Feeling depressed? Facing too many challenges lately? Ever feel that everything seems to be going wrong all at the same time and you just don't know where to turn? Sunday's message in church was so simple and uplifting that I wanted to share it.
Everyday life can be so tiring and chaotic, what with the traffic jams that we face everyday. Add to that the struggle of making ends meet, paying bills on time, raising children, striving to be a good husband/wife/daughter/son to our family, not to mention stress at work sometimes, it could get overwhelming indeed!
But what happens when, on top of all the everyday things that we have to go through, your spouse tells you he is in an affair and wants out of the marriage? Or your family member suddenly gets sick and you just don't have the finances to send them to the hospital? Take heart, there is hope! And we just need to remind ourselves these four basic things:
First: It is time to believe for much more than what we deserve.
Everything that was given to us were not not given not because we deserve it, but because God loves us. If you are a parent and you have a child, and that child says, "I'm hungry." and he/she looks at you expectantly. What does that tell you? It means the child is trusting in your ability to provide him/her food!
Much more so with our heavenly Father, because the bible tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9 says 'For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.' Everything that was given to us were given not because we deserve it, but because He loves us!
If our faith depends on our ability, then everything is pointless! Our faith rests on the grace of God and His ability, and we should expect to receive greater things that what we deserve because He loves us so!
Second: It's time to believe that God is good.
God is good. Every one knows that for a fact. So if we believe that God is good, then it doesn't matter what we go through because we trust in Him.
One example of God's goodness is that He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us. If He is not good, why would He, knowing that we are sinful people, send His Son to die on the cross for us? And yet He did, because He loves us so much.
Did you ever wonder why a rainbow sometimes appear after the rain? Perhaps you have heard the story of Noah and the flood. The rainbow is the sign of God's covenant to Noah that He will never again destroy the earth in a flood. Let's see what the bible says: Genesis 9:12-17 says: 'And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature that is all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." And God said to Noah, " This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."
The rainbow is not just something pretty we see after the rain, it is a sign that reminds God of His promise never to flood the earth again as He did in the time of Noah.
Of course, while Noah and his family were in the ark, did you think it was all smooth sailing? I'd like to imagine that the ride was a bit rough here and there as they were tossed about by the waves caused by the wind. I imagine the waves to have been very high and strong, and they were tossed this way and that. I imagine that as they went to give food to the animals, they'd have fallen several times and had to get back up again. Imagine carrying a bale of hay and balancing it in a swaying boat, not easy, right?
Did they get hurt? Of course! Did they fall? No doubt. Did they ask when the rain would finally stop pouring. They most probably did. They stumbled, fell numerous times and asked questions INSIDE the ark. All those things happened inside the ark. Did they fall out of the ark? Were they tossed outside? No. The ark is a symbol of God's protection. While Noah and his family were in the ark, they were protected by God. Sure, a lot of things happened, but they were kept safe inside the ark, until it was time to go out.
So are we as children of God. As the ark symbolizes God's protection in the time of Noah, so did Jesus' death on the cross for us in this present age. He died so that we can have protection, and so that we could trust that no matter what comes our way, we could stand strong, because He is our shield and protection. Go dis good.
Third: It's time to believe that God has good plans for us.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, 'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'
You see, God never plans bad things for His sons and daughters. he always makes good plans. God is not limited on how He can provide. An example of this is during the time of Elijah. The story can be found in 1 Kings 17 if you'd like to read it yourself.
There was a famine in the land and God told Elijah to go to a certain place, and He commanded the ravens to bring him bread, and he could drink water from a brook nearby.
After the brook dried up, God sent Elijah to a widow, who was gathering sticks, bake the last flour she had into bread so that she and her son could eat and wait to die. That was as bad as it could be. But do you know what Elijah said to the widow when he met her? He said, 'bring me a cake, please, that I may eat.' Was he crazy? Didn't he know that there was a famine in the land? How dare he ask for a cake? And from a poor widow at that! And what's worse, she was going to have her last meal and wait for death! But what made the widow obey Elijah? Elijah told her what God said to him, that the jar of flour and the oil will never run dry until the Lord sends rain and crops could be planted and harvested again.
And you know what? It happened exactly just as He said he would! So, if God can use a bird to bring bread, and a handful of flour and a jar of oil to not run out, He can do anything else! God is limitless, and He indeed has great plans for us!
Fourth: It is time to believe for miracles.
And here we come to the last one. We saw how God provided for Elijah and the widow and her son. And God's miracles still happen today! I will share a story of God's provision that happened to me personally.
I used to work abroad but four years ago I decided to come home and work in the country instead to be closer to family. I had an emergency fund, but as I studied Spanish language for several months, and I was paying the mortgage on my house, paying bills and buying food, of course the emergency fund dwindled naturally, until it was almost drained. In the process I was praying that God would open a door for me, so that I could have a job and not use all my savings. I kept praying, and I started sending out my resume to several companies, but somehow nothing was opening, or something was opened, but I did not have the peace of mind to go for it. So I kept praying until I became very desperate that I had to be on my knees, asking God to come through for me, reminding Him of how faithful He was to me in the past and how He has always provided for me.
And just as my emergency fund was about to be totally depleted, I received a call from a company, asked me to go for an interview, and to make the story short, I was hired, and I've been working for this company since then.
So when we are feeling down, disappointed, desperate or any other thing, we just need to be reminded of these basic things.
