I go to a fairly large church and because I sing in our choir I have the vantage point of seeing the congregation as we praise the Lord in song and as our pastor brings the message. Sometimes as I sing I see people sitting seemingly staring out into space, no smile, no emotion what so ever, and I wonder…are you just not the type to get even a little excited about Jesus, or does it run in a different direction and you are simply overwhelmed by life; maybe a deep hurt; you are depleted in the joy department. You are walking around in a fog only existing. That you are in the church took a huge effort.

I certainly know how that feels. I have walked that same path, feeling as though my soul felt frozen, I could not hear the sweet Holy Spirit speaking to me anymore. I felt eerily alone and that each breath I took was hard, each task I did made me feel depleted, my joy level had dropped to an all-time low. I was physically, emotionally and spiritually deplete all at the same time.
It was hard for me to muster a prayer up and when I did it did not sound like much to my ears.

I had forgotten that God tells us in his word that he is our hope and that he is able to fill us with peace and joy as we trust in him.
Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

I was asking for the wrong things in prayer, God knew what I needed on a daily basis, my needs had always been met. What I needed to do was to go to him and ask him to refill my empty soul, to let the joy that he promises overtake me. I needed that peace that only he can bring to flow through my mind and my heart. I needed that well that was never dry to start bubbling in my heart and mind. I needed what only God by his spirit could do, thaw me out!

I had started listening to the lies the enemy was shouting at me and the worse thing I could do was what I did, I stopped praying each day for my spiritual needs first and for God’s peace in the midst of my storm. I stopped seeing my storm through Jesus and started to see Jesus through the storm, which clouded my mind and heart. I separated myself from those around me who might have been a help to me. In essence, the devil had me where he wanted me; listening to him and isolated, that is a bad combination. See, he could not steal my salvation, but he could distract me and keep me feeling a mess all the time. When this happens it is a recipe for disaster.

I am so thankful that God knows our hearts, our minds, and our needs. I am so thankful that He never moves away from us even when we take giant leaps away from him. I am so thankful that when we come repentant and humble and ask for his help he gives it never saying…”I told you so,” He just loves us back into a right relationship. He always knows what we need before we ask. He can even interpret the prayers we pray seeking what we think we need into what we really are asking.

I learned a lot from that time in my life and I have been able to share it with others that I see that happening too. Again, God did not waste that time in my life, he has used it. I am reminded of it, not as a means of condemnation, but as a way of remembering what not to do.

When we live a surrendered life, a life that believes He is all we need our joy is complete. Because at the end of the day, He is really all we need in this life and the next. He is faithful to his children and he will take care of them. Here are a few verses to remind you of what his word says.

Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”

Psalm 34:10 “The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.”

Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

2 Peter 1:3 “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

We always have all that we need, we just lose sight of it when we take our eyes off of the Lord and let is stay focused too long on whatever we see as the problem or the hurt. Instead of taking our eyes off of him, we need to invite him into our mess and distresses. When we do they somehow lose their power over us and we find ourselves resting fully in Jesus to see us through.

If you find yourself in a place isolated and alone, listening to the enemy of your soul talking so loudly that you cannot hear the Holy Spirit speaking to you…repent and ask God to fill you to overflowing and I promise he will, and the enemy will flee from you and your joy will return and your days will be filled with the peace that passes understanding; even if the circumstance stays the same. God can do that, God will do that!

Jeremiah 17:7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”

Who doesn’t want to be blessed? I know that I do! Well, in this verse it tells us that if we have confidence in God we will be blessed. What does confidence mean? “It is the feeling that one can rely on someone or something, firm trust.” —“The state of feeling certain about the truth of something.”

Do you have that unshakeable confidence in the Lord? Do you trust that he is on your side, working it, all of it, out for your good or do you trust your spouse, your therapist or your friend to work it all out for you? It is not wrong to have a friend or confidant, but I can assure you none of the before mentioned ones can really work out all the details of life and promise to bless you. They may have your best interest at heart, but they cannot see inside your heart, they cannot see what really needs to be done. And trust me when I say that even the most well-meaning person in your life will let you down eventually. They will fail to come through when you need them the most.

