Do you want to beat the blues, get rid of fear, be full of joy, and have peace? Sing praises and hymns to God in the privacy of your home every day. You don't need a great singing voice. The Word of God says to make a joyful noise. We can do that. Raise your hands toward heaven and praise the Master of the universe, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
Paise God! He is our sufficiency in all things. He is our rock. He is our Savior. We can lean on him, our understanding is limited. He is all knowing. He is our lifeline in this world and for all of our eternal lives. He is our Knight in shining armor, our hero that never messes up. He always does what is best for us even when we can't see it. Sometimes unanswered prayers are answered prayers.
Suffering brings out the best in us. I know because I've been through the fire. I have suffered with my health, with pain, and feeling like life as I had known it and enjoyed it was over. Now I have an even better life because I'm more at peace with who I am, and where I'm at in life then I've ever been. And it's because through it all I have learned that God never leaves me nor forsake me, he strengthens me, he knows me, he will never let me down.
Where we mess up is we blame him for the bad things that happen because we know how powerful he is. What we don't understand is, he doesn't use that power to manipulate and control people. But what he does do, is he uses the stuff we go through to help us become better people, smarter people, stronger people. He will use what we go through to teach us. He will use what we go through to purify our hearts. It's not forced. It's not demanded of us. It's that quiet voice inside of us, that light in our heart that's taking over the darkness that once was there. He's the source of hope that we feel, that hope that keeps us going. We blame God for the bad things, the things we didn't want to happen but did. But those things, the hard things we go through shape us, mold us, make us better people for ourselves and the lives we touch.
When we take all we've learned from all the experiences we've been through and we put them to use to help others going through what we've been through, we're helping others. Be that blessing. Be that one who can be empathetic and stand up and say, "I will help that person. I will come through for that person. I will help that person go through their struggle and see the other side. I will help that person go through the fire." You can be someone's lifeline and lead them to Christ. You can help them get still and quiet their mind and listen for that quiet voice. You can stir up that hope inside them so they can feel it and overcome what they're going through.
Fire purifies gold. Be the gold. Throw your shoulders back and tackle whatever obstacle you're having head on. Be the gold. Walk through the fire knowing you're not alone. God is with you. He's got your back. Talk to him. Tell him everything, every detail. Let him in your heart. Let him be your rock and strengthen you.
God does not possess people. He does not make people do anything. He have us free will. We make up our own mind. We make our own decisions, good or bad, and so do all the other people we live with on this planet with. But you're special. You are special when you have been born again, become a child of God, and filled with the Holy Spirit because then you've got armor, then you've got power.
The Holy Spirit gives you advantages you don't have otherwise because you're connected to the all knowing. You are connected to the God who created the heavens and the earth, the God who knew you before you were knitted in your mother's womb. You were no accident. You're not abandoned or an orphan or all alone. You have access to God. Here is your father.
Jesus died to give us salvation. He is the reason we are covered by grace. What you do won't get you into heaven but what you believe will. Do you believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ and died on the cross for your sins? Do you believe that God raised him from the dead? Jesus loves you just like the song says. He shows true love all through the scriptures.
God, our Father, is love. He teaches people how to love. His love is the only true love. He doesn't control you. He doesn't manipulate you. He doesn't make you do anything you don't want to do. He just loves you and he's there waiting, wanting for you to love him. That's all he wants, your true love for him.
Praise God today. Don't let what's going on in the world today alarm you and steal your joy and peace. Praise God. Thank him for everything, one thing at a time. Say it to him in your heart and mind or out loud but tell him for every single thing you're thankful for, every single thing you appreciate. Thank him for the people in your life and for how they've touched your life and made you a better person. Praise Him! Give him the honor he deserves. Glorify his name, don't throw it around like a four letter word or just an expression. Honor his name! Praise Him.
If you don't know any hymns or gospel songs, play one on your phone, computer, tv, radio, whatever you've got and sing with it, dance to it with your hands raised in God's honor. Get out a hymnal and sing. Sing a Psalm to the Lord. The Book of Psalms in the Holy Bible are songs. Sing to the Lord.
Start today. Replace those ugly, negative, fearful thoughts with what God wants us to think about. He even tells us in his word, the Holy Bible, what things are good for us to think about because negative thinking is poison to us, it's poison to our lives, it interferes with our believing, with our faith. If you need a boost in your faith read Hebrews chair 11. And praise the Lord, sing to him, dance, love him, honor him. Let him know you trust him. Give all your burdens to him. Let go of your burdens and let God help you. Let God make a way.
Lisa C