Miracles still happen today as they did back then. All we have to do is ask and believe.
Til next post!
For more articles like this, please go to this page.
Everyday life can be so tiring and chaotic, what with the traffic jams that we face everyday. Add to that the struggle of making ends meet, paying bills on time, raising children, striving to be a good husband/wife/daughter/son to our family, not to mention stress at work sometimes, it could get overwhelming indeed!
But what happens when, on top of all the everyday things that we have to go through, your spouse tells you he is in an affair and wants out of the marriage? Or your family member suddenly gets sick and you just don't have the finances to send them to the hospital? Take heart, there is hope! And we just need to remind ourselves these four basic things:
First: It is time to believe for much more than what we deserve.
Everything that was given to us were not not given not because we deserve it, but because God loves us. If you are a parent and you have a child, and that child says, "I'm hungry." and he/she looks at you expectantly. What does that tell you? It means the child is trusting in your ability to provide him/her food!
Much more so with our heavenly Father, because the bible tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9 says 'For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.' Everything that was given to us were given not because we deserve it, but because He loves us!
If our faith depends on our ability, then everything is pointless! Our faith rests on the grace of God and His ability, and we should expect to receive greater things that what we deserve because He loves us so!
Second: It's time to believe that God is good.
God is good. Every one knows that for a fact. So if we believe that God is good, then it doesn't matter what we go through because we trust in Him.
One example of God's goodness is that He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us. If He is not good, why would He, knowing that we are sinful people, send His Son to die on the cross for us? And yet He did, because He loves us so much.
Did you ever wonder why a rainbow sometimes appear after the rain? Perhaps you have heard the story of Noah and the flood. The rainbow is the sign of God's covenant to Noah that He will never again destroy the earth in a flood. Let's see what the bible says: Genesis 9:12-17 says: 'And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature that is all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." And God said to Noah, " This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."
The rainbow is not just something pretty we see after the rain, it is a sign that reminds God of His promise never to flood the earth again as He did in the time of Noah.
Of course, while Noah and his family were in the ark, did you think it was all smooth sailing? I'd like to imagine that the ride was a bit rough here and there as they were tossed about by the waves caused by the wind. I imagine the waves to have been very high and strong, and they were tossed this way and that. I imagine that as they went to give food to the animals, they'd have fallen several times and had to get back up again. Imagine carrying a bale of hay and balancing it in a swaying boat, not easy, right?
Did they get hurt? Of course! Did they fall? No doubt. Did they ask when the rain would finally stop pouring. They most probably did. They stumbled, fell numerous times and asked questions INSIDE the ark. All those things happened inside the ark. Did they fall out of the ark? Were they tossed outside? No. The ark is a symbol of God's protection. While Noah and his family were in the ark, they were protected by God. Sure, a lot of things happened, but they were kept safe inside the ark, until it was time to go out.
So are we as children of God. As the ark symbolizes God's protection in the time of Noah, so did Jesus' death on the cross for us in this present age. He died so that we can have protection, and so that we could trust that no matter what comes our way, we could stand strong, because He is our shield and protection. Go dis good.
Third: It's time to believe that God has good plans for us.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, 'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'
You see, God never plans bad things for His sons and daughters. he always makes good plans. God is not limited on how He can provide. An example of this is during the time of Elijah. The story can be found in 1 Kings 17 if you'd like to read it yourself.
There was a famine in the land and God told Elijah to go to a certain place, and He commanded the ravens to bring him bread, and he could drink water from a brook nearby.
After the brook dried up, God sent Elijah to a widow, who was gathering sticks, bake the last flour she had into bread so that she and her son could eat and wait to die. That was as bad as it could be. But do you know what Elijah said to the widow when he met her? He said, 'bring me a cake, please, that I may eat.' Was he crazy? Didn't he know that there was a famine in the land? How dare he ask for a cake? And from a poor widow at that! And what's worse, she was going to have her last meal and wait for death! But what made the widow obey Elijah? Elijah told her what God said to him, that the jar of flour and the oil will never run dry until the Lord sends rain and crops could be planted and harvested again.
And you know what? It happened exactly just as He said he would! So, if God can use a bird to bring bread, and a handful of flour and a jar of oil to not run out, He can do anything else! God is limitless, and He indeed has great plans for us!
Fourth: It is time to believe for miracles.
And here we come to the last one. We saw how God provided for Elijah and the widow and her son. And God's miracles still happen today! I will share a story of God's provision that happened to me personally.
I used to work abroad but four years ago I decided to come home and work in the country instead to be closer to family. I had an emergency fund, but as I studied Spanish language for several months, and I was paying the mortgage on my house, paying bills and buying food, of course the emergency fund dwindled naturally, until it was almost drained. In the process I was praying that God would open a door for me, so that I could have a job and not use all my savings. I kept praying, and I started sending out my resume to several companies, but somehow nothing was opening, or something was opened, but I did not have the peace of mind to go for it. So I kept praying until I became very desperate that I had to be on my knees, asking God to come through for me, reminding Him of how faithful He was to me in the past and how He has always provided for me.
And just as my emergency fund was about to be totally depleted, I received a call from a company, asked me to go for an interview, and to make the story short, I was hired, and I've been working for this company since then.
So when we are feeling down, disappointed, desperate or any other thing, we just need to be reminded of these basic things.
Miracles still happen today as they did back then. All we have to do is ask and believe.
Til next post!
For more articles like this, please go to this page.
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