Tag: God’s faithfulness.

His Grace is Sufficient

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“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV 

I am so glad I don’t have to pretend to be perfect. 

I am glad that the more I embrace my weakness, I am given the key to walk confidently in God’s strength, power, and peace. 

Not by willing myself to be strong but by laying down the illusion I have to be.

Not by working for God’s approval but by resting in His love. 

Not by memorizing words but by allowing the grace of God to permeate every fiber of my soul.

Are you done trying to be perfect?

Good. 

Now may you truly rest in the abundance of God’s amazing, all encompassing grace delivered to you wrapped in the love of Jesus.

Hold Tight

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“Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:23 ‭MSG

What promise are you holding onto today?

For me, it is this one:

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” 

– ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It is a reminder that it is not my work that transforms me but His.

My life’s work is to focus on my relationship with Him. 

What a great job description: grow my relationship with God and let Him grow me.

What promise are you holding on to today? 

Hold tight to Him and trust Him to hold tight to you.

God’s Not Finished

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“But God’s not finished. He’s waiting around to be gracious to you. He’s gathering strength to show mercy to you. God takes the time to do everything right—everything.  Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones.”
Isaiah 30:18

When the boys were in elementary school they got out at 2:20 pm and I would try to get to the school at the latest by 2:00 pm so I could get a good spot in the pickup line. If you have ever experienced the stress of picking your child up in the craziness that is the end of an Elementary school day, you know how important this is.

One day I had to pick them up early from school and as we walked from classrooms to the car, Kyle looked at all the cars waiting in line and said: “Oh, they are already here?” Then he said, “I thought you just got here right when school is out”. I said, “Nope, if I waited until then I’d be way in the back of the line, so I get here early so I can be right on time for you.”

As I pulled in to wait in the pickup line the next day, I thought about Kyle’s perception, “I thought you just got here right when school was out.”

We forget that most things are not always as they seem but only as we see them. Just as I made a point to be at the school early so that I could be “on time” for the boys, so God is working in ways we can’t see and don’t know about in our lives.

The verse above was fulfilled through Jesus and through Jesus God’s will can be fulfilled in your life. 

God is not finished with you.

He is going ahead of you and preparing the way for you.

His grace and power are ready to be right on time when you need it.

 

The Peace of His Presence

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Monday

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”      

2 Thessalonians 3:16 NIV

Is worry ruling your life?

There are a lot of things to worry about right now.

Some of them are things you worry about all the time.

Some of them are things that are brand new.

Either way, you can collect worry like it’s your job or you can build a tower of God’s peace around your soul.

You have peace with God through Jesus Christ and because of that, you can receive peace from God in and for every situation.

Out of all the decisions you have to make today, the most important one will be if you choose to hold on to God’s peace or your worry.

May His presence calm your heart and fill you with His peace today.

Surrounded by Love

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Thursday

“You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭139:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

You may feel like you are on your own to deal with life.

That you are on your own to deal with stress.

On your own to make it happen, whatever “it” is, but you are not on your own, you are God’s beloved child. 

You are surrounded by LOVE.

His love goes before you and His grace follows behind you.

You are cherished and provided for, guided and anointed to walk confidently in God’s love.

God goes before you to make a way where there seems to be no way, He sets up divine appointments for you to walk in and he brings people across your path that need you.

He blesses you with what you need, to do what He has called you to do.

His hand of blessing is on your head. He has hemmed you in His love.

That means in ALL that you do, big or small, His hand of blessing is on it- because His hand of blessing is on you.

My prayer for you is that you will begin to see yourself in the light of God’s passionate love for you:

He has chosen you.
Rescued you.
Provided for you.
Forgiven you.
Equipped you.
Goes before you.
Follows up after you. 

God’s love is not like man’s love. He is not controlling you, He is surrounding you with Himself and there is more freedom in His presence than anywhere else in the world.

“For in him we live and move and have our being.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭17:28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In Jesus, you have permission to live fully in God’s grace and walk confidently with His hand of blessing on you.

You are beloved and surrounded by Him. Set your fear aside and walk confidently in His love today.

Awake and Aware

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Tuesday

But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭13:11 MSG‬‬

If you are aware of anything today – be aware of God.

If you are afraid of anything – be afraid of getting so busy making a living that you miss making a life.

If you have to make a do to list – put “recognizing God ‘s presence” in the top spot.

Take care of whatever you need to take care of today but make sure to make room for God to interrupt, intervene, and weave Himself into each thing you do with His love, His mercy, His perspective, His grace, His strength and His joy.

If you are wondering whether God is present in your life, He is and He longs to connect with you. You are one of His favorites.

What does being aware of God mean to you?

Have you been so distracted that you are oblivious to God?

