Overcoming the Discouragement Blues

Isaiah 61:1-3

 TITLE OF SERMON:

*A Crown of Beauty Instead of Ashes: How to overcome the discouragement blues

Introduction: 

*Discouragement is something every one of us can relate to and I would bet no one likes. It is draining when we are discouraged isn’t it?

* It is so easy for Satan to attack us when we are discouraged. The Bible says in John 10:10 Satan has come to kill, steal, and destroy us. He wants to rob us of the abundant life and joy that Jesus promised to give us if we live in Him. But I must make it clear; a righteous life is one we must choose to live. How sad it is for some Christians who run the race and never cross the finish line fighting the good fight because they let discouragement, fear, and despair bring them down?

*There are times in our life when feel we just can’t do anything right, and the more we try to do right life continues to pile on top of us, can anyone relate? You know what I am talking about, you have heard the saying, “When it rains it pours”.

Here are few quotes I have heard about discouragement.

*Dwight L. Moody said, "I have never known God to use a discouraged person."

*Dr. Jerry Falwell often said, “You are either in trouble, you just got out of trouble or   you are about to get into trouble.”

*“You do not determine a persons greatness by his talent or wealth, as the world does, *but rather by what it takes to discourage him.”

*Rick Warren said, “Discouragement is a disease unique to human beings, and it's universal - eventually everyone gets it, including those in ministry.”

*Job said our life is few days, full of many troubles.

*If this is the case then I ask…

            -How do we in this life move away from fear and discouragement?

            -How do we move from mourning to allowing God to bestow a crown of beauty upon our heads and cloak us with a garment of praise?

*Isaiah 61: 1-3 reads: (read the passage)

*I. Defining Discouragement   

*A. Webster: “The feeling of despair or hopelessness in the face of obstacles or a state of distraught and loss of sense of enthusiasm, drive or courage.”

*B. Christian: “Taking our eyes off of God and placing them on the circumstances or allowing a situation to control our lives instead of allowing God to guide us.”

BREAK BETWEEN POINTS I AND II.

*II. What Are Causes And Effects Of Discouragement?

       *Causes                                      *Effects

*Prayerlessness                            *Hopelessness              *Headaches                  

*Unconfused Sin                          *Fear of the feature      *Lack of energy

*Failure and Embarrassment         *Worry                        *Isolate yourself

*Routines and Boredom               *Pessimism                  *Lonely

*Constant Pressure                         *Irritability                  *Fear of dying

*Betrayal and Disappointment       *Inability to concentrate

*Bitterness                                      *Fear of change

*Selfishness and Stagnation           *Lack of confidence

So here's what I've learned about battling discouragement:


WHAT CAUSES DISCOURAGEMENT?
#1 Cause - FATIGUE
When you’re physically or emotionally exhausted, you’re a prime candidate to be infected with discouragement.  Your defenses are lowered and things can seem bleaker than they really are.  This often occurs when you’re halfway through a major project and you get tired. This also can occur after great accomplishments where you know that God used you individually.
#2 Cause - FRUSTRATION
When unfinished tasks pile up, it's natural to feel overwhelmed.  And when trivial matters or the unexpected interrupt you and prevent you from accomplishing what you really need to do, your frustration can easily produce discouragement. Frustration root because is fear, when we are living in fear we are not living in Faith. Only faith pleases God so we feel overwhelmed and discouraged from our own fears that have slowly replaced our faith.
#3 Cause - FAILURE
Sometimes, your best laid plans fall apart - the project collapses - the deal falls through - no one shows up to the event.  How do you react?  Do you give in to self-pity?  Do you blame others?  As one man said, Just when I think I can make ends meet - somebody moves the ends! That's discouraging!
#4 Cause - FEAR
Fear is behind more discouragement than we'd like to admit.  The fear of criticism (What will they think?); the fear of responsibility (What if I can't handle this?); and the fear of failure (What if I blow it?) can cause a major onset of the blues. When we are living in fear we are not living in Faith. Only faith pleases God so we feel overwhelmed and discouraged from our own fears that have slowly replaced our faith.


