Going here and there, hearing others, myself, even just walking the store aisles, the national news, local news.... there is discouragement....in themselves, the economy, others,.....a tiredness that discouragement brings...down, down, down...I admit, that I get that way as well...not always "up". Especially as tax season is approaching...wars, here and there, fears on all side, violence, joblessness, insurancelessness, the list goes on....
But, the other day, as I was struggling against the wind on one of my walks, there poked out of the ground a tiny yellow new pansy and further down the walk, the first bloom of a yellow crocus....I rejoiced, smiling, still wind driven, but hopeful...spring may come sometime, encouragement is there even in a small bright flower...the happy face of the pansy....
I want to live in that inner peace all the time, where nothing can pierce...but, I step out of that again and again....into the discouragement, fearfulness...worry...only to be drawn back when I choose to do so...taking ahold of Gods word, his hand which never leaves, always waits for my return...
It is not a place that is set apart from the world, but a place that is in the world, but with a peaceful, trusting attitude ....handing over the problems, worries to the only one who can change lives, hearts toward Himself...leaving them at His feet...letting go of the burden that I want to carry and He lightens...
Thank YOU,,,help me not be discouraged,,, thank You for the smiling face that even a flower makes, facing the blustery world...shining Your smile of encouragement.....
Deuteronomy 1:21
See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Deuteronomy 31:8
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 8:1a
[ Ai Destroyed ] Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. ....
Joshua 10:25
Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.”
1 Chronicles 22:13
Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
1 Chronicles 28:20
David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.
2 Chronicles 20:15
He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.
2 Chronicles 20:17
You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”
2 Chronicles 32:7
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.
Job 4:5
But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are dismayed.
Ephesians 3:13
I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
"February 20, 2014
A Grace Place
Lysa TerKeurst
"Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
"Does God ever get tired of my issues?"
I've asked myself this question many times throughout my lifelong struggle with emotional eating.
Over the course of my journey, I've whined to God, gotten mad at God and often ignored God. And I've worried I was going to use up all my grace with God.
I felt He would be justified to say, "Enough! Go away. I'm tired of your issues. Figure it out for yourself!" That is, until I read again the "first story" of God's grace with fresh eyes.
We often think of God's grace beginning at the cross. But as I read through the Scripture from the point of view of someone struggling with food issues, I saw a revelation of God's grace right from the start in Genesis.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating from the forbidden tree and ushered sin in to the world. God handed down the consequences of their actions, which included banishment from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). They must have believed they had pushed past the boundaries of God's grace. After all, He was sending them out of the garden.
Whenever I've read that story, I thought they had to leave paradise because God was punishing them. God was disappointed in them. God was giving them what they deserved. But I was wrong. Their relocation was not a place of abandonment — it was a place of grace.
You see, there were two special trees in the Garden of Eden. One was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; this was the one with the forbidden fruit. The other was the tree of life. This was the one that gave Adam and Eve perpetual life — no diseases, no death, no sagging body parts. (Okay I'm not sure about that last benefit, but I'm banking on this reality in heaven.)
Anyhow. When they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, sin entered in. Sin corrupted everything. And at that point, it was God's absolute love and most tender mercy that ushered Adam and Eve out of the garden. Not His anger or retaliation. They had to leave.
If they'd been allowed to stay, they would have kept eating from the tree of life and lived forever, wallowing in sin. Wallowing in all the brokenness sin brings with it: disease, fear, heartbreak, separation from God.
An unending life of shame and sin would have been their fate.
God couldn't stand that for the people He loved. So, His love made them leave and allowed them to die. So that they could experience the resurrected life His Son would one day provide.
Brokenness to redemption.
God did not run out of grace at the dawn of humankind. And He will not run out of grace for you or for me. He does not want us to ever stay in a perpetual state of sin and despair. We were not created with a food struggle or physical cravings because God is angry at us. It is because He loves us so much that He allows our struggle with food to be a physical indication of a spiritual situation.
