.  The promises of God are sure.  Through our relationship with Jesus Christ, we are told, “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us,” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

In other words, no matter what you are facing today, Jesus has you covered.  No matter the obstacles or hard places that make you feel like you are in Egypt and you just want to give up, God has an unfailing promise of His love, grace, mercy, peace, and deliverance through even the most difficult circumstances.

Reposted from April 19, 2020

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.

 

 

Limiting God | Reposting Encouragement

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Today, I am reposting encouragement. May you walk in the fullness of God’s unlimited blessings, because almost everybody wants to see a mighty move of God in their life.  But often, some things get in God’s way; obstacles that act as barriers to blessings.  There are two very specific items I want to deal with in this article that the Bible clearly shows us to be things that limit God’s power to work in an individual’s or a people’s life.

But, before I move any further in this article, I want to clarify a few things: 1) Just because one may be in the waiting process, it doesn’t mean these items that are going to be discussed apply to that individual or their situation.  Sometimes, for His own wise reasons, God just has us waiting for His right time to move.  And, 2) The two items that are going to be listed here are not the only things that form themselves as a blockade to one’s blessings.  A truly seeking heart will prayerfully peel back the layers of self for a close-up examination of the inner man to see if there is anything else that may be getting in the way.

As I was reading my Bible, I came across Psalm 78:41, which states, “Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.”  This psalm recites Israel’s history, and it highlights several of their rebellious moments.  Particularly, God’s deliverance of them from Egypt, and their provocation of Him in the wilderness, through sin.  The verse above brings out those same disobedient actions as limiting God.  Their sin made a mark or drew a line, prohibiting them from the fullness of God and what He had to offer.  Rather, they ended up provoking Him to anger.

Disobedience is one thing that will definitely limit God’s ability to work in you, through you, and for you.  Disobedience evicted Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-11) when God’s blessing was for them to live in paradise.  Disobedience turned Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:17, 26) when God’s blessings wanted to deliver them from that city of sin.  Disobedience caused Jonah to end up in the belly of a fish (Jonah 1:3, 15-17) when God’s blessing was for him to be a great witness to a great city.  And, there are oodles of more cases noted in the Bible.  Disobedience will always forfeit God’s best in one’s life.

As I was pondering this verse in the Psalm about limiting God, I was reminded of a time when Jesus wasn’t able to do great works in Nazareth, His hometown.  Matthew 13:58 tells us, “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”  He was limited by their unbelief.

Now, we all know by now Jesus’ ability to do absolutely anything.  One thing He won’t do is infringe, encroach upon, or overstep one’s belief.  Mankind is a creature made with free will.  It is His hope and desire that one would fully believe who He is and all that He says He can do.  But it is a choice that every individual must make, by faith, for himself or herself.

The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that, “Without faith it is impossible to please him:” (or, to agree with Him), “for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him,” (Hebrews 11:6).

God is the God of all possibilities, but a lack of faith and belief will hinder those possibilities.  Unbelief caused the first group that attempted to enter the Promised Land to be made to turn back (Hebrews 3:19).  God’s best wasn’t for them to wander in the wilderness for forty years.  His blessing was for them to go in and possess it at that time.  Their own unbelief refused the blessing for them.  Going back to Psalm 78 in the recitation of their history, there are other noted instances where the unbelief of the people came to the forefront (Psalm 78:22, 32).

In the New Testament, if it had not been for Jesus on the boat with His disciples, they may have perished in the storm.  Jesus had already done miracles and even taught many powerful parables, but when the storm blew, they freaked out and asked Jesus, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38).  But after Jesus stilled the storm He asked them this one question: “How is it that ye have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).  Faith matters.

Back to Jesus’ experience in Nazareth, in parallel verses found in Mark, the Bible tells us, “He marvelled because of their unbelief” (Mark 6:6).

God, throughout the Bible, wants the best for His people.  God would rather add blessings to our account rather than subtract them.  If God blesses and takes care of the birds of the air and the grass in the field (Matthew 6:25-29), “shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith,” (Matthew 6:30).

But He says in Matthew, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you,” (Matthew 6:33; emphasis added).  Go after a life of obedience and faith!  Reject those hindrances to the blessings.  The things that stand in one’s way and limit God’s moving in their life have to be put down so that He can raise His people higher.

We hear a lot of inspirational messages dealing with the subject of “No Limits.”  And, that’s wonderful!  But, in order to have a life of no limits, one needs to make sure God isn’t being limited in their life through disobedience and unbelief.

