Tag Archives: frustration

So You Had A Bad Day!

So You Had A Bad Day?

What do you do when the phone rings and the person on the other side of the line gives you bad news?  It may be a call from a family member sharing with you the news of a loved one that has passed.  It could be the scary call from the Doctor with the results from the test that don’t look very promising.  Or it could be any number of different scenarios giving you the news that you have always dreaded to hear!  If you live long enough you will experience some of these dark times of life.  Times where the bad news of circumstances seem to be bigger and heavier than the good news of daily living.

Dark Times! During the dark times of life it is very important that we take the time to remind ourselves of some very important truths.  These truths will shine as a light in the darkness and guide us through to the other side, where we will find blessing for having made it through the challenge.

Remind Yourself That God Loves You! That’s right!  We know it, but we take it for granted and we often forget about it!  It is somewhere in there, but not where it needs to be.  Put right up in the front of your mind and heart the reminder that “GOD LOVES ME!”  God does love you – more than you can dream or imagine!

Remind Yourself That All Things Work Together For The Good Of Those That Love God And Who Are Called According To His Purpose! God is always at work.  And God is always working for our blessing.  When we love God and live in obedience to Him and His calling, then His blessings are able to flow to and through our lives.  God can use even the bad for our good, if we will love, trust and obey Him!

Remind Yourself That God Has A Plan And It Is Better Than Any Plan That You Can Come Up With! Look around you – everything that God has created has a purpose!  God has a plan and purpose for your life and if He has allowed some challenge to come into your life, then you can bank on the fact that He is going to use it to grow you and use you for His glory!

Remind Yourself To Deal With Any Sin That Might Get In Between You And God! We don’t like to admit it, but the truth is:  WE ARE SINNERS AND OUR SIN GETS IN THE WAY!  Don’t beat up on yourself for being a sinner.  Just admit it, asked for God’s forgiveness and strength to overcome!  Don’t allow sin to block the flow of God’s blessing to and through you!

Remind Yourself Of The Reality That God Has Been With Me, Is With Me Now And Will Be With Me For Always! God has been with you always and will be with you always.  He was with you before you were born and desires to be with you after you die.  There may be times that you feel like you are all alone, but God is always just one prayer away.  Take some time to talk with Him today and thank Him for what you’ve been reminded of!

Pray For What???

Photo 3Everybody knows that they should pray, but very few actually take the time to do it! Most people pray when they are in trouble or when life fails to work out the way that they had planned.  I think that one of the things that gets in the way of our praying on a regular basis is not knowing what to pray for.  So, I thought that I would share a few suggestions to hopefully encourage us all to take some time today to pray!

Remember that prayer is conversation! Prayer is simply you talking and listening to God.  In the same way that you would have a conversation with a friend, you can have a conversation with God.  You have to learn to listen in a different way, but with a little practice – you will be hearing God in the Spirit in no time!

Pray For People! God loves people!  God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross, so that people might be able to have relationship with their Creator.  Pray that your family, friends, neighbors and even enemies might get into this amazing relationship!  If you have not gotten into this relationship, then pray and ask God to help you!  If you need help getting into relationship with God, then drop me a line!

Pray Against The Enemy! Ask God to tear down the works of Satan.  Pray that Satan’s thoughts will be taken “captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ!”  Satan is at work all around us and one of the greatest weapons that we have against his evil schemes is prayer.  Make sure that you are using this weapon and using it wisely!

Pray For The Holy Spirit! Ask for the Holy Spirits conviction of sin and leading into freedom.  Ask the Spirit to help you hear, receive and become obedient to God’s Word, so that God’s will and purposes might be accomplished in and through you!

This is just a few of the things that you and I can and should be praying for! Take a few moments right now to have a little conversation with God – just share your heart.  You will be surprised at what a difference it will make!

U-Turn Blessings!

u_turn_sign_2So you have heard from God and made the decision to turn your life around! The Spirit has spoken and you have listened from the inside – out!  The message inside your heart will change the outside of your life!  Now that you are heading away from the destructive patterns of the world and toward the constructive plans of Heaven – what should you expect?

When we repent, change, u-turn or 180, then we can expect God to show up in big ways! God wants to do an amazing work to you and through you!

First – we can look for REFRESHING! I talk to people every day about life stuff and have discovered that most people are tired, frustrated, discouraged and just plain weak from the blows that life has dealt them.  We all need and long for refreshing!  Refreshing is not something that we can do for ourselves.  Refreshing is the work of God.  You can open your life to it, but God has to do the work.  When we repent, we open our lives to the refreshing work of the Holy Spirit.  God comes into our tired, frustrated and discouraged lives and strengthens us with power, hope and encouragement.

Second – God will provide RESTORATION! This is an amazing and beautiful gift from God.  Often times as we live our lives and make mistakes, we will later discover that our mistakes were not cheap, in fact they often costs us so much more than we ever dreamed we would have to pay.  But God is more than faithful and when we repent, He begins to put back together the broken pieces of our lives.  Your life may seem like a big ole mess, but it is never to big of a mess for God.  In fact God specializes in taking the impossible and making it possible!  Just trust Him and do what you know you need to do!

Third – God will bring REVIVAL! God has a whole new spiritual place that He wants to take you.  He has things that He wants to show you that will change your life for all eternity.  God wants to grow you from the inside-out and enable you to do awesome and mighty things for Him and His glory.

Make sure that you have made the turn away from self and go running just as fast as you can into the open arms of a loving Heavenly Father!  You will be glad, so glad that you did – as you experience His refreshing, restoration and revival!