Happy, Happy Monday! I hope that everyone had an amazing weekend serving the Lord!

This week’s devo is “Now Unto Him That is Able” written by Robin Parton. She is going to share some of her testimony and how God has worked in her life!!! Please take the time to read!

Thank you for being YOU!

Now Unto Him That is Able – Robin Parton

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think…” (Eph.3:20 KJV). Do you believe that? I do, and that is why I chose to be anointed with oil asking God to spare me from the many possible complications that could arise from the removal of a fast growing benign brain tumor.

There was a 30% chance I would lose all of my hearing in my right ear, and I did; however, there was only a 3% chance I would wake up with facial paralysis, but I did.

All, but one of my doctors believed this would be my permanent condition.

When I saw my reflection for the first time in the bathroom mirror, out of shock I said, “I feel like a freak.” Immediately the Holy Spirit convicted me that my thinking was wrong, and I knew right then and there I was going to have to spend as little time as possible looking into a physical mirror and as much time as possible looking into the mirror of God’s Word.

The above verse concludes a prayer Paul prayed for the believers at Ephesus. He begins his prayer with the following: “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…That he would grant you…to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Eph. 3:14-16 KJV).

Our inner man is our soul: our mind, will, and emotion.

I find it interesting that Paul did not pray for their bodies to be strengthened. Did he even know anything about physical suffering? Yes, he did, and we find a long list of these sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 (KJV):

In labours more abundant,
In stripes above measure,
In prisons more frequent,
In deaths oft.
Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
Thrice was I beaten with rods,
Once was I stoned,
Thrice I suffered shipwreck,
A night and a day I have been in the deep;
In journeyings often,
In perils of waters,
In perils of robbers,
In perils by mine own countrymen,
In perils by the heathen, [
In perils in the city,
In perils in the wilderness,
In perils in the sea,
In perils among false brethren;
In weariness and painfulness,
In watchings often,
In hunger and thirst,
In fastings often,
In cold and nakedness.

That is a LOT of physical suffering!

In the following chapter, we find Paul asking the Lord three times to remove another physical problem from him, but God chose not to do so. Rather He chose to strengthen Paul in his inner man. Listen to what Paul has to say in 2 Corinthians 12:9&10:

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness…for when I am weak, then am I strong” (KJV).

Then in Romans 8:35-39 we find further evidence of the work God was doing in Paul to strengthen his inner man:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword…

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (KJV).

Looking back at Ephesians 3, Paul goes on to tell us how we can be strengthened in our inner man.

In verses 17-19 he says, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (KJV).

Paul had experienced physical suffering; he knew how important it is to seek to know God and His great love for us in order for our souls to experience strength in the midst of physical weakness.

Would it have brought God glory to answer our prayers for me to be spared from the complications of this surgery? Yes, it would have. However, His choice in allowing my facial features to be altered caused me to look into the mirror God’s Word for answers to questions many of us ask:

!Why did God create me as He did when He is certainly capable of creating so much beauty?”
!If beauty brings honor and glory to God, how can I possibly do so in my current physical condition?”
!Is it possible for me to be content with my appearance?”
!Will I ever be able to focus on others without thinking about how I look?” • !How important is physical beauty to God anyway?”

As I looked for answers, something began to happen deep within my soul. A peace and contentment came over me as my thoughts on the topic of physical beauty were brought into subjection to God’s thoughts.

Now let us take another look at Ephesians 3:20, but this time in its entirety, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” It brings God glory to do a supernatural work in our hearts, or our inner man, when we are suffering.

Have you ever noticed how many times the Psalmist refers to this when he says things like:

“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart…” (Ps. 27:14 KJV).
“The Lord is my strength and my shield: my heart trusted in him, and I am helped…” (Ps. 28:7 KJV).
“He healeth the broken in heart…” (Ps. 147:3 KJV)
“Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name”s sake: for thy righteousness” sake bring my soul out of trouble” (Ps. 143:11).

