When Anger and Frustration Causes You To Go Dark Because Of The Storm Clouds, Ask God to Bring His Light So That Your Darkness Doesn't Spread To Everyone Around You

Soul Food

Ephesians 4:31,32

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Psalm 37:8

“Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.”

Soul Search

• Have you ever gotten really angry?
  If so, do you remember why and can you talk about it?

• Are you someone who is prone to getting angry or are you someone who rarely gets angry?
  If you are prone to getting angry frequently, do you know why?

• How do you deal with your anger when it erupts?
  How do the people around you deal with you when you get angry?

• To what extent does your anger manifest itself?
  Is it through words or also through angry, maybe even violent, actions?

Soul Moves

• Ask God to come into your life and deal with the root causes of your anger.
  Ask Him to reveal to you and show you what needs to be dealt with.

• The Bible lists in Galatians chapter 5 the fruit that is manifested in the life of a man or woman who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or her.
  Several of the hallmarks in the life of a Christ-controlled man or woman are joy, peace, patience, kindness and self-control.
  Ask God to develop these in you.

• Talk to the people you’re closest to – and who have the privilege of enduring your angry outbursts – and explain that you are aware of your pre-disposition to getting angry.
  Tell them that with God’s help you will get better.

• Think and pray about individuals who have suffered as a result of your anger.
  Ask God to show you if there is anyone you need to go to to apologize and ask forgiveness from.

When you make a trade with someone - to give them something great in exchange for something terrible - it leaves a life-changing impression.

Soul Food

John 1:14

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Hebrews 4:14,15

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.”

Soul Search

• Have you ever – literally or figuratively – walked in someone else’s shoes?
  What was it like?
  Was it comfortable or was it uncomfortable?
  Why?

• Why do you think you might want to avoid walking in someone else’s shoes?

• What do you think might be the benefits of walking in someone else’s shoes?

• Do you think God might ask you to walk (figuratively) in someone else’s shoes someday?
  Has He asked you to in the past or is He nudging you to now?
  What good might happen in you by putting yourself in someone else’s place?

Soul Moves

• We all have our own comfort zones and places of familiarity that provide us with a sense of peace.
  Are you brave enough to let God know you’re willing to step out of your comfort zone?

• God can accomplish a lot when His followers are willing to risk being uncomfortable by putting on shoes that are new to them.
  Are you sensing that God might want you to try on a new pair of shoes?
  What is keeping you from doing it?

• Ask God to give you the courage to step out by faith into foreign territory.
  Along with the courage, ask Him to show you the shoes He might want you to fill.

• Determine that you won’t allow some discomfort to keep you from putting on someone else’s shoes.
  The discomfort is only temporary and goes away quickly when you see the miracles that God does when He finds you’re willing to do what He asks.

Money often doesn't materialize into the blessing one hoped for; without God being invited in to help you manage money, it can destroy the lives of those anywhere near it.

Soul Food

Mark 4:18,19

“Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”

Soul Search

• Do you control money or does money control you?

• If you believe you control the money you have, why?
  What decisions do you make and what actions do you take that have you convinced you control it?

• If you’re brave enough to admit it, do you believe money controls you?
  What decisions do you make and what actions do you take that cause you to believe that money might actually be controlling you?

• How much of your time do you think about money and spend time handling money matters?
  Do you invest as much time with God and developing your spiritual life?

Soul Moves

• Ask God, by His Holy Spirit, to show you the truth about whether or not money controls you.
  Maybe more importantly, ask God to help you see and acknowledge the truth if money has more control over you than you’d like to think.

• Take a close look at how much time you spend thinking about money (or how to get it) or handling money matters.
  Take some steps to balance that time out with spending more time with God in prayer and in Bible study.

• God knows we need money to live and to provide for our families.
  He says in the Bible that if we seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) that He will take care of the things we tend to worry about like what we will eat and what we will wear.
  Test God in this to see if He will bless you and provide for you in His way if you put Him first.

