Grow Strong In Your Weakness

Some of My children I've gifted with abundant strength and stamina. Others, like you, have received the humble gift of frailty. Your fragility is not a punishment, nor does it indicate lack of faith. On the contrary, weak ones like you must live by faith, depending on Me to get you through the day. I am developing your ability to trust Me, to lean on Me, rather than on your understanding. Your natural preference is to plan out your day, knowing what will happen when. My preference is for you to depend on Me continually, trusting Me to guide you and strengthen you as needed. This is how you grow strong in your weakness.

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." -JAMES 4:13-15

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. -PROVERBS 3:5

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faith. -ISAIAH 40:28-31

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I love schedules. I love planning my day and knowing what I will be doing to keep myself busy. I think what God is trying to tell us here is that instead of planning and constantly being on the go, we need to sit back at let Him lead the way. We should put our faith in Him and trust Him to guide us to do His will.

Some day I would like to go to another country on a mission trip. Instead of planning what I will do while I am there, I would love to just let God take control and show me where I am needed. I think this is what God wants us to do with more of our lives. If we open our hearts to him and stop listening to our own thoughts, we will be strengthened by the Lord. Yes we need to have a schedule and ensure that we get things done to function in the world in which we live. But we should also let the Lords will be done in more of our actions. This is the only way we grow as believers and improve our trust with God.

Pray for God to impact your life as you push your own intuition and thoughts aside. Trust me, you will be AMAZED!

There is No Place

There is no place so desolate that you cannot find Me there. When Hagar fled from her mistress, Sarah, into the wilderness, she thought she was utterly alone and forsaken. But Hagar encountered Me in the that desolate place. There she addressed Me as the Living One who sees me. Through that encounter with My Presence, she gained courage to return to her mistress.

No set of circumstances could ever isolate you from My loving Presence. Not only do I see you always; I see you as a redeemed saint, gloriously radiant in My righteousness. That is why I take great delight in you and rejoice over you with singing!

So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her. You are a God of seeing for she said, Have I not even here in the wilderness looked upon Him who seeks me and lived? Or have I here also seen the future purposes or designs of Him who sees me? Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi (A well to the living one who sees me).- GENESIS 16:13-14 

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.- PSALM 129:7-10

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with signing."- ZEPHANIAH 3:17

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God is with us, always. Even when we do not want Him around, He is there. God is the presence that we can depend on in every waking hour, in the morning when we drive to work and in the night when we cannot fall asleep and it is 3 a.m. This may seem like a scary thought at first. I mean who wants someone looking over their shoulder 24/7, monitoring every move they make? But God is not just anyone. Like a parent watches over an infant, God is protecting us, His children. We must come to accept God as our savior and realize that He is our true Father in Heaven. This will help us delight in His presence and be quieted by His love.

So how do we become "delighted by His presence"? Get in the word. Add God to your live everyday so that you become to accept Him making a change in your life. Be open to His word and know that He knows what your best interest is. Let Him be in control and instead take the back seat in your life ride. We are his children, He will always watch over us.

Demonstrate Your Trust In Me

Demonstrate your trust in Me by sitting quietly in My Presence. Put aside all that is waiting to be done, and refuse to worry about anything. This sacred time together strengthens you and prepares you to face whatever the day will bring. By waiting with Me before you begin the day's activities, you proclaim the reality of My living Presence. This act of faith- waiting before working- is noted in the spirit world, where your demonstration of trust weakens principalities and power of darkness.

The most effective way to resist evil is to draw near Me. When you need to take action, I will guide you clearly through My Spirit and My World. The world is so complex and overstimulating that you can easily lose your sense of direction. Doing coutless unnecessary activities will dissipate your energy. When you spend time with Me, I restore your sense of direction. As you look to Me for guidance, I enable you to do less but accomplish more.

Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear...Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?- LUKE 12:22-25

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.- EPHESIANS 6:12

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and our plans will succeed.- PROVERBS 16:3

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Tv, iPhone games, Pinterest, Sports, the list goes on and on. All of these things can consume our lives if we let them. I know several times I have been caught online all night long looking at social media sights instead of spending time doing something more productive and meaningful. Now God is not telling us to erase those things from our lives, but there comes a point when things like those mentioned above become addicting and start to control our daily life.

Specifically in this passage, God is talking to us about time we spend with Him before our days begin. I know when I wake up I often check my Facebook. Instead of wasting time doing that, I should dive right into the word and be open to how God wants to influence my life each day. It is like going to a meeting. You would not bring your cell phone and play games on it before the meeting starts because it looks like you are unprepared. We need to come to God's meeting each morning prepared with a humble heart, ready to learn.

Today will be hard, because as many of you are reading you have already began your Wednesday. So instead focus on how you can increase God in your life this afternoon and evening. Instead of going home tonight and watching football, spend time with your family members, sit down for dinner together, go on a walk or have game night! Lets work on adding things to our lives that have a chance at furthering the kingdom of God. Hey, replacing 30 minutes of TV with reading this blog could change your life, so you are already on the right track!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Grow Strong

Grow Strong in the Light of My Presence. As My Face shines upon you, you receive nutrients that enhance your growth in grace. I designed you to commune with Me face to face, and this interaction strengthens your soul. Such communion provides a tin glimpse of what awaits you in heaven, where all barriers between you and My Glory will be removed. This meditative time with Me blesses you doubly: You experience My Presence here and how, and you are refreshed by the hope of heaven, where you will know Me in ecstatic Joy.

Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?" Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord. You have filled my heart with greater job than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.- PSALM 4:6-8

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.- REVELATION 21:23

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God is praising us and the time that we are spending with Him. He wants to let us know that this interaction we are making with Him is strengthening our relationship. Personally, after my morning interactions with the Lord I feel refreshed and ready to face the day. The fact that this is only a glimpse of what we will get to experience in Heaven together is beyond amazing!

My goal for you is to reach out to others today and share with them the relationship you have with the Lord. Do not keep all of the happiness to yourself, but instead share it with the people around you and show them how something as simple as reading a blog about His word daily can improve your relationship with the One True King. We all need His Light in our lives and the chance to live with motivation that the best is yet to come!