III. How to Conqueror Discouragement & Application 

*1 The first step to conqueror discouragement is to be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ.


Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead you will be saved".

Isaiah 61:1 says God anointed Isaiah to proclaim the good news to the poor. Which is what? That Jesus Christ, the Son of God in every aspect God but yet flesh and blood died on the cross to save mankind from their sins so that we who are sinners may have a relationship with a Holy God.

If we do not have the living God inside our hearts we lack the power to conqueror, because it is not by our strength but His.

2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.”


-When we are weak He is strong.

*2. Therefore what is the result in trusting in the Messiah?


-He binds up the brokenhearted. Which at one time or another is all of us. The Hebrew word for “binds” is habas, which means to tie, bandage, stitch. Think of God sowing up our wounds with His healing hand. We go through trials that can wound us to the core but know this God doesn’t leave us in our wounds, as it is stated He binds up our broken hearts.


- To proclaim freedom to the captives. There is something in all of us that has kept us captive. For example, fear, anxiety, panic, or shame. Some are obsessed with their job and making money they forget about their families and the will of God. Others have issue with pleasing everyone around them whether it is their parents, children, spouse, or co-workers. There are those who are addicted to drugs, alcohol, or pornography. But the great news is, the Lord gives us VICTORY and FREEDOM.

Have you noticed the things I have described are from the world, and not of God? Satan is really good at appealing to our flesh. But Jesus has come so that we may live in FREEDOM!!! Galatians 5:13 says,

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”


Galatians 5:1 also says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

That word “freedom” in the greek means this, “true liberty is living as we should not as we please”. That was the exact definition—I smiled when I read that because how often do we as Christians live as we please and still claim to be Christians? The Bible says no, you live by His word, He is the bread of life. So you want freedom from sin or the flesh.... You live in freedom and that is by living by the Word of God.


--He comforts us when we are at our weakest; he trades our despair and discouragement for a garment of praise, our ashes of mourning for a crown of beauty and oil of joy. What these few verses tell us is He changes what we do not have the ability to do. It was custom in the OT for people in mourning to cover their head in ashes.

A few examples of this:


2 Samuel 13 David’s daughter Tamar was raped by her brother Ammon and afterwards felt disgraced and broken. She left his room crying and covered her head with ashes.

In the book of Esther we learn that Hammon an evil man planned to destroy the Jewish race. Queen Esther’s uncle Mordecai upon hearing of Hammon’s plan “tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.”

Lastly, when David fled Jerusalem because he feared his son Absalom, he covered his head with dust because he mourned the actions of his flesh and blood.


But here is the best news; God takes our ashes and replaces it with a crown of beauty. We are His princesses!!! David penned in Psalms 3 “But you, LORD, are a shield around me, 
my glory, the One who lifts my head high”. He does all this simply because He loves us! 1 John says God is love; meaning He can’t be anything other than love; it is His “is-ness”.

*3 How do apply these few verses and allow the Jesus’ power to change us?


-We must live a holy and righteous life.

1 Peter 1:16 says, “Be holy because I am holy”.  Our life needs to be a reflection of Jesus. He honors the woman or man who’s heart is after His own heart. It is imperative for our lives to be different from the worlds. Too often Christians are camouflaged with the unsaved; therefore the unbeliever doesn’t see a need in changing their life if the Christian’s life isn’t any better. We need to remember we serve a holy and righteous God.


-Secondly we must have faith.

James 2:16 read, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”


Do you want to break free from discouragement, fear, depression, and strong holds? You must put your faith into action. It is not enough to merely read the Words of God, but live it out. Before I read the Bible I pray the Lord makes the Bible come alive in my heart. It is hard in trying circumstances to live out faith, but we are told in Romans 5:3-5 “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”


Do not allow Satan to get a foothold in your life. We must let Jesus fight for us and conquer the evil one, because in John 16:33 Jesus said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."


*To get the results described in Isaiah 61:1-3 it is simple; Jesus said in John 21: "If I will that he remain till I come what is that to you? You follow me". Meaning until Jesus calls us home we must follow Him.



