Courage

"I have told you all this, so that in me you may have peace, even though you have trouble in the world. Courage! I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

What problems are you facing? What's the impossible situation that is dragging you down? A lot of times people wonder where God is and why He isn't helping, but when it comes down to it, oftentimes, it's our own faith that's lacking. It's not that God isn't helping, it's that our faith is weak. In one of his letters to the Thessalonians, Paul told the Christians that they shouldn't grieve as those who have no hope. I have hope. You have hope. If we truly believe in Christ, we all have hope! And what does that faith tell us? It should tell us that God takes care of us, therefore, exercise your faith! Listen to the words of Jesus in this verse, have courage! Have peace! If your faith tells you God will come through, He will! Maybe not now or tomorrow, but He will come through at the perfect time. By letting anxiety take hold of you, you are showing that you don't believe in God, you don't believe in His peace and you don't believe He'll come through for you. Our faith is what activates the hand of God so if you have little faith and are looking only at your obstacles, then the answers to your prayers will also be small.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I need so much of You. I'm not strong at all. My only strength is You. Help me keep my eyes on You so I can confide in You completely. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Jesus and Lazarus

"And she said to Jesus, 'If you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.' Jesus said, 'Your brother will rise.'" - John 11:21-23

Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus were really good friends of Jesus, but when Lazarus had taken ill and was close to death, Jesus wasn't able to go to where he was. Lazarus died and a few days later, and after he was already put into a tomb, was that Jesus went to visit. Upon reaching their home, his sister said to Jesus that if He had only been there, her brother wouldn't have died. I can't help but think of our own problems when hearing this story. How many times don't we see ourselves with an urgent need and don't seem to have the company of God when we feel we need it the most? We tell God that if only He would do something, we'd be ok, but God doesn't seem to make a move to help. When Jesus arrives at their house, the bible says that He cried with them because He felt their pain. He felt compassion. Jesus asked for the stone to be removed from the tomb and prayed to God to raise Lazarus. After being dead for four whole days, Lazarus resurrected before a multitude of witnesses. Jesus told the people and Lazarus' family that He was the resurrection, and that's what you need to believe in the midst of your problems. Things can seem beyond repair, but that's only according to what Humans can do. Jesus has said that if we believe, we will see the power of God and no matter what you may be going through, if you hold steady, you will see the power of God. You have to understand that God knows what you're made of and how much you can endure. He also knows when to give you what you need. In your life, something may seem completely out of your control, but that's where God wants to work for you - in the areas where you will see that no human could have possibly helped, only the hand of the Almighty. Like Lazarus, the chances of your coming out ok from your problem could be dead, and you could say that if only God had acted sooner, but remember, nothing is over until the Almighty Lord says it's over! Nothing is ever too late. You have a God that can turn anything around for you if only you believe.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, just like with my body when I die, resurrect my hopes and my joy. Only You can guide me through and deliver me. Help me to always believe and put my trust in You. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Hope

"Let us hold fast to our hope without wavering, because He who promised is faithful." - Hebrews 10:23

When we are being defeated in a tough situation, the last thing to go is hope, and hope is the most important thing we need to survive. Our hope is what keeps us alive no matter the winds that are blowing against us. That's why when we're going through suffering, our hope and faith in God is the first thing the devil subtly attacks. First come the questions such us, why is this happening to me? Then it's anger against God and believing He does not care. Slowly we build up a bitterness against Him where we can't even pray. I know; I've felt like this before. But please, through the storm, remember this verse - hold on to your hope in God. He is faithful although it might seem to you that things aren't going to get any better. Scripture says in the book of Habbakkuk to set your eyes firmly on what you want (keeping hope alive) because the Lord will make it happen for you. Take your eyes off of how bad things are and how much you're hurting and focus on how big your God is. Your God is a king! Your God is Almighty! Your God is working on your behalf to help you now! Keep your hope alive! Set your hope on Him because He is faithful.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, break through the hurt and disappointment I feel. Sometimes the enemy gets in my head and leads me to think You don't care and have abandoned me. Fan the flame in my heart and keep my hope alive so that I can see Your love and mercy in my life. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Remember

"Remember what happened to your ancestors. Who has ever trusted in the Lord and been confounded? Who has persevered in fear of the Lord and been abandoned? Who has called upon Him and not been heard?" - Sirach 2:10

