Even crossing over your “Jordan” and heading into your “Promised Land” can be intimidating if you don’t focus on Him.  God promised to go before the Israelites as they followed Him into the promised land, but there was still an element of fear to be had if they chose it because of the unknown and some of what they did know they would face.  The land had giants and fortified cities, but they knew that God was with them and leading them into it so they knew He would provide all they needed when they needed it.  They went over prepared.  They didn’t just head over expecting everything to just fall into their laps.  They went prepared for battle.  God said He would go before them and some battles were theirs and some that He just cleared the land for them, but they had to follow Him and rely on His timing and leading.  

It is the same for each of us: in some battles, God fights for you, and in others, He equips you to fight.  If you are following closely by His side you can count on His victory.  Do your part and be prepared.  Too often people get angry with God because they miss out on something in life and yet they did nothing to get it.  You can’t pray for a job and never go out and apply for any and expect it to just fall into your lap ~ those things are very rare.  There are those rare times, so I am not discounting it, but God expects us to use our heads.  One of the worst things that seem to be happening in our nation right now is that too many people want to “reap what they haven’t sown”.  They want someone else to “do” while they sit and reap the benefits and that is just not how life is meant to be. If you want something then get out there and work for it!  Ask God what He would have you do.  Seek Him by spending time in prayer and in His Word.  If you ask God to show you He will.  Spend time listening to praise and worship music ~ download the app Worship 24/7 and you can listen to it on your phone at the drop of a hat.  Worship will strengthen your faith and confidence.  

God loves you and He is going before you!  There are times when it seems pretty rough just before you cross over your Jordan, into your promises, but God’s got you!  You will even have struggles in your “Promised Land” because life will never be without them here on earth.  There may be times when He is fighting for you but you can’t see anything changing, but that is where trust comes in!!  You must trust that God cannot lie and He will do what He has said He will do.  He will lead, but you must choose to follow.  He will provide the way if you stick close to Him.  Don’t look for answers somewhere else!  If you want His best you must choose to follow Him in every area He brings to your attention.  Give it all to Him so He can move mightily in your life and others will see and know that it is Him and will be drawn to Him as well.  Trust that truly His best is yet to come in your life if you will just trust Him and stay on the path He has for you!

Have you ever been trying to work on something on your computer and there are ads that just keep popping up until they about drive you crazy?  Even when I pull up the Bible Gateway site sometimes there are ads on the side that I have to cover up or they catch my eye and are distracting to the point of almost giving me a headache.  Other times though, I have been doing something and an ad will pop up and I think, hmmmm, that’s interesting, and a half hour later I realize that I am lost in an ad and not finding what I got on my laptop for in the first place.  

The world is full of distractions and while some of them are good, others are not and you have to be careful.  Abby and I have had many conversations about always making the “best choices”, not just good choices.  Are the choices that you make for yourself and your family honoring God?  Are the things you read, watch, and listen to and that you allow your children to read, watch, and listen to, helping you grow in your walk with God?  It’s not easy, and I know it can be a tough thing for Abby being a teenager, but I also keep telling her that life on earth is brief in comparison to eternity and our purpose for life here is to serve God with our lives in a way that will draw others to Him.  It’s not exactly popular, but who are you living for?  All hell will come against you at times, but ~ who are you living for? 

This is for every area of your life!  Think about what God has given you to do, whether you are a stay-at-home mom, teacher, truck driver, you have your own business or you are retired, what is it God has given you to do?  Whatever it is, don’t get distracted from it.  There are a lot of good things that can be distractions too, but just don’t allow anything or anyone to draw you away from what God has called you to!   

Don’t just go with the flow.  Get intentional about your walk with God and what you are allowing as distractions in your life.  There’s plenty of good to choose from if you look for it.  Unfortunately the bad is in your face all of the time so that is why you must fix your eyes on God!  If you fix your eyes on Him and you ask Him to guide you in all that you do you will find that He will show you.  

