Encouraging Thoughts
I'd like to share with you some encouraging thoughts for you. These thoughts mostly apply to believers in Jesus Christ. If you're not a believer in Jesus, God wants to work in you too. Why not let Him?
If pain is making you question God's goodness...
If God was really against you, don't you think He could have made you suffer more by now? God is all-powerful! If He hated us or wanted bad for us, He could have been a lot more effective in bringing pain into our lives! No, God does really love you. Even if you face trials, trust in God, the trials won't last forever.
The pain God allows us is there to alert us to the fact that there is a problem that needs to be dealt with. If we haven't found the problem, pain is a great motivator. Without pain, we would lose many important things - just as lepers lose their extremities because they can't feel the things that are threatening them...
If you wonder why you struggle...
God wants us to be like Jesus. We are predestined to be conformed to the image of God's Son (Romans 8:29). We are far more useful to God if we learn to put on God's strength while we still have enemies to face. When we go to be with the Lord, we will never have to face another enemy, as far as I understand Scripture. Its now that we need strength! But to be strong, we need to draw strength upon the Lord. But there will be a struggle. "We wrestle ... against principalities and powers" (Ephesians 6:12). There's no victory without a fight. But you were born with royal blood of a son of God, born to win. "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). You have the genetic code from God to be an absolute champion. All you have to do is feed that new life God gave you, and exercise it, by God's grace. That nature has the nature and the potential of God. All things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23), but God has given to you a measure of faith (Romans 12:3) ... so use it. Don't listen to the lies of the devil any longer.
Its time to identify with that new man in Christ and not with the weak carnal man who is a slave to the influences of this world. "As a man thinks in his heart so he is" (Proverbs 23:7). You have the power to think of yourself as a new person in Christ, as victorious and as strong. And even if you want to confess how weak you are, remember the Scripture that says, "Let the weak say I am strong!".
Perhaps the strength we gain through struggles in this life will be part of our eternal capacity in God! A worm in a cocoon, as it develops into a butterfly, must struggle and use its wings, trying to break out of the cocoon. In this way, it develops the strength it needs to fly. If one tries to help the developing butterfly out by breaking the cocoon, the butterfly will fall to the ground and die. In the same way, our God does love us, so He will not "break the cocoon" that seems to be hemming us in. He wants us to use our faith. There is a fight of faith, but God is the one who gives us the strength from within to overcome.
In the eyes of Jesus there is the revelation of one who has faced the worst that anyone can know, and come out absolutely victorious. Now Jesus lives in us. Just believe that He lives in you, and you will have power to do what you thought you never could.
You are destined for Victory
God has His hand on your life. He knows the thoughts He has for you. Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). If God could say that to a nation who at the time was totally rebellious and corrupt, how much more to you! God has planned good things for you.
God HAS given you everything good (2 Peter 1:3,4).
Not only does it stand to reason that God is willing to give you all good things, if he gave you Jesus (Romans 8:32), but the Scriptures actually declare it in a number of places. Now, that is something to get excited about. Just activate your faith by beginning to thank God for this truth, and things will start to happen in your life.
To find out more about God's promises for you, and how you can declare them, click here.
If you found these thoughts encouraging, please write me, and I'll post some more!
Michael
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Comments
Prayer request on the Right Man
Hi Michael,
I'm hitting 19 in 2 week's time. At the start of the year, I actually asked God for a Godly man to be given to me to love me as Christ does at a church service. Just a month ago, my brother had a dream of me and this other bro from the same church singing at a service infront of the screen. Though not able to recognise his face, he knew who the person was. At the same time, all along, during worship,
this bro in church as never sang or support sang before but somehow during the week when praying for a clear sign from God, he actually support sang during worhship. Please do pray for me whether God's revealing to me Mr Right through these incidents. Thanks a lot!
Love,
Sis in Christ
reading your web page and asking for prayer
Michael, please stand with me about my marriage and finances. I so desire to heal and repair my marriage. My husband does not know if he wants to stay anymore and there are lots of details but I do love him and have a covenant with him in marriage. About 3 yrs ago I hit a deep depression and drove myself to a hospital and stayed 5 wks. My husband has not been able to get over this. I used to have a major back issue with sciatica and over the years with the pain and the marriage it came to a climax. Thank God he helped me recover and I am able to be free of back pain. I swim and exercise and I am so grateful. However, my husband has shut himself off from me emotionallly and I have kept loving him, but it is very hard and I feel the depression many times wanting to disable me. It is scary. The other issue is finances. For the last 3 yrs my husbands work has been effected. He is an engineer and the economy has changed and most of his clients are in the states. We took out a personal loan but this is a temp fix. I myself have been tithing and giving offerings and asking the Lord for debt cancellation.Over all it is difficult and I want to continue to believe for recovery in marriage and finances and mental health. Please stand with me and intercede with me I ask. Yes I have two children, 18 and 20. Tank you colleen