Category: discouragement

Friday 4/13 ~ Amidst your weeping when you fall, God will…

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The scripture for today, April 13 (4/13), is Philippians 4:13 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Titus-Cover-Lg Thumb“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Life is not easy. Plans are scattered, dreams are shattered, and even predictable every-day things sometimes give way to the unknown and unforeseeable. Maybe you have made bad decisions, or you weren’t prepared for emergencies, or you are an innocent victim of someone else’s problems.

There is Someone who knows everything that is happening to you and who will walk beside you down whatever path you find yourself. And, as amazing as it sounds, even if you lose faith in Him, He will not lose faith in you.

When you don’t feel like it, reach out to God. Pray, even if all you can think of talking about is how terrible things are right now. At least you’re talking. And read the Bible, for that is God talking to you. Keep the two-way communication going. Amidst your weeping when you fall, God will give you strength and someday once again lift you up.

Wednesday 4/11 ~ Has God given you an assignment?

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The scripture for today, April 11 (4/11), is Exodus 4:11 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Mefiboset-KINDLE Thumbnail“Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?”

This is a dynamic verse, for it helps answer the question: “If God is so good, why did he allow me/my relative to become deaf/blind?”

Here is the answer.  Satan is the prince of this world.  So, God takes countermeasures to defeat him.  Everything Satan does God can undo.  But he does it in his own way.  He does it through us.

God gives each of us an assignment. We all have something God wants us to overcome. Why?  Because it makes us spiritually stronger. It is intended to turn us into spiritual giants. Wow!

His assignment may be the family we were born in to, the country we were born in, an earthquake, a flood, an unfair professor, a mean boss.  Amidst our tears, as we face sometimes unbearable assignments, the challenge is for us to carry on with the smile of faith on our lips.

Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 12:10, “For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses…For when I am weak, then I am strong!” If God did not believe you or your relative or friend could handle your affliction, he would not allow you to have it.

It’s almost as if the more affliction you have, the more faith God has in you. After all, 2nd Corinthians 6:1 says we are workers together with God.

Has God given you a tough assignment? What a privilege!

 

Tuesday 4/10 ~ Soar with it, even if you’re the only one who does

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The scripture for today, April 10 (4/10), is Zechariah 4:10 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“Who despises the day of small things?”

We tend to admire big things ~ big buildings, big empires, big trees, big causes.  Sometimes it is difficult to remember that those things started out small.

Have you been wanting to accomplish something big? All buildings started out with one board or one stone. All empires started out with one person. All big trees started out as one seed. All big causes started out with one dream.

Perhaps your dream started out small but stayed small. That doesn’t mean it will always be small. It may become big years from now, or even in someone else’s lifetime. Don’t despise what you have now.

Have you been putting off trying to make your dream reality because it won’t be big and people will laugh at you and you will get depressed?   Do not fear it. Have faith in it.  Plant that small seed.  Do not despise it. Embrace it. Nourish it. 

Make today the day of your new beginning. Launch your dream. Soar with it, even if you’re the only one who does.

Monday 4/9 ~ I want to do this. Help me.

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The scripture for today, April 9, is 1st John 4:9f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-1st Century Worship KINDLE-COVER-Thumbnail“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: Not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

How perplexing. We are stymied. There is no solution. We humans do not have the will to live perfect lives. We give in to sin. We can never get it right. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. In the Old Testament era, God let people kill an animal in their place whenever they sinned, but it had to be done over and over. But still, every time we sinned, our souls died a little more.

Then came our answer, our rescue our solution. But the cost.  It was so high.  God sent his Son to us for a while with a body so his Son’s body could be killed (collecting our wages, the cost of our sins) in our place.

Finally, God invited mankind to bring our souls back to life through him ~ that is, become Christ-ians. How do we become alive through Jesus? Of course, we know about believing Jesus was the Son of God and repenting of our sins. Also Romans 6:4 says when we are baptized and come forth out of the Spirit’s watery womb, our souls are born again and we now have a new life.

But it does not stop there. We must try the best we can to live as Jesus lived, speak as Jesus spoke, love as Jesus loved. With Jesus living in us, we are his mouth, his hands, his feet. It is then that we offer our own bodies as daily sacrifices (Romans 12:1).

Oh, Lord God.  I want to do this. Help me.  Help me.

Wednesday 4/4 ~ You’ve gotta be kidding! That’s impossible!

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The scripture for today, April 4 (4/4), is Psalm 4:4 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-Thumbnail“In your anger do not sin.”

You’ve gotta be kidding!  That’s impossible! When people get angry, don’t we lash out at other people? And yell and call them names? And show our temper? Maybe even throw a few things? After all, that’s the only way to get across to the other person that we are really angry.

Hold on. If, for instance, you told your child not to do something for their own safety but your child did it anyway, of course you would become angry. Why? Your child put himself in danger because of his action.

