Encouraging and empowering people to live victorious lives in Christ

Posts tagged ‘Holy Bible’

Dealing with Disappointment

Whenever I write, I am writing from my own experiences, and this post is no different. My hope is that when I write, I can bless someone else who may be going through the same thing that I am (or have).

disappointment

Disappointment is a feeling that at some time or another we all experience. We may be disappointed that our favorite sport team didn’t win like we thought they would, or we may feel disappointed when we’re planning a trip to the beach, but the weather forecast calls for rain all day. At the moment, these turn of events negatively affect us, but soon we’re over it and on to the next thing….we continue to root for our favorite team (or change teams) or we change our plans and decide to hit the beach another day. These are what most people would consider minor, but what about those disappointments that are not so minor?

Here are a few examples of the kind of disappointments I’m talking about: the person we planned to spend the rest of our lives with decides he or she no longer wants to be married to us; one of our children didn’t turn out the way we raised them to; the life that we envisioned growing up is not what we’re currently experiencing, and there seems to be no hope for things turning around in our favor. This list can go on, but you get my point. We just don’t ‘get over’ these major disappointments in our lives, but we have to somehow find a way to deal with them. If we don’t what will become of our lives? Will we be in a perpetual state of misery because things didn’t turn out the way we wanted them to?

I don’t believe God wants us to live this way. Just like the title of this site states, I believe God wants us to have a victorious journey. And it’s through Him (and only Him) that we can experience this.

So, how do we deal with disappointment? We can first cry out to God and be honest about how we feel. It’s ok to ask questions and wonder why circumstances didn’t turn out the way we’d hoped, planned and prayed. And certainly, if God created and maintains the universe, then He can handle our questions. Check out the example of David in the Psalms: “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” (Psalm 18:6 NIV) What a blessing it is to know that in our distress we can call out to the Lord, and not only that, we can rest assured that he does hear us. Our cries are not falling on deaf ears!

We can also go to the Word of God to remind ourselves of God’s promises to us. Look at what Peter writes to the early church (this also applies to us): “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”(2 Peter 1:4, NIV) One of the key words in this passage (in my opinion is ‘knowledge.’ We have everything we need for a godly life through the knowledge of God, and we obtain that knowledge from the Word of God (remember this scripture: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”? Romans 10:17)

Lastly, we should trust God and His word. When we are in the throes of experiencing disappointment, this is when our faith comes in. We’ve read the word, we’ve prayed, and now we must trust that God knows exactly what he’s doing. Even if things never change, if we never receive the desire of our heart, we can rest assured that God said he would “never leave us nor forsake us.” (Hebrews 13:5b) This scripture in particular has helped me navigate through disappointment, and it helps remind that God really does have a plan for my life, and that’s it’s in His hands to make it come to pass.

This post is a bit longer than I would normally write, but it’s particularly relevant to me. Although the idea of this topic came to me months ago, it’s very interesting to know that I’ve only been led to write it today, 2 days after Mother’s Day Not having had the experience of motherhood, this particular Mother’s Day was very difficult for me. So again, I’m writing this, not as just glib points, but real life experiences. I may never receive the desire of my heart in this area, but I’m TRUSTING that God’s plan for my life is perfect and that He will not leave me or forsake me.

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How’s Your Prayer Life?

At many church services and worship experiences, we are admonished to pray.  We go to prayer meetings where we devote a special time for giving praise and adoration to God, and for making intercession on behalf of those in need.  But I’m sure many of you can relate to the fact that we sometimes feel inadequate when it comes to our personal prayer lives.  I feel this way sometimes too.  We offer up excuses as to why we’re not praying as much as we should…but what can we do to get past the excuses?

Prayer

We sometimes say “my schedule is so busy…work, family, church activities…when am I supposed to get it done?”  There are just not enough hours in the day to do everything on our to-do lists, from work to our businesses to school work to volunteer activities…the list can go on! 

