 Read | Proverbs 2 At one time or another, we have all felt confused, uncertain, or misled. We can live victoriously and confidently only by possessing spiritual discernment– ability to see life from God‘s perspective. We need His help to distinguish between right and wrong, good and best, truth and error. Each day we make many decisions–some trivial and others critical. The Lord doesn’t want us to form judgments based on mere appearance or limited human reasoning. But with the world so full of deceptive information, how would we, on our own, know what to believe? God desires that we see the reality of each situation as He does. We can fully trust the Lord with our relationships as well. Since He knows every person’s heart, the only way we can wisely interact with others is to be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit within us. Although God gives each of His children the capacity for spiritual discernment, many Christians are unaware of it. They stumble through life doing the best they can but fail to use this wonderful provision. Others don’t think they need it. They make choices according to their own knowledge and reasoning, never giving the Lord a second thought. Unless we cooperate with God in the development of His wonderful gift of discernment, it will lie dormant within us. A discerning spirit begins with a humble, teachable attitude. If you’ve been handling decisions, situations, and relationships through your own wisdom, confess this to God. Then ask for His perspective and search His Word for direction. Your wisdom will grow, and discernment will protect you. |
Daily Archives: July 23, 2012
God Wants Us Free From Worry
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Is your heart full of worries about your health, finances, family or future? Even when all is well, some people still worry because they have heard others say, “You should worry when everything is peaceful because something is wrong when the devil leaves you alone.” So they worry even when there is nothing to worry about! But Jesus does not want you to worry about what you will eat or drink, or about your body and what you will put on your back. He tells you not to worry about your daily provisions because God, who is your heavenly Father, knows that you need all these things and He wants to add these things to you. (Matthew 6:32–33) God is the same God who took care of the children of Israel in the wilderness, feeding them with manna every day for 40 years! (Exodus 16) Under His care, His people had no lack. When the people wanted meat for dinner, He simply rained quails on them. (Numbers 11:31–32) The children of Israel only had to pick them up. If they had gone to look for meat themselves, they probably would not have found any in the desert. The problem with us today is that we think that we must do something to help ourselves. Some of us may even think that it is easy for Jesus to say, “Don’t worry. Take no thought for your life,” because He does not understand the problems we face in life. But the truth is that Jesus understands the problems we face in life. In fact, He faced what I would call the “final problem” — death. Death is the “final problem” because it puts an end to all our other problems. Jesus faced death at the cross, conquered it and rose from the dead. And because He conquered the problem of problems, we can trust Him when He tells us not to worry! Pastor J. Prince |
How To Defeat Discouragement
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
I once heard a story about an auction they were having in hell. God said, “Satan, you need to reduce your arsenal.” So they were auctioning off some of the weapons of the enemy. And the one auctioned off at the highest price was the tool of discouragement because it is such a powerful weapon against us.
We all get discouraged from time to time. And discouragement can range from the moody blues all the way to clinical, and even severe, depression. Even some of the greatest saints of all time have been discouraged… biblical heroes such as Moses, Elijah, Jonah, David, and Peter.
Discouragement can come in all kinds of phases. One is that of listlessness—that feeling of just “blah.” And if that’s not dealt with, it moves to sadness, and eventually to helplessness as the chains of discouragement grow stronger and stronger in our lives.
But in Christ, you can overcome discouragement. As the Lord Jesus tells us in today’s passage, the peace that can overcome discouragement is found only in Him. Yes, there will be trouble in this world, but we can have victory because Christ has overcome. So whenever you feel discouraged, lean on Jesus, who has overcome so that you can have abundant life!
WHEN DISCOURAGEMENT HITS, TRUST IN JESUS BECAUSE HE HAS OVERCOME THE TROUBLES OF THE WORLD!
Pastor Graham