You can choose to lash out at your child wildly so that your emotions mask your words. Or you can choose to talk calmly and explain the dangers your child was put in because of that action. Maybe punishment is in order.  You can calmly but firmly tell them what their punishment is. You can calmly punish your child without losing your temper.

It is the same way with adults. If you lose your temper and shoot daggers with your eyes and rant and rave, all your actions distract people from your words. Aren’t your words of explanation more important than the emotionalism and yelling? If you were hurt, just say so. If they hurt themselves, just say so.

While we’re at it, not all words help. Name calling does not help. Name calling is done when you choose not to explain how you feel. Name calling such as, “You’re irresponsible,”  locks the other person in and sets them up for future failures between you and them. Losing your temper during anger gets you off the issue and into sin.

Next time, try to remain calm and then explain the problem in tones that the person who has angered you ~ whether child or adult ~ can truly listen to and learn from. If you have trouble doing this, practice when you’re alone. It will come to you in the right way. It will teach you to remain calm when you’re angry.

Anger is not the same thing as sin. What you do with it can be. Choose a calm anger.  Thereby, you will have a peace that passes understanding.

Thursday 3/29 ~ Ordinary you? Never!

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The scripture for today, March 29, is Luke 3:29 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

02-Noah-KindleThumbnail“…the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi….”

Who in the world were these five men: Joshua, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat, and Levi? Some were named after famous Jews, but no one in this list was famous himself. In fact, nothing else is said in the Bible about any of these men. They’re just a single name in a single but long list.

Who were they that they earned even one brief mention in the Bible?

They were ancestors of Joseph, the human “father” of Jesus. What else? They were born and survived long enough to have sons. Not important at the time? No, but eventually it was.

We read obituaries and sometimes wonder about our own. Our whole life reduced to born, married, had a job, had children, died. That’s it. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just another one of billions in the world having come and gone.

Hold on! Maybe not!

Maybe your life, as ordinary as it seems now, will someday serve a greater purpose through a descendant or someone you become friends with. In a later generation ~ maybe ten or twenty generations from now ~ someone may do something extremely important for souls of the world. And it was made possible because of your “unordinary life” way back in the early twenty-first century when you survived one day at a time.

Friday 3/23 ~ Keep on keeping on. The world notices.

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The scripture for today, March 23 (3/23), is Colossians 3:23 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

05-Joseph-KindleThumbnail“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”

Perhaps you are in a job that is unfair ~ you are given too much work, you are underpaid, you are not given enough work, you are given too much responsibility, you aren’t given any responsibility, you have been passed over for promotion by someone less qualified than you.

Think not that you are working for the person who supervises you. S/he is only human. You are working for God. You are representing God. If you are being treated unfairly and smile anyway, others will wonder why. Keep smiling and keep working. Others will keep noticing.

Eventually, someone will ask you, “How can you keep going?”. Then you can tell them how you have God’s approval, and that makes you feel like number one. Therefore, nothing anyone can say or do to you can ever make you feel otherwise.

So keep on keeping on. The world notices. God too.

 

Thursday 3/22 ~ You can never be consumed

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The scripture for today, March 22, is Lamentations 3:22 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

000-COVER-KINDLE-Thumbnail“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.”

Jeremiah had spent years warning people of the coming destruction of their country and beloved Jerusalem due to their selfish sinful life and taking advantage of each other. He endured taunts, reprimands, imprisonments, and threats to his life. Now it has happened. All hope is gone. Nothing left but ashes.

There were innocent people who suffered as a result.  Would they let Satan get his way and destroy their lives, their spirits, their souls too?  It is at this point that lamenting Jeremiah utters bravely amidst his own tears, “We are not consumed.”

Are there things going on your life that seem to be consuming you? Do you feel utterly hopeless?  Do you feel as though life may not be worth living anymore? Look up. God is still there. He still loves you.

When you have the love of God, you have the courage to take the next step and the next and the next. You have the courage to keep walking and walking and to hold your head high. Nothing and nobody can ever take away the love God has for you. With his love, you can never be consumed.

Monday 3/19 ~ Why had I felt so abandoned?

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The scripture for today, March 19 (3.19), is Habakkuk 3:19 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Joseph-Cover-Thumbnail”The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”

The little book of Habakkuk was written during a period when the leaders were oppressing the desperate poor. Habakkuk complains to God, “Why do you tolerate wrong?”. God answers that he’s getting ready to put an end to it. Not satisfied, Habakkuk asks the same question again.

God’s answer renews Habakkuk’s faith. Perhaps he asked himself, “Why had I worried so much?” “Why had I felt so abandoned?” “Why had I thought God didn’t notice?” “Why had I decided God didn’t really care?”

Everyone grows impatient when leaders are doing wrong. But we must understand that we see just part of the problem and that God is waiting until the right time to put an end to it ~ a time when people are so desperate with helplessness that even unbelievers can’t help but know God intervened.

So when times come in your own life that everything seems to be going wrong, read the little book of Habakkuk and know that God is still in control, he has not forgotten you, and he has special plans for you.