• One important way to master money and make sure you control it is to give it away.
  Live with your hands open to give.
  The only way you can live with your hands open is if your heart is open.
  Ask God to do the open heart surgery in you that will open your hands to give money away to those who need it.

When we are hurt, we often want our tormentor to suffer hurt too. God's Spirit, when it dwells in us, wants the tormentor to find healing and peace.

Soul Food

Psalm 103:2-4,8-10

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion….”

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.”

Soul Search

• Have you ever been hurt so badly by someone that either secretly or overtly you have “wished” hurt back on that person?
  Can you talk about it?

• Do you currently wish some type of retribution or hurt on anyone right now and if so, why?
  If you don’t wish retribution or hurt on anyone but you did previously, what changed in you and how did it change so that you no longer seek retribution?

• Jesus, on the cross, asked God to forgive the very people who were torturing Him and who would ultimately kill Him.
  You might say, “Well, He was able to do that because He is God.”
  Do you think it’s possible to do what Jesus did when we have been hurt or is that kind of attitude and forgiveness impossible?

• Can you remember a time when you hurt someone badly?
  How did that situation get resolved?
  Did you find yourself wanting the person you hurt to forgive you?

Soul Moves

• Ask God to show you if you’re harboring any resentment, anger or bitterness toward someone who has hurt you.

• If you are, indeed, harboring ill-will toward someone who has injured you, does that hurt extend to wishing that that person suffers in some way too?

• In your hurt and pain, ask God to show you the things in you that He wants to heal.
  Injury to us caused by others can uncover and reveal not-so-healthy things about us in the way that we respond to hurt.

• Ask God to work in you to be (and become) someone who remembers how much you need others’ understanding and forgiveness when you hurt and fail them and by being that person, you will be one who extends that same understanding and forgiveness when others hurt and fail you.

Hurtful words and actions add bricks to walls that begin to separate people; speedy apologies and fast forgiveness pull the bricks out of the wall.

Soul Food

Matthew 5:23,24

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

Colossians 3:13

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Soul Search

• Has someone hurt you or offended you and that hurt/offense has compromised your relationship with them?
  Can you talk about it?

• Is it possible that the person who has injured you doesn’t even know that they have hurt you?
  Can you bring the situation up to them and talk about it?
  Why or why not?

• Are you aware of relationships you have – or have had – that have been compromised somehow but you don’t know why?
  You just know that something is ‘off’ and isn’t quite right?
  Is it possible you have hurt or offended someone but didn’t know it?

• Is there a relationship that you once valued highly but that has been hurt or ruined in some way?
  You know there is a stalemate in the relationship but someone has to make the first move.
  Can you be that person to make the first move?
  Why or why not?

Soul Moves

• None of us are always highly sensitive or discerning.
  If someone has hurt you, as much as you think they should know they did something wrong, is it possible they are clueless?
  Consider going to them to talk about it.

• Ask God in prayer to bring to your memory relationships that have been hurt or injured in some way.
  Ask Him if there is something He wants you to do - and maybe that you need to do - to bring healing and possibly restoration to that relationship.

• Make a decision, as far as the relationships you have, to be a wall destroyer rather than a wall builder.
  Ask God if there are bricks that you are responsible for to remove from walls that have been built.

• Ask God in prayer to give you the courage, strength, and humility to be the person to make the first move in restoring one or more relationships.

What do you plug into with respect to what you watch and listen to? If you consistently plug into God's Word then that is what will come out of you - for everyone's good.

Soul Food

Matthew 11.15

“Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Matthew 15:10,11

“Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

Soul Search

• Some people are better at talking than they are at listening.
  What about you?
  What would the people around you say about you?
  Are you better at talking or better at listening?

• Listening is extremely important in itself.
  But, listening is only as good as the content that you’re allowing to be poured into you.
  What do you listen to?
  How would you say the things you take into yourself through your ears affect you?

• The words that come out of our mouths are a direct result of what we have allowed to come into us through our ears.
  What words come out of you and are they healthy to, and for, the people around you?

