"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble". --Psalm 46:1
You can #smile again! In fact, praise and smile throughout whatever it is that you are going through. This life can be hard and sometimes we may not feel like smiling or even asking for help or praising God. But it is our duty to praise Him anyway. God created us to be servants. Not only His servant but we are also to serve others. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in ourselves that we forget Who our source is. And, when we forget, it causes us to not seek HIM. Quite often, we don't go to God until we are backed into a corner and sometimes even then, we still never go to Him because we are so busy trying to figure things out on our own. But the Bible says in Matthew 6:33 - "Seek ye first the #Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you". What are these things, you ask? God promises to take care of all of our needs. We do not need to worry about what we will #eat, #drink or #wear. The key is to seek him first and He will take care of the rest. He's so good that He will often provide us with the desires of our hearts in addition to our needs. Isn't that such a mighty God!
When we don't go to God first, we are the cause of the divide. God never leaves us. He is always with us. When something hurts us or doesn't work out, it is usually because we broke the agreement, not God. This is why it's important for us to stay tuned in with God's Word on a daily basis. Our faith grows stronger when we read His Word and when we pray and our ability to understand it gets better the more we read it. Its like the old adage goes - "practice makes perfect"; except you don't have to be perfect at all! God is perfect for us! But we do have to try and practice! The more we grow, the easier it is for us to discern what season we are in. Then we aren't so stricken and hurt by things. We start to understand that a door was closed because there's a better opportunity for us ahead. We realize that a person walked away from us because they can't go to where we are going. The awesome thing is that our God is a great God and a merciful God. He's so understanding and forgiving that He allows us to have freewill and to leave and comeback and start again. He forgives us the moment we ask Him to and His grace adorns us even when we don't deserve it. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to #forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness". -- I John 1:9
So, what can we do when we are in trouble? 1) #Pray. Call on the name of the Lord and ask Him to help you. Talk to our Lord as if He is right there with you because He is! Ask Him for what you need. It's not that He doesn't know what you need but it's that He wants us to say it. There is something powerful that happens when we use our mouths to communicate with our Father in Heaven. 2) #Read His Word. Go to the Bible and seek what it says regarding what you are dealing with. Anything that we are going through in life can be found in God's Word. 3) Have #Faith. Believe that what you have prayed for and asked for is done in Jesus' Name. Believe that the moment that you asked, God heard you and began making a way for you. 4) Leave it with #God. A lot of times we can turn our problems over to God but we fail to leave them there. We always pick them back up or lose faith when it doesn't happen how or when we thought it should. When you realize yourself fretting or worrying about something that you have already handed over to God, stop in your tracks and hand it back over again. Ask God to forgive you for thinking that He isn't sovereign enough to resolve your concerns and for rushing His timing. 5) #Praise & #Worship. Give Him glory and always have a song in your heart! The Bible tells us in Psalm 100:4 to "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name". 6) #Walk uprightly. We can't continue to make sinful choices and expect God to bless us and to answer our prayers. That's like stealing something from someone and still expecting them to be nice to you. It doesn't make sense. But don't walk straight because you want something; walk straight because you want to; because you #love Him! John 14:15 says that "if you love the Lord you will keep His #commandments".
When you #follow these #steps you can be assured that you will feel the wonder-working #power of God in your life. Life won't be perfect but God will be with you and He will help you. No matter what happens don't turn away from him but if you do, go back; repent, pray and come to the Lord. He will be there waiting for you with open arms. He Loves You! "The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of #trouble". --Psalm 9:9. Smile and be filled with the #joy of the Lord!
by: Cherill R. Ashton, M.S.
7/2022