However, we can trust the Lord. We can trust that he is always on our side, not allowing those things which do not need to be in our lives. Sometimes the greatest blessing we can receive is to have something taken from us. It may not feel that way at the time, as a matter of fact, it may very well feel horrible for quite a long time.

I trust the Lord. Over and over again he has proved that I can trust his tender care of me; I can even trust his discipline to do what it is intended to do and that it will only last as long as absolutely necessary. God never gives us too much to carry at one time and he always measures out everything in our lives.

I know that many of the televangelists these days are selling religion. Yes, selling is what I said. For X amount of dollars, you can be blessed, have it all. The new house, the new car, a big bank account. Maybe even a jet and exotic animals. One small gift and “BAM” there it is! Really people? Are we so vain first of all that we think we need all of that and deserve it? We start trusting in our riches, our status to make us feel important and seemingly blessed.

So, what if you do not get the new car, the new house, the big bank account? What if life is hard, money tight and so on. God tells us that he supplies “all” our needs. Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” God can and God will make sure we have all we need and most of the time things we simply want. He is a good God, worthy of our trust. His word tells us that he is always with us. Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love, he will exult over you with loud singing.”

Trust in the Lord, He will bless you. Let your confidence be in the one who is always present, always watching, always helping, always guiding, always saving, always good! He has proven all through the pages of time that he will deliver his own when they are in need; he will supply everything they have need of; he will rejoice and sing over you; he will follow through with all that he has promised. Rest in him my friend…his love is secure, his love is always abounding with grace and mercy…we can trust him and kow that in turn we are blessed.

Psalm 68:19-20 “The Lord deserves praise! Day after day he carries our burden, the God who delivers us. Our God is a God who delivers; the Lord, the sovereign Lord, can rescue from death.”

Where would we be if we had to carry all our burdens alone? I can only speak for myself, but honestly, if I had not had the Lord in my life I probably would not be here today. My life was hard. Growing up I was an emotional wreck so much of the time. Trying to wrestle with the why’s of life. Why did I have to suffer abuse? Why didn’t my parents get along? When would it end? And then there were my own failures, my struggles to know who I was. Add to all that the chaos of life going on around me and it is a recipe for disaster…except for the Lord, who carried my burdens, the God who each day delivered me emotionally. The Lord who was sovereign over every moment allowing only that which he said was okay.

We do not like to think that God would allow us to suffer in any way. But scripture tells us he allows it for our good and his glory. I cannot see and know all that God is working out and doing. His knowledge and reasons are far above my little mind. But I can know that he is always with me, he is always carrying my burden lest I be consumed by it. Yes, my life was no fun, I cried so many tears I was convinced I had used them all up and would not have any if I ever needed them again.

Even then when I went to my secret place to pray and talk things over with the Lord, I could feel a lifting of my spirits. When I got up from my tearstained grass bed, my heart was quiet, my tears dried up, my soul had peace. Why? Because God met me there, even me a young child with little faith of her own, and the borrowed faith of my grandmother. He saw my tears, heard my cry for help and administered his mercy, his grace, and his peace.

I think one reason we have tribulations and trials is so that we can minister to others along our way. Scripture even says as much. 2 Corinthians 1:4 “Who comforteth us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort them which are in trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” If we had never had a trial or heartache, what good would we be to someone going through it?

Isn’t it a wonderful thing to know that God hears our cries for mercy. His ears are attentive to his children. Psalm 18:6 “But in my distress, I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.” I do not know all that goes on in heaven, but I am sure there are much activities and noise, and yet God hears even the faintest cry from one of his children.

We need not worry or be overwhelmed by life. God is always on the lookout, always on our side, always hearing our prayers and always delivering us. It may not look what you think you need at the time, but I assure you if God says it is, it is! I will leave you with this scripture.

Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

I think that many born-again believers forget that this is not our home. We are pilgrims on a journey through a foreign land on our way to our true home, in heaven with the Lord. We live like we will be here forever. We are constantly accumulating more and more things. So many have to have the latest whatever. They have every new gadget out there. Theirs is a life full of stuff and distractions. I get it, there are so many fun things out there. So many new “toys” for us to put our money and time into. But, is that really what we should be doing?

