First and foremost, people need Jesus.....but, we were created for relationship with other people, too. I am so very grateful for the people in my life who are encouraging and speak positive words into me. Sometimes, it can be hard to just "put on our big girl panties and deal" and we need somebody to talk us down from our emotions and thoughts.
We Christians are often afraid of letting others know when we are struggling for fear of judgment. I have been accused of "lacking faith" when sharing my heart with other Christians and even been criticized for "speaking negative things into existence." So, there were times in my life when I shut down and decided to keep my fears and temptations to myself. This is a very dangerous thing to do. I beg you!!! Find somebody that you can trust to share any- and everything with that will always love you and point you back to Jesus.
The Lord knew we would have those thoughts and feelings.....He knew we would struggle with temptation and sin....and He knew we would need others to help hold us accountable. This is how important encouraging one another is:
1 Thessalonians 5:11
“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”
Hebrews 10:24-25
“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
Hebrews 3:13
“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
Please, do not try to get through life doing it on your own. If you do not have anybody to talk to, email me through the CONTACT tab at the top of the Blog. I assure you I will not have all the answers, but I will point you to the one who does with His word. The Bible has the answer to every question.
0 Comments
Most of our insecurities and feelings of insignificance stem from one thing......we do not know who we are. Our identity gets wrapped up in what we do or who we are expected to be, and we go through life wondering who we really are.
For years, I have listened to people preach and teach about our identity in Christ, and being a child of God. I would leave those classes and churches frustrated because it seemed that everybody "got it" but me. I did not have a father growing up, so telling me to think of God as a father was not helpful. Men in authority over me had mistreated and used me most of my life, so trying to imagine Him as my authority was even worse. I learned to think of Jesus as a brother and a friend. That was about all I could do. One day as I sat in a class on identity for the third time, something occurred to me....I did not know how to be a daughter. I began praying for God to teach me what it looks like to be a daughter. He started showing me through my granddaughter subtle things that I do for her, He does for me. It was a very sweet realization of what it means to have a Father. He continues to teach me and I continue to learn. I want you to see what the bible says about who we are, and I pray that He begins to show you what it means to be his child. I am God's child. Galatians 3:26 I am Jesus' friend. John 15:15 I am a whole new person with a whole new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 I am a place where God's Spirit lives. 1 Corinthians 6:19 I am God's Incredible work of art. Ephesians 2:10 I am totally and completely forgiven. 1 John 1:9 I am created In God's likeness. Ephesians 4:24 I am spiritually alive. Ephesians 2:5 I am a citizen of Heaven. Philippians 3:20 I am God's messenger to the world. Acts 1:8 I am God's disciple-maker. Matthew 28:19 I am the salt of the earth. Matthew 5:13 I am the light of the world. Matthew 5:14 I am greatly loved. Romans 5:8 How many times have we asked someone how they were doing, and after they told us about problems and trials they were going through we responded "I will pray for you"? How many times have we poured our heart out to others and their response to us was "I will be praying for you"? Can we just be real for a minute? How often have we really even thought about that person's problem again? And how often have we actually sat down later and prayed for them? I will confess, there have been too many times in my life I have said that with the intent to pray, but then got busy and forgot. A couple of years ago, the Lord convicted me when I told someone I would pray for them, and He said "pray now." Ummmm.......like, right now? right here? in public? where people might hear me? Yep! Not an easy thing to do, but very rewarding. Honestly, does it not give you a lot more comfort and boost your faith when someone prays WITH you? When we pray with someone, together, our faith is increased for whatever we are praying about. It also gives us a lot more peace when we hear someone speak the Word over our situation, because often we are so emotionally drained, we can not even find the Word that we need, let alone speak it out loud. I know how much better I feel when someone prays with me right in the moment that I need it, and I want to do that for others. We do not need to worry about what other people think, or if our prayer sounds "spiritual" or not. We need to just love on that person at that moment with the Word of God by lifting them up to Him. We should stop being afraid of saying the wrong thing because if what we are saying lines up with the Word of God and is edifying to the person we are praying with, then God is in it and He will bless it. If you want to be a blessing to your sisters and brothers in Christ by praying WITH them, then find out what the bible says about different situations. There are many books such as Prayers That Avail Much that teach us how to pray the Word. And if you are in doubt, just ask the Lord to bless them with whatever they need: peace, provision, healing, guidance, etc... But please stop and take a minute to say "I am sorry you are hurting, let me pray for you now." It does make a difference and you will be blessed by doing it. Lord, I do not know the needs of the person reading this right now, but You do. So, I lift her up to You now and I ask You to touch her with Your Holy Spirit. I speak blessings on her life, her mind, her emotions and her body. I thank You that she is Your daughter, whom You love, and that You are pleased with her. And I praise You for the destiny You are calling her into. Give her peace, Father. In Jesus's Name. Amen Almost 17 years ago, I made one of the biggest commitments to God of my life. As my 9 year old son, Chris, stood with the Pastor of our church voluntarily giving his little heart to the Lord, I said "Lord, I will praise You the rest of my life, no matter what..."