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.

Cultivating Slow Living

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If you have ever spent time in a garden, you know to get the most out of what you are planting, you must first spend time cultivating the soil. This involves preparing the soil to support the life of the seed or the plant. It is about nourishing and amending the soil. This ensures it will have all the healthful benefits needed to reach full maturity and fruitfulness.

Many want fruitfulness. However, the way we have been pursuing it has left many less than satisfied. They feel deflated, worn out, and frazzled because of all it takes to reach it in this world of demands.

Our modern culture allows us to do many things. This increase in perceived productivity has been helpful in some areas while taking its toll on others.

The physical, emotional, and mental burnout that people have come to equate with success has created dissatisfaction. This has awakened a not-so-silent call for a better way to live. There must be more than this constantly rushing about.

Many have become aware of the unhealthy way our over-rushed and overworked culture has pushed us forward and the term “slow living” has regained our attention. Dealing with constant busyness and hurried lifestyles has caused some to take a step back. In this, they reflect and reevaluate what is really a priority for them to have a wholesome, balanced, and healthy life. And what many are finding out is that there is a real need to put space on the calendar or the everyday routine of life to let go, and get slow.

Slow, misunderstood, and used wrongly, can be viewed as laziness. But slow can be beautiful because you are deciding to be purposeful with your life. Moving forward at a hundred miles an hour is not your goal, rather you account that people and life, in general, are made for so much more than mere zooming by without the time for deep connections. So, you take the time to love, nourish, be intentional, and simply live and enjoy all the ways God has blessed you.

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You are cultivating, on purpose, the ground of your life to support more than agendas and achievements. The abundance you are desiring cannot be confined to such trivial things. The greatest example is in our relationship with Christ.

Jesus promised us an abundant life (John 10:10). That abundance is not about forcing or focusing on things we can gain in this world or material wealth. The richest thing one can invest in to be more intentional with the life they have been given is more of Him. That cannot happen if we are always distracted by constantly doing and never taking the time to sit and be where He is (Luke 10:40-42).

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:10).

Cultivating slow living is not about shirking responsibilities or approaching life with a lackadaisical attitude. This is about valuing everything I have been given, especially the people in my life, and I want to care for each and honor each in a way that lets them know I esteem them, I am here for them, and I love them. I want to use this life in a way that pleases God by stewarding well what He has given me and not have my focus continually on climbing some invisible ladder of success.

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Think about what pursuit has you running about at a hurried pace today? The Bible tells us, “He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour” (Proverbs 21:21).

It is so easy to get caught up in what has been dubbed “the rat race,” but our daily living is made for more. These days, people, and moments are gifts to us by our Heavenly Father and we are encouraged about how we spend our time with each (Ephesians 5:15, 16).

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”
Ecclesiastes 3:1

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Changing what we pursue and how we pursue it will make our lives a lot less stressful. Take time today to slow down, prioritize, and recenter on what matters most. There is so much more to life, and we don’t want to miss it.

So, how do we make this change?

  • Prioritize – Look where you are now and what you want your tomorrow to look like. To achieve your desired outcome, what can you let go of or shave down some so that you don’t always feel at your wit’s end. I can attest to the fact that often we take on more than we are capable of in any given season. Laying something aside right now doesn’t mean it’s not important; it just means it doesn’t fit in with the season of life I’m in right now. So we prioritize, bringing out the best without being overburdened with things that can wait.
  • Recenter – Once you have strained out the main priorities for your right-now season, you can recenter and mark your path forward. When using a GPS, sometimes I look at the overview screen of the trip to see the highways and streets we must travel ahead of us. But when I need to get back to dealing with where I am currently on my journey, I need to hit the recenter button. While it’s okay to think about the future (the Bible encourages this often), we must also pay attention to where we are in our present moment. What needs our immediate attention right now? How much strength, time, and commitment can I put into this right now? These are important questions to ask. We often get hurried and over-stressed because we want to deal with all the right-now stuff the along with the what-ifs of the future stacked on top of it. Most of the daily things we deal with can be broken down into more manageable tasks and delegated to other times. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing (an attitude that overworks us).
  • Go slow – take a deep breath and move forward at a manageable pace. There have been times I have prayed and asked God to help me steward this day or for the best way to handle the tasks in front of me. He, who is the “Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:9), has the wisdom and strength your day needs. Trust Him with your schedule. We are given gifts to be productive, but remember, God, who is the Author of those gifts, is also the Author of rest (Genesis 2:2,3). Not just with the Sabbath, but throughout Scripture, His call to rest is a call to trust in what He is doing in your life during this season. We become filled with ideas and inspirations and want to put the pedal to the metal and give it our all. And that’s fine. But if you are feeling burned out and extremely overwhelmed, you have to question is this what God has for me in this season, or is it me rushing ahead? And if we feel it is the Lord’s leading, perhaps we need to revisit steps 1 and 2 to be sure we have shaved unnecessary things away for now.
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Don’t be disheartened. Schedules often need to be revisited to see if everything we have going on right now is for our optimal good. Recently, I have personally had to revisit how I approach certain tasks, and it is helping me see that although I love my routines, some routines or expectations may not work for certain periods of life. We must be willing to move and adjust when feeling led or if we feel like this particular thing isn’t working for now, and trust God with the outcome.