*IV. A Checklist To Help You Combat Discouragement.

It takes faith to overcome discouragement. Faith is simply relying solely on the Lord and renouncing all other “worldly” forms of support. We have to relinquish control and place our lives into the hands of our Creator. Too often we waste our energy on trying to control our “destiny” instead of allowing the Lord to direct us; who already has our life mapped out according to His will. We need to have a heavenly goal in mind. This is particularly helpful to me, when the stresses of life seem to be unbearable, I remember this isn’t all life has for me, I was created for His purpose and when I finished the race, I get to see my Maker’s face and bow before the King who took my pain and sins.


Here are a few suggestions to keep focused on the prize of Christ:
*1. Focus on our awesome Creator.
*2. Remember the spiritual goal; finish the race.
*3. Pray and study God's Word every day.
*4. Be patient with yourself, with others, and with God.
*5. Be content, thankful, and generous.
*6. Be positive and active making each day count.
*7. Be faithful and obedient to God no matter what happens.

*Winston Churchill said, "Success in life is often nothing more than going from one failure to the next with undiminished enthusiasm."

*Dr. Jerry Falwell said, “ Your cup is half-full not half-empty” and “never   say I quit or I can’t.”

*Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who give me the strength.”

Just GO!

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" –Isaiah 6:8

The Lord calls every single human being with breath in his/her lungs to come to Jesus. Once we accept Jesus as Savior and Lord of our life, He then asks, “Whom shall I send? Who will go?” Every one of us needs to be able to say, “Here I am Lord, send me!” You know the ultimate goal as a Christian is not to gain wealth, prestige, and earthly valuables. Those things perish beloved ones. But the gift of Jesus Christ is eternal and the objective to our mission in life---Get souls saved that are dying and going to hell! Oh my I shudder at that thought of people dying and spending eternity in hell. Christ says we are to preach the Gospel-Christ’s death, burial, and miraculous resurrection to ALL people and nations.

Sure it is scary approaching people asking if they are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, but how much more tragic for the unsaved to die and go to hell. You see God in  Isaiah 7:1 gives the depiction of Jerusalem's (God’s holy city) enemies trying to attack her, but God had His hand of protection wrapped around is beloved city. 

Isaiah 7:1 “When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.”

The point is, when God Almighty sends us to do His work/will we will not be overpowered. That does not mean we will not experience trials and tribulations, but God reminds us in Isaiah 7:4 “Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart.” He continues to say in verse 9, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."

He will always provide, but it is absolutely imperative for us to have faith in His ability because He precious ones is God, the Lord Almighty.  We go through tough times people and Christians it is tough being a Christian in our times; where God is mocked, but listen to this truth from Paul who said it best in 2 Corinthians 4:7-9

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

So don’t lose heart fellow Christians. Don’t miss out on the treasures and blessing God has in store for you when you obey Him and go when He says, “Go”.

I can’t say it any better so let me end with my brother Paul’s words (inspired by God) in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

What on your Television

The Holy Spirit has been convicting me and I feel like I need to share what has been placed on my heart…

James 1:14-15

“…but each one is tempted by his own evil desire he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown gives birth to death.”

We live in a world; I believe is so VERY ungodly. Actually I believe a lot of what we watch on TV intentionally represents things on shows to throw it in the face of the religious. I think of shows like, Desperate Housewives, Dexter, The Sopranos, Nip/Tuck…I mean let’s face it, just about every show on nowadays.

Here is my problem beloved ones; just about every show endorses homosexuality, pre-marital sex, couples living together, homosexual couples adopting children, people getting drunk, women dressing/flaunting everything their momma gave them, and use foul language that would make a sailor blush. Let me tell you precious ones, at the heart of these shows is sin and when a Christian watches shows that endorse this ungodly behavior, we become desensitized to it.