If your eyes are fixed on Him then you can have the faith you need when storms rage around you that He sees, He cares, and He will guide you through that too.  He loves you and He has a plan, don’t miss it because of the distractions of the world.  People seem to think it is somehow old school to devote your life to learning about God and serving Him with your life if you aren’t somehow in full-time Christian ministry, but what other reason do you think you are on earth for?  The world needs Jesus and the only way they will see Him in all of this craziness is for Christians to start taking their walk with God more seriously.  Dig in and get to know Him and how much He loves you!  Don’t miss out on learning about Him and how much He cares about you!  Learn to trust Him that if you will just follow Him then truly His best is yet to come in all that you do!

No matter where you are today in life I would encourage you to pray.  Your relationship with God, just like any other relationship requires communication and the only way for that to happen is for you to spend time in His Word and in prayer.  So, whether you don’t know what to do in your situation or you believe you do know what to do ~ Pray!  

Too often when times are good it’s easy to get to a point where you feel as though you are on a roll and you just know what you believe you need to do next, but I would still like to encourage you to take it to God and just discuss it with Him.  Don’t become so self-sufficient that you leave Him out until one day you realize that you should have run those decisions past the Lord way back there and now…. God sees, He knows, and He cares so why wouldn’t you run everything past Him?  He is the God of details and He wants to be involved on every level of your life.  He wants to guide you in all that you do.  Don’t just wait for the seemingly big stuff to come along, make Him a part of your everyday choices and decisions.  

I know some days can also be so overwhelming that it is tough to even know what to pray and that is when you pray exactly that!  “Lord, I don’t even know what to pray!”  He knows what you have need of before you even ask, so ask Him to just do what you need Him to do today and to give you the strength and peace you need to face the day.  He sees, He knows the truth and He cares and loves you beyond anything you can comprehend.  You can trust Him with it all!  Draw closer to Him, don’t push Him away.  Ask Him to help you guard your mind against the lies that satan or other people may be trying to tell you because satan wants you to feel alone and he wants you to believe that God doesn’t really care.  Those are all lies from Hell.  Pray for God to fill you with hope!  Write down Romans 15:13 and carry it with you, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”   God wants to fill you with hope and His joy so ask Him for it!  You don’t have to face anything in life alone!

Don’t miss a day of communicating with God ~ He loves you and wants to hear from you!  If you have prayed and prayed and yet you are not seeing anything happen ~ pray some more!  Don’t give up and don’t give in!  Keep praying and believing!

Unfortunately, building endurance takes time and effort.  We are called to be steadfast and that would indicate that things aren’t always going to run smoothly in our lives.  God has told us in His Word that life on earth will be hard, if you aren’t ever facing battles maybe you need to take a close look at your walk with God.  Yes, we have seasons of awesomeness and God’s blessing, but if satan is never fighting you on any level then somehow he doesn’t see you as a threat.  We all face Spiritual battles in life, I am so battle-weary some days I wonder which way is up.  When you feel like that you must ask God to give you strength for one more day to fight the lies that satan tries to tell you to make you feel hopeless ~ resist him!  Ask God for the strength to stand and to wait on Him trusting that as it says in these verses that He, “Himself will restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”  

When you feel anxiety-ridden, and let’s face it there is a lot of craziness going on in the world and satan seems to be on a rampage to destroy us, give the anxiety to Him reminding yourself that He loves you deeply and He has a plan that He is working out.  I know that may sound trite if read the wrong way, but I am right there with you.  I don’t say these things sitting on a mountaintop, making light of anyone’s situation, believe me.  The best way to learn to trust God is to keep reminding yourself that He is trustworthy and He is always true to His Word, but you must follow Him.  You cannot expect God’s best and His plan if you choose to do your own thing.  

Of course, my favorite part of these verses is, “And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.  To Him be the power forever and ever.  Amen”.  ~ “ A little while?” you may say, “This hasn’t been, a ‘little while!”  I get it, but think about this… if it has been “forever” then you must be closer than you think to your victory and answer.  I know this ~ you can trust Him!  He will come through!  He will do what is best!  He loves you more than words can say and not one tear you have shed has escaped His notice.

Give it to Him, whether it is a struggle or a simple decision.  Take it all to Him and stand firm on the Word of God knowing that you can count on the fact that truly His best is yet to come when you are sticking close to His side!

