“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12
God kindly informs us that will face battles, we will endure storms in life and they are rooted in spiritual wickedness! Although, I know this to be true and I have thought on and read over this verse many times, I still find myself struggling with the “surprise factor” when battles or storms actually arise. Maybe you do too.
In 1 Peter 4:12-19, Peter tells us that when trouble and hardship come, we should not be caught off guard. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”
So, while storms and trouble may brew around you, rest assured that while you weather your storm, God will send the rain! The storm may be present, but God will rain down on you everything you need to bring glory to His name, and keep you fruitful! God, Himself will faithfully rain down on you all that you need to sustain you, and provide you with a holy vibrancy that is only due to a Heavenly Father nourishing the souls of His children!
Do you find yourself weathering a storm? If so, join me in the practice of looking for the spiritual rain pouring down from the heart of our Heavenly Father and bask fully in His love and provision!
Dear Fellow Believer, do you find yourself presently struggling with a particular sin? Are you tired of having skinned knees from your continuous falling? Walk in God’s grace today and allow Him to help you stand! The joy of the Lord is your strength! Let Him cleanse your wounds and bandage them so that you may be healed!
Nehemiah 8:10 says, “And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah was speaking words of comfort to God’s people, who had just heard the Law (the 10 Commandments) being read to them and it left them feeling grieved. The people were faced with God’s perfect standard for living, and as each line of this law that they were to keep and live by was being read aloud them, the heaviness steadily increased. I imagine those hearing the law being read must have been repeatedly thinking to themselves “broken, broken, broken” and their final thought being, “I’m guilty.”
The hearers of the Law knew they all stood condemned before God. The Law, God’s standard, revealed this to their hearts and, therefore, they were grieved. In a moment of understandable hopeless, they are then met with words of comfort and an answer! The people were told, “but do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” God told them, despite your condition, your guilt, you can be supplied with joy, but this joy will come from the LORD, YHWH, and it will be your strength. A despairing moment is now beaming brightly with an unwavering hope that comes from of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In John 1:17 it says, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus.”This is why we do not have to give way to despair! Friends, the joy of the LORD, Jesus Christ, is our strength!
What is this joy and how does this joy of the LORD become our strength? Joy is not contingent on our circumstances, but rather, it is the constant supplying of a spiritual peace that is completely dependent on the LORD, Jesus Christ and it is a happiness that we can have in Him. The truth is, we experience physical death because of sin, as Romans 6: 23 reminds us, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If we were left with the Law being our only means of justification, it would cause us to be distraught, heavy and living without hope. But praise God, this is not where the story ends! Paul tells us in Romans 3:21, “BUT NOW the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and Prophets bear witness to it- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for ALL who believe.”
In Romans 3:20 Paul says, “for no one will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.” God’s law only reveals to us our sin and how we are separated from Him because of our sin. If we read through God’s law this very day, this very hour, we would find ourselves to be much like the people standing before Nehemiah as he read the law to them. In our minds, we too would be saying “broken, broken, broken.” And after hearing every law read, we too would come to the conclusion of “I stand guilty.” However, this very day, we are met with the very same words of comfort and an answer to our problem. Whatever you are wrestling with today in your striving for holiness, let God fight for you! God longs to look at us as well and say, “and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!”
Have you recently experienced the joy of the Lord being your strength? If so, share in the comment section below!
Dear Fellow Believer, do you find yourself presently struggling with a particular sin? Are you tired of having skinned knees from your continuous falling? Walk in God’s grace today and allow Him to help you stand! The joy of the Lord is your strength! Let Him cleanse your wounds and bandage them so that you may be healed!
Nehemiah 8:10 says, “And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah was speaking words of comfort to God’s people, who had just heard the Law (the 10 Commandments) being read to them and it left them feeling grieved. The people were faced with God’s perfect standard for living, and as each line of this law that they were to keep and live by was being read aloud them, the heaviness steadily increased. I imagine those hearing the law being read must have been repeatedly thinking to themselves “broken, broken, broken” and their final thought being, “I’m guilty.”
The hearers of the Law knew they all stood condemned before God. The Law, God’s standard, revealed this to their hearts and, therefore, they were grieved. In a moment of understandable hopeless, they are then met with words of comfort and an answer! The people were told, “but do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” God told them, despite your condition, your guilt, you can be supplied with joy, but this joy will come from the LORD, YEWH, and it will be your strength. A despairing moment is now beaming brightly with an unwavering hope that comes from of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In John 1:17 it says, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus.”This is why we do not have to give way to despair! Friends, the joy of the LORD, Jesus Christ, is our strength!