• "If most of the time you’re plugged into the microphone jack because you talk a lot, is it possible that it’s time to plug into the speaker jack so that you can do more listening than talking?
  Would you say that you could probably spend more time listening to, or ‘taking in,’ God’s Word, the Bible?"

Soul Moves

• The Bible says that wise people listen a lot and speak little (Proverbs 17:28; 18:2).
  Make a choice to be wise and intelligent.

• Decide that in a healthy, balanced, way, you care what people think about you.
  People get turned off by people who talk too much.
  Be someone that others want to be around.

• Ask God, by His Holy Spirit, to moderate and help control what you listen to and take ‘on board.’
  Recognize that not everything you expose your ears to is good for your soul.

• Listen to yourself talk.
  Is what comes out of your mouth healthy for the people around you that have to listen to what you’re saying?
  Ask God to help you listen to good, healthy things so that those same things are what come out of you.

Soul Food

I Timothy 6:17-19

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

Ecclesiastes 5:10

“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”

Soul Search

• Do you feel stressed and anxious about money or paying bills on a regular basis?
  Can you talk about it?

• Are you a happy person quite apart from whether or not you have money in the bank?
  Do you think having more money would make you a happier person?

• Are you content right now with what you have?
  Why or why not?
  What makes you content?

• How generous are you with what you have?
  Do you think you have enough to share and give to those who have less than you do?
  Have you ever given from what you have to those who have more than you do?

Soul Moves

• Ask God to help you not be anxious or stressed about money.
  Ask Him to show you His perspective on money and wealth.

• Ask God to help you invest in the things that He knows will bring you happiness and to fill you with ‘happy’ even if your bank account is drained of resources.

• Read God’s Word, the Bible, and look to God to bring you to a place of contentment even if you don’t have much in the way of worldly wealth.

• Practice being generous with what you have even if it’s a little.
  Ask God to show you who He wants you to share with and be a blessing to.

You can know it's God speaking to you when He asks you to do something that costs you, when it's something you wouldn't naturally think of, and when it's something that will benefit and bless others.

Soul Food

Luke 11:28

“He (Jesus) replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

I Samuel 3:10

“The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’”

Soul Search

• Do you think God can ‘speak’ to people?
  If you do, how does He do it?

• Do you believe God has ever spoken to you?
  How did He speak to you?
  Can you describe your experience(s)?

• Do you think it’s important for people to believe that God can speak to them?
  Why or why not?

• Do you believe that the Bible is God’s Word to people?
  Why or why not?
  It is important to have a ‘starting point’ – a reference – for knowing the kinds of things God would actually speak to people.
  If there’s no foundation for absolute, moral Truth, then God’s ‘voice’ could say anything to anyone about everything and there would be no basis for knowing whether or not it was God who was speaking.

Soul Moves

• Read the Bible.
  Start with the book of John in the New Testament.
  The first decision you need to make is whether or not you believe God’s written Word, the Holy Bible, is God’s Word to mankind.

• Ask God to begin speaking to you through the Bible.
  As you read, trust that God will stir things in your spirit and in your mind for what He wants you to pay particular attention to.

• As you go about everyday life, be listening for God’s voice to speak to you when He wants you to do something.
  He will often bring a Bible verse you have read back to your mind that ties in to the very thing(s) He wants you to do.

• Try to remember this simple list of things that will alert you to the fact that God is speaking to you:

  • What you’re hearing will cost you something – there will be a point of sacrifice.

  • What you’re hearing is not from within yourself because you know you would never think of something like that on your own.

  • What you’re being asked to do is going to be a blessing and benefit to somebody else."

Confusion is abounding with respect to gender and sexual fluidity; what does God say about it?

Soul Food

Deuteronomy 22:5

“A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.

Ephesians 5:1,2

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Soul Search

• What do you believe about women dressing as men and men dressing as women?
  Why do you believe what you do on this subject?

• Do you believe that the lines between gender and the lines between sexuality are being blurred in society in a good way?
  Why or why not?