In closing, I would like us to consider one more biblical principle as we seek to allow God to strengthen our inner man. James 4:6 tells us “…God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (KJV).

It is in our pride that we fight against God and seek to exalt our will over His. However, His grace is promised as we humble ourselves before Him.

Although, I have gained some control over the lower part of my face, my smile is forever changed due to the atrophy of my facial muscles, and the upper part of my face remains paralyzed causing my right eyelid to droop. However, my inner man is experiencing a victory that can only be attributed to the power of God working in the heart of a humbled servant.

Are you fighting against Him today? May I challenge you to submit to your loving Heavenly Father and then watch Him do exceeding abundantly above all that you could ask or think, according to the power of the Holy Spirit working in you.

https://www.sappsolutely.com/devotions/now-unto-him-that-is-able-robin-parton

Happy April 18th! It is a great day to have a great day! Today’s devo is “Faith Trumps Fear” written by Virginia Harris! Please take the time to read as she shares her heart with us today! Make today an awesome day!

Faith Trumps Fear – Virginia Harris

II Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

According to my online dictionary, the definition of fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.

Fear is a very common human emotion. We can be happily going along our way when all of a sudden….Wham! Something happens, or a thought pops up in our mind, or we hear something…and instantly that spirit of fear grips our heart. Although, this is a very common emotion, this spirit is not of the Lord. I pray that these thoughts that have helped me when I am fearful will be a help to you.

1. Fight fear with truth. Psalm 53:5 “There were they in great fear, where no fear was:…” How many times do we worry and fear the unknown? We fear what might happen. We ask, “What if…?”

Understandably we cannot go through life throwing all caution to the wind and never planning or thinking about the future. We must, however, trust that unknown future to the One who knows and sees all things. When those fearful thoughts invade our minds, we must run to Scripture to remind us of our all-powerful, all-knowing God who loves and cares for us individually.

If you fear being alone, go to Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

If you fear persecution, go to Psalms 18:2 “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”

If you fear sickness or death, go to Psalm 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

2. Look to be a help to someone else who might be struggling.

Galatians 6:10 “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

Not only is it helpful in getting our minds focused on the needs of others and off of our fears, it is actually a sin to not do good when we are able.

James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

When those thoughts of fear and doubt begin to plague our minds, make a conscious decision to refocus our attention on encouraging others. If you like to cook or bake, head to the kitchen and get busy making something delicious to share. If your skills lie elsewhere, maybe sit down and write a note or letter to someone who is in need of encouragement. How special a hand written note is these days. I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate the convenience of texting, but sometimes I miss the frequent hand-written notes of days gone by. I often think I need to do better in this area. I know how much it means to me to receive such a note. In whatever way that is comfortable to you, reach out and show that you care. You’ll quickly find that your fear has faded some.

3. Saturate yourself with good, godly, uplifting Christian music and Scripture. Music has SUCH power. Ephesians 5:19 “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;” With the modern convenience of smartphones with Scripture and music apps available for no cost, avail yourself of these tools in uplifting your spirit and keeping your thoughts positive and God-centered. If those around you prefer quiet to constant music playing or other noise, use some wireless ear pods so you can put one in one ear and still hear if someone needs you. Find some Christian podcasts to enjoy. Two that I enjoy regularly are the Friend to Friend podcast hosted by Jessica Smallwood and Pastor’s Morning Musings hosted by my wonderful husband, Pastor Jeff Harris. There are so many avenues where we can feast our minds on God’s Word and things that will help us in our Christian life.

Growing and strengthening our faith is the key to fighting fear. No matter how strong our faith, we are still human and will still fear at times. Through the truth of God’s Word, purposing to focus on encouraging others, and completely enveloping ourselves in godly music, Scripture, and other godly influences, we will be able to lessen the grip of fear in our lives.

https://www.sappsolutely.com/devotions/faith-trumps-fear-virginia-harris

Tag: Faith

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