We most assuredly are supposed to be telling others about Jesus. We are supposed to live in such a way that the unbeliever notices the difference between us and the rest of the world. We are supposed to be a peculiar people. 1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Are you peculiar? Do you live in such a way that those around you are scratching their heads because you are not caught up with all the glitter of this world, all the stuff of this world? You keep your heart and your mind on things from above. Yes, we have to have certain things to survive. We need money to purchase those things we need. It isn’t that we cannot enjoy life, but we should not be storing up treasures here on earth, accumulating more. Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I do not want my heart focused on this earth. I do not want so much stuff that the thought of leaving it makes me feel sick. I do not want to live in a way that says I have it all. I want to live in such a way that I remember this is not my home. This stuff that I have is borrowed for my time here. I want my ears attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and my eyes searching the sky for his appearing. I do not know the day of his returning, and neither do you. He tells us that he will return like a thief in the night. Matthew 16:15 “(Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”)

Matthew 24:43 “But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.”

We need to be vigilant and make sure we are not so caught up in this world that we look too much like it. Things do not satisfy for long. We enjoy it for a few weeks and all the glitter is gone for us and then we need something else to occupy us and make us feel important. When I see so many of those who say they are God’s children chasing this world and all the fancy bobbles it offers, I feel sad. I pray that their hearts are right with God and that they are truly ready for his return.

Live simply, love extravagantly, laugh often ( it makes the journey more bearable), do kind things, help others, forgive freely and instantly (remembering we need forgiveness daily)…and lastly watch for him, listen to the Holy Spirit. He is coming back, are you ready?

Proverbs 25:28 “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.”

Do you lack self-control? I will be honest there are times when I do very much lack self-control. It usually falls in the food department. I like all those things we are told not to eat. Most of the time I can turn away from them; you know the bread, pasta, processed sugars etc, but occasionally I just cannot, do not even want to try. My flesh wins out and afterward, I am really mad at myself and I beat myself up. Why can I not just say no and walk away? Of course, there are worse things than food that we can allow ourselves to indulge in. For some it is alcohol, others bad TV shows, that do not uplift anything. Maybe your struggle is shopping or gossiping. For men, maybe listening to a dirty joke, looking at another female (in the wrong way) other than your wife.

It really does not matter in what area the lack of self-control is, we all need to be more disciplined or more surrendered? I personally think both! I think if we are more disciplined to study and learn the word of God, not only will our souls be fed, but our time will be occupied and just maybe some of these things will lose their attractiveness for us. I also think that we need to learn to surrender our cravings for whatever to the Lord. When we feel that flesh rising up in us; we need to give it to Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to help us and guide us to something else, something more pleasing to him.

Obviously, God has given us food to enjoy, but overeating or gluttony is a sin. It is idolatry, self-love, comfort, and control. We need to do everything, no matter what it is in moderation. Even good things can be done to excess.

1 Corinthians 6:12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say-but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything,” -but I will not be mastered by it.”

Ezekial 16:49 “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom; She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.”

Philippians 3:19 “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.”

These are some harsh words we just read. The Lord does not ask us to do anything that is wrong for us, or too hard. He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us as we walk this earth with all its pleasures. And he tells us what we need to clothe ourselves with rather than excess food, shopping, looking…

Romans 13:14 “Rather, clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” And then we read these words. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

We belong to The Lord, our Creator, and King. He has given us everything we need to turn from things that are wrong, or just out of control and not good for us in excess. All we really need to do is to surrender that desire to him, allow him to be Lord over even those weak areas that we have. Yes, maybe you will slip up from time to time, but it will not rule you on a daily basis. I am in, are you?

Do you ever feel that your life is mundane? You feel as though you are not accomplishing much for the kingdom of God. You are not out in the world or another country, down in the trenches working for Jesus. Other’s have gone away from family and friends, living in hard places all because of their beliefs, their desire to be a light in a dark place; to win souls for Christ. Their sacrifice is great, I agree, but what about us, those who are not far away, those whose lives seem very ordinary?