• What are your thoughts about the idea of ‘toxic masculinity?’
  Certainly telling boys that they can’t show their emotions is unhealthy but what are other ways that masculinity can be ‘toxic?’

• The opposite of ‘toxic masculinity’ has been called ‘heroic masculinity.’
  What do you think the attributes of ‘heroic masculinity’ would be as revealed or defined by God’s Word, the Bible?

Soul Moves

• Make a decision on what or who is your moral guide for Truth (with a capital ‘T’).
  You need to decide if there is any moral authority for human conduct and behavior and if there is, why, in your determination, does that person or thing carry that authority?

• If the Bible is your moral authority – and there are countless historical reasons for making it so dating back thousands of years – and it contains specific moral ‘guardrails,’ which ones are you going to abide by?
  Do you get to pick and choose or is it all or nothing?

• Ask God to give you the strength and courage to hold fast to His Word and to live your life within the guardrails outlined there – even if those beliefs fly in the face of popular culture and contemporary society.

• Read God’s Word for all the Truths that will make you, if you adopt those principles, a truly heroic man.
  Determine to be a role model for other men and for your family and friends.

When you serve Christ you will pay a price and it won't be easy. Keep your eyes on Jesus because He's preparing your true home and it isn't on earth.

Soul Food

John 15:18-20

“‘If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.’”

Hebrews 11:36-40 & 12:1-3

“Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Soul Search

• Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord?
  If you have, have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had to stand up for Jesus and for the truths found in the Bible?
  Can you explain what happened?

• Maybe you are a follower of Jesus and got into a situation where in looking back you should have spoken up and/or stood up for Jesus and for your biblical values, but you got nervous or scared and kept silent.
  Can you talk about it?

• As the world seems to be increasingly ‘anti-Christ,’ have you thought about the possibility that you could be persecuted for your Christian beliefs?
  Many Christians are suffering terrible persecution in certain parts of the world.
  Have you thought about how you can or would prepare for persecution if it came to your door?
  What does that preparation look like?

• Are you someone who wants everyone to like them?
  Does that desire tend to make you go quiet if you think your beliefs and values will cause you to be disliked?
  If so, how do you think you should stand up for Christ in those moments you are tempted to go silent?

Soul Moves

• Ask God to give you the strength and courage to stand up for Jesus and for your Christian morals and values – especially if you’re someone who tends to go quiet when your beliefs are being disparaged.

• Ask God to prepare you in every way – spiritually, emotionally and physically – for various forms of persecution that might come.

• Be in relationship with other Christ-followers and have discussions about how they think they would prepare to encounter opposition to their faith.

• Prepare yourself – and ask God to prepare you – for persecution and mockery.
  It might even begin in your own family.
  Practice standing up for Jesus by doing so with arguably the toughest audience you might have: your friends and family.

You Can Do More Than Cope With Difficult People; You Can Build Bridges of Relationship By Being Positive & Thankful

Soul Food

Proverbs 12:25

“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”

Ephesians 4:29

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Soul Search

• Do you have any painful stories about going to family gatherings – especially around the holidays?
  Can you talk about any of those experiences?

• How have you coped in the past when you knew that you had to be around people who are not easy to get along with or who you simply don’t like?

• What personality traits or idiosyncrasies do you have that make it difficult for others to be around you?
  Would you say you’re self-aware enough to know what those things are about you that cause others not to want to be around you?

• Have you thought about how you can be a person of influence and ‘climate change’ at family gatherings to bring positive changes to the environment?
  What might some of those positive changes be in terms of how you conduct yourself in order to change the environment?

Soul Moves

• You’ve heard the expression “kill them with kindness.”
  Think of it in the way that you can subdue bad or ill-tempered people by being kind to them instead of treating them with contempt or disdain.
  Think of ways to compliment and say kind things to people you would otherwise want to avoid or be rude to.

• Ask God to give you the strength (and possibly courage) to remain in the same room with people you would otherwise want to avoid.