God is asking for us to go to a new place as well — and it is a place of grace!
Receive grace and let it wash away all shame and guilt from every unhealthy choice you've ever regretted and fretted over. Yes, there is work to do and progress to be made, but we will walk from here with a clean slate.
This grace and the unfathomable depth of God's love settle me. Breathes hope into my dread. And trust into my doubts.
So when I stumble along on this journey, I know this grace is there for me, and I will come running back. And once again, it will give me a soft place to land.
Dear Lord, thank You for Your grace. Help me to rely on You in the midst of my struggle today. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Learn more about satisfying your deepest desire with God instead of unhealthy food with Lysa TerKeurst's bestselling book, Made to Crave. Click here to purchase your copy.
Proverbs 31 Ministries will launch its next 5-week Online Bible Study of the Made to Crave Action Plan on March 2nd. Be equipped to put realistic everyday healthy choices into practice and find encouragement on your journey to healthy living with us! Click here to sign up.
Reflect and Respond:
What issues are you tired of battling?
Bring them all to God in gut-honest prayers. Soak in the truths of His grace found in our key verse and power verse today.
Power Verse:
2 Timothy 2:1, "You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus," (ESV)
© 2014 by Lysa TerKeurst. All rights reserved
Copyright © 2014 Proverbs 31 Ministries, All rights reserved.
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"Word for the Discouraged
Daily Devotional for February 21
From the Writings of Ray Stedman
From your friends at
www.RayStedman.org
Read the Scripture: Isaiah 49:8-26
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. (Isaiah 49:15-16)
Here Jehovah reminds Israel, Though you may feel neglected and forgotten, I cannot cast you off. I will never forget you, Can a mother forget the baby at her breast? Proverbially, of course, a mother's love is the strongest love of all. Many mothers continue to love their children no matter what they do. But it is unfortunately true that mothers can forget their children. Mothers can forget their children, but God cannot: See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. We are reminded of that scene in the gospels when Jesus, after his resurrection, appeared to his frightened disciples, huddled together in the upper room, and said to them, Behold, my hands and my feet and see that it is I (Luke 24:39). Those wounds in his hands were marks of love and their very names were engraved in his hands.
Though this passage is addressed to Israel as a nation, we Christians have a right to claim these promises for ourselves. This entire section is a great word for discouraged hearts. Do you ever feel like God has forgotten you, that he has turned his back on you? Perhaps you have made mistakes and you think that God is going to punish you all the rest of your life. Many people feel that God has totally forgotten them.
I was speaking to a group of pastors and was encouraged to hear one of them say that he had learned that he was preaching to the wrong crowd of people. He thought he was preaching to the average family, a man and his wife, their two-and-a-half children, driving a nice car, living in a beautiful home on an acre of ground, etc. But he discovered that he was really speaking mostly to another group who live in high-rise apartments, drive a sports car, have been divorced, and their family consists of his, hers and their children. They are living empty lives, climbing the corporate ladder, feeling the rush and restlessness of life, troubled by many inner problems and distresses. But God has a ministry to the discouraged and defeated ones. He will restore and do a work that will leave them amazed and baffled at the wonders that he produces.
Thank you, Lord, that you love to reach the discouraged and defeated ones. Thank you that you reached out to me and that my name is engraved in your hands.
Life Application: Because we know that Jesus is God and that He took our sins in His own body on the cross, we can know He is Immanuel, God-with-us in deepest compassion and love. How do we respond to such infinite love?
Related Message: This daily devotional was inspired by one of Ray's messages. Please read "Behold the Messiah" or listen to Ray for more on this portion of scripture.
Devotions for February from Isaiah
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Copyright © 2014 by Ray Stedman Ministries — This daily devotion is from the book Immeasurably More: a year of devotions from the writings of Ray Stedman; compiled by Mark Mitchell. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice and a hyperlink to www.RayStedman.org if the copy is posted on the Internet."
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