As I was telling you on Sunday, I was very upset about something and felt a lot of pain because I realized that my faith wasn't as strong as I thought it was if I was letting my anxiety get the best of me instead of trusting in God. I should have been more calm but while going through it, I decided to give thanks to God for what He had done for me in the past. I had to keep reminding myself that God has gotten me out of binds before and has come to my rescue time after time. As a matter of fact, there hasn't been anything I've asked Him for that He hasn't given me. Some of those things have come in the way I expected, while a lot of my prayers were answered in different ways which He used to show me how He knows best. Ultimately, what is getting me through is to remember this verse above. Who can ever say that they trusted in God and been let down? Who, when really trying to follow God's ways, can say that God didn't hear them, abandoned them? The only people who I have ever heard say this, are people who have never really realized that the will of God should be their will because His ways are higher than our ways. I heard a preacher say that it is our faith that activates the power of God and although you might see yourself suffering unjustly and stuck in a situation you can't stand, memorize this verse and hold it in your heart. If you hold it in your heart and repeat it to yourself, then you will have hope, and when you have hope, your faith increases, and it is your faith that will let you see the power of God!

Today's Prayer:
Lord, You gave Abraham a child in his old age, You parted the Red Sea and brought Your children out of Egypt, You sent us Your son to die for our sins, and all my life You have been there to show me Your love. Help me to remember You now and Your works when I am weak. Let this memory fill me with the hope and faith I need to wait for Your deliverance. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Job's Faith

"His wife said to him, 'Do you still hold on to your integrity? Curse God and die!' Job replied, 'You talk foolishly. If we receive good things from God, why can't we accept evil from him?' In spite of this calamity, Job did not utter a sinful word." - Job 2:9-10

In one day Job lost his servants, his livestock, his sons, his daughters and his health. He was a man so dedicated to God that his wife was repulsed by the fact that Job held on to his faith in God even when he was left with nothing. Does this mean God abandoned Job? No. The reasons God allows things are only know to Him, but no matter what we go through, there is always a good that comes out of it if we follow through on our faith. Many of us feel like Job at times - just when we think things can't get any worse, they do. We lose hope, we lose our joy. But as hard as it is, God gives us the strength to make it through one day at a time, building us up a little more each day. Ultimately, it is up to us if we choose to lose our hope and joy; God never took that away from us, it is always ours to keep. Negative things will happen to us, but do you choose to be like Job's wife, bitter and sinful? Or would you rather stand firm like Job? He didn't let his disasters take all of him because he knew his God knows what to give and what to take away. If you're going through a trial, remember this - it's up to you how you choose to carry through. You could allow yourself to be miserable, or you could live your faith in God who will take care of you!

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are with us through the good and the bad. You know our limits and when things feel like too much. Please give us strength to not only make it through, but keep the joy and faith alive in our hearts. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Through Tears

"Why are you so downcast, my soul, why so troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will praise Him again, my Savior and my God." Psalm 42:6

I would be a hypocrite if I wrote to you everyday and told you how great it is to follow God because you'll always be happy. That's not true. The truth is that even when you're close to God, bad days will come. I had a horrible day today and spent most of it on the verge of tears, and the rest of it actually crying. And it wasn't one thing either; things were going bad for me on all sides. But you know why I'm lucky? I'm lucky because no matter how bad things get, I have the Almighty on my side. When you follow God, He takes the things that have hurt you and He turns them into great things for you. I'm not going to get mad at God and ask Him why He's let these things happen to me, but instead, I will hope in Him, I will hold on to Him who is my rock and is my strength! And through these tears, I'll look up to Heaven and praise His Name because I KNOW He loves me and I KNOW great things are coming for me around the corner because that's what happens to those who praise and put their faith in the Lord Almighty!!

Today's Prayer:
My God, You know the pain I feel, but You are so much bigger and Your love for me is so much deeper than anything I could feel. My heart, my life, and all that I am are in Your hands. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

What Is Faith?

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." - Hebrews 11:1

When you cry out "Lord, help me, listen to me," what do you expect to happen? Many of you do not get what you ask for because you really do not believe, you're full of doubt. It has been said many times that one needs faith to see the hand of God, but what is faith? Saint Paul says it is being sure of what you hope for. This means that instead of asking for something you should already be thanking the Lord for it because your faith in Him tells you and confirms to you that the Lord is already working to bring you want you want and need. When Paul says it is being certain of what you do not see, you need to believe more than 100% that Jesus Christ, the Lord Almighty, is with you. Because you do not see Him, because He does not talk to you does not mean He is not there with you! On the contrary, blessed are you if you have believed in Him without ever laying eyes on Him for your reward will be greater in Heaven! When I enter a church or when I kneel down in my room to pray to Him, His presence overwhelms me. He fills me with joy and the tears flow down my cheeks. Did He appear to me and say "Audrey, I am here, believe in me?" No, but the eyes of my faith have seen Him and nobody can tell me otherwise!!! This is faith!! If you want to see God active in your life, work on your faith!! Be sure of what you have asked God for and be certain of what you have not seen because God operates for the motives of your soul and your eternal salvation, not for your corporeal senses!