• Once you have the courage and strength to stay in the same room, ask God to show you how to relate to, and engage with, people whose personality and behavior turn you off.
  Remember that often-times people who exhibit bad behavior and ill manners are people who are troubled and have been deeply hurt.
  Ask God to help you to be an agent of healing.

• Ask God, by His Holy Spirit, to show you the good qualities in the people you don’t like.
  Look for opportunities to tell them the qualities that you like and admire in them.
  Also, try to remember good stories that you have about them (if there are any you can remember) and recall those stories.

When you're in the middle of a storm, it can seem like it will never end. Just remember that when you know Jesus He's the peaceful place in the eye of the storm.

Soul Food

John 16:16-22,33

“Jesus went on to say, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.’

At this, some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?’ They kept asking, ‘What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.’

Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, ‘Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.’

Verse 33 - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Soul Search

• Are you in a difficult and exhausting situation right now?
  If so, is it something you can talk about?

• Do you ever find yourself losing hope that a difficult and challenging situation will be resolved?
  Would you say you have ever given up on someone or something?

• Has a situation that you hoped and dreamed would only be ‘for a little while’ lasted for what seemed like an eternity?
  How did you cope in order to get by?

• When a really hard situation drags on and on do you blame God?
  Do you think He has given up on you or are you prone to think that somehow you deserve it?
  Can you talk about your thought process and why you think the thoughts that you do?

Soul Moves

• You’ve heard the old saying, “God will never give you more than you can handle.”
  Well, first of all, that’s not in the Bible even though many people think it is.
  Consider that God might just give you enough to the point that He knows you can’t handle it so that you’ll turn to Him for help.

• Consider that the weight of things bearing down on you has one purpose in God’s plan: that the weight will drive you to your knees in prayer to call on Him for help.
  Are you at that point?

• If you’ve been doing your best to cope with tough stuff, what coping mechanisms are you using?
  Are those coping mechanisms healthy or are they doing damage?
  Are drugs or alcohol involved?
  Sexual activity with many partners?
  Gambling?
  Shopping?

• If you have been resisting God and have refused to fall on your knees in surrender and humility, do you know why?
  Ask God to show you why you can’t or won’t allow Him to help you carry the weight of the things that are pressing you to the point of hopelessness and exhaustion.

Even When You're Staring Into the Black Hole of A Bad Situation, Light Can Unexpectedly Spring Forth Through God's Favor That Will Change Your Entire Journey

Soul Food

Psalm 5:12

“Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”

Psalm 84:11

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”

Soul Search

• Have you ever had a bad situation turn around for good very quickly?
  Do you think the turnaround could have had divine influence?
  Can you relate the story?

• How do you define ‘favor?’
  What does favor look like to you?

• Are good things in life because of coincidence or because of ‘fate’ or ‘luck?’
  Do you believe in a God who can make good things happen for you and to you as a result of His favor?
  Why or why not?

• When you think of God’s blessing and favor, what comes to mind?
  Is it possible that God can bring blessing and favor to your life in ways that you haven’t thought of?

Soul Moves

• The Bible says that God blesses the righteous.
  Do you consider yourself a ‘righteous’ person?
  Do you think God would consider you righteous?
  Why or why not?"

• If being righteous is doing what is right with respect to how you live your life, the Bible is God’s handbook on righteous living.
  Ask God to give you a desire to learn how to live from what the Bible teaches and ask Him to help you live doing what is right.

• Ask God to bestow His favor and honor on you.
  How, specifically, would you desire God to show you His favor and honor?

• When you seek to live right according to God’s Word, the Bible, you will increasingly live a blameless life.
  While no one is perfect, you should seek to live blamelessly.
  When you do this, God’s promise is that He will not withhold any good from you.
  You will be the recipient of His goodness.
  Tell God what good things you want Him to bless you with as you seek to live righteously.

You want to know that someone you go to for counsel and advice really cares about you. The most wonderful thing about Jesus as our Counselor is that no one cares more about you than He does.

