Have you ever stopped to think about your relationships with others and what they mean to you? The time you spend cultivating those relationships? In order to develop deeply rooted friendships you have to sow into the relationship. These are the kind of friendships where you can trust them with your deepest fears or struggles; where they listen and don’t judge you, and you know they won’t say anything to anyone.
It takes time to develop and nurture our relationships with others. When we make the time to sow into those friendships we reap a bountiful lifetime of friends who will always be there when you need them no matter what. God bless.
A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
Ever have one of those days when you think to yourself, I can’t take it anymore. Maybe your day started out good or even great but then something happened and before you know it what started out as a good day snowballed into one issue after another and you just want to throw up your hands and say “I quit”. I’m sure we all have at some point in our lives.
When Jehoshaphat heard the news that a great multitude was coming against him, he was afraid. He could have thrown up his hands and quit. Instead his first order of business was to gather everyone together in the Lord’s house and pray. He sought the Lord for direction. He reminded Him of things that He had done for them in the past. He and the assembly of people looked to the Lord and waited on Him to tell them what to do. And He did. He told them not to be afraid and to stand still and see His salvation. He reminded them the battle wasn’t theirs but His.
When it seems as though roadblock after roadblock pops up, praise God for what He is doing in your life. Those roadblocks mean that the enemy sees God doing a good work in you and he is trying to get your focus off of God and His plans for your life. Instead of stressing about your situation take it to the Father and seek Him. Remind Him of what He has done for you in the past and ask Him for direction. He doesn’t need you to remind Him of what He has done for you, instead speaking it forth reminds you of what He has done for you. Of what He can do. Acknowledge that you are powerless without Him and wait on Him to tell you what He wants from you. And when He reminds you that the battle is His and not yours, and to be still do it. Be still and watch the Lord’s mighty hand at work in your life. God bless!
Father, When the battles we face seem overwhelming, help us to remember to turn them over to You. To remember that they are not ours but Yours and that the battle is already won. May we seek You first, remember the things You have done in our lives, acknowledge our weakness, and wait on You for direction. We thank You and praise You in Jesus name amen.
It is easy to say He is Lord of our life when things are good. But when disaster strikes, when it feels as though our hearts will break in half, do we still say He is Lord? Or do we blame Him for our troubles? For our wounded hearts? The Lord can heal us, and He wants to, but we have to let Him in to do it. We cannot expect Him to heal us if we push Him away. Can you imagine going to the doctor with a broken leg, he can see the bone protruding through, and you say fix it but you can’t touch me?
Are you wounded? Do you feel as though nothing can heal your hurts? Come, let the Lord bind your wounds and heal your heart. 💕
The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.
Have you ever taken a trip, missed a turn, and find yourself having to back track? Last winter when my husband was traveling back and forth to his mother’s house working with his siblings to sort through and downsize her stuff before she moved to assisted living, it was decided to sell her vehicle. She wasn’t able to drive anymore and we were casually looking around for another vehicle. As it turned out, we purchased it when we learned the mileage was low and within our budget. (That’s a whole another story which I wrote about earlier this year. 😅)
Now my husband does the driving when we travel 😐. The drive to his mom’s is a route that he can practically drive in his sleep. Since I’m not the one driving I never really paid much attention. Yes I had a general idea having traveled there with my husband in the past. It’s actually fairly simple but if you are like me, it’s easier to learn a route when you are the actual driver. The good thing about my husband when he is driving is that he doesn’t get annoyed with me when I ask him the names of the interstates or back roads that we would sometimes take, pretty much every time I would go with him. He is quick to give me a little background or some long ago memory of the small towns that we pass through when we take the back roads which is pretty neat.
The day we drove up to get the car he quizzed me on the directions and reminding me the names of the interstates that I would be taking. So when I had to drive the car back while he stayed a few more days, I thought I can do this even though I must admit I was a little intimidated. I mean I was making the trip back alone ~ well Lucy was my companion and we all know that dogs are great travel companions 😉~ I sort of knew where I was going and my husband had given me directions. The one thing that he stressed was going east and south. He said as long as I did that I would be good. So, off I went on my return trip home.
About that missed turn. My husband had reminded me about the road splitting before getting onto the interstate I needed. In fact he had even offered to drive to the state line so that I wouldn’t miss it. I told him I had it under control and I would be fine. Well…I was doing pretty good and I knew that the road would be splitting soon so I got in the lane that I needed to be in. Except I forgot and took the wrong split both were pointing me East but one was further north of where I needed to be and while I’m certain I could have stayed on that road I wasn’t familiar with it so I backtracked and got on the correct road. You know what? My husband even called to check on me to make sure I had gotten on the right road! I’m pretty sure I waited to tell him about my side trip after I was headed in the right direction to which he laughed. Thinking back over that time I thought about how we sometimes can get off track in our relationship with the Lord if we aren’t paying attention and how He nudges us back on track.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13
But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
These are but a few reminders of how much He loves us. Of how He is watching over us and is there for us if we will only cry out to Him.
He cannot help you unless you let Him. But while He is waiting for you to open the door, He can remind you of His love, and that He is waiting for you. God bless!
David was just a youth when he faced the Philistine. He had gone, at his father’s request, to check on his brothers who were with Saul fighting the Philistines. What he heard was the fear running through the camp. He had faith and knew the Lord was on their side and that He would deliver them from the enemy. With Saul’s permission, David took the tools he was comfortable with, little as they were compared to the armor and weapons of the Philistine, and faced the enemy.
David stated what he was going to do and did it. He trusted the Lord to win the battle and he was obedient, going into battle believing the Lord would deliver him from the Philistine just as He had when David faced lions and bears while tending the flock. Because of his obedience and his faith in the Lord, David prevailed.
Just as David prevailed against overwhelming odds, we too can prevail when facing seemingly difficult situations when we trust in the Lord. David went on to become a king. What can you accomplish when you are obedient to what the Lord has for you to do?
Lord, May we be like David, obeying and trusting in You when we go into battle remembering that You have already won. Amen.
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