This post is not meant to beat anyone (or myself up), but is meant to encourage.  I want you to see (and I want to remind myself) that even in our busy lives, we can communicate with God on a regular basis. Please don’t see prayer as something to be checked off a list (the planner in me has a tendency to do that sometimes), but as an opportunity to be in the presence of God, no matter where we may be physically.

Psalm 55:17 says that “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.”  Do they mean that literally?  Are we supposed to pray every morning, every afternoon and every evening?    Let’s not get legalistic here….if we put too much focus on the morning, noon and evening thing, we’re becoming more religious and not spiritual.  I agree with what Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible says about this verse: “And now, though we are not tied down to these exact and precise times of prayer, yet this teaches us that we ought to pray frequently and constantly, and that a day should not pass without it…”  At some point in our day, we should offer a prayer to God, whether it’s a prayer of thanksgiving, confession, adoration or petition.

Do you have a commute to work?  Instead of listening to the comedian on the radio or the latest hits, take time to pray during your commute (PLEASE don’t close your eyes lol).  Or do you workout regularly?  How about while you’re on the treadmill or walking in your neighborhood?  How about when you’re preparing dinner for the family? I could go on with ideas on when we can pray, but I think you get the picture.

So what if the issue with your prayer life is the fact that you feel inadequate, not with your time, but with how to pray and what to say?  Let me help you with this verse from Romans:  “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26)  And what about this verse: “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” (Romans 8:34).  These verses tell me that we have help! (Hallelujah) We have Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit interceding on our behalf when we pray.  So since we have help, we shouldn’t worry about how to pray and what to say.  We should just talk to God with a sincere and open heart, knowing that two persons of the Trinity have our back in prayer.

I hope this brief message helps you understand that we can have a vibrant and meaningful prayer life.  Don’t beat yourself about what you haven’t done in the past.  Remember some of the benefits of praying to the Father who hears and answers us: we have a deeper relationship with Him, our faith grows stronger, and we can live more fruitful lives for Him.  Keep pressing in prayer and see what God does in your life! 

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A Leap of Faith and Obedience

“And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22

There are some areas of my life that are currently in a state of flux and transition.  Things that were sure and stable have become unstable and iffy.  And because of these changes, I came to a crossroads where I needed to make some major decisions.

Rebellious child

So, as all Christians do (or should do), I began to pray and ask God for direction. And just as He promised in 1 John 5:14-15, he began to respond and answer my petitions. The first time I heard the answer regarding one specific situation, my response was “ummm…really?” That answer was NOT AT ALL what I was expecting, and it wasn’t something that I had a desire to do! So I proceeded to ignore that answer and kept praying.

Well, God is certainly a persistent God!  As I continued to pray, the same answer kept coming, but from different sources…multiple people who had not spoken with one another, passage of Scripture, and just a still, small voice that continued to speak to me.  These different sources served as confirmation of the original message, but also reminded me that God will not back down when I say no! I will admit, I waited a few months before heeding the voice of the Lord, but finally I stepped forward in obedience.

Ponder this quote from Henry Blackaby, author of several works, including Experiencing God:

The Holy Spirit doesn’t need to equip you for what you’re not going to do, so if you’re in rebellion against Jesus and refusing His right to be Lord, He doesn’t need to send the Holy Spirit to equip you for service. And, tragically, you miss out on the joy that He brings. 

So let the Holy Spirit deal with anything that’s keeping you from obeying Christ

As hard as it is to admit, for that time I did not obey the voice of God I was in rebellion! Listen to what Samuel said to Saul when confronting him about his disobedience:

“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

Witchcraft???  Wow!  Ok, God, I hear you!  The good news is, once I put aside my will and took that step of obedience (and it was a hard one for me), I immediately felt a sense of contentment and peace.  I knew this was what God wanted and I began to rest in Him, knowing that He controls the outcome of my obedience.  Even though I have no idea what God is going to do as a result of this leap of faith, I’m trusting that He knows best (and He does, since He’s omniscient, and His ways and thoughts are higher than mine).

So, I’ve asked God to forgive me for my rebellious spirit, and I’m moving forward. And I’m waiting in great expectation for what God is going to do in my life.  Stay tuned…I sure am!

 

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