We want to cultivate a life where we are productive under God’s grace without completely feeling exhausted and stressed as if we are being buried under the burden of each day’s demands. Sometimes, slowing down will help us to do just that. Enjoy this life God has given.

Blessings ~

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, X, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details. 

Community of Believers | We are here for one another!

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Dear Reader, the challenges of this life come in many shapes and forms. Regardless of how it comes or what it appears like, the blow of difficulties can often be softened when another will come alongside to help shoulder the load. I am resharing this post to encourage us in our need to look out for the welfare of one another:

Races can take you through many terrains. Running uphill is hard. The more you go, the steeper the incline, the harder it gets. Breath after breath, your chest heaves for relief. Push after push, your muscles cry out for mercy. And, just when you thought you had no more in you, just when you thought you couldn’t go any farther, imagine for a moment, from behind there comes these hands out of nowhere that steady your stride and help propel you forward. On the side of you come these smiling faces with encouraging words, grabbing hold of your arms and helping pull you up that incline so that you might finish your race. They want to help you make it.

Just as runners need each other on the steepest climbs, so, too, do we need each other in our spiritual journey. We rely on our association with fellow believers to not only run well, but to finish well.

The Apostle Paul often described our Christian life as a race (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). We run it. We press for it. But, sometimes the way gets hard, and if it had not been for the grace of God, we would not have made it. 

As the community of racers pushed and pulled the struggling runner uphill, so, too, God will minister to us to help us run our race. Often this is done through the community of believers who will come alongside the one who needs support.

In this world, as they say, the struggle is real. May we, as a community of believers, recognize the support that each one needs. May we join our fellow Christian race runners and offer the help and encouragement they need to make it. May we see beyond our own race and allow God to use our hands and smiling faces to help bolster someone’s faith as they strive to make it up the inclines of this life.

We all have the same goal in mind: to finish the race. We need each other to do it. As a community of believers, our job goes beyond spreading the gospel, being a light in this dark world, and all the other spiritual stuff it entails. Our job is also to seek the welfare of one another, to help those around us. We ought to be there for one another. We need to be present and involved in what they are going through, champion companions in this race, so that, as the Bible says, “that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it,” (1 Corinthians 12:25-26).

The hardest climbs can be conquered when we support one another. 

More encouraging verses and quotes:

“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow . . .” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10a

“God has chosen us to help one another.” Smith Wigglesworth

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But… the Good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, X, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details. 

Beauty in the Aged

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Of tomatoes and candies… what an opener, but it would be so true. For that is where this article begins. Simple encounters with passing conversations that started over tomatoes and candies with women who were strangers, but sparked intergenerational wisdom and respect into my life.

My friends, there are many things people will tell you get better with age: wine (although I don’t partake), cheese (I have never tried making my own yet, but I want to), a properly seasoned piece of cast iron (I am currently working on mine to get it there), and so much more, including life skills.

It is the latter of these that I want to bring to our attention. The experiences people gain over their years of living make them somewhat of a repository of information for others to glean and learn from. Something, I believe, that should not be quickly ignored or tossed to the side. And as useful as a good seasoned cast iron pan is, I would truly have to say that one of the greatest things that gets better with age is people.

