Sunday, February 26, 2012

His WORD, True Peace in the Midst of Pain and Struggle

Hebrews 13:5 "For He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you "

If I had listen to the enemy, I would have missed seeing the beauty of a blue bird outside my kitchen window, hearing my husband say "I love you", my friends voice and her laughter over the phone and I would have missed this opportunity to share my heart with you.
First of all, I want you to know I am not a writer, a "THINKER", but not a writer.
I feel I am the least among the least,  but as small as we may feel, we all have a life story to tell.
I believe we preach our very own funeral each day.
Since my journey with the Lord, which began in 1976 it has been my heart's desire to be a vessel for Him and one in which He can use.
Over the past year and a half, I have struggled with health issues arising from a congenital disease that I never knew I had.
Through all the Doctor appointments, three surgeries in a four month span, a broken ankle, medical bills, not to mention all the pain pills that I had been given that was  suppose to fix it all.
I tried to continue my daily life of being a wife, work a full time job,host a weekly TV program and singing every weekend with our Gospel Music group became a struggle for me. I tried to stay strong and smile through the pain, but each day was becoming an issue for me.
I prayed, sang songs, read the Word, quoting Bible verses, later I found myself so wrapped up in the pain that I did not want to pray, sing, read or even quote verses. I only wanted out of the pain.
In my Spirit I knew that God had not left my side, because His Holy Spirit dwells within me, even though at times He felt so far away. These following words never left my memory, "I will never leave you nor forsake you".
You ask me how I know, I am glad you ask, almost thirty-six years ago I ask Jesus to forgive me of my sins, been to church all my life, never been a bad person, but you can not good or work your way into Heaven, Jesus' precious blood has to be applied to your soul. Since that Sunday in 1976, this girl has never been the same. I took Him and all His promises to me that He has listed in His Word.
Often in the midst of the pain and the daily struggles of life, the enemy would put thoughts into my mind telling me that God had forsaken me, just as my parents did, He was not hearing my prayers, I was not going to get any better and God was finished with me.
No one knows what I am about to share with you, but for a while I listen to the lies of Satan and began to play it out in my mind how I could end my own life by taking all the pain pills I had been given. I feel so ashamed to share this with you, because I never thought I could ever get to that point in my life. Being a Christian we should have enough faith and trust in God not to think things of sort.
I want you to know that Satan knows just when and where to attack us and he continued to attack my health over and over. My faith was strong enough not to go out and willfully sin against God, but my health kept me in a mind set of not being able to do what I loved in life and serving God. The enemy knew he could not get to my heart, so he used my health, family, job and our finances to keep me oppressed.
You feel so alone when you are oppressed in the midst of pain and struggle.
My only hope and source was God because my husband and friends could not fix me.
In my despair and at the end of my rope, it was either take the pills or sit down at the piano. I sat down at the piano and began to sing a song, My Shepherd's Voice, my heart broke and I remember my prayer as I cried out to God, "I can not take it any more, I can not worry about the out come of my health, if I never get healed and out of pain, if I lose everything I am still going to trust You, because I know You have never left me and You will not forsake me. If this is what it takes for me to totally trust You or for someone else to see your hand on my life, this is my cross and I will carry it in Jesus' name."
From that moment on , I have not listen to the lies of the enemy of my soul. Even as I type this, I am not totally where I would like to be in my health, but I have a peace that surpasses all understanding and I know that my God loves me with a love that I can not comprehend and better yet, His blood covers my life and I can trust Him even in the valley of sickness as well as on the mountain top.....I have found His promise to be true, "I will never leave you nor forsake you".

"My God in Heaven, You know who is reading this devotion today, You knew they would over 2000 years ago as You looked through the scope of time. It is my prayer if they do not know You as their personal Savior, that You would knock upon their hearts door. For those that know You and they are in the midst of pain and struggle, Father right now the same promise Your Word has for me, You have it for them as well. Let them feel Your peace that surpasses all of our understanding, I bind the lies of Satan from their life as they grab onto Your promise, that You will never leave them nor forsake them. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to share with others, that we are all human and not a one of us are above the pain and struggles that life brings. Thank You Father for being my God and for keeping Your promise to me, in Jesus' name I pray."

Donna Hannah-Boswell - Guest Blogger

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Do You Have a Restless Spirit?

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:10, New Kings James Version)

Restlessness

When we're trying to get to sleep at night and can', we're restless. When we're waiting on something or someone, we're restless and ready to move on to the next task on our agenda. Do you ever find yourself with a restless spirit? Ladies, open your heart and receive what God has to say to you today.

"My child, be still and know that I am God. Let the clammer and the noise of your life cease. Put your complete focus on me. Put your hurt, your fear, your heavy burdens into my hands and let them go. Put your complete dependence and trust in Me and Me alone. Once you do that, you will find the rest you long for."

Father, teach us all what it means to rest in You. I pray for each reader Lord. I pray that she'll give every weight and hurt over to You so she can rest in You. In Jesus Nane, Amen.

Monday, February 20, 2012

We're Free!

Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36, New King James Version)

Let me start out by saying that if you've excepted Christ as your savior, YOU ARE FREE!!!! That's enough and we could stop right there. But... In our sermon at church last night, we were taught that, yes, we may be saved, but we have sins that we need to be freed from. I didn't say forgiven, because we were forgiven of every sin we've ever committed when we excepted the Lord. And even when we become Christians, we will still be forgiven of our sin...when we ask for forgiveness. Ladies, you see, when we sin and don't ask for God's forgiveness for that sin, we're held in bondage to it. And you know what? Until we ask for forgiveness and get that issue resolved, whatever we do for the Lord counts for nothing. Is their something today that you need to ask for forgiveness for? Maybe it's anger that's built up inside of you. Maybe it's that you've betrayed somebody. Maybe it's gossip. Let me encourage you, whatever that is, ask for forgiveness today!

Father, we ask Your forgiveness for any sin that we've committed. We ask that you cleanse us so that we may serve You with a pure heart. Lord thank you for the forgiveness that you provided us on the cross 2000 years ago. We love You and we praise You. Amen.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

I Belong to You!

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine. (Isaiah 43:1, New King James Version)

He has called you by name...and you are His!!!! Ladies, He's talking to you personally, if you've excepted Christ, He has redeemed you...you are His very own!

"And He walks with me,
And He talks with me;
And He calls me His very own!"

Are you going through a struggle today where you feel like noone knows you're even on the planet? Let me assure you, you have a God who knows you. He's known you since you were in your mother's womb. He knows your name...and He calls you by that name. "Come to me and rest your soul." Ladies, let you encourage you, call on His name. Let Him give you the comfort...the assurance...the answers of life you are seeking.

Father, we praise You for knowing us by name. Lord, thank you for knitting us together in our mother's womb. You know us better than any other. I ask you bring comfort and peace to my readers today. Reassure them that they're not alone. Lord we love you and we praise you. Amen.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Under His Wings

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust." (Psalm 91:1-2, New King James Version)

These verses bring me great comfort. This reminds me of the Lord taking me in His arms and letting me rest there. Do you need to rest today? Ladies, we're under the shadow of His mighty wing. When the trials of this life come, (and they will come) we can take great comfort in the fact that no matter what, He's there to carry us and to take and hold us under that safe shadow. Like a baby bird with its mother, God is our shield...our protector. Whatever you're going through today, remember that you're under His wings!

Father, thank you for that sweet assurance that you carry us under the shadow of your wing. There's no place we'd rather be. Lord bring comfort to my readers today. Remind them of the shadow of your wing. Lord we love you and we praise you.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

I'm Here, Where Are You?

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:10, New King James Version)

This is a unique title, I know. For the last few weeks, the Lord has been showing me what it truly means to "be still." So often, we're so busy that we don't take time to hear the Lord speak to us. We check prayer off our list and go on our merry way. When we do spend valuable time in prayer, we spend it telling God our requests...what WE need. But ladies, let's take the time to let God speak to us. He has some great things to say, if only we'd take the time to listen. So many times, we're wondering where God is and why He's not speaking. God says to us just what the title of this devotion is, "I'm here, where are you?" Let me encourage you, take the time and let Him speak to you. When you do, When we take that precious time, we will get treasures of gold!

Dear Lord, help us stop and take that precious time that we think we don't have and just sit in your lap and listen to what you have to say. Lord, we need to hear you...please speak. Lord we love You and we praise You. Amen.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Your God Will Come

Say to those who are fearful-hearted,“Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,With the recompense of God;
He will come and save you.” (Isaiah 35:4, New King James Version)

Your God will come! What an amazing thought that is. Are you fearful today? Don't be afraid. The Lord is right there with you in the midst of your pain. When everything was taken from Job-his helth, his family; his friends thought He was crazy to trust God. Even His own wife said, "curse God and die." Still, Job stood strong. He knew His God would come-his God would save Him. Do you need God to come and save you today? Do you feel like you're losing everything? Ladies, don't be afraid. God is there. Even when your friends-your family says "you're crazy to trust God in the midst of all that's going on. Ladies, trust Him anyway! Don't be afraid. I can't stress that enough. Remember, no matter how deep the pit you're in, Jesus is deeper still.

Father, help us to trust you no matter what. Help us to not be afraid and remember you're always right there with us to carry us through. Thank you Lord for that promise. Amen.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Wonderful Peace

and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phillipians 4:7, New King James Version)

The evening started out as usual. Our choir was preparing for our final rehearsal of our Living Christmas Tree presentation which would go on for the next 3 evenings. As we were all standing out in the hallway waiting for our entrance to head into the sanctuary, someone rushed out and said, "start praying, and don't stop!" One of our church members was in the middle of a major seizure. While the family waited for the ambulance to arrive, we all began to pray. As we were praying, a piece came into the room. It wasn't a piece that could be explained. It was the peace of the Lord. It was that piece that transcends all human comprehension. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt a sinse of piece? A piece that the world doesn't understand? Do you need piece today in a situation? Let me encourage you ladies, call on the one who can, and will, bring that piece. All we have to do is ask! Call out His name! He's the piecespeaker! If he can speak "piece be still" to a raging storm while in a boat, He can speak piece over your storm...your storms of life.

Father, thank You for that sweet piece. Lord, it's precious. Thank You that when we call on You for piece, it's immediately given. I pray for each reader and for what they're going through. Surround them with your piece and your presence like never before. In Jesus Name, Amen.