Sun

This morning I awoke to a misty, morning fog. It really was a beautiful sight because even through the haze, the sun poked through.

It really reminded me of God as His ability to shine through the junk in our life. When things get busy and stressful, God does not go away. He STILL reveals himself to us regardless of the clouds of misery that surround us! He is a continual light in the darkness.

That really reminded me to be thankful,even when the fog of anxiety overtakes you, God still shines His light on everything and gives you blessings. There cab still be beauty in the bad.

The other thing I realized, was that even though I could not see the full extent of the sun, it was still there and still shining to its full capacity. The same is true about God! Just because He does not reveal to us the full extent of Himself or His plan for us does not mean it isn't there! We need to trust and believe God is still working in our lives, whether or not we can see everything He is doing in our lives. We need to TRUST and be THANKFUL for what we can see and what we can't :)

And they were calling to one anotger: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

Isaiah 6:3

Peace and Hope

We all feel lost, out of place, hurt. We all struggle with life. Sometimes it is all too easy to feel alone and helpless and unwanted. We may face opposition or pain. We will struggle. It's a fact of life... but God brings PEACE and HOPE into our darkness!

God gives us PEACE. He gives us comfort in our sufferings and our trials. Whenever you feel alone all you need to do is look to Him for His PEACE and His HOPE... 

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Romans 5:1-5

These verses tell us not only that God gives us PEACE... but HOPE. They show us that not only should we be thankful for the GOOD that God gives us, but for the SUFFERING He gives us as well. God USES the suffering, the bad that we all face, to make us stronger, to define us and to give us HOPE. And that hope is beautiful and wonderful and given to us by God himself. 

We have this PEACE and this HOPE through one thing and one thing alone... JESUS.

God gives us PEACE, HOPE and SALVATION through Jesus. When we did nothing for Him, quite the contrary we sin all the time, He gave us salvation through Jesus' death. Through His death we receive PEACE and GRACE and LIGHT. 

Jesus brings LIGHT into a dark world. My dark world and your dark world. Through faith in Christ we are given PEACE and HOPE. So whenever you are struggling or hurting, remember that God USES the struggles and He will give you PEACE, HOPE and LIGHT. So rejoice! God saves and He's looking out for you, even when you may not see it. 

Meet Evil With Good

Everyone has had a time in their lives when they've been mistreated. Many times our first impulse is to return that mistreatment. If we were cursed often times we want to curse right back. We crave revenge, but Jesus tell us otherwise. 

But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.

Matthew 5:39

The LORD clearly wants us to not respond to evil with evil, but to respond with humility and love. David illustrates this ideal very well in 2 Samuel 16:5-14. In this part of the story David and his army get cursed and abused by an enemy of theirs. One of David's men desperately wants to kill the man, but David stops him, saying: 

"Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to."

2 Samuel 16:11b

David told his men to respond PEACEFULLY. He had them keep walking even though their every instinct told them to attack. David did something that is hard for most-- he met evil with good. 

No matter what evil you may face, don't succumb to the urge to fight back! Instead show grace and humility and meet their violence with love. When you meet evil with more evil, the evil has won and you have accomplished nothing but made the fire bigger. 

So, as Romans 12:21 says, over come the evil with GOOD! Be a light in this world of darkness and meet every bad thing with a positive response. 

Achieve

Everyone has goals-- be it straight A's in school, a promotion at work or simply being a good friend. Sometimes it can be easy to get stuck in a hopeless period when we feel like we no longer move towards our goals, but DON'T GIVE UP!

Remember that God is ALWAYS with you and He's always working in your favor. Even though the situation may seem bleak and you may have given up hope, remember that God is preparing something for you! So just have faith. 

A little faith can go a long way. So if you are discouraged and feel lost... just remember who is holding your life-- the LORD. He will look out for you and He is always with you. Any goal you have can be ACHIEVED through Christ! 

When you devote yourself to the LORD and have faith that He will help you reach any goal, you WILL succeed! After all, God is an AWESOME and POWERFUL God. Just think of all of the great things He's done in the past. Stand on His promises and believe that He can and will help you through. 

If God can defeat Goliath and shut the mouths of lions, what can't He do for you? If you are in a rough place and there seems to be no hope left, remember who you live for. Remember that God is always there for you and that, with a little faith, He can help you ACHIEVE anything. With God you will not fail! 

