Have you ever reached a point in your life where you’ve hit the end of the road? The point where you literally have to choose to step out in faith and walk on water! Well I’ve hit it! And it’s scary at first but amazing and exhilarating to say the least. What’s so scary yet amazing is that this is the point where you completely give yourself over to God because it is only by His power alone that we can stand. It takes a lot of trust and courage to get to this point because Love is so awesome that we can feel afraid to approach Him. In our human brokenness it is easy to shy away from Love yet Love is our only way to life and freedom. We need Love in every way! Let me encourage you today… No matter what you may be facing currently in your life, you are not alone! You are loved and loved beyond measure! Don’t give up hope! Breakthroughs are on the way and closer than you think.
Let me pray for you:
Dear God, You are so faithful and loving. I come before your mercy seat and pray on behalf of the person reading this. Please forgive our sins and lead us into everlasting life. Lead us with You to walk on water and to live in complete freedom. Teach us to love you and love one another with all of our heart, soul, and mind. You are awesome and we love you! Please heal, deliver, and restore us. In Jesus name, Amen ❤
I usually like to start my blog posts with a scripture or quote… Today I decided to share on of my poems with you. I hope that this poem will inspire and encourage you if you can read and relate in any way. I will also include (as I usually do…lol) a youtube video that really touched me. Finally let me pray for you today…
Dear God,
In the name of Jesus I come to you on behalf of the person reading this today. I pray for wholeness of heart, mind, body, soul, and spirit. Save the lost Daddy and bring them home to you today. Please heal them of every illness and set them free to live the life you have willed for them to live. Bring them to a place of complete surrender where only you alone can be their God and cast down every idol in Your precious name. Thank you God for your faithfulness in answering our prayers. You are awesome and we are so blessed to be Yours. We love you ❤
So much excitement & anticipation for the coming year. God is doing mighty things in the lives of his children. I believe that He is just anxious to pour out His blessings on those who are obedient and living in the will of God. I’m definitely excited and looking forward to the New Year and all that God will do. However while I may be excited and in anticipation of what’s to come, that wasn’t always the case. For most of my life I was in a state of hopelessness and I just couldn’t see any light, only tunnel. This post is meant to inspire hope in those who may have lost it or never had it to begin with. I wish I could share with you exactly where I was before my hope was restored, but that would take an entire book! What I can do is share Scripture with you that describes exactly where I was and how God delivered me from that place of desolation and hopelessness. I believe that He is waiting to do the same for anyone and everyone who is in need of His great deliverance. I encourage you to read this passage of Scripture and if you can relate to it, please know that you are not alone and that there is great deliverance for you in the name of Jesus!
Psalm 107
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, 3 And gathered out of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in. 5 Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them. 6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He delivered them out of their distresses. 7 And He led them forth by the right way, That they might go to a city for a dwelling place. 8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lordfor His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 9 For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
10 Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons— 11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, And despised the counsel of the Most High, 12 Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. 13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces. 15 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lordfor His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 16 For He has broken the gates of bronze, And cut the bars of iron in two.
17 Fools, because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. 18 Their soul abhorred all manner of food, And they drew near to the gates of death. 19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. 20 He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. 21 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lordfor His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 22 Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, 24 They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. 25 For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. 26 They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end. 28 Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. 29 He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. 30 Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. 31 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lordfor His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 32 Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a wilderness, And the watersprings into dry ground; 34 A fruitful land into barrenness, For the wickedness of those who dwell in it. 35 He turns a wilderness into pools of water, And dry land into watersprings. 36 There He makes the hungry dwell, That they may establish a city for a dwelling place, 37 And sow fields and plant vineyards, That they may yield a fruitful harvest. 38 He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly; And He does not let their cattle decrease.
39 When they are diminished and brought low Through oppression, affliction, and sorrow, 40 He pours contempt on princes, And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way; 41 Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, And makes their families like a flock. 42 The righteous see it and rejoice, And all iniquity stops its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise will observe these things, And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” ~Jeremiah 33:3
I’m not certain whether this has been your experience or not, but it certainly has been mine – to receive answers to my prayers in ways I did not expect. One of my heartfelt prayers is that God would change me for His glory, that I may be able to live the abundant life that He has offered me and in that share the hope and victory with others that if I can change and overcome through Christ than they can too.
