Sometimes it’s just one thing after another. I have been going through the fire this year like I’m sure many of you have been, and I could use your prayers. Through it all, we’re still here. But guess what? As Christian Music Artist Danny Gokey said in a song, “He [God] had the solution before you had the problem.” That’s so healing.
I recently saw a survival movie where a woman was trying to get to the mother who abandoned her because she wanted answers. How many of us have been abandoned and wanted to know why? Sadly, after her plane was canceled, she took matters into her own hands and got on a tiny plane with two men she didn’t know. Well, the plane crashed, the men weren’t who they said they were, and as a result, no one was coming to rescue them. Negative voices filled her head saying she was alone and wasn’t going to survive. She screamed at the voices and told them to leave and POOF…they were gone. How many of us need to do that to the enemy’s voice in our heads? This movie was ministering to me big time. She saw lights in the sky on the other side of the island and decided to go in hopes of being rescued. It was one horrifying event after another. In one incident, she fell in a ditch, hurt her ankle, and a huge boulder was on top of her. In the ditch, a hallucination of her mom told her to give up. After she mustered up the strength to move the boulder and not succumb to depression by staying in the ditch, she got out. I cheered! As she limped on, a hallucination of her boyfriend told her, “As long as you keep moving you got a shot.” This is when I knew I was supposed to be watching this movie. In the wilderness, she arrived at a river–what looked like the end. There, a hallucination of her father (who recently died) spoke to her and gave her encouragement.
Get it? Her father gave her encouragement at what she thought was the end. How many of us need to lean to Our Father for encouragement?
Suddenly, her strength grew, and boldness took over. She jumped into the river holding onto nothing but a tree branch while the current carried her.
The waters were rough, and she looked like she was going to drown a couple of times. I seriously considered turning it off because I was NOT going to be mentally well if this didn’t have a happy ending (haha). River bend after river bend, she didn’t know what was up ahead. She crashed into waves even appearing to flip over one time. To make matters worse, she lost the branch after a surge of water consumed her. In the end, we see her being pulled out of the water by two fishermen. They did CPR on her. It looked like it wasn’t working, and they gave up. Then, we see a close-up of her face as she coughs up water and takes a frantic breath. The End.
She let go to breathe. She knew that if she stayed in the wilderness, she would surely die, but because she kept moving…
She was alive.
And so are you.
She survived…
And you will too.
So…
1. Don’t stop praying (Ask for strength, energy, and wisdom to deal with it. Take care of yourself—mentally and physically during the process).
2. Don’t stop reading His Word (Arm yourself with His promises).
3. Don’t stop praising, worshipping, and thanking Him (Tell Him how good He is, thank Him for what He’s done in the past, what He’s doing now, and will do in the future).
4. And Don’t stop believing (Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see).
Through it all, God is STILL faithful. What does that mean? It means that He will do just what He said He would do. He is loyal, remains the same, and is reliable.
God promised to never leave us or run away from us.
Is this for you? Let’s pray…
Dear Righteous God,
I ask You to teach me of what James writes in his New Testament letter…
Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Thank You for using circumstances and events to move me to Your perfect place of blessing and opportunity.
Please move me to the places that You desire for me.
Help my faith to grow stronger.
Help me to be more patient and dedicated to You.
King of Righteousness, I praise You in the midst of my trials, knowing that I can learn from You to be complete, lacking nothing.
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—
We run through troops and leap over walls—You are our God.
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.
Thank You for being with me through every trial and every day.
In the righteous name of Jesus, I pray,
Amen.
[portions of prayer from Prime Time with God Devotional]
Whatever you’re going through, IT WILL NOT last forever. You’re in it so hunker down and be determined to get through it.
I know it hurts, but let go and breathe.
Danny Gokey said it best 😉
Be encouraged.
Love,
Kenya