I speaking from experience here; I’d watch Friends or Will and Grace, I mean heck they are funny shows, but look at the lifestyle of the people acting. After a while, homosexuality became “not that big of a deal” to me and pre-marital sex is just so common now, who “waits” anymore, I began to think. I loved, I MEAN LOVED soap operas, but holy cow batman, they don’t get more ungodly than that; adulteries left and right, scandals, bribes ect; it was like the 7 deadly sins wrapped up in one show.

The verses listed above are exactly what the Holy Scriptures warned against.  When we watch shows on television, we become accepting of the “world” and suddenly the Word of God is an old ancient book that doesn’t apply to our times. As I was struggling with watching reality shows (Real Housewives) particularly, the Lord showed me a verse that confirmed it for me, that I need to knock off watching shows that supports actions God condemns as sin.

 James 4:4 “You adulterous people don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”

I read the verse from James and it hit; whoa, I don’t want to be enemy of God and a friend to the world. As a Christian woman, I don’t need to be watching trash and sinning. To me it is sin; you see Christians we are to live a lifestyle of worship and when we watch trash on TV we are breeding sin. Be cautious friends what you watch, if it is not honoring of God…STAY AWAY from it! God will honor your faithfulness to Him, when you begin to watch something and turn the channel because you know it is something you shouldn’t be watching. Remember the heart of every one of the dirty shows is sin; don’t take time away from the Holy God who longs to spend time with you to watch filth. CHristians if you are not convicted watching these shows, I have to say there is a reason why; ask God to reveal to you if you should be watching certain shows. Read the Scriptures if you are unsure; the more you dive into God's word, the easier it is to recognize sin. 

James 1:21 says, “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the Word planted in which can save you.”

Oh and a little friendly neighborhood reminder; the same applies to music as well. Nothing drives me crazier then when I hear a Christian saying they love Lady Gaga. Friends, she is an immoral ungodly woman. Turn off the filthy music that endorses sin. Trust me, it is much better to please the Lord Almighty than the world. 

Just a lack of faith

Life. . . I’m almost sick of it. 

Why is there time for a high and time for a low?

James says there will be trials of many kinds, but persevere and I’ll be made whole

Lord, sometimes perseverance can feel too tough

But I read in 1 Corinthians, you won’t give me too much

You said you’ll give me a way out, but am I too blind to go

Lord, I’m trying to girdle up, but I gave the devil a foothold

In Ephesians, you tell me to put on all your armor to stand against the devil and his wars

I think I’m in such a hurry I grabbed a shovel instead of your sword

I’m digging my own grave as a slave to sin

Like you’re boy on the water, my faith is thin

I feel like Peter in the ocean, I’m sinking fast

But at the last second, I look up and your hand I grasp

You start pulling me up, but my faith I lack

The devil’s got my foot. God, help me hold back

Make me be still and know your timing’s not late

Like Paul, I don’t understand myself and I do what I hate

Lord, give me a heart that hates demonic ways, a shield a faith, so I can finish the race

You’re the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end.  You called me your friend.   So why do I sin?

I know you do no wrong and will never tempt me

But the devil’s on my back and I’m running on empty

Please fill me up, because he’s pulling like crazy 

I need you to intervene and help me not be lazy

Help me remember scripture, like James 4:7

Lord, the only thing I long to hear, is well done when I get to heaven

All this I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Written by my bro Nate

Sin’s deceitfulness. Have you been deceived?

Sin’s deceitfulness. Have you been deceived?

Hebrews 3:13-14

“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.”

Has your sin taken you much further than you wanted to go? Speaking from personal experience, it has me…I wanted only to go to the next town and it took me across country.  But that is the goal of Satan; to distract with something that appears to be beautiful, sweet, no harm ect. He is like the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood.; dressed to impress but wants to devour you once you have entered the home. Some sins have greater consequences than others and will cost you so much more than you want to pay…the problem is this, once the sin is committed we usually have a problem taking responsibility for our actions. Then when our life spirals out of control because of our choices, we get bitter instead of better. The longer you stay on the path of bitterness, the more work it is going to take to straighten out your life.

