His Strength

Prayer, Glorifying God Through Our Sufferings, and His Amazing Grace

Luke 18:1

"Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." 

Prayer is something that should be constant in our lives and should be taken seriously.  My prayer life always needs work. I sometimes end up in a habit of saying a prayer like,"Lord, please help me and my family, Amen." That's not something the Lord wants to hear. He wants us to pray earnestly and from our heart. He wants us to unload our burdens and worries when we pray. And DO NOT GIVE UP ON GOD! He tells us not to. 

We are only defeated when we give up on God. 

God doesn't give up on us, so why should we give up on Him?

Corrie ten Boom wrote this,

"As a camel kneels before his master to have him remove his burden, so kneel before the Master to take your burden."

Concerning our burdens, this is a great reminder of God's grace. 

Matthew 11:28-30

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." 

Another quote, but I am not sure who wrote this. (it is from my Bible study book)

"But this you must know,

This one thing you must know..

I cannot take your burdens,

Until you let them go." 

If we hold on to our burdens, God's is not going to lighten them. We must humble ourselves before the Lord, because sometimes we think we can handle the burdens and trials ourselves but no,we can't. Trust me, I've tried and it got me deeper into a mess. We must give ALL our burdens to the Lord. Great or small, give them all! 

The Old Thorn in the Flesh

Now sometimes the Lord chooses to leave us our trials, because He is preparing something great through them. He allows us to have that thorn in the flesh like Paul. Even when He allows trials, He is being glorified through our suffering. It is so hard for me to comprehend how God is glorified through my hard times and struggles, especially with anxiety. I wonder how my anxiety (which is not fully trusting in GOD and that He will deliver me from it) glorifies Him! How can distrust and fear (which is a sin) bring glory to God? 

Well, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says,

This is a promise that the Lord gives us:   "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I (disciples of Christ) will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." We can delight in all our circumstances! YAY!

Grace is Sufficient

How can we be strong when we are weak? Tuff question. I will answer it best I can. 

Well, when we are weak, God seems the strongest. So, we can be strong when we are weak because of God's grace. Like it says,"My grace is sufficient for you.." God's grace is enough. It doesn't matter how bad we feel, or how deep is our struggle. God's grace is enough, and we can be strong in our sufferings because of that. 

A quote from my pastor this morning.

"God looks at our circumstances in our life and gives us an eternal hope which cannot be taken away."

I found it very encouraging. Sometimes we feel like our circumstances in life are way bigger than God and that He can't handle them. But that's not true. He is way bigger than our circumstances and gives us a great hope.

Our Struggle Is Not Against Flesh and Blood

This is my first post. I hope you enjoy it!

Ephesians 6:10-17 

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. (11) Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take the stand against the devil’s schemes. (12) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (13) Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, I/you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (14) Stand firm, then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, (15) and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (16) In addition to this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (17) Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood….”

What does that mean exactly? Well this passage brings me comfort in knowing that my struggles do not exist. “What does she mean by that?” You may ask. I mean that my struggles are things placed in my head by the devil. Things that are not true, things that are not right, noble, just, pure, lovely, excellent, praiseworthy. They are lies. The devil tries to steal my comfort, joy, trust, hope, love, satisfaction, patience in the LORD my Savior. Many times I am knocked unconscious by those trials and lies from the devil. My mind is blurred by the enemy’s fog. I get inpatient, depressed, have no trust, and many other things. It’s not a good state to be in. But that is why I love this part of the verse. “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” It reminds me day after day that what I am struggling with has no comparison with the future glory that awaits me. God’s armor will help me fight against the forces of evil. Against the struggles I have daily. “Stand firm with the belt of truth buckled to your waist..” The truth will set you free from the lies of satan. I am very thankful for the truth so that I may believe it and not fall into the enemy’s trap of lies. “With the breastplate of righteousness in place..” I can stand strong against sin, because I have righteousness from God. “And with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” I pray for peace daily, and here it is saying that as a believer, I have God’s peace that surpasses all understanding. I can have peace knowing that God is in control of my life, not the enemy. “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” AMEN! “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.” Sometimes my faith shakes and wobbles a little. Especially when the going gets tough. But no need to worry, because faith in God is the best faith anyone can have. And it won’t be shaken, try as the devil might, it won’t be shaken. Thank the LORD for that.

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” On my head is placed that helmet. That helmet will never fall off. It is not possible for it to, and that is something I am extremely grateful for. Without my salvation, I am nothing. And since I have that salvation, I am something. And that something is a child of the KING!  The sword, ah the sword. The living, active, and piercing sword which is the word of God. The place to find answers, comfort, the truth, and many more. It helps me to grow stronger as a child of the KING!

November 27^th, 2015.