“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered,” and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’“  But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.  Then the woman knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.  He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.  Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

So as the story goes, Jesus was on His way to Jairus’ house to heal his daughter and the crowds were all following Jesus.  It is amazing that out of that entire crowd, there were 2 people believing for healing, Jairus for his daughter and this woman who had tried everything else!  I find it difficult to believe that out of that entire crowd, they were the only 2 who needed healing for themselves or someone they loved and yet they were the only 2 mentioned that had the faith to receive it.  

Who knows why the rest of the people were all crowded around Him?  It could be that they were curious and wanted to see what He would do next. It could be that they were truly following Him to learn from His teaching. You have to remember that before He was born it had been 400 years since Israel had heard from God so John the Baptist and Jesus were truly something to be excited about, whether or not they believed that He was the Son of God.  Unfortunately many missed out on Who He is!

Which one are you today?  Are you just curious enough about your walk with God to dabble in knowing Him or are you at a point where you are ready to press in and reach out to Him and anxious to bring Him into your home so He can become more real to your family?  This woman wanted to get close, no crowd was going to stop her!  She wanted healing and all of her failed attempts and years of suffering or naysayers in her life were going to get her to believe that it was hopeless!  She was believing despite her circumstances and despite what she had been told by doctors, family, and friends!  She believed!  

What is it that you are facing today that maybe the circumstances or maybe other people are even telling you that “you just need to accept it”, or “you can’t accomplish all of that”.  Unless God tells you Himself that this is the way it is going to be and He isn’t going to intervene, then you keep pressing in!  You keep believing!  You keep pushing to get closer to Him and to walk with Him!  If there’s someone in your life who is making you waiver in believing God and what He has to say about you and your situation tell them to hush!  

Don’t get me wrong, I know there are times when God says, “No”.  He doesn’t heal every single person because otherwise we would all be living forever wouldn’t we, but until He tells you “no”, you are called to believe!  We seem to have lost our strength to believe that God is still a God of miracles and a God who sees and cares and loves!  He wants to walk with you through the good, the bad, and the ugly of life.  He wants you to trust Him in all of it!  There are times when He allows us to go through terrible storms, to grow us up and grow our faith.  Will you allow Him to help you grow into all that He created you to be in this season of your life?  Believe me, I have been through some terrible dark seasons of life and the best and most rewarding outcome is always when I have chosen to cling to Him!

So, whether you are on the mountaintop or in the darkest valley, how close will you choose to get to Him today?  Will you press in to get as close as you can get or are you just going to walk along out of curiosity to see what He might do next?  My prayer is for you to grab onto His hand and allow Him to show you all that He created you to be, knowing that His best is yet to come!

Jesus, the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of God’s nature!  It should thrill your soul to picture how wonderful that picture of who He is, is!  He holds the universe simply by His word.  His word!  Nothing is too difficult for our amazing Lord!

Take comfort today in that, in the areas where you are struggling and even on the mountaintop!  If you have accepted Him as your Lord and Savior then His Spirit lives in you and that should give you hope and courage for anything that comes your way!  He loves you and has a plan for your life, it is your decision whether or not you are going to choose to follow Him every day of your life.  Trust me though, life is going to throw you some curves and I don’t know about you, but I want to be right by His side for it all.  

This verse should also encourage you in your everyday walk!  Maybe today it isn’t a storm you are facing but you are lacking the umph or courage you need to take that next step.  Is there something you feel you are supposed to do, but you are scared senseless because you aren’t quite sure if you have what it takes?  If God has called you to it, He will give you all you need to do it, just stick close to Him!

If you are wondering today if you really matter in the “scheme of things” to God, read this verse again.  Jesus didn’t sit down until He made things right for your eternity!  He made sure He took care of the “rest of your story” before He sat down to help you walk through this chapter.  Have you ever been reading a book and the story gets so intense that you have to cheat and read the end to make sure that your beloved character survives?  Jesus wrote the end with His life because He loves you that much and every detail of your life matters to Him. He didn’t sit down until He knew you would be ok if you chose Him.  He is so amazing and He loves you so much!  If He cared that much to make sure the end was right, He certainly cares about everything you are facing today!  Hold on to Him and trust Him to get you through!  Nothing is too difficult for Him!  You matter more than you can imagine!