Let me give you some example of what I mean. A girl goes out drinking, clubbing, like most people do nowadays; she has a little too much to drink and goes home with a man and sleeps with him. A few weeks later she finds out she is pregnant and the man wants nothing to do with her or the child. She has an abortion and soon experiences an insurmountable amount of guilt and shame. She then goes into a deep depression and never fulfills the dreams she once had for herself.

Extreme but does happen; see how one sin…drinking alcohol, led to another sin- premarital sex, then led to murder of a baby, then onto guilt and shame.

But here is best part- no matter how far down the path of bitterness or shame you have gone, Jesus is right there waiting for you to grab His hand to take you down a path of righteousness. Trust me, I have been down the “valley of the shadow of death”, I blamed God for my circumstances, but He forgave me of my sins, restored my life! He is the blessed redeemer!

I don’t know what people know about the Bible, but it is not full of stories of men and women who were perfect people, who lived perfect lives, but were sinners, who God restored; because they made a choice to follow Jesus.  The Devil is deceptive and conniving, he wants to see you fail and suffer; Jesus wants you to love Him; prosper, and smile. Jesus loves you dearly; you truly are precious in His sight. I love what Beth Moore said; there is not a moment where you can say to God, “I love you” where He hasn’t already said, “I love you” first. He is the God of love. Don’t be deceived by sin, if you have, I pray you recognize the sin and turn from it. An easy way to recognize sin is this; stay in God’s Word and in prayer with Him. The more you do, the easier you will recognize the Devil’s schemes. He’s sneaky, that is why you pray the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead me out of temptation and deliver me from the evil one.” To the ones who don’t know Jesus and have never accepted Him as their personal Savior, I ask; what do you have to lose by trusting in Him? Life is hard; don’t make it more difficult by going through it alone. Besides no one will ever love you more than the One who came to die specifically for you!

And one last note; Christians be on guard. We are going to sin, but as a Christian, remember who you are representing; Jesus Christ, the Majestic Savior. Hebrews 6:6 says we crucify Christ over and over and subject Him to public disgrace when we sin and claim to be a child of God. He forgives us when we sin, but be on guard precious ones and let's encourage others to come to know Jesus. Remember believers need encouragement too; let's be there for each other.  

(This image was done by my brother)

Light at the end of the tunnel?

I have read in a week span of three status updates asking this question, “Is there light at the end of the tunnel?”

I have to be honest, why on earth are we giving Satan an inch of territory in our lives sweet ones? Why do we hang our heads low, wondering if this is all life is? Listen, Satan is such an opportunist; the king of lies is looking for any opportunity to catch his prey. You listen closely; NO ONE is exempt from being pursued by the evil one, but better news is Jesus the Good Shepherd is protecting/looking after his beloved sheep. 

You ask is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Beloved friends, there has always been a light; you just have to open your eyes. Those of us who have been in tunnels know there are lights in tunnels; which is somewhat like being outside sitting in the shade; there is still light, but you’re covered from the sun. Jesus said in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Do you see that? Jesus is light, therefore as a child of the Holy God, you will never be in darkness. 

David said in Psalm 23, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want…He leads me beside quiet waters and restores my soul…though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil.” Read it again, because you will notice, Christ the Good Shepherd is walking us “THROUGH” the valley of death, not leaving us there. 

I don’t know what situation you are in; but rest assure, you will not always be there. Let us not hang our heads down in hopelessness! JESUS CHRIST is our blessed hope. I honestly admit my heart breaks for those who are not a saved by the blood of Jesus. I wonder where does someone place their hope and trust during their most difficult times. I know, I KNOW my God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent; He is all knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere I am during every good, bad, and downright ugly situation. I love the words David penned in Psalm 20:7-8, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, BUT WE RISE UP AND STAND FIRM.”

It’s true Christians, it doesn’t matter the circumstance or trial we will face or are facing because we are victorious through Jesus Christ. VICTORY is ours Christians, now CLAIM IT, OWN IT, press on, and never ever quit, because when we are weak in our flesh, our Almighty God, Protector and Defender is our strength!! 