What is this joy and how does this joy of the LORD become our strength? Joy is not contingent on our circumstances, but rather, it is the constant supplying of a spiritual peace that is completely dependent on the LORD, Jesus Christ and it is a happiness that we can have in Him. The truth is, we experience physical death because of sin, as Romans 6: 23 reminds us, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If we were left here to gather as the Law being our only means of justification, it would cause us to gather today distraught, heavy and without hope. But praise God, this is not where the story ends! Paul tells us in Romans 3:21, “BUT NOW the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and Prophets bear witness to it- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for ALL who believe.”
In Romans 3:20 Paul says, “for no one will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.” God’s law only reveals to us our sin and how we are separated from Him because of our sin. If we read through God’s law this very day, this very hour, we would find ourselves to be much like the people standing before Nehemiah as he read the law to them. In our minds, we too would be saying “broken, broken, broken.” And after hearing every law read, we too would come to the conclusion of “I stand guilty.” However, this very day, we are met with the very same words of comfort and an answer to our problem. Whatever you are wrestling with today in your striving for holiness, let God fight for you! God longs to look at us as well and say, “and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!”
Have you recently experienced the joy of the Lord being your strength? If so, share in the comment section below!
I recall having a virus when I was young that hit me pretty suddenly and settled in my joints. The excruciating pain in my joints, especially my ankles, made it impossible for me to walk for several days. I was probably in the first or second grade at the time, and the onset of this virus happened while I was at school. Thankfully my mom worked at the school that I attended and she was able to get to me quickly, put me on a rolling chair, then rolled me down the hallway, and out to her car. It’s funny how more than 30 years later I can still remember the crippling pain and my need to be carried.
The holiday season is a time of remembering and gathering with loved ones. For the Christian, its’ main purpose is to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus. This is to be a jovial time of year, and for many, hidden beneath the fixed smile on your face, is a heart that bares grief, hurt, sadness, or pain. The reason for these emotions residing in many hearts is multifaceted, and the holiday season tends to stir up or agitate a grieving heart. I often times have gone to scripture in my pain in order to seek truth, and while I may still find the pain in my heart to be present, I begin to find rest because God’s word carries me, and it can carry you. In our pain, we see a loving Savior who remains present and carries us when we feel as if we can no longer stand, no longer walk.
Grieving friends, friends who feel much sorrow this night, I pray that I might encourage you with God’s word so that you can remember your position before God.
In Isaiah 49: 15, 16 we read, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”
You dear friend, are not forgotten by God. While the world seems to move forward, and your pain has you feeling stagnant, you have not been forgotten by our Heavenly Father. You are ever before Him and on the very hand that holds you, you have been engraved. To be permanently remembered and seen by God is a grand truth to behold. This is a love that is greater than our minds can ever comprehend.
Psalm 139 says, “even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” Pain has a way of crippling us and making it feel impossible to move forward, but with God as our guide, holding us and guiding us, we have an immeasurable amount of hope to move forward because He is the one who is carrying us through.
This great hope, these great truths that we have to claim and live by this very night are only possible because, ‘Unto you a child is born, a Savior, and He is Christ, our Lord! He is Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.’ (Luke 2:11, Isaiah 9:6) While pain may be present in your heart this Christmas, worship this Savior who was born for you, who continues to live for you, who intercedes for you, and who continues to carry you! Jesus certainly is the true hope of the world and because of that we can say with certainty that it is a very Merry Christmas.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12
God kindly informs us that will face battles, we will endure storms in life and they are rooted in spiritual wickedness! Although, I know this to be true and I have thought on and read over this verse many times, I still find myself struggling with the “surprise factor” when battles or storms actually arise. Maybe you do too.
In 1 Peter 4:12-19, Peter tells us that when trouble and hardship come, we should not be caught off guard. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”
So, while storms and trouble may brew around you, rest assured that while you weather your storm, God will send the rain! The storm may be present, but God will rain down on you everything you need to bring glory to His name, and keep you fruitful! God, Himself will faithfully rain down on you all that you need to sustain you, and provide you with a holy vibrancy that is only due to a Heavenly Father nourishing the souls of His children!
Do you find yourself weathering a storm? If so, join me in the practice of looking for the spiritual rain pouring down from the heart of our Heavenly Father and bask fully in His love and provision!
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12
God kindly informs us that will face battles, we will endure storms in life and they are rooted in spiritual wickedness! Although, I know this to be true and I have thought on and read over this verse many times, I still find myself struggling with the “surprise factor” when battles or storms actually arise. Maybe you do too.
In 1 Peter 4:12-19, Peter tells us that when trouble and hardship come, we should not be caught off guard. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”
So, while storms and trouble may brew around you, rest assured that while you weather your storm, God will send the rain! The storm may be present, but God will rain down on you everything you need to bring glory to His name, and keep you fruitful! God, Himself will faithfully rain down on you all that you need to sustain you, and provide you with a holy vibrancy that is only due to a Heavenly Father nourishing the souls of His children!
