Recovery starts with Hope
So many times when we hear the word hopeless, we envision a person looking completely dilapidated and void of any spark, life or positivity. Droopy faces and sunken dispositions, we paint a look in our minds. Some of us know better that hopelessness is masked under well appointed suits, flawless grooming and a smile that is insta-worthy. Our showers and our cars know the truth and so does God. My question is: where do you get to be real when the performance is never ending?
The bible says in Hebrews 4:16 that we should come boldly before the throne of grace so we can find help in the time of need. What do you need? Needs are not always tangible, but the greatest needs are those in the heart. God can give you peace, forgiveness, joy and strength. I have found that there are three simple things that help me face the difficulties of my life. Whether they are the daily responsibilities that come with “adulting” or the major challenges under the matters arising category.
Personal Prayer
Can you imagine being in a space where you feel understood, where the events and the emotions of the problems you face are actually recognized and in your heart you are connecting to something beautifully greater than yourself willingly saying to you to cast all the burdens on Him because He genuinely cares. I am always convinced and assured that God cares and He has beautiful ways of showing it. Are you bold enough to let God hear your voice and your perspective and feel your faith and trust stretching out beyond what you can see?
Sing Out A New Song
Something needs to drown out the negativity in your mind and nothing does it like worship. Yes I said it. Read it (5) five times if you have to. Worship is not just for the Sunday morning service but it is a daily acknowledgement in word, deed and creative expression that God is sovereign and He is always in control. It’s so comforting to quote it to yourself that look God loves me I love Him and his Word says all things work together for good for those who love the Lord so this challenge is either going to make me better or more mature. Sometimes the blessing is not things going our way but the maturity we gain from taking the journey. Nothing like a song that says that back to you while driving in traffic on the way to meet the mess.
Look you have to maintain your belief, nurse it like a baby build it like a muscle in the gym. The more you worship God it’s like you open up your life to experience the awesomeness you’re singing about. I would say it opens your eyes to see Him at work and recognize the goodness of God instead of the intensity of your problems.
READ READ READ
Soooo if you have gotten this far, thank you. I want you to fall in love with a book that has lasted the test of time. The principles are always relevant and the people are going through some real stuff. Do you read over the scripture from the sermon after you have shouted about it? Have you invested in a little devotional to help you along the way? If I hide something in your Bible would you find it? The bible is on your phone and on this site so my friend you have no excuse not to feed your spirit to face those giants in your life. I remember when my favorite scripture was ” Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when it is come it is a tree of life” – Proverbs 13:12
That was the only scripture that could aptly describe how I felt. Somewhere along the line that changed to Job 14:7-9
“For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. Though its root may grow old in the earth,
and its stump may die in the ground, Yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant.”
and its stump may die in the ground, Yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant.”
I guess it’s a continuation or even explanation of my beloved proverb and the process of Hope impacting a soul… that a little water from the presence of God can do so much.
PRAYER TIME
Lord remember the soul reading these words and help them to sprout again. It may feel ugly to admit that life has beaten them up on the inside but you promised to give beauty for ashes, strength for fear, gladness for mourning and peace for despair. I love You but You love all of us best.
xoxo
#crushtheday
Rev Tiffany G. James
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02
Sep '19
Your new chapter
02
Sep '19
It is never too late to start. A breath is the evidence that we have an opportunity to change something in our lives. So many times we box ourselves into our routines and cycles that can get just frustrating. Pause …Take a breath… Let me tell you a story.
St John 5: 1-9
There was a man who was literally waiting for a change for years. Stuck in the same place, he looked to only the methods he saw around him. He was stuck in a cycle of disappointment. Always feeling passed over and left behind; he reduced his perception of his capacity to what others could do for him. One day someone came and challenged his view of his future, his capacity, his methods and the conditions he was waiting on to change his life. Six simple words that brought accountability and shifted his focus.
” When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” John 5:6 ESV
Sometimes change begins when we ask ourselves if our desires are in the right place. God hears our rants of frustration but beyond what we say he really wants to know: Do you really want a change? The truth is when we become desperate enough we abandon our excuses, we forget about our limitations and we decisively move in the direction of transformation. The day we truly decide is the day we are ready to begin.
The Bible introduces the concept of repentance as the turning away from one way of life and embracing the life that God has intended for us. It is not tears, crying or just being sorry for the ramifications of our decisions; it is when we agree with God that the path we are on is just not what is best and look to Him for directions. My friend Jesus stood there knowing He was greater than all the things that disappointed this man, knowing He had all power to change the condition that was crippling. The beauty of the story is that Jesus impacted the real place the man was crippled… his mind.
“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. ” Romans 12:2 ESV
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