Over this past weekend, I had the pleasure of holding extended conversations in the middle of stores with women who were my seniors (and yes, these conversations started with tomatoes and candy – smile). Two different accounts, from two different women, in two different stores. And can I tell you, I am the one who walked away richer for those experiences. These women put a smile on my face, as strangers to strangers, just sharing stories, tidbits of life, family tales, and more. Little did they know, in their own little way, they inspired me. Not in one particular thing, but rather just through the experience of getting a chance to chat with them and hear their stories, share adventures, and take in that golden inspiration they offer.

These encounters stuck with me even more when I heard a message following those encounters reiterating the need to take care and listen to the wisdom of those who have tested the waters before us. Those who have had experiences, trials, and life stories to share, that if we listen to, we can learn from by being inspired to try new things, look at situations differently, or even avoid some of their mistakes.

Proverbs 20:29 says, “The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the grey head.” That “grey head” carries the marks of a life lived. In that living are tales and accounts they could tell you of ups and downs, of things we may never see or experience, of histories that have gone before, of how to deal with and get through certain aspects of life, even the unpleasant parts.

Picking up books and searching the internet for articles are great, but we have these treasures in the senior members of our communities, families, and churches who may hold a wealth of knowledge and answers for the things we are concerned about or the information we need.

Some use the expression “age before beauty,” and rightly so, but I say there is beauty in the aged. Don’t take it for granted. Dig deeper, ask questions, hold those conversations, and you may have some of that senior wisdom imparted into your own life while putting a smile on their face.

Who in your life carries stories and wisdom you can glean from?

MORE INSPIRATION:

“Elderly Wisdom: Dedicated to Those Who Have Tested the Waters Before Us”

“The Treasure of Years”

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, X, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details. 

Encouragement While Enduring

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“… when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.” Micah 7:8

Encouragement comes in many ways, although sometimes it may be harder to see than at other times. Some days it may seem you are easily floating, while others, you are barely treading, fighting to keep your head above the waters. So, what do you do when life doesn’t seem to want to play fair, when you’re having a rough go at it, gasping for breath, and the days just seem off and hard to deal with?

Unfortunately, we were never promised an easy road to victory. Oh, my friends, how I wish it were so. Instead, much of the walking we do in this life is on the pavers of difficult days and decisions.

The truth of the matter is that this life we are living can and will be rough and difficult to navigate, even dark at times, but getting through it, we must, and we will. But how we get through it (trudging grudgingly or with a joy that refuses to be extinguished) will depend on where we focus and what we choose to fill our minds and hearts with (Philippians 4:8).

And that is where we start. It’s never about where we are now. It’s never about the circumstances that surround us; it is about who or what has our attention in the middle of those circumstances, for that will help us to keep the proper focus. Micah kept his focus on God, knowing and proclaiming, “… when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.” Micah 7:8

Yes, their situation was not ideal. Yes, it was difficult, and enemies were a real thing. The thing he knew, and what we must constantly remind ourselves of, is that the God of our faith is greater than all. And no matter how dark the days may seem, He is the Light that will never stop shining: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?“ (Psalm 27:1).

To help you stay encouraged in your times of enduring, I have compiled a list of several articles that will encourage your faith and prayerfully fuel you with strength as you are holding on through whatever season you may currently be in. Because, even in the face of trials and the things we just don’t understand, when God is our focus, we can always remain hopeful. He is our everlasting, sure Light.

Where do you need an extra dose of encouragement today? Spend time meditating and clinging to Micah and David’s faith-instilled truth about the Lord being our light in the dark days. May their declarations of faith help to anchor your hope and be your declaration of faith today.

Father God, we may not always understand everything we are facing. We are asking You to help us keep our walk, our faith, and our hearts steadfastly upon You and Your plan for our lives, no matter what our days are like. Thank You for so lovingly being our Light. Amen.

Encouragement While Enduring Articles:

“Before there was Egypt, there was a promise!”

While troubling times can be discouraging, don’t give up. Before there were ever hard times to deal with, God already had a plan of blessing in place. Before there was even an Egypt experience, God had a promise in the works.

“Focus Shift!”

Perspective changes one’s outlook on a lot of things in life. It’s all in how you look at it.

“Hold on to your hope…”

Believe that God loves you more than you could ever know and what He has in store for you . . . one can only imagine. Don’t focus on what you see today because it is only temporary but there is a glorious, eternal future as we move onward and upward toward our heavenly home (2 Corinthians 4:18).

“God is Forever Faithful!”

Don’t measure God’s faithfulness by your present circumstances. God never promised the absence of hardship or adversity in our Christian walk. But what He did promise, in His faithfulness, to be in it all the way with you (Matthew 28:20). Therefore, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised),” Hebrews 10:23.