Do you find yourself weathering a storm? If so, join me in the practice of looking for the spiritual rain pouring down from the heart of our Heavenly Father and bask fully in His love and provision!
Dear elect exiled one, to the one who finds themselves misplaced or in a wilderness place, may God’s grace and peace be multiplied to you!
Peter was addressing his persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ who had experienced being exiled from their homes. They now found themselves in unfamiliar places and the comfort of home was gone. But was all comfort and hope really lost? Though all seemed to quickly fade around them, and the things of this world only continued to reveal just how temporary they are, Peter quickly reminded them of what they had that was alive and unfading.
Here in 1 Peter 1, he was reminding these exiles, those whom God has called, of the firm foundation they had beneath them.
✨There is a grace and peace that God provides that can be multiplied to you this very day! (1 Peter 1:2)
✨Jesus has caused you to be born again to a LIVING hope! (1 Peter 1:3)
✨This living hope guarantees you an inheritance that will never perish, an inheritance that is pure and an inheritance that is unfading! (1 Peter 1:4)
✨In circumstances that are uncertain, you remain guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is to be revealed- sooner rather than later, with each passing day! (1 Peter 1:5)
✨When the trials of life seem to bring you continuous grief- they will serve to produce a refined faith because our faith lies in our Living Hope (Jesus)! (1 Peter 1:6, 7)
✨All of these gifts, which are unaltered by circumstance, these gifts that are graciously given by our Heavenly Father. This grace that we receive, which is fulfilled in Christ Jesus, is one that is personal, and is a grace that is to be yours! (1 Peter 1:10)
Do you find yourself feeling as if all comfort and hope are lost? Cling to the truths found in God’s word and stand firm in the grace and peace that God is able to multiply to you this very day!
We highlight or underline in books what we have found to be profound and worth remembering. We highlight or underline so that as we flip back through the pages, those statements will grab our attention in order that our minds may dwell upon its’ riches once again.
Highlighting Hope was inspired by Hebrews 10:23 which says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” In the midst of a difficulty, I read this verse and it gripped my heart. Although this storm was big in appearance, it was miniscule in the presence of my Savior. I prayed for months on end for God to remove this thorn in the flesh, and when it remained present, I knew that God was calling me to trust Him and to hold unswervingly to this hope that can only be found in Him.
Proverbs 13:12 tells us that “hope deferred makes the heart sick.” Our need for hope is great and yet that is exactly what Jesus offers, and He longs to meet this need in our lives! He is our living hope and the beauty here is that this is just the beginning! Colossians 1:5 tells us that faith and love springs up from this hope that Jesus offers!
As I have sought hope and have watched God “highlight” all around me this hope that I have in Him, I have come to realize that hope is just the starting point. As we read about, see, and experience His hope, it is a means in which He produces a greater faith and love in our lives! Praise God for His exponential work continuously being played out in us!
It was a Monday evening, many years ago, and we got caught driving in a heavy downpour of rain. The rain was so heavy that we could barely see the road. As we made our way down the road, my daughter, who was two at the time, is in the backseat screaming, “Oh no Mom! It’s a “torvado”! It’s a “torvado”!” I understood her panic, because we had spent a lot of time at the beginning of that year hiding out in the bathroom from serval tornadoes that had hit the area we were living in in a very short period of time. It made quite the impression on her! Before the night was over, the heavy rain had turned into a full fledge thunderstorm.
I remember not sleeping well that night, and I was annoyed by the loud thunder and flashes of light that were constant. In my heart I was grumbling about this “storm” and how it inconvenienced me and prevented me from getting a good night’s sleep, but as I laid there wide awake, my thoughts and feelings about this storm began to quickly change. I realized that what I was complaining about was God’s way of providing for us. We all know how much we need rain, and even still, I know how quick I am to complain when the rain actually comes. (Even the lightning God uses for our benefit and I learned that it actually helps to provide the soil with nitrates, which is pretty cool!) As I laid there wide awake, I realized I looked at storms with the wrong perspective. I focused on how I felt inconvenienced and fearful of the possibility of something being struck by lightning or even losing power, but I realized that all of this happens for a reason, and ultimately it puts God’s glory on display.
“God is always working to produce a beautiful display of hope!”
As we face our storms in life, we often times we see the inconveniences, difficulties, pain, and reasons for fear, all the while missing the good that God is really doing.
That Monday night James 1:2-4, 12 took on a new meaning for me.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials (storms) of many kinds, because you Know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (vs. 2-4)
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” (vs. 12)
As storms persist, God is at work. Nothing goes unused by our Heavenly Father, who loves us and is working all things for our good, but ultimately for His glory. In spite of any storm that may come our way, my prayer is that our hearts will dwell on God’s goodness, knowing He never leaves or forsakes us, and that our eyes would be unveiled to see the works of His hands. God always working to produce a beautiful display of hope!
Highlighting the hope that we have in Christ! 