Let’s keep “keeping on” as we journey the road of this Lenten season. God is at work! His Spirit is moving all over the place, and we have been experiencing the outpouring of His Spirit in our services! May God help us to stay sensitive to His leading and promptings in our lives, that He will be magnified through us, and in us!
In life with all of its trials and challenges, ups and downs, setbacks and discouragements it is a great comfort to know that the God who created the universe and all that is within it knows each of us personally. There are some who may not think so, they may not believe so, but that does not change the fact that God knows you better than you know yourself.
He knows your thoughts, your feelings, your dreams, your aspirations, your fears, your worries and everything else that you don’t think anyone knows about you. God knows all of our faults and flaws and yet the Bible says that He loves us with an everlasting love. That is why we should be strong in our faith and be confident that no matter what may come our way we can overcome and be victorious over it not because we are strong, but because God is strong through us!
We can rest in God’s strength because it is enough to get us through our trials and challenges. No matter what may come your way believe that you will come out of it better, wiser and stronger than you were before.
Be encouraged to believe that God is for you and not against you. Trust that God’s will for your life is to be blessed, encouraged, lifted up and filled with His joy and peace that surpasses all understanding. If God is for us, then why should we allow any temporary trial to discourage our hearts or make us want to give up? We have to remind ourselves that when times get tough we just have to dig our heels in, believe what God says about us and continue forth until victory becomes ours!
We should remember that the Bible says that He is the God of all comfort. What does that mean? It means that if you are in a raging storm God can be your calming peace. It means if you are worrying about a trial or challenge that is in your path, God can be your perfect strength. Whatever our needs are, God can meet them! He has every answer to our every problem. Our job is to recognize His provision and sustenance so that our hearts will be calmed no matter what may come our way.
Let me share something I read from Pam Handshy:
I was touched by God today. Just ever so lightly. It was after a storm as I sat outside enjoying the smell of the rain and the coolness it brought with it. The clouds still hung heavy, almost obliterating the sky with their massiveness.
If one sat quiet and still long enough, you could almost hear the earth breath a sign of relief from the intense heat that had consumed it, only an hour before. I too had breathed that sigh, for it was a very welcome break from the heat that seemed never-ending.
That’s when it happened. As I sat there quietly enjoying the sights around me; I felt something on my shoulder. Reflexively, I attempted to just brush it away, thinking it was only a fly, or some other unwanted pest. But yet, it stayed. There appeared to be gentle warmth about it.
Again, blindly, I brushed at it and still it lingered. Now the warmth began to intensify to an uncomfortable heat, so I turned and looked. The culprit was a single ray of sun coming down from the sky to my shoulder. One single ray had broken through the mass of clouds and touched me.
Like a finger, it seemed to reach out and pat me on the shoulder, attempting to get my attention. As I looked up in the sky, the clouds started to move more swiftly than before. Like a curtain opening on a stage the clouds parted the sky to reveal a glorious rainbow.
I now know God had painted me a picture, and had tapped me on the shoulder with His finger of sunshine. Almost instantly, I understood and without thinking, I uttered, “Thank you God. It’s beautiful.’”
I trust that this challenges your heart to see that God loves you and will be there to strengthen your heart when the trials and challenges seem so overwhelming.