“Never Too Strong for God!”

There is no weight too heavy that God can’t lift it! There is no enemy too strong that God can’t overcome them! There is no miracle too miraculous that God can’t cause it to come to pass! There is nothing too hard for God in any situation, problem, or adversity we may face!

“Navigating Thorny Places”

We all deal with thorny or hurtful places in our lives. Learn how Paul and Jesus dealt with their thorny places so that God can continue to work His strength through you.

“Only One Option”

Life gives us two options: stop where we are now and walk away, or keep moving forward until our destination is reached. Giving up is not an option. The steadfastness and commitment of our Christian journey are more than obtaining worldly goals. It is a continual pressing onward and upward toward the kingdom of God, and in that, we want to take others along for this wonderful spiritual pilgrimage.

“Take it to the Cross”

Every worry and every fear, take it and leave it at the foot of that blood-stained banner that was raised for our freedom, and find all that you need at the cross.

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Standing on the Edge

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Sometimes you may come to a place that seems impossible to pass.  This is a place that edges the border of what we have been delivered from to where we are being brought to.  It is in situations like these when God shows up, there is no doubt that His hands have been working something extraordinary through it all.  The waters may crash on the shores before and the enemy’s army may be rolling behind, but God sees you, standing there on the fringe, in a world where these two impossibilities meet, yet in Him, there is nothing impossible.  In Him, there is always a way.  In Him, you are not in a helpless position.  In Him, the victory is already won.  Before you ever came to this place, He already knew what He would do.  So rest, weary one, in His sovereignty.  Rest in His plan.  You may not understand it, but He does.  You may not know how it will work out, but He does.  This will be performed by His strength, His wisdom, and His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6), not by anything we say or do.  In getting past this place, all glory, honor, praise, and credit go to God.  He is the one who will get you to the other side in peace and wholeness, with singing and rejoicing (Exodus 15:1-21).  To you who are standing on the edge, in Him, you are not standing alone.

 “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.” Exodus 14:13-18

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com articles/lessons/worksheets may not be copied or redistributed without the express written permission of WordforLifeSays.com.  Please see the COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.  Blessings to you.

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Originally Published October 26, 2022

Meant for Influence

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“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world,” 1 John 4:4

Have you ever struggled with thoughts of inadequacy? Maybe you have thought that what you do or who you really are doesn’t make that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, as if your contribution really wouldn’t be noticed regardless?

Oh, how I loathe thoughts such as these, and I am here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth.

Lies like these make people underestimate themselves and the talents and/or gifts that God has placed in them. And that, my friends, is a feeling God never intended for His people to have.  As a matter of fact, Jesus taught the exact opposite.  He compared His followers to the salt that brings good flavor to this nasty-tasting world.  Matthew 5:13 says, “Ye are the salt of the earth!”  If you are in Him, you have some flavor to offer.

You are here to make an impact.  You are here to stand out from the crowd.  To be noticed, so that the whole world will have a beacon of hope, seeing, that if God did it for them, He’ll do it for me also.  Daily, what you do in your life can affect others around you.  You have power working on the inside of you that was meant for influence.  Your actions, and the way you think, matched up with the gift of God at work in you, were meant to effect change for someone else.

Sadly, too many slide to the side of self-pity, not understanding and believing enough in who God says they are and what they have to offer.

But I am here to tell you, and the Bible confirms that “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world,” (1 John 4:4).  When we were adopted into the family of God there was a certain degree of unexplainable spiritual awesomeness that He planted inside us.  He has Himself at work in you!

What?!

Yes!

Just put up a “God at work” sign and tell all the skeptics to move out of your way because greatness is going on in me and I can make a difference!

The only one that can really stop you from doling out your influence on this world is you.  You must believe in the power of God at work in you: “What is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places,” (Eph. 1:19-20, NKJV).  The same power that raised Christ from the dead is now at work in you.  It’s there and  He wants to use it to work some greatness out in this world.  If you were the salt shaker that only flavored one person’s life, then you have changed that person forever.  God can do so much more through you.  All you have to do is believe more in who you are in Him and who He is in you.

You can make an impact. You are meant to influence.  Imagine if each of us, with the power of God in us, could touch just one life.  What would that do to the national or global landscape?  Now, imagine if we could touch one life every year, or more. Impact!  He Who is at work in you is greater than all.  All you have to do is believe it more than you do other thoughts that try to convince you otherwise.

