'40'

 

He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire.  He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.  Psalm 40:2

The other night, I was feeling worn down and very anxious after looking at the calendar.  It has been busy few weeks at between work and other personal obligations and it's only just begun as this time of the year is pretty crazy with peak season (open enrollments) kicking into high gear at work. With football season underway, it makes me really miss my mother, as I could always pick up the phone and call her to discuss our beloved Auburn Tigers, no matter how good or bad they have been playing.  And the last few months have been painful, especially for my church family as we have lost two staff members/friends.

I found myself reaching out to pray to Jesus, but just didn't have many words to say. Despite everything going on in my life, the good still far outweighs the bad and I know that God has been by my side and will continue to remain by my side through it all.  

In times of difficulty, we must remember that God is always with each of us. God promises to carry us through whatever we face and He will always give us firm footing on the other side.  God never leaves our side and He will continue to walk with us as we wade through the aftermath-no matter what we are facing.

When faced with hard times, is God the first one you look to for help?

Just Between You and Me

 

The earnest heartfelt, continued prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available dynamic in its working.  James 5:16

Pondering how quickly time seems to be flying by these days, I reflected back on a tough decision that I had to make earlier this year that, at the time, seemed to be so daunting that it loomed over me for several weeks.  I admit that I was even afraid as I am prone to being resistant to change.  Looking back, it really was not a big deal, but I sure made it out to be one.

God wants us to pray about everything and wants us to fear nothing.  I had to face my fears, but all God wanted me to do was to put my faith in Him to resolve the situation.  Just as He always does, He came through and delivered in His perfect timing.

What a blessing it is to know that God cares about every situation we face-the big and the small, the good and the bad.  Our part is to pray and God will provide us with the strength and power to meet our needs.

Love and Regret

 

 For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief is deadly.  2 Corinthians 7:10

Can you recall something hurtful that you have said to someone else that you wish you could take back?  Sure, we all do, but some of us continue to let regret rob us of all of our joy.

There are certainly some things I wish that I could have said or done differently. But there is no sense in becoming burdened with regret over something I have absolutely no power to change.

God will always warn us prior to making a mistake or saying something hurtful so that we can change our mind before we actually make the mistake.  The enemy waits until after we have already made the mistake, long after it's too late, to heap condemnation and regret on us after there is nothing we can do about it any longer.

We must not let the enemy steal our joy any longer.  We must ask God for forgiveness and then leave our regrets in the past.

It's Love

 

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God ; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  1 John 4: 7-8

By the time I finally graduated from Auburn University, I struggled with accepting the fact that God actually loved me.  I had done everything I could to run as far away from Him as possible and lived to tell about it.  The constant partying, the unabashed selfishness, the self-inflicted anger, hurt, guilt, and pain left me feeling like God couldn't possibly love me in the 'broken' state that I was in.

The more I read the Bible, the more it became clearly apparent that God loved me; He always has and always will.  I began to notice this beautiful world that we live in and understand that He created each of us with a need for His love.  There is nothing we can possibly substitute for our basic need to have God’s never-ending and perfect love.

There are times you may feel unworthy of His love just like I once did.  The truth of the matter is that no one is worthy of God’s love.

The good news is that His love is not based on whether we are deserving or not, He loves us unconditionally, and it’s hard to fathom from our limited perspective.

Fly Like An Eagle

 

Those who wait for the Lord…shall change and renew their strength…they shall lift their wings and mount up close to God as eagles…they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.  Isaiah 40:31

The Bible makes several references to eagles, the most powerful winged creatures on earth, and there are many lessons we can learn from them as well.  Unlike other birds, eagles do not run from a storm-they simply allow the powerful winds to lift them above it.  When attacked, an eagle will not battle another bird, they simply mount up higher, soaring above their enemy.

Just like an eagle, we too must learn to fly.  We must seek God, know Him, and ultimately trust Him, so that we can rise above the storms or attacks that happen during our lifetime.  When we walk with the Lord, we can soar like an eagle, without growing weary or tired!  Praise be to God!

Always Something There To Remind Me

 

You go before me and follow me.  You place your hand of blessing on my head…I can never escape from your Spirit!  I can never get away from your presence!  Psalm 139: 5-7 

The deeper my relationship with God grows and the stronger I my faith becomes, I am more aware of His presence around me at all times.  God’s Word promises each of us that when we have a relationship with God, His presence is always with us.

The people that we meet and the events that take place in our lives simply do not happen by chance.  For instance, you could meet someone at a random place, such as the gym or at a restaurant, and being aware that God is always present, you must look beyond the surface to see if God has placed this person in your path for a specific reason.   The same holds true for events.   Seasons of waiting help refine our faith and while God rarely answers our prayers in the ways we want, He never fails to answer them in the ways that we need.

When you believe this promise of His presence, you will experience His love for you and receive His many blessings

Baby, You're A Rich Man

 

 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.  Ephesians 1:3

If your employer pays you by direct deposit and you are at all like me, you know the exact hour and day each pay period that the money is deposited into your bank account.  Have you ever thought of yourself as being rich?  The truth of the matter is that if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are rich, despite how little or how much money you actually have. 

God has given each of us more riches than we could possibly fathom and He does so at the moment of our salvation.  Unfortunately, too many people live impoverished, spiritually speaking, of course.

God works a lot differently than our employer does…there is no monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly deposit-He has given each of us an unlimited spiritual bank account that we can draw from.  Some believers only come to God with their problems, while failing to realize that He has already made a never-ending and abundant deposit on their behalf.   Additionally, other believers are simply too distracted by their possessions or the things of this world to tap into God’s spiritual blessings.

God’s riches are greater than any amount of money, possessions, or power that this world has to offer.  We must believe God and take Him at His Word; He is who He says He is and we will never have to ask Him for what He has already blessed us with!