Soul Food

Isaiah 9:6

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

I Corinthians 1:24

“but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

Soul Search

• When you need the most significant and consequential answers in life, who do you turn to?
  A friend or family member?
  An employer or manager at work?
  The internet?
  Who do you turn to and why?

• Do you ever go to God in prayer for guidance and direction?
  If not, why not?
  If you do, why do you?

• The Bible calls the Holy Spirit the ‘Paraclete.”
  Paraclete is the Greek word for “One who comes alongside” and is the term that means “advocate,” “comforter” or “helper.”
  In John 14:16,17 the Holy Spirit is our Advocate or intercessor.
  Do you believe that when you call out to God that He supernaturally sends you help and counsel by way of the Holy Spirit?

• Sometimes we project our human relational traumas onto who we view and believe God to be.
  If we have been disappointed, frustrated, betrayed, neglected and even abused by people in our lives who we thought we could trust, those hurts sometimes prevent us from believing that God will love and care about us.
  Do you have trouble believing that God even exists and that He could possibly love you and care about you?

Soul Moves

• Take a close look at where you turn for counsel and help when you need it.
  If it doesn’t involve turning to God and asking for His help, ask yourself why.
  Ask God to help you turn to Him in trust and simple faith.

• Ask God to show you the relationships in your life that have affected your view of God and ultimately, your relationship with Him.
  Ask Him to heal you and change the wrong perceptions you might have about Him.

• Believe God to be the wonderful counselor, the advocate, the helper and the comforter that His Word, the Bible, says that He is.
  Ask Him in prayer to help you and take care of you.

• "Many people grow up believing that they are not loved and not cared for.
  They don’t believe they have much value to be loved and cared for.
  Let I John 3:1(a) and I Peter 5:7 sink into your soul:

  “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!” (NLT)

  “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (NLT)"

Practice patience and endurance with challenging people; once you know their 'back story' it can help you go the distance

Soul Food

Ephesians 6:12

“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.”

I Corinthians 13:7

“It (Love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Soul Search

• Can you recall a time in your life when you ‘lost it’ because you were on-edge and stressed out?
  Can you talk about it?

• Can you remember a time when you were with someone you knew and they were not themselves and they exhibited startling or troubling behavior?
  If so, did you know at the time why they weren’t themselves or did you find out later why they were acting the way they did?

• Are you self-aware enough to know - in the moments when you are stressed out and anxious about something – why you are exhibiting unusual, ‘out of character’ behavior?
  If so, what do you do about it?

• Are you someone who is bold enough to ask someone difficult questions in order to find out the ‘back story’ to their behavior?
  What might you do to gain the boldness and courage to get the back story?

Soul Moves

• If you’re not a very self-aware individual, ask God in prayer (just talking to Him like you would as if you are talking to your best friend) to help you be more aware of yourself and to help you understand why you’re thinking and feeling the way you do.

• Whether it’s you or it’s someone you know, when there is a ‘melt-down’ or out-of-character behavior being shown, ask God to help you see and understand the ‘back-story’ that is triggering the unusual behavior.

• When there is a back-story that triggers stressful or anxiety-ridden behavior, then you have an indication that there is hurt and brokenness that needs to be addressed.
  Ask God to show you the root of that pain and hurt so that it can be dealt with and ultimately, healed.

• Ask God to give you strength and courage by His Holy Spirit to withstand and endure sometimes ugly and unsettling behavior that would want to cause you to simply run away from the person demonstrating that kind of behavior.
  Ask God to give you staying power so that you can bring help and healing to that person.

God speaks loudly and clearly to us when He knows we need to hear His comforting and reassuring words

Soul Food

Isaiah 41:10

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Psalm 119:25, 28, 49, 50, 105

“I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word.”

“My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.”

“Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.”

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

Soul Search

• Can you recall a time in your life when you were desperate to hear God speaking to you?
  Can you share some of that experience?

• When you were desperate to hear God’s voice or to somehow know that He was with you, did He speak to you or make His presence known to you in some way?
  If so, how?