Today's Prayer:
Thank you Lord Jesus for being most active in me when I do not see You or feel You with my senses. Thank You Jesus for strengthening my faith and being more real to me than if You were standing right in front of me in body. May I always see You in this way. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

Stop Complaining and Make a Decision

"Therefore we are not discouraged. On the contrary, while our outer being wastes away, the inner self is renewed from day to day." - 2nd Corinthians 4:16

When you choose to walk with Jesus, you begin to notice how perfect God's timing is for everything. At the right time, God will answer your prayers and bring you relief from a certain problem in your life, but there will always be another around the corner. So what are we to do? Live in mourning always? The answer is to stop complaining. Stop feeling bad for yourself because there is always someone worse off and because in this life we will never ever be 100% happy anyway. When you trust in God, stop focusing on the negative and instead let this new hope work in you, your whole demeanor will change. What goes on around you doesn't matter because the Almighty will be working inside of you, to give you hope, patience, and understanding…and all this will make your outlook on the obstacles in front of you so much brighter. The second you give in to feeling discouraged, that's when you give up on your hope and you're only hurting yourself.

I've had something bothering me for so long and each day I tell God that I'm putting myself in His hands and that I will be joyful because I know He's taking care of me and consoling my soul. That's a decision I make each day to let my heart be filled with God instead of my doubts and sadness. Is it hard to do? Yes. Do I struggle to follow through? Of course! But I'll tell you this, I'm telling you to do this because I've perservered and each day God is making me stronger! If you choose today to tell God "I will not be discouraged because I know You are working in me to get me through this, and instead I will smile and give You thanks," you will begin to feel this joy you yearn for. Make this decision today!

Today's Prayer:
Lord, I know You didn't create me to go around depressed and conquered by each problem or unpleasant situation that comes my way, but You have created me as Your child so that I may come out victorious in all things, showing Your power in all I do. Help me to follow through on my decision to chose to be happy and let You work in me instead of letting life get the best of me. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

I Will Uphold You

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will give you strength, I will bring you help, I will uphold you." - Isaiah 41:10

Yesterday, I shared with you that God is love, but He is also the Almighty, Creator and Maker of all the universe. All things bow down to Him. He parted the red sea, let lame men walk, gave sight to the blind, and even brought men back from the dead. This is who you have as your God, this who is commanding you today not to fear or be dismayed because HE IS WITH YOU! The God of Moses, who freed the Jews out of Egypt, wants to give you strength. The God of Daniel, who kept him safe from a den of lions, wants to give you help, and the God of the 12 apostles, who saved them from a terrible storm at sea, wants to uphold you!

All these things and more your God has done for those who love Him and know His Name, so what can't He do for you? Can't He help you and uphold you through financial situations, problems in your relationship, stress, sadness, depression, lonliness? He can and wants to give you so much more! The reason we don't see these miracles as much today is because there are few who pull away from their lives to know God and walk with Him. God never changes and is waiting to make good on His promises to you if you ask. Cling on to Him so He can uplift you!

Today's Prayer:
My God, Your power is amazing and I am so honored to serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I pray that You show me Your wonders as You have done to my forefathers and uplift me so that I may always find comfort in You. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

Have An Answer

"Always have an answer ready when you are called upon to account for your hope, but give it simply and with respect." - 1st Peter 3:15

It's funny how things spread through word-of-mouth, especially with the power of the internet. There are some among us that, without even realizing it, have the power to influence so many people. Therefore, as people that have heard the voice of God and try to imitate Him each day, please remember that you too are disciples of Christ and are under the obligation of furthering His message. I don't mean this in the way that you should go out and preach, but if you feel it you should, but in the way that when you see yourselves in everyday situations, do not hold back from saying "thank God" when something goes well before others or don't refrain yourself from telling someone that you're praying for them. Be ready to show to all that you are a follower of Christ through your actions, and even if you do this before one or two people, you have helped to plant a seed that God will help grow! And when people ask you if you believe, even when you know that they don't, stand up for your faith for you are defending the work of God. The words that come out of your mouth along with your actions will bring many to God.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, give me strength and courage to proclaim and defend Your Word wherever I go. Please help spread Your message of love through me so that many more may believe. In Your Name we pray, Amen.