I would like to encourage you to write this verse down and carry it with you and whenever doubt starts to raise its ugly head pull it out and read it!  Hold on to your hope in God!  He’s got you and truly His best is yet to come if you will just stay close to Him!

He has a plan.  Are you open to His plan for your life or are you pretty comfortable where you are?  Have you been waiting for Him to reveal His plan for your life and you are wondering if it will ever happen?  Are you so frustrated with everything that has come against you that you have begun to wonder if there is a plan or if maybe all the “storms” of life are the plan?  Did you wake up one morning realizing that the life you are living is not the plan you know God has for you?

There’s hope!  He still has a plan for you!  His desire for you to shine is still there and He wants to walk you through all that you are facing right on into all that He has planned.  Sometimes some storms seem to rob us of almost everything, but if we allow Him to, If you have found yourself in a dark season, whether it is due to someone else’s bad decision, your own, or it’s just life here on earth that He has allowed, He can use it to grow you into something He can use on a greater level than you can imagine.  Press in and seek Him with your whole heart.  Ask Him for His strength and guidance and keep your eyes fixed on Him! God loves you and He wants a close relationship with you.  He doesn’t want a tiny corner in your life, He wants all of it.  He wants to show you things you would never understand without Him and you can’t see that if you are focused on something else.  

The world will tell you, “If it feels good do it”, “you’re number 1”, “there are no absolutes”…… and the list goes on and on of the things the world has to say that directly oppose everything the Bible has to say.  It’s pretty simple, if you want God’s best you must follow God’s plan and you will find His plan in His word!  Spend time getting to know Him.  Ask Him for His wisdom for everything you face.  The world’s way will just bring more heartaches and pain.  God wants you to fulfill the purpose He created you for and sometimes we get there through hardship and pain.  

Don’t give up on the plan that God has for you and don’t get distracted.  Satan has a way of pulling every tool in his little toolbox out to try to get you off course.  As the old saying goes, “If satan can’t make you bad, he will make you busy.”  Don’t get so caught up in the insignificant things and busy things of life that you miss out either.  It is possible to get so caught up in “good things” but not the right things and we miss out on His best.  Just because something is good to do doesn’t mean it is right for you or your family right now.  Ask God to set your priorities.  Ask Him if everything you have going on is right for this season of your life.  Don’t hesitate to tell people “No, it’s just not the right time for that in my life right now”.  Before you say “Yes”, take time to pray about it.  That has been a difficult lesson for me when it comes to seeing a “need”.  God and I had a serious chat the other day about it because I want to just “fix the need” when I see one.  On one side that doesn’t sound like a bad thing and it isn’t if that is what God wants. Emergencies are a totally different subject and usually, if God has placed you there then dig in and help! There are times when God will ask you to help and we need to listen and obey because we are called to be His hands and feet, but there are times when He may have someone else in mind that needs to step up.  We need to pray about it and I don’t mean a quick, “Hey God, I’m going to go do this…”. We need to truly ask, and this goes for anyone who doesn’t like to dig in and help because you have enough on your plate.  Make sure your plate is filled by Him so you can be open to His leading for any service for Him.  There’s a balance in His plan for your life that He wants to guide you into all you have to do is be open to it.

Quote:  “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”  ~ Joe Sabah

It is His love that compels and drives us to live for Him.  His love for you is way beyond anything that you can possibly fathom, but you can grow in your understanding if you seek Him.  There’s so much anger all around.  People get angry over the slightest things at times and they need His love.  How will they know if we don’t live lives that reveal that.  It is His love flowing in and through us that will draw them to Him!

It is His love that will drive you to live for Him and to want to avoid sin!  Yes, He is Holy and righteous and He will bring judgment for all sin and we need to recognize that and strive to be more like Him and to live Godly lives.  We are also called to recognize His love for us because it is growing in your love for Him that will give you the desire to do that!  It is His love for you that will make you never want to hurt Him by sinning against Him.  It is His love in you that will help you love others.  It is His love for you that will move in you to give all of your hurts and anger and addictions to Him so He can heal you and help you become all He created you to be so you can live for Him and reach those around you.  John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  There’s enough anger in the world, we are called to be different.  We need to always stand and speak the truth in love.

