Tag Archive for: temptation

Help is only a prayer away

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Sometimes it’s about admitting our inability to shoulder the burden alone. There will be times of troubles, trials, and temptations. We’ll be disappointed and distressed as we walk this journey called life. Maybe you’re plagued with an ongoing health issue, or a child you love dearly tests every fiber of being in your body. For some, Satan is trying any way possible to place a wedge between you and your spouse.           image002 (Copy)

The question is not if fears and trials come, but when. When these afflictions plague us, know that there is a place to run to for help, a strong tower to shoulder our weak frame.

God’s comforting words appear many times in the Bible, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” When God says something, He means it. He is there right alongside us as we go through deep waters. I may not see Him physically, but faith tells me that He’s there regardless of my limited sight.

  • Whom do you seek in times of trouble?
  • When have you felt the mighty hand of God?
  • Can you name your fear(s) and willingly offer them up releasing them to a compassionate God?

We’re offered solace and refuge in Isaiah 41:10/NLT, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

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Joy in stress?

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Good Grade on Test

How you ever considered that trials and temptations can be a way of making us mature? Or molding us to be complete and lacking nothing?

That’s what the writer of James is telling us in the first chapter of his book. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ says to “consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides” (The Message). When’s the last time you jumped up and down with excitement in the middle of a trial? My normal response would be to recoil and think, Why me?

But that’s not the way we are reminded to act or react. I don’t believe we necessarily have to be excited about the trial itself, but encouraged that as a believer, I can rejoice in the fact that God is on my side. He has me covered; therefore I need not doubt or be afraid.

Maybe, just maybe, this testing of your faith you’re going through is meant to be shared with others. You probably aren’t feeling excited about an uncertain health issue, losing your job due to downsizing, or parenting a troubled teen. Still … there are lessons to be learned. And glory to be given. More than likely, there are individuals in your circle of influence who could benefit from hearing about what you are going through right now. As you and I handle a tough time, with the grace of God and His wisdom, others can be comforted.

Dear God, I admit I’m not overjoyed about this time of my life. In fact, I feel depressed and sometimes alone. Yet, in my heart, I know that You have my best interests in mind. I can go to You anytime day or night with my burdens. Thank you for loving me when I’m least unlovable. Amen.

Is there a message others need to hear about how you (with God) overcame a certain obstacle? Something that seems too big and wide to get through? Will you speak or pen those pearls of wisdom so another can benefit?

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything”—James 1:2–4.

 

You have been created for great things!

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Don’t allow anything to interfere with your love for Jesus. You belong to him. Nothing can separate you from him. That one sentence is important to remember. He will be your joy, your strength. If you hold onto that sentence, temptations and difficulties will come, but nothing will break you. Remember, you have been created for great things. —

Mother Teresa

Have you ever been alone with God?

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“When He was alone the twelve . . . asked of Him . . .” Mark 4:10

His Solitude with Us. “When God gets us alone by affliction, heartbreak, or temptation, by disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted affection, by a broken friendship, or by a new friendship – when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are dumbfounded, and cannot ask one question, then He begins to expound (or teach us).

There are whole tracts (vast areas) of stubbornness and ignorance to be revealed by the Holy Spirit in each one of us, and it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone.  Am I alone with Him now? Or am I more concerned with my own ideas, friendships, and cares for my body? Jesus cannot teach me anything until I quiet all my intellectual questions and get alone with Him.” – taken from My Utmost for His Highest, Jan. 13.

Very pointed question: I ask myself, “Have I ever been alone with God?” Yes, I have, but not as often as I’d like. Interesting that suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, thwarted desires, a broken friendship, or a new friendship sends us back into the arms of God. Why is it that I need a major trauma to cause me to look in God’s direction? Why can’t I just go to Him first and foremost and skip all the in-between stops?

Prayer: Forgive me, God, for not running to you first when I have a problem or a question. There’s much stubbornness and ignorance inside of me. Only you, and time alone with you, can answer my many questions and shape me into a suitable servant of yours. Help me to be more open to spending valuable time alone with you.

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