May the awareness of God supersede all else as you are embraced by a Savior who loves you unconditionally and completely.

The Impossible Dream

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Monday

By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said.  Hebrews 11:11 MSG

We are born dreamers.

As children, we see that world around us and dream about being a part of it. We dream about what our place in the world will be, what we will do, and who we might become.

The dreams revolve around us and what it will mean for us if those dreams come true.

As we grow up, there are some dreams that hold onto us more than we hold onto them.

It is those dreams that feel devastating when they shatter and remain unfulfilled.

We put them in the realm of impossible.

When the Lord told Abraham that Sarah would give birth, she overheard it and laughed (Genesis 18:11).  She laughed not because she thought it was funny but because she thought it ludicrous. The dream of having children probably died when she was in her 60s or 70s.  She had accepted her barrenness.

My friend, God often challenges what you have already accepted.

He will speak a word to you that seems impossible.

Something that seems ludicrous.

Something that you gave up on and now He is asking you to pick up again.

He is asking you to dream again but this time to dream it differently.

How? By placing your hope not in what the dream will do for you but in what God wants to do through you.

God asked Sarah to dream again. She knew she could not make it happen, she already tried. But somewhere deep inside she chose to trust God to do the impossible.

My friend, put your hope in God today.

And when He calls you to dream again, say yes.

 

Headlong Into Worship

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“I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms-I’m celebrating your rescue. I’m singing at the top of my lungs, I’m so full of answered prayers.”
Psalm 13:5,6 MSG

Instead of being caught up in worry today, throw yourself headlong into worshipping the Lord.

Shut off the TV.

Put on your favorite Worship Playlist or create one and lose yourself in it.

When you worry, you are focused on what if’s, what’s next and what is going to happen?

The shift from worry to worship is like being transported to another world. The tightness in your chest releases and opens up, faith floods in and overflows.

When you worship, you are focused on God’s faithfulness, goodness, and love.

The things you are worried about might not change but by changing your focus from worry to worship you will dramatically change how you experience them.

When David wrote this, he was in the middle of a battle. He had not seen the rescue or seen his prayers answered yet but he had decided he was tired of looking at the battle and looked up to God instead.

He decided to celebrate the coming rescue, fill his heart with the kind of overflowing gratitude that comes when you see the answer to your prayers. David just didn’t feel like waiting until he saw it- he wanted to celebrate the victory now.

You know what I love about God? He doesn’t mind when I decide to party prematurely. He doesn’t shake his finger at you and says, “You just need to wait until you see it with your eyes then you can celebrate”.

No, that is the world’s way. God’s way is to celebrate before the battle is won, say thank you before you get the gift and worship in the jail cell before you are released.

Because the battle has been won on the cross, the gifts are on their way and
the release has already been secured by Jesus himself.

It is time to break away from worry and break into worship, my friend.

To throw yourself headlong into the arms of Jesus and worship Him for all He has done, all He will do and most of all – for who He is. He is Lord, Savior, Redeemer and the Son of God.

What is your favorite worship song or album?

When was the last time you shut out the world, pumped up the volume and surrounded yourself in worship?

Make it happen right now.

I promise, you won’t regret it. 

 

Ready to Help

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Faith is trust.

Striving is not the solution.
Stressing out is not the solution.
Surrender is the solution.

Surrender yourself to God.
Surrender your situation to God.
Surrender your fears to God.

This isn’t about giving up but it is very much about giving over of yourself into God’s hands.

Not because you understand how God can work a miracle but by believing He can work a miracle.

Surrender is about trusting Him to be who He is – your loving Father.

Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you, we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what.

Who or what can get to me?”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13:5-6‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Surrender your fears and embrace faith in your loving heavenly Father who sent His Son to die for you so that He could have you for all of eternity. 

He is faithful.

He will not fail you.

He will not abandon you.

Your Father is here, ready to help.

What do you need help with today?

 

 

 

Trust God Today

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I want to encourage you today that no matter how dark the situation may seem, to trust God to do something about it anyway.

I want to challenge you to dare to trust Him in the desert. There IS a promised land and you are on your way to it.

“When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭4:17-18‬ ‭MSG‬‬

My prayer is that you will decide to live your life not based on what you can’t do but on what God can do through you.

Long before he saw the fruit of the promise, Abraham believed God.

Though everything in his life seemed to indicate otherwise, He lived his life, every day, not looking at the impossibility of the promise but in the possibility of God.

Because God initiated it, Abraham believed that God would fulfill it.

I am sure that there were times that Abraham barely believed. I know that there were days that he was only holding on to a bare thread of hope…but he held on.

God can do the impossible in you and through you.

Hold on.

Hold on, my friend, you may have only had a thread of hope but in Christ, that thread is stronger than what you face and will hold against that which you fear.