It is His love for you that will give you the strength you need to make it through the storms in life!  When you grow in your understanding of how much He loves you and the fact that He has a plan for you, the more you will trust Him with everything you face in life.  Jeremiah 29:11-13,  “For I know the plans I have fo you” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  Are you seeking Him today?  He wants you to know Him and His love for you.  He wants you to know that no matter what is going on around you that He sees, He cares, He loves you and He has a plan if you will just seek Him with your whole heart.  Don’t look around ~ look up!  Spend time in His Word, spend time listening to praise and worship music and spend time alone with Him in prayer.  Ask Him to guide you in all that you do!  Ask Him to help you learn to trust Him more.  The more you understand HIs love the more you will trust Him and your faith and hope in Him will grow as well.  

Get alone with Him today and ask Him to help you see His love in your life.  Ask Him to guide you in learning and understanding that love.  Ask Him to help you show His love to others in all that you do!

When storms and struggles and terribly dark seasons of life strike what is your response? How do you handle it when someone you felt should have had your back betrays or offends you? What happens when you have prayed and prayed, maybe even fasted and nothing seems to happen, you feel as though your prayers must not be getting above the ceiling?

I can remember getting so angry with God years ago because I thought He should have just fixed what was going on in my life and He didn’t!  I figured since I had been faithful in following Him that somehow that meant that He should fix everything and of course in my time!  He didn’t and I was angry so I rebelled.  Yeah, well…… that really doesn’t work out very well! I am not really sure why we think that when we are angry the best thing to do is to lash out and do stupid things!  Really?  How does that help and why would we ever think we would feel better afterward?  

Now, I have also had times, truly the worst season of my life, and I chose to cling to Him instead of getting angry and lashing out and rebelling and that is where I found Hope!  That is where I found rest in the middle of the storm!  That is where my faith in Him grew!  That is where I didn’t have regrets for my actions.  That is where I found His peace even when He was silent and I couldn’t seem to get any answers.  That is where I found His comfort and strength and that is where I grew the most in my relationship with Him.

Remember that satan is out to steal, kill and destroy so if he can get you to believe that God doesn’t really care or that God should be doing more than what you can see, he’s got you!  Do not believe his lies!  Take every thought captive!  When you start allowing your mind to run wild with crazy thoughts you lose track of the truth.  Focus on God!  Draw close to Him and He will draw close to you!  If He seems a bit quiet, know that He is still working and He loves you and you can trust Him!  Keep pressing forward and pressing in to Him knowing that He has you in the palm of His hand and truly His best is yet to come!

Quote:  “The life of faith is lived one day at a time, and it has to be lived not always looked forward to as though the ‘real’ living were around the next corner.  It is today for which we are responsible.  God still owns tomorrow.”  ~Elisabeth Elliot

Amidst the chaos, hostility, and craziness going on in the world today, God sees you!  He has heard your cries and He is working on it.  Not one tear you have shed has escaped His notice!  Even though the whole world is upside down and backward, He still sees and cares.  He has not forgotten you.  He is not too busy for you!  Let go of the thoughts that humanize Him and remember who He is!  Nothing is too difficult for Him!

Satan would love to make you feel as though you are insignificant compared to what is going on around you and in the world but that is simply not true.  You will never find a verse in the Bible that says, “God is too busy…”. Instead, you will find all of the reassurance you need because nothing is too difficult for Him and He is a faithful loving God who will bring justice, and answers.  He sees and He knows the truth ~ trust Him!  He loves you and leave it to Him to fight for you!  Don’t try facing anything alone!  Walk close by His side.  Seek Him and His truth and wisdom for every situation, He has promised to guide you if you will just follow Him.

Don’t allow discouragement to overwhelm you today!  Take some time and read some of the Psalms.  I love how David would pour his heart out to God in his anguish and praise God all in one breath!  Don’t forget to praise Him and thank Him as you pour your heart out.  Your praise will stir up your faith.  Cling to Him and His Word!  Trust His faithfulness for whatever you may be facing today.  Give that broken heart to Him and allow Him to heal it!  If you need a miracle then pray and ask in faith believing He sees and He will always do what is best.  If you lack in faith ask Him to fill you with His faith and trust Him with it all!