I am no stranger to being a victim of defeat. Growing up I lacked in confidence, esteem, and worth. I grew up believing and feeling inadequate, incapable, unlovable, and of very little if any value to anyone. I suffered from undiagnosed depression and anxiety for many years. I was deeply hurt over life’s circumstances and felt completely abandoned, rejected, and alone. Things got so extreme that during my first psychotic break I almost took my life. If it wasn’t for God and His blessing of my mom, I wouldn’t be alive today to be able to share this with you. After the first of a few psychotic breaks which were followed by the worst depression I had ever experienced, after spending months in the hospital at a time, and after being diagnosed with a severe mental illness, I slowly started to hope again. I believe that God carried me through to a point of wellness where he could set me on my feet and I could finally begin to walk. It was by the power of His mighty love that I was brought back to life. During this time of strengthening I believe that God was preparing me to become the person that He created me to be and He knew that that would mean that I would have to change on every level but primarily my heart and my mind.
Romans 12:2 says: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Right now I am going through some serious growing pains – change is not easy! Science even shows that biologically our bodies react to change by resisting it (I will link a video to support this point). God has offered me a way to achieve my dreams and make them a reality but the process has been challenging and has required me to stretch, grow, and change. This has caused me to feel pressured and stressed because I’m confronting the giants in my mind – the lies that kept me down and defeated most of my past. I was listening to an awesome speaker today named Orrin Woodward discussing that when coal is placed under pressure it becomes diamonds. When I heard that I immediately let out a sigh of relieve and frustration at the same time and thought, “I want to come out of this pressure that I’m feeling shining like a diamond!” I am on the journey and in the process of becoming who God created me to be – a woman with hope from, of faith to, and completely in love with Him -a woman who doesn’t give up on her God-given dreams.
If you have ever given up on your dreams or you are in the process and feel like giving up, I encourage you to be courageous and face the giants that try to defeat you. God will fight for you if you place your trust in Him.
Dear God, I pray for myself and all those who are struggling with growing pains as you take us through the process of change that you would please give us courage and help us to trust in Your strength and victory. For those who have given up I pray that you would resurrect their dreams and the hope in You and belief they need to pursue them. As we call upon you Lord please show us great and mighty things which we do not know. Thank you Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen ❤
“And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.” (1Samuel1:10)
The above passage of Scripture refers to a woman named Hannah who grieved over her inability to have a child. Today I related to Hannah in her bitterness of soul as I prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. While my circumstances may differ from Hannah’s, in that my sadness has nothing to do with not being able to bear a child, I can certainly relate to her heart. When I turned my pain over to the Lord today, my question was “How long is this going to hurt?” In trying to understand my pain, and why I was hurting so much, I realized that I was grieving a loss. Nobody physically died, but I did lose someone that I had invested a great deal of myself in, and suddenly this person is gone from my life. It hurt a lot! But thank God for His precious love for me. God is so faithful! As I was in prayer, the Lord led me to a scripture in my bible: “And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” (1Samuel1:18) The life lessons note in my bible regarding this specific Scripture says the following: “Hannah left behind her grief, not when her circumstances changed – they hadn’t – but after she poured out her soul to the Lord. Because of her grief, she connected with the Lord on a level she had never known.” ~Charles Stanley. This was a huge act of faith on the part of Hannah! She had stopped eating because of her grief and sadness but here in this Scripture she went away after her prayer and ate and was no longer sad. She had placed her faith in God and trusted that He would grant her the desire of her heart. In Hannah’s prayer for a son, she also vowed to dedicate her son to the service of the Lord which was a selfless act on her part. That was her sacrifice onto the Lord. Later Hannah conceived and bore a son!
I was so encouraged by this today and I hope that you will be too. Nothing is too big for God and He can certainly make your dreams come to pass when you put your trust in Him. Let your fear become your fuel for faith. Turn to God in prayer and pour your soul out to Him. This isn’t the first time I’ve turned to God and in the past He has always been faithful even when the answer wasn’t what I expected.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; Lean not on your own understandings. Acknowledge the Lord in all that you do and He will direct your paths.”
“I wonder how many Kingdom dreams have died at the feet of the enemy, who convinces people that their work might be criticized or rejected. Fear has a way of carrying God-planted dreams into dark corners, while the Accuser hisses a single, debilitating word: Coward. Heart thumping, you remember how you’ve failed before. You remind yourself of false starts. Fearful of repeated failure, you tame your marvellously delicious dreams. After a while, you forget that you had those dreams in the first place. You coax them into submission, until they become slippery mirages. And then eventually, your dreams slink away, disappearing behind the baseboards of your bedroom wall. They are nothing anymore. And no one will ever know the difference. Because you never told. And you never tried.” ~Jennifer Dukes Lee (Love Idol)~
hopetodreamagain 