Luke 9:22 Jesus said, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” The Greek word for deny is arneomai, which means to disown or renounce. Our flesh is sinful, weak and easily tempted into sin. Jesus said you want to follow me, disown your flesh, pick up the cross, and follow my example. Victory is ours because of what Jesus did on the cross. Carrying the cross is kind of like lifting weights. It’s heavy at first, but we grow stronger. How do we carry our cross? Meditate with God in prayer, read His word. His word is our strength, the more you’re into His word, the more you grow and rely on Jesus in faith. You feel like the lights have gone out in your house? Trust me, the Lord God’s word will encourage you to the core of you heart to give you strength and hope to continue on. Put your boxing gloves on and fight the good fight! If the Lord is with you (and He always is), then who can be against you precious ones? 

Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” 

Just Wondering Why?

Do you feel like you are standing in a BIG question mark at the end of "WHY"? 

Perhaps you ever feel like King David when he asked of God in Psalm 10, “Why O LORD do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” 

When we so often go through times of trouble we wonder where God is, especially if we can’t seem to catch a break. Honestly I have been through a couple of tough years, and wondered many times “God are you even here, do you hear my prayers?” Dr. Jerry Falwell used to say; “You are either in trouble, coming out of trouble, or about to get the phone call.” True right? Somewhere we are in one of these categories. Life is full of troubles, but it is so nice to know, as a Christian and child of God I have safety and comfort in my Lord. I joked with my husband and mom that a few years ago I got that “phone call” and have been on the phone for too long and now finally can end the call. But ahhh life just doesn’t give you a break does it? I almost wish I could press the ignore button on the phone of life or even silence it. 
I can say many times I have asked God the simple question of “Why”. I admit many of my “whys” were because of on own misjudgment; but Jesus in all His sovereignty still calls for us to rely on Him. Even when we have walked from His light and into darkness He still awaits for our return. When we return He is there; He delights when we come home to Him. 

Because we are continuously facing trials it so important for us to cling to God, He said He is our strong tower, our place of refuge. Let me just give a few suggestions when we are going through our storms of life;

1. Pray. Pray. Pray. But don’t talk too much that you miss God’s reply. Jesus said in Luke 22:46, “Get up and Pray so you will not fall into temptation.” I believe the worst thing we could do during a bad situation is lean on our understanding instead of acknowledging God (Proverbs 3). 

2. Wait on the Lord and know He is God. “Be still and know that I am God”-Psalm 46:10
a. How do you wait on the Lord?
i. Never be too busy for the Lord. Be quiet, pray, read the Word of God and seek counsel from Godly men or women. 
ii. Dr. Falwell said, “The urgent is often unimportant”. Isn’t this true. We think we are in dire need, but precious one, God is there and will provide every time on His time. 
iii. Seek God; Jeremiah 2913-14 “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you declares the LORD and I will bring you back from captivity.”

3. Do no fret or worry, but delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:1,4,7)
a. How is this so you may ask?
i. Jesus said in Luke 12:22 “Do not worry about your life”
ii. In Psalm 37:4 the Word says Delight yourself in God and He will give you the desires of your heart. The Hebrew word for delight is “anag” which means to enjoy, mock, imitate”. You see when we become so close to the Lord we want to “mock/imitate” what He does and our desires become His desires. Hence He will give us the desires of our heart. 

4. Once God responds to our prayers and lies upon our hearts what He requires, do not hesitate, just GO. We will reap benefits if we are obedient to His command. 
a. Galatians 6:8-9, “The one who sows to please the Holy Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
b. Remember to just GO! Or consequently you may just end up in the belly of a big fish like Jonah if you ignore God. 

He hears your cries beloved ones, but you must seek Him first! When you get the dreaded phone call; call on the name of the LORD, He is your Father, let Him help you. If you are still on the phone, seek Him for guidance, and remember this too shall pass. Finally, when you can hang the phone up and have peace, Praise His holy and glorious name, because you are now stronger because of Him. 

Jeremiah 29:11 God said “I have plans for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to you.” Amen! 


A song by Avalon entitled You were there!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnNxP2k4Nn4