"Be of good courage,
and HE shall strengthen your heart,
all ye who hope in the LORD."
Psalm 31:24
"Good" courage as opposed to "bad" courage-- courage based on self-reliance, self-aggrandizement.
Our courage can be wrapped in, soaked in, and saturated with the blood of Christ. He is our defense and our shield and refuge. Hope in Him.
He stilled the mouth of lions.
He walked in the fire with His faithful.
He calmed the raging seas and used them as "stepping stones" to His frightened disciples.
AND it is HE who "shall strengthen your heart"--each and every person who places his or her "hope in the LORD".
Not in self.
Not in whether this guy or that guy comes through for us. God wants it and wills it, so we can trust Him. Then we have no fear. NONE. ~selahVtoday
We cannot know for certain how another person feels--the depth of their pain...their emptiness, loss or fear.
We may think we know how a person feels when we see them under fire, trial, or difficulty. We may have had some similar situation in which we felt a specific heartache or trial. However, unless we are the other person, we cannot know the loneliness, the grief, the anxiety, or doubts another has.
We cannot know how deep their faith is based on their tears or depression. They may be trusting in God and clinging to Him with all that is within them in order to keep from totally falling apart. We cannot know what that looks like--the end of anothers rope to us, may be the knots the LORD has tied around their wrists to keep them from slipping in the mire of circumstance.
That's why sometimes our impulsive words like "you just need to trust in the Lord", sound so hollow and trite.
Yes...we all know we "can do all things through Christ who strengthens us", but we do not all know when Christ designates the strength to meet the problem or trial we face. We who care would do well to exercise discernment and restraint when we seek to comfort or minister, or advise another in need.
"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver." Proverbs 25:11
Words that have helped me in trying times are:
"I am so sorry. I wish I had answers."
"I don't know how you feel right now, but I care that you hurt."
"I can't know the confusion and betrayal you feel right now, but I will pray for you during this time. Please hang on to that."
"I can't imagine how hard it is for you to deal with this, but please know that I care and will be here if you need someone to just sit with you. No need to talk. No explanations needed. Just someone in the room."
"Do you care if I pray for you?"
Sometimes just a hug, and pat on the arm, or squeeze of an elbow is all a person needs to know someone cares and feels their pain. The best cards are blank cards with appropriate pictures and a handwritten, "I care" inside with a phone number.
PRAYER: LORD, give us wisdom to discern the words another needs to hear as a soothing balm. Help us be sensitive to another's pain and heartache so we treat others with kindness, love and gentleness. And, if there is someone in need of comfort, direction, or peace who read these words today, I pray You have mercy upon them and pour out Your abundant grace that they may know You are God and that You care for them. Devotional Christian July 12, 2011
"You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures."~Psalm 16:11
Do I need to know anything else but the path the LORD has for me? On HIS path I have His perpetual presence and in His presence I have abundant joy with the promise of eternal pleasures.
Can you even imagine? Pleasures for an eternity? In our most treasured moments of happiness and joy, these are nothing in comparison to those which the LORD has prepared for those who love Him.
Wow... indeed there is joy in the hope we have in Him. Don't walk in the dark. Walk in the Light of the Lord. Revel in His joy.~ selahV
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6
"Do not doubt His grace because of your tribulation, but believe that He loves you as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness." Spurgeon
When I feel useless, I remember words from a devotional:
"...some of My greatest workers are those physically unable to serve, but who have learned to wield the powerful weapon of prayer.” Streams in the Desert (as recorded by Laura A. Barter Snow)
Arthritis? crippling disease? home-bound? bedridden? stuck in a nursing home? feeling useless?
Pray...
Praying for others who are able to do work you're unable to do...pray for God's power to fill the spaces that Satan would use to get in and get a foothold and stop forward progress of these saints of God who are battling on the front lines as ministers, as firemen, teachers, nurses... and police officers.
Praying for volunteers in disaster situations, rescuers, responders: cooks, babysitters, clean-up crews.
Praying for our military: those in special operations who do almost everything in secret, for others who battle depression, for Vets who come back maimed and suffering. For military families who lose loved ones and must walk on alone.
Praying today that you, my friends, prosper and bring honor and glory to the kingdom. May Christ be manifested in all your efforts.
"The LORD who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." 1 Samuel 17:37
"He has delivered us from such a deadly peril and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us" 2 Corinthians 1:10
"Your best life cannot be the best life if it is not, first and foremost, the life which your Creator intends for you."~ Keith Bell
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11
Yesterday can hold a mind full of misery, disappointment and failure. Heartache may linger. Our thoughts may dwell on regret, missed opportunity and faltering faith. Voices from within and without may whisper criticisms and accusations. Gnarly fingers of temptation may grip our spirit with words of condemnation--pulling us into the depths of depression and discouragement.
Must we succumb? Must we wallow in that pit of despair and indulge in senseless persecution of self, community, and fellow man? No. We need not stay in yesterday. We don't have to move on to tomorrow, either. We need only wake up and breathe in the joy of today.
Revel in the moment. Let go of yesterday. Bask in the grace of the present. Absorb God's goodness and immerse your mind in His fresh morning mercies.
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”." Lamentations 3:22-23
People let us down. They fail to measure up to expectations-- to their own words and their own promises.
We can't give up, or give in because of another's failures or twisted walk. We must press on to the prize before us, the prize we are assured is waiting at the end of our race-- not someone else's. We cannot run another person's race. We can only run our own.
We must keep going. No matter the obstacle, the fiery darts, the insults, the persecution, the setbacks. We must get up and put on the whole armor we've been given. We must "trust in the Lord and lean not to our own understanding, but in all our ways we must acknowledge Him and He will direct our paths." Prov. 3:5-6
We can't trust our understanding of the craziness in the world, the challenges, the problems and trials. We can trust God and His promises.
"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary." Galatians 6:9
In due time. God's time. With his game plan. His strategy. His intervention. His purpose. God is in control.
So, be an overcomer.
"To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree Of Life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God" Revelation 2:7
The chaos in this world is caused by sin and the master of manipulation and prince of darkness. He uses us against one another. He is here to wear us down, oppress us and depress us. If Satan can discourage us with things we have placed our faith in over the Lord and His power, the we have to look away from those things-- those people we have trusted in.
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:1
Don't give up. Don't give in. Be an overcomer. Christ will give you rest as well as strength to meet the challenge. "Fear not, for I am with you, even to the end of the age".~Jesus
Thank you, Jesus.
"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me. The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Your loving-kindness, O LORD, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands." Psalm 138:7-8
The Lord will accomplish and perfect that which concerns me. The LORD. He will accomplish it. He parted the Red Sea and raised Jesus from the dead. He can handle our problems. We need only rest in Him as we walk in the world and stand for justice and righteousness. Sit down for a while if you must and rest. Turn off the world and turn down the volume. But then stand up and be counted. Be bold and courageous. Stand in the gap and be all you can be. And whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. ~selahV today