• Do you believe that God is real and that He wants His children to hear His voice and experience His presence?
  If you do believe that, why do you?
  If you don’t believe that, why don’t you?
  Can you share your honest thoughts and feelings?

• Do you think that God can speak to other people but not to you?
  Can you explain why you think that?

Soul Moves

• Read God’s written Word, the Bible, because His Word is the starting point for knowing what God says and for learning how He thinks.
  When God speaks, His Words always aligns and parallels with the truths found in the Bible.

• Ask God in prayer to speak to you and to make His presence in your life and in the situations you encounter real to you.

• If you feel like God is far from you, ask Him, invite Him, to draw close to you.
  At the same time, make the decision to draw close to Him.
  If there is anything standing between you and Him – sinful choices that you know are wrong – ask Jesus to forgive you, surrender and give your life to Him, and receive His life in you.

• Be on the lookout for God to show up miraculously so that you can hear His voice loud and clear.
  When He does, let it cause you to worship Him and praise Him for His goodness to you.

Be animated - come alive - by God's Spirit to be an agent of miraculous change.

Soul Food

Matthew 6:7,8

“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

Luke 8:1-3

“After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.”

Acts 9:10-18

“In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, ‘Ananias!’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he answered.

The Lord told him, ‘Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.’

‘Lord,’ Ananias answered, ‘I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.’

But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’”

Soul Search

• Would you say that you know when God is speaking to you?
  If you can answer this question, “Yes,” can you explain how you know when God is speaking to you?
  Can you describe one or two times in your life when you knew that God was speaking to you and describe how He was speaking to you?

• Would you say that you don’t know when God is speaking to you?
  If you do, just know you’re in good company.
  Many people would say that they don’t know when God is speaking to them.
  From the story I told in the devotional about the wallet, I had a thought drop into my mind: ‘I think I should give Allan this wallet.’
  Do you think it’s possible that God’s Holy Spirit can drop thoughts into your head and is it possible that God can inspire thoughts that come to you?

• Do you think that God works through people on earth today?
  If so, can you think of someone you know either directly or indirectly who you would say God works through?
  Why do you think so?

• Do you think God has ever used you as a “Miracle Agent?”
  If you can, what happened when God used you?
  Can you think of a time that you were encountered by a “Miracle Agent?”
  What did that miracle agent do to show you that God is at work?

Soul Moves

• Ask God to speak to you so that you recognize His voice and so that you can grow in the confidence of knowing that God is speaking to you.

• Hearing God’s voice begins by hearing His voice in the Holy Scriptures – the Bible.
  Begin (or continue) reading the Bible so that you know the kinds of things God would be speaking to you.

• Be proactive about asking God to help you discern the thoughts/ideas that come to your mind and heart.
  Becoming sensitized to God’s voice happens when you no longer take thoughts and ideas so casually that you don’t see the possibility that God brought them.

• Open yourself – your mind and your spirit – to becoming a reliable “Miracle Agent.”
  Ask God to touch you by His Holy Spirit to be a conduit of miracle power and blessing to the people around you.
  Ask God to use you to show others that God is alive and well on this earth!

Maintaining healthy relationships sometimes requires long-suffering

Soul Food

Ephesians 4:2,3

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Soul Search

• Can you recall times in your life when you had to make some difficult choices that would cost you something in order to maintain a relationship?
  What were one or two of those choices/decisions?

• We all like to avoid suffering whenever we can.
  Can you recall a time or season in your life when you chose the way of suffering because you decided to push your own needs/desires down in order to put someone else’s needs/desires first?

• Some people are definitely better than others at putting other people first.
  Some people routinely place themselves last and suffer silently while their own needs are not being met.
  Are you one of those who put yourself and your own needs last?
  Are you comfortable sharing your own journey of suffering by not speaking up to have your own needs met?

• There is definitely a time to speak up if you’re going to suffer needlessly in a relationship but there is also a time not to speak up and thus effectively suffer silently for the sake of a relationship.
  Do you know when to speak up and when to remain silent?
  How do you make that decision?

