Month: July 2018

“Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer” ~Psalm 94: 19

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We all have quiet moments, whether welcomed or un-welcomed… and in most of those times, we tend to either question ourselves or question God’s will for our lives. Using the Word of God in our quiet moments will empower us to hear from God, rejuvenate our bodies, and renew our minds.

We need quiet moments for God to speak to us.

The busy world often overwhelm us and we spend lots of time trying to accomplish or become accomplished. With work, school, kids, grocery shopping, business trips, and the list goes on, endless responsibilities all compete for our time and energy.

Scheduling quiet moments away from the noise should be at the top of our list so that we can hear from God. Jesus was the perfect example when He went out alone into the wilderness to pray long before daybreak [Mark 1: 35]. He got away from it all to have quiet moments with God and so should we.

Quiet times help us to rejuvenate our bodies.

Everyday life can take a toll on us causing unexplained stress and illnesses. We should purposefully retrieve into quiet times and use it to meditate on the Word of God. It will bring calmness and rest to our bodies – you may even get fresh ideas to revisit and restructure old ideas.

Quiet times can renew our minds.

Renewed minds transform us [Romans 12:2] and making time to ensure that our minds are renewed will equip us to function better spiritually, mentally, and physically.

Next time you feel quiet, try not to entertain doubt and turmoil. David asked for God to quiet him and give him renewed hope and cheer. Let’s use our quiet moments to turn to the Word of God so we can hear from Him, rejuvenate our bodies and renew your minds.

Sometimes it seems hard to find God! I know He’s not lost but whenever we’re going through challenges, our thoughts and minds become clouded with our situations and it feels like we can’t find our way and our God.  Whenever I feel like this, going into worship mode usually helps – but this isn’t always as easy as it sounds. There are times when my flesh doesn’t want to go into worship mode – what do you do in times like these?  What do you do when you know what you’re supposed to do but you still “don’t feel like doing it?” – when you know if you reach out to someone they’re just going to tell you what you already know?

My approach has always been to just start playing worship music. At first when doing this, it feels like nothing is happening… but I keep the music flowing. After awhile…and sometimes a long while… my soul starts tuning in to the lyrics and the words begin to seep into my system. The Holy Spirit gets me to start thinking about the words of the song, and from there on, I can always count on Him to start intervening.

Eventually, my body catches up with my spirit and my mind begins to accept that God is really who I should focus on and not my circumstances. His Spirit begins to remind me how good He has been and that He’ll never leave me or forsake me.

This in itself is a breakthrough but the enemy does not want us to see it this way. So even at this stage, he still tries to whisper doubt that God isn’t listening or doesn’t even care, or the more popular one – we’re never going to get out of this one. This is when we have to open our mouths and rebuke him in the Name of Jesus. James 4:7 tells us that we must resist the devil and he will flee from us – not may – will. That’s power right there! If we want him to flee, we must resist him – that’s something that we have to choose to do.

It’s never easy to remain upbeat and spiritually motivated, but if we surround ourselves with worship music and songs that give God praise, we’ll find that God was standing right there with us all this time – through the clouds and through the challenges.

His promise is never to leave us and His Word is sure [John 14:16].  Below is one of my favorite worship songs to get you going. When you can’t find God… get your praise on and know that you are never alone!

https://youtu.be/Nh3oa4XYasQ

“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” ~Philippians 4:13

As I sat outside watching baby birds learn how to fly, I thought about us as a people – I thought about how God our Father teaches us to do so many things so that we can spread our wings – just like the birds do.  He created us and placed us in the earth with tremendous abilities to learn, teach, motivate, inspire, and cultivate.  He gave us abilities to understand, think, and feel – yet sadly, many of us shy away from things we tell ourselves that we cannot do.

As I watched the birds fluttering in groves in the clear blue sky learning their routine, I couldn’t help but think that this act of togetherness was crucial to their survival. They were learning from each other!  Our great God gives us the same power to work together as a people – to learn from each other and become the best us.  He gives us the strength so that we can do all things through Him. Like the birds, we need each other to survive – when God’s strength unite us, we learn to encourage each other, look out for each other, and become more caring like our Heavenly Father.

What is it that you feel you can’t do?  Challenge yourself! Others have done it and so can you! Learn from others – ask God to help you know that with Him all things are possible.  Become the best you – maximize your potential and make the best of your life, and while you’re at it, spend time with friends and family – do fun stuff (I’m still a work-in-progress on this one) – do things that make you laugh – sit outside and just gaze into the skies, listen to the birds, your neighbor’s dog  – stop and smell the roses. I have learned that no matter how much I do, I always find myself returning to the place of rest where I need to stop, pray, ask God for renewed strength to continue my journey.  So can you!

Won’t you ask God today to help you do the things you were created to do? I challenge you!