Encouragement Prevails

“GOD ONLY GIVES YOU WHAT YOU CAN HANDLE” This is a term I am definitely used to hearing in regards to a tragedy or very difficult time in someone's life. When they feel incapable of being able to handle a situation. Usually a situation that is considered bad or even evil. 1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. Psalm 145:9 The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalm 107:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.  Matthew 19:17, Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good - except God alone.” Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” James 1:19 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. God IS good. He is no...

Hebrews 7:26-28 We need a chief priest who is holy, innocent, pure, set apart from sinners, and who has the highest position in heaven. We need a priest who doesn’t have to bring daily sacrifices as those chief priests did. First they brought sacrifices for their own sins, and then they brought sacrifices for the sins of the people. Jesus brought the sacrifice for the sins of the people once and for all when He sacrificed Himself. Moses’ Teachings designated mortals as chief priests even though they had weaknesses. But God’s promise, which came after Moses’ Teachings, designated the Son who forever accomplished everything that God required . IT IS FINISHED! Sin and death have no hold on you. Jesus defeated them once and for all on the cross. He is our perfect Priest and King. He has forever accomplished everything that God requires. There is no accomplishment we can have or do that can win us God’s love and affection. He has already accomplished everything. All we are called to do is ...

It’s almost a natural instinct within us to want to do stuff ourselves or by ourselves. We want to feel the satisfaction of accomplishing something on our own, in our own power.  As I attempt to write this my daughter is doing exactly that. She is trying to accomplish something in her own power that she’s not ready for yet, wiping. While I encourage all of her efforts and am thankful that she is motivated, I have to make sure the job is completely done and done the right way or it could hurt her in multiple different ways. Just like a small child we cannot do everything on our own. We need help in a multitude of different ways and not just here or there, but really throughout our whole day. If we don’t ask for and receive help we could get hurt in multiple different ways. The main way that we need to reach out and seek help is by praying to God. Praying for wisdom and guidance. Praying for patience and peace. Praying for healing and miracles. Praying to see if and who we should rea...

Psalm 27:14 Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. It takes bravery and courage to be patient. Whether it’s something small like trying to put a baby to sleep or big like waiting for results to see if you have cancer, you are overcoming a certain amount of fear. Fear that the baby won’t go to sleep, fear that the results will be bad. Ultimately it all comes down to faith. Having faith in God and His plan. Having faith in the promises that God has made you. Genesis 12:1-3 The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your land, your relatives, and your father’s home. Go to the land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation, I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse. Through you every family on earth will be blessed.” Abram, a 75-year-old, went to a land he has never been, with this promise from God. Knowing that his wife, Sarai, wa...

“Get a Life”, definitely a familiar phrase growing up. So familiar it tends to sneakily lead our thoughts. We long for lives that we want to “get”, usually revolving around an accomplishment or achievement. I haven’t really lived until ____. I’m not succeeding in life because I’m not ____. I just want a life where this coronavirus thing doesn’t exist. I just want my life to be as great as it is right now and not change. Even when we obtain those lives that we’re striving for, how long does it last until we’re wanting to “get” a new one, a better version of the one we have. We are constantly searching for more in our lives. We are created to want more. John 7:38 “As Scripture says, ‘Streams of living water will flow from deep within the person who believes in me.’” Jesus said this about the Spirit, whom his believers would receive. The more we are truly longing for, the life we are truly thirsting for, is one where we are living in closeness with God. He created us to walk wit...