Just a couple of weeks later, my husband, three children and I picked up some friends' children, and we spent a Thursday afternoon at the lake. FUN day! The kids swam, and played and laughed and we were worn out from the water and the sun by the end of the day. My boys have always loved the water and that was quite a treat for them. By that following Sunday, Chris was not feeling very well. Knowing that the other children we took with us that day to the lake had been exposed to a stomach virus, I assumed that was what was wrong with him. But by Tuesday morning, I knew something was very wrong. He was running a fever, had a headache and was lethargic. I took him to our family doctor who immediately diagnosed him with meningitis. I remember the serious look on her face as she handed me two tubes of his spinal fluid and said "we do not have time to wait for the ambulance, take him to the hospital now." What? What just happened? I was confused and suddenly terrified. Even though he seemed sleepy, he was walking and talking and even laughed when I asked him if he wanted me to go to the bathroom with him, saying "no, mom, it is for boys." Within a few hours, his condition became very serious. Not knowing for sure what they were dealing with, the doctor and nurses worked tirelessly trying to keep Chris comfortable and calm. About 4:00 a.m., the doctor told us that the lab tech had discovered amoeba in his spinal fluid. He was diagnosed with Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis which is a very rare disease of the central nervous system caused by infection from the amoeba Naegleria Fowleri, which the doctor said is "99.9% fatal." So we prayed. On the airplane to Cook's Children's Hospital, I prayed. At his bedside, I prayed. People from our home town, friends from all over, and family showed up....and we prayed. And I believed that my son would be healed. I believed with all my heart, regardless of what the specialists were telling me, that God would heal my son. But in spite of all of the best efforts of some of the best doctors in the country and prayers of many, many people for his healing, Chris died. The next few days are still a blur, but I remember standing over the casket looking at my son and asking God "what do I do now? how do I do this?" and His response was "you praise Me, no matter what." Wow....that has been a challenge more than once since that day. I DO NOT believe that the Lord took my son to test my faith or to challenge my loyalty to Him. I DO believe that the Lord is omniscient, and knows everything that is going to happen before it happens. And I believe with everything in me, that He prepared me for that moment and was reminding me that no matter what we see, hear, feel or experience, He is still God, who is worthy of our praise. Not because of what He does or does not do, but because of WHO HE IS. Ok, so I know some of you are asking if I was mad at God....not at first, but after a while, yes...anger is a normal part of the grieving process and mine was directed at God, myself, and for a time the world in general. Did I praise God? Not always. There was actually a time period where I walked away from Him, and it took a while for me to forgive Him and start trusting Him again. But I can tell you this....I have learned that there is great power in our praise. Remember Paul and Silas in the bible? Acts 16:25-34 (KJV)25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. As they praised God, the shackles fell off and the prison doors opened. Not only theirs, but the other prisoners around them. This is true in our lives. As we praise God, freedom comes. Whatever it is that is holding us back from His presence, keeping us from reaching out to Him, will begin to fall off as we praise Him, and it will affect those around us. Is it always easy? Noooooo! Sometimes it is really difficult, but we have to make a decision to do it. It is a choice. In fact when it is the hardest to praise Him is when we are often the most blessed because it is truly a sacrifice. So, how am I doing now? I still cry and get a pain in the pit of my stomach when I think about what happened, but then I thank God for the gift of Chris that He gave me for those 9 years. And I choose to praise Him every day, no matter what....I can honestly say that I do trust Him, and that my heart is full of joy. Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His loving kindness is everlasting ... Psalm 106:1 |
AuthorLet's talk! My greatest desires in life are first to please my Heavenly Father and secondly to see other women realize their identity in Christ. Subscribe for Daily PostsArchives
January 2018
Categories |