encouragement – Page 3

13 Verses To Fight Fear…

God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind
2 Timothy 1:7

It’s natural during times of change that we feel worried about our future. We feel Concerned when we can’t see our way. Take courage. Know that the lord is our God. He will lead, guide and protect us.

Here are 13 verses to comfort an strengthen you in times of need.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.
Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows
You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling
For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident
So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.
You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things

Which do you lean on most in times of anxiety and stress? Any missing that you would like to share?

Blessings overflow

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus…

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth 
will go strangely dim
In the light of his glory and Grace

I looked up as I heard the familiar chorus playing. Then I began to ponder the words. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. But the part that got me … then the things of earth will go strangely dim.

Peace Eludes

How often we allow the cares of the world including our finances, on-the-job issues, unemployment, relationship deterioration etc to cause us to go astray. We pity ourselves, become sad and depressed because we are limited in our way of handling our issues. It’s hard. Let’s face it, we can’t do it alone.

The Quest For Success

Even Success sometimes deter our relationship with the lord. I’ve often said that we pray for the achievement of our goals and aspirations, then when the lord answers our prayers, we forget to give him thanks. Then we continue our quest to maintain the ‘success’ often on our own. And yes to our detriment. Alas, the sleepless nights ensue.

As I reflected, I was drawn to another familiar song which in part says “Oh what peace we often forfeit…all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Today I implore you to remember these well known songs. Let’s take our troubles in prayer to the lord. Let’s allow the things of earth to go strangely dim. Let’s experience the comfort and peace that only God can provide.

Pause right now and Look full in his wonderful face. Let it be well with your soul as you sleep peacefully at nights.

Blessings overflow.

A Little Prayer For You…

A little prayer for you
May the lord wrap his loving arms around you.
May he take away your pain and discomfort.
May he provide joy deep within
May he grant you more good days than bad
May he grant you quiet solace.
May he always bless and keep you.

May He always Bless you in overflow

Blackout’s Impact On The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year…

At 6am I awoke startled wondering who had turned on the light. Sleep disturbed. Weeks later a repeat after a night of power outage. A Blackout fired the most beautifully decorated Christmas lights. But joy came in the morning as sunrise burst through.

Hmm cause to reflect….

Jesus is the light of the world. There’s no light that shines brighter than his. We too are encouraged to let our light (life) shine. Surprise someone with your light of love today. There’s no better time than during the most wonderful time of the year.

Blessings overflow.

A Prayer For The Sick And Hurting…

In all things we give thanks

When we don’t know what to do, Father you do.
When we don’t know what to Say, speak through us.
If silence is all we have, help us not to fear it but receive it.
Grant us comfort and strengthen hearts while we wait.

When we are far away from our ailing loved ones, you’re there. You’re near.
When we feel helpless, grant wisdom
When we are perplexed, grant clarity

Father, please intervene as only you can.
Please Quiet all hearts right now.
Grant comfort, quiet peace to the entire family’s anxious soul.
Intervene now Lord as only you can.
Please intervene.

Take care of the Ailing’s body and spirit
Take care of the family.
Take care of caregiver’s anxious mind.
We pray these things in your name.
Intervene Lord, intervene.
Intervene as only you can.

Oh How I Long For Red Lights…

Red Light is God’s way of telling us to Stop.

Oh How I Long For Red Lights. Its funny as I embark on a new project, I am working at an opportunity that as I leave home takes me straight to the highway…non-stop. This goes on for approximately 60 miles. I found myself saying how I long for Red Lights. This has hit home as I am writing about RedLight When God says No.

In my previous book titled GreenLight: When God Says Go, I used to pray for non-stop green lights as I made it all the way East. When red lights caught me I was mad. Impatiently I’d declare how much I needed to go.

But now I long for a time to stop. To stop to change the audio-book to another. To stop to acknowledge something quickly. To stop to safely sip that delicious cup of tea to soothe the early morning’s drive. I just long to stop to breathe.

The Lord’s Patience

I don’t know how the Lord deals with us. We are never satisfied. He gives us Green Lights and we complain because we want to stop. He gives us Red lights and we want to go, go, go. He tells us to slow down to his Safe Place and we say we have no time to stop. Oh how does he patiently waits on us? Oh why does he never leave us.

Thank you Lord for your never-ending patience.

It’s Hard To Live By Faith…

We conquer by faith. This is a common verse yet as I read it today it jumped out at me. Faith is all we need. When we pray, the Lord doesn’t always answer giving us the details of his quest. He may give us the Goal as when you feel led to do something but he doesn’t include in that calling a step by step guide.

The Righteous will live by Faith
Romans 1:17

The righteous will live by faith means we have to trust him when we don’t understand. Trust him when the way seems foggy. Trust him when our career goes asunder. Trust him when a loved one gets hurt, or even passes. An old hymn says we will understand it in the by and by. Understanding comes with:

Praying for Guidance
Reading the Word
Quiet Reflection
Listening for Directions
Looking back over your life and the evolution of its path
Connecting the dots to see where it’s leading
Sealing the time with Prayer

Trust God. Trust his leadership and guidance. Because his words says the righteous will live by faith not worry

Blessings overflow.

Write What You See…

When God Says Go, obey Even when it doesn’t make sense. Often as he did with Abraham, he doesn’t tell us how, when and where. He just provides the GreenLight and the nudge. If we are in tune, we will recognize his leading.

Years ago I felt his quiet guidance to write what I see (Habakkuk). I obeyed and have been writing His words of encouragement to Quiet the hearts of those discouraged, sick, needing reassurance and just prayers for guidance.

Furthermore he has led aspiring authors who need help to me for my assistance to help them to do the same. Indeed I am humbled and will hold firmly onto him.

Today, I encourage you to follow his lead even when you’re afraid to step out as I was. But one thing I’ve always encouraged is for you to do it afraid. Don’t trust your fear… it will only hold you back.

Indeed he is My Safe Place.

Rescue Me…

Rescue me lord, rescue me

Often it seems you take so long to come to our rescue but your timing is always right. So We’ll wait in you just as long as you want us to. We only ask this one question lord, that you’ll strengthen us while we wait expectantly because can’t do this alone.

But we know that you are our Safe Place and in you we trust all the day long.