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Posts Tagged ‘be strong’

Day 5: Be Strong And Take Heart

Posted in In The Silence: A Devotional Series, tagged , , , on April 30, 2019| Leave a Comment »

 

Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

 

The definition of wait is to stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens. I must admit that I do not like to wait for anything. Who does? In these days of instant gratification, no one likes to wait for anything. But, sometimes waiting is a good thing. Psalms 27:14 tells us to wait for the Lord. Why do we need to wait for the Lord?

  1. For our own protection– God will at times tell us to wait to keep us out of a harmful or dangerous situation. My daughter Kiowa has always been an passionate runner. Her first marathon was a couple of weeks before her 18th birthday and her goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon. As she crossed the finish line in a remarkable time of 3 hours and 43 minutes, she already knew that she had missed the qualifying time by 8 minutes. She was disappointed. That year of the Boston Marathon is one no one will forget. It was the year of the Boston bombings. Had Kiowa qualified, we would have been there. Had God not made her wait, who knows what could have happened.
  2. For our own spiritual growth– God will often tell us to wait when we need to grow spiritually. Is the Holy Spirit working on your character? Do you need to learn to pray? Do you need to cultivate a daily habit of digging into God’s word? Do you need to cultivate love in your heart? If you do then God will make you wait.
  3. To prepare the way– There are times when we need to wait for God to prepare the way for us. There are times when the timing is not yet right for us to serve in a specific place or take on a specific ministry opportunity. Sometimes God will ask us to wait a few months or maybe several years. God’s timing is perfect. We may not understand it, but we need to trust that God knows exactly what He is doing.

What can you do if God is asking you to wait?

According to Psalm 27:14 we need to:

Be Strong: the definition of strength is the capacity of an object or substance to withstand great force or pressure. As Christians, we are expected to have an unshakable faith. We are expected to have a faith that is strong enough to withstand the great force of the Devil or the pressure of unbelievers. We need to be willing to be obedient to the Holy Spirit no matter what the situation or how silly we may look. We need to be willing to defend our faith no matter the opposition. We need to able to trust in the wait, knowing that God has everything under control.

Take Heart: To take heart means to be encouraged and made to feel optimistic. When we take heart, we are choosing to be encouraged by the fact that God is control. We are choosing to be optimistic, knowing that God is working everything out for His purpose and in His timing.

We never know when God is going to ask us to wait. If you are in a season of waiting right now, be strong and take heart! God has everything under control. He hasn’t forgotten you. He hasn’t abandoned you. He maybe working behind the scenes, but He is still working. Keep growing in your faith, so that you will be unshakable when that great force of opposition comes against you. Be encouraged! Remember:

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

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Do Not Be Discouraged

Posted in From My Heart, tagged , , , , on November 13, 2017| Leave a Comment »

fear-not-tomorrow

 

Joshua 1:9

 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Deuteronomy 31:8

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

God promises that He will go before us and be with us. He promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us, but He also expects something from us. He expects us to be strong and courageous. He expects us to look fear in the face and have enough faith to step out anyway. He expects us to look past our current situations, as bad as they may be and have faith that as long as we center our lives around Him, everything will be okay. We will not drown in our circumstances. We will not faint under the pressure. The struggles of life will not take us down, as long as we stay strong and trust God.

But, you don’t know my circumstances, you say. No I don’t. But, I know my circumstances. I know my life and I know that my life has been full of trials and struggle. It has not been easy to raise 5 kids as a single mom. It has not been easy to live under the oppression of poverty for 17 years, working my butt off and feeling like I am still drowning in my circumstances. I know how it is to feel like you will never get ahead in life. I know how hard it is to be an outcast as a foster child in someone else’s home. I know the grief of having your dreams destroyed along with your marriage. I know how discouraging it is trying to find out who you are and trying to find a way to fix your mind because you struggle everyday with an anxiety disorder. I know the frustration of dealing with chronic illness and the ups and downs of that illness. I know, but more importantly, God knows. God knows how I struggle to simply exist some days. God also knows your circumstances and how you are struggling to get through each day. Don’t think that God does not care. He cares and He has promised to be with you wherever you go. Have courage in your circumstances, knowing that God is in those circumstances with you. He is not going to leave you struggling alone. He will never turn His back on you. Be strong. Have courage. Trust God. He is with us in every situation of our lives. He will comfort you. He will fight for you. He will NEVER forsake you! DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED!

 

 

 

 

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