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me,” (Gal. 2:20, NKJV)

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“Resetting Holiness!”

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“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

“And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean” (Ezekiel 44:23).

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hosea 4:6).

“Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).

Resetting holiness.  Has the church lost this all-important standard?  Has the desire to become a seeker-friendly church (which I have nothing against) and the like caused us to shift our focus from how God calls us to worship, live, and operate?

Have we become like the temple that Ezekiel witnessed, whose people caused the glory of God to leave that place?

Studying Ezekiel 8, we see while there was “worship” going on in the temple, it was not God’s worship.  The people who were to live in a covenant relationship with God were bowing down to false gods and giving themselves over completely to idolatry.  The people who were to live pure and holy, a sanctified (set apart) people, their lives and practices now celebrated the things God called abominations.  Things that were wrong and out of order of the true reverence of God were now being declared to be right and acceptable.

In that, I wonder how far the modern church has drifted from God’s holy standards and how close we are to being like those people of old.  Those who “worshiped” wrongly behind the walls believing it did not matter and that nobody, including God, saw them (ref. Ezekiel 8:12).

While we may not be involved in those exact things, and while I have nothing against the modern uses whereby we usher in worship, I must wonder if in our coming together, we are coming in the right spirit.  When David penned the words, “Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:1-2), I see in those beautiful verses what God deserves, and I must ask myself are we giving Him what He deserves?

Are we magnifying His glory in our building and in our lives, or are we chasing His glory away from the center of what we call worship, as seen in Ezekiel 10?

For God’s glory to be strong with us, we must be strong in God!  God doesn’t want us to honor Him with our mouths only, but He wants us to live and worship Him from the heart (Matthew 15:8; Isaiah 29:13).

And, my friends, it is from the heart where the resetting needs to begin, a heart that longs for more of God.  It is worship that invites His presence to come closer rather than repelling.  We want God’s glory permeating the atmosphere as in the days of old when they were overwhelmed in worship by His presence in a good way (1 Kings 8:10-11).

But for that to happen, things must change.  Wherever God’s presence is, things cannot go on as before.  He is a holy God, and the environment where He resides must be holy.  There is a transformation that must take place where the people worship.

God’s desire has always been to be near His people.  And in Ezekiel 43, he sees a light of hope.  Instead of seeing God’s glory moving away from His people, God’s glory is moving toward His people, toward His temple (43:3-5).

With that also came a message of warning: “And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.  And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile . . .” (43:6-7).

God cannot reside in an unsanctified place.  The people’s responsibility was to get in line with what God wanted.  For Him, there has always been a line between holy and unholy (Leviticus 10:10).  There must be a resetting of holiness as the standard then, as well as now: “This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy . . .” (Ezekiel 43:12).

In all of this, you may be wondering how exactly do we go about the business of resetting holiness?

First, I must say that resetting holiness should always begin with repentance.  God’s glory left the temple because of the people’s sin.  Sin corrupts.  Sin interrupts fellowship with God.  Sin will prohibit Him from coming to where you are.  They were to “put away” from them those things that defiled the place of worship (Ezekiel 43:7-9).

James 4:8 says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” (see also Isaiah 1:16 and 2 Timothy 2:21).

Then, there must be the restoration of proper worship.  They had to do more than take the wrong things out.  They had to bring in or adopt the right things, the right ways.

For them, the focus was on the altar and how it was to be consecrated, respected, and used (Ezekiel 43:13-25).  They had to fully honor God in His service.  They do this by honoring the way He prescribed things to be done.

How this restoration of true worship may look for us today is for us to refocus on why we are here, what we are doing here, and who are we honoring here.  Answering those questions will help us to realign our purpose for being here, which all boils down to one complete, overall answer: God.

Why are we here? – God.

What are we doing here? – God.

Who are we honoring here? – God.

When we keep those three things in proper perspective, we reset holiness as the standard in our lives and in our worship, and the glory of God can take over the atmosphere.

Reposted from October 11, 2022

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com articles/lessons/worksheets may not be copied or redistributed without the express written permission of WordforLifeSays.com.  Please see the COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.  Blessings to you.

Please Note: Ads below or referenced on this site are prefabricated and mass-produced (of which I currently have no control over) and DO NOT necessarily represent the views and/or beliefs of this site and its admin.

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