Free.

Life gets messy. It gets hard. It can really drag us down. We lose sight of any hope and we begin to feel overwhelmed and lost. Sometimes our lives seem to fall apart at the seems. We feel like we are losing the war. Getting smothered by the events around us. Like we are losing ourselves. But in times of trial it is important to remember that although we may feel like we are losing many battles, we have already won the war!

When when we feel we're losing battle after battle it can be all too easy to look to the world for comfort- to work, or our romantic interest, or our friends or adrenaline or alcohol- but in those times it is crucial that we look to the LORD! Because no matter how awful we feel or how bleak our situation looks He is ALWAYS there and He has already made us victorious over all.

Jesus will set you free from all of your burdens and your troubles and your problems and your fears and your hatred. He will bring you life and rid you of all bad. He won't always get rid of the problems, but He will give you the strength to endure them. He will carry your burdens for you. So no matter what you're facing remember to look to him who can set you FREE. 

If you feel lost or down or broken or trapped, have FAITH in Christ. His death and the life He gives is a free gift to you so accept it today! Allow God to work in your life and FREE you from all of the bad in your life. 

All About Communication

We all have friendships and spouses and family members that we love and want to have relationships with. We spend a lot of time talking and gossiping and sharing parts of our day with others in our lives. If we want our relationships to grow what can we do? COMMUNICATE. Talk. Share. Witness. Lecture.

If we don't talk to our friends and family, how can we expect to grow closer to them? If you stopped talking to your friend for a month how likely would it be that the two of you would still be close? Communication is KEY. Without communication any relationship can fall apart. That includes your relationship with God. 

God wants us to be CONSTANT in prayer. CONSTANT in communication with Him. He wants us to be praying to Him through out our day, because what is prayer? Prayer is talking to God. When you don't talk to a friend you drift apart, the same thing can happen with God! If we aren't talking to Him on a regular basis we will begin to lose our connection with Him... God WANTS us to talk to him!

You may not realize it, but any time you pray you are bonding with God--growing closer to Him and forming a stronger connection. Anything that brings us to pray like losing a loved one, losing a job, seeing a beautiful sunrise, etc is truly a blessing because it is spurring us to COMMUNICATE with God, to be CLOSER to God. 

Prayer is making a connection to God, talking to Him and communicating with Him. Telling Him all about your day, your fears, your dreams, and asking Him for help and guidance. God WANTS to talk to you and the greatest part is that He is ALWAYS there! So whenever you need a listening ear or a little help God is always there to hear you. 

Since God is always with you, why not always be talking to Him? Praying throughout the day, with out stopping is a great goal because it will bring you closer than ever to the Lord! So talk to Him, PRAY, because growth in any relationship is ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION. So make it your goal this next week to talk to God more and to talk to your friends more. I think you will see some major relationship growth! 

He is With You

Life is hard. It throws you for a loop. Sends you in mysterious directions. Leaves you with guilt or shame. Knocks you down. Spits on you. Confuses you. It isn't easy to do the right thing and sometimes when life gets stressful you get discouraged and confused and afraid.

When the waters are rough you do NOT need to fear the waves. Whenever life seems to be knocking you down remember that God is ALWAYS there to pick you back up again. He is ALWAYS there to steer you in the right direction.

Whatever trial you are facing HAND IT OVER to the Lord! He will take the burden from your shoulders and He will help you through. He will calm the waters. He will make a way when no way seems possible. You're life may look hopeless or you may just face bad moods, no matter what you're going through God will be there for you. 

Whenever you feel alone, deserted, disappointed, upset, even happy and joyous God is ALWAYS there. He is making a path for you. Fighting for YOU. Helping YOU. He will help carry your burden for you. He will help you OVERCOME any obstacle!

He will go BEFORE you. He will STAND BEHIND. He is ALWAYS on your side. God is with you through everything and not only that but he is BEFORE you, pathing the way for you. Fighting for you. He wants to help you, so hand Him your stress, problems, anxieties, worries, fears, trials. Hand Him everything difficult in your life and you can overcome it! With the God of Angel Armies on your side, the God who can do indescribably more than you can imagine, you can always have the VICTORY.