Psalm 27:13-14 ~ I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the Lord.

While helping my daughter with English today, we read an excerpt of “Doubting Castle” from Pilgrim’s Progress.  Christian and Hopeful have lost their way. They find themselves as prisoners of Giant Despair. This brings Christian deep sorrow as he realizes that his hasty decisions have brought on this extreme stress.

Christian and Hopeful become quite miserable and scared for their lives.  Thankfully, Hopeful reminded Christian of the Laws of the Lord and instead of following Giant Despair’s command they chose to pray through the night.

At the break of day, Christian, as if guided by the Holy Spirit, remembered the Promise which helped him to conquer the doubting castle and they were able to escape.

This got me to thinking about life.

Often times in life we may act in haste when a situation arises.  This choice usually causes undue sorrow and distress.  In turn, it leads us down the road of despair.

If only we would more often stop to pray first before we act.  We would save ourselves much grief because in kneeling we would remember that He alone is our hope and He always keeps His promises.

Psalm 31:24 ~ Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord

 Isaiah 41:10 ~ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God:  I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

 

Originally written: September 13, 2018

Matthew 6:5-6
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than wprds without a heart.” – John Bunyan

Our prayer time must be a purposeful matter of our heart. God does not want a nonchalant attitude or fluffy words to make it sound good. The model prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 is an example to show us how to acknowledge His presence, declare His sovereignty, submit our needs, ask forgiveness, forgive others, and ask for protection and deliverance from evil. He never expected us to vainly repeat His prayer example. He wants a sincere heart.

There may be even times when your heart is so burdened and laden with the cares of this world that you don’t even know what to say. That is when the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf. He prays for what we do not even know how to express (Romans 8:26-27). God loves and cares for you. Remember to take time each day to spend with the Lord. He loves you!

1 Peter 1:7-9                                                That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Did you know that spending time in the Word, prayer, and fellowship with your Saviour is like making sure you get your daily dose of vitamins? Those of us who try to focus on being healthy make sure we are trying to get our daily dose of vitamins whether through eating the right foods or taking vitamin supplements.

Sometimes that healthy exercise can be tough and quite a struggle, but the end results are satisfactory & rewarding.

The only way that we can truly endure the trials of this life is through a firm foundation in Jesus Christ.  While our salvation guarantees heaven, it doesn’t warrant a healthy, spiritual life.  Our spiritual life is determined by our searching the Scriptures diligently and constant fellowship with the Saviour.

Another important healthy part is to make sure our lives are filled with joy.  What is joy?  Webster’s dictionary defines joy as “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.”

How do I have joy in the midst of trials?  Sometimes it’s not easy, but it’s through determination to have a merry heart (Proverbs 11:22). Trails are to strengthen our faith. We receive our strength through having joy in the Lord (Nehemiah 8:10).

I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes I just don’t want to be tested or endure one more trial.  At times, I do find myself getting weary in well doing.  BUT it is in that moment that I realize I need to take time to meditate (think) upon Scripture and get alone with God in order to not stay down-in-the-dumps.  It also helps me to listen to God-honoring music to help lift my soul from the miry (very muddy) clay.

In order to have more of God’s power in our lives, we must cast-off the negatives and embrace the positives.  When we allow the presence of God in our lives, we will experience more peace and joy (Psalm 16:11).

One of the nine (9) Fruits of the Spirit is Joy (Galatians 5:22-23).  Harvested fruit tastes delicious, but trying to eat it before its ready can taste horrible.  It must be cultivated through planting, weeding, and watering.  When it’s time, it can be picked for the enjoyment of eating.  The same is true in our lives.  In order for our spiritual fruits to grow and mature over time, they need to be nourished.

The “Fruit” of Joy doesn’t happen overnight.  Not only must we work at it, but we must choose to add it to our lives.  Don’t forget to add the important vitamin of Joy to your daily dose of vitamins.  You’ll be glad you did!

 

“We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.”  Romans 15:1-2

Romans 15:1-2 teaches that we that are strong ought to help the weaker.  We are not just to please ourselves, but rather help teach others to do right and build them up in the Lord.  Our greatest example is Christ who bore our sins on the cross.

There’s an old English proverb which states, “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”.  Tis true.  We can also apply this to life.  How many times have you been in a situation where you were yelled at by someone which resulted in an argument rather than come to a peaceful agreement?  What about the opposite?  Do you remember a situation where you were upset about something and someone only had kind words to say which helped you to calm down?

“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”  Proverbs 15:1

People generally are drawn to kindness and quickly repelled by criticism.  Our love for others will prove to the world that Christ is real.  Remember to be sweet and loving with your speech.  We need to make the most of every opportunity to be a light for Christ.

“Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”  Colossians 4:6

“Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning.”- Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863), British Hymn writer & Theologian.