Soul Moves

• God has called His children to be servants and not doormats.
  Sometimes, though, we are left feeling like doormats.
  Ask God to soothe you and minister healing to you when you feel like you’ve been treated like a doormat.
  There is healing for you after the muddy boots have been wiped on you.

• If you feel that you are somewhat routinely used by people in unhealthy ways, ask God to begin sensitizing you so that you know when lines are being crossed to unhealthy places.
  Ask God to give you the courage to speak up and say “No” when you need to.

• If you’re a person who doesn’t routinely put others first, you might be someone who (even without realizing it) takes advantage of others.
  Ask God to quicken your spirit to die to your desires and to put others and their desires first.
  Ask God to help you “suffer” the death of your own self-will and self-determination so that those around you can be blessed.

• Don’t be afraid of the bed of suffering when it means dying to yourself.
  This life is only for a few, short hours in the scheme of all of eternity.
  Ask God to help you sacrifice here and now so that you can gain your heavenly rewards when eternity dawns.

We can be tempted to take advantage of people without breaking any laws, but by yielding to the temptation, we might just be breaking the most important law - God's moral law.

Soul Food

Leviticus 25:14, 17

“If you sell land to any of your own people or buy land from them, do not take advantage of each other…..Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the LORD your God.”

Acts 20:35

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Soul Search

• Have you ever had a situation that you felt needed to be made right and you believed you had the legal grounds in your favor to pursue it?
  Did you follow through?
  Why or why not?

• Just because something is legally right doesn’t always mean that it is morally right.
  Can you recall any situations in your own experience where you did not follow through on legal grounds because you didn’t feel it was morally right to do so?

• Can you recall a time when you took advantage of someone and you know (or knew at the time) that you shouldn’t have?
  Can you talk about it?
  Have you ever made it right?

• Can you recall a time when someone took advantage of you?
  How did it affect you?
  Does it still affect you?

Soul Moves

• If you can recall a time that you took legal action against someone but knew at the time that you shouldn’t OR you know now looking back that you shouldn’t have, is it possible you can do something to correct that decision now?
  What might that correction or restitution look like?

• Ask God to bring to your mind anyone from your past (or even currently) that you might have taken advantage of.
  Allow God’s Word, the Bible, to speak to you about the situation and then ask God to show you how and when you can make the situation right.
  Be prepared that God might ask you to do some pretty tough and humbling things in order to make things right.
  Resist the temptation to run from the hard stuff.

• If you have been taken advantage of, ask God to help you forgive the person or the people who took advantage of you.
  If the injury to you has been especially grievous and difficult for you to get over, ask God to lift that burden from you and to bring fulness of healing to you.

When you're in a pickle or a pinch, you can trust God to show you the way out of the jam.

Soul Food

James 1:5-8

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

Soul Search

• Can you recall a time or two when you really got into a pickle?
  What did you do?
  Can you talk about your pickle?

• When you get into a tough place, what is the first thing you typically do?
  Is one of your first thoughts to call someone?
  Who do you call and why?

• How quick would you say you are to call on God when you’re in a pickle?
  Do you start with Him by speaking to Him in prayer?

• On scale of 1 – 10 - 1 meaning that you don’t trust God at all to hear your prayer and resolve your situation to 10 meaning that you completely and wholly trust God to hear your prayer and to provide answers – where would you rate your level of trust in God to hear your prayer and bring answers?
  Can you share why you rate yourself on the scale like you do?

Soul Moves

• Ask God to help you remember to call out to Him right away when you’re in a pickle.
  Practice making contact with Him your first call.

• After you’ve asked God to help you and give you the wisdom and understanding that you need for your situation, get quiet and listen.

• Be prepared to write down the ideas you have and the things that come to your mind and heart as you listen for God to speak to you.

• Depending on where you fall on the scale of belief/faith in God to help you out of your pickle, ask God to move you up the scale of trust and ask Him to help you believe and receive what you’ve asked Him for.