First of all, for those who have gone elsewhere, it is because God has called them to that kind of sacrifice and extraordinary service for him. He put the desire to go in their hearts and they have heeded the call. Thank you, Lord, for those willing to go!
It seems like they have it and we do not. They are the heavy hitters of the faith, chosen for something special and we are left to the ordinary, not so special call. Not true my friend, if you have been born again then you are a child of God and special in his sight and he will use you exactly where he has planted you.
He does not call us all to huge tasks, but he calls us all to something.

Sometimes the hardest walk is the one that seems ordinary, mundane in nature. You get so tired of the same old stuff day in and day out. There are times that you just want to tell the people around you to go away, maybe your job is overwhelming and you have a cranky boss that you are trying to be Jesus to and he just does not seem to get it and as a matter of fact, treats you worse because of your beliefs. See, our nature is such that without Jesus we would not do the ordinary seemingly monotonous things in life. We would not go that extra mile in certain situations, we would not turn the other cheek. But, because of Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit in us that enables us to do the extraordinary in those moments. To choose the higher road.

Because of the Holy Spirit, we can find joy and happiness in the things that seem mundane. Trust me when I tell you God sees everything and your sacrifice in the ordinary is just as important and worthy as those he is using elsewhere. It is the attitude of your heart that is important, the who you are doing it for that matters. God has placed you where he wants you. The task, job, friendship, marriage he has put you in is by his doing and he will give you everything you need to do it well, just ask him. Surrender each moment of each day to him. He would never call you to a task that he has not prepared you for.

You may never see any purpose here on this earth to the “what” he has called you to. It may seem so insignificant that you just think why me Lord? God wastes nothing, his purposes are higher than what we can know and all he asks us to do is this; Do it for him. Give him your best yes. Walk out this ordinary life in his strength for his glory, every moment of every day. He knows what he is doing in each situation and one day we will hear him say “well done,” yes, even in the small stuff of life.

Your attitude while you are doing it means a lot. But, even when you wake up thinking I just cannot today when you say not my will Lord, but yours, that supernatural power overtakes you and you find not only that you can, but you actually find joy once again in the doing of it.

Nothing we do is random, nothing is worthless, When you do anything for Christ, he will keep the enemy from you as you surrender to his will. God chose you for this life you live, live it well my friend!

Exodus 15:6 “Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power, Your
right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.”

2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every deed.”

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”

If you are like me you have those times when you simply do not know what to pray. Maybe for yourself or someone you care about. We try so hard to form words, to express to the Lord our heartfelt request. We jokingly say we need to be very careful with the words we use, we don’t want God to get it wrong. We think there must be some secret formula, some magic wand to be used in getting what we want and think we need from the Lord.

We overcomplicate even prayer. God already knows what we have need of. In Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And then in Matthew 6:8, “Be not, therefore, like unto them, for your Father knoweth what things you have need of before ye ask Him.”

God knows everything, down to the tiniest of thoughts and content of your heart. Those things that you yourself do not yet know you need. He also knows what each person we bring to him in prayer needs. A simple, Lord, please help whoever will do. Wordiness is for us, not the Lord. Now, do I think there is a good time to talk it out with Jesus? Yes, I do!
There are those times when we need to speak things aloud in order to hear ourselves saying what is inside of us. It is always for our benefit, not his. When I have sat with the Lord talking out loud, sometimes I am surprised by what comes out. And once it is out I can better gauge my thoughts about it, hammer it out if you will with Jesus.

I talk, He listens and the Holy Spirit reveals. It will also keep your mind focused on your prayer. Sometimes when we close our eyes and bow our heads and pray in our hearts and minds, our minds can start to wonder. We do not want it to, but it does. And before long we are distracted, our prayer slightly disjointed etc.

God really does know what we need. He knows the next moment, we don’t. Also, remember Jesus is interceding for us always. Romans 8:34,”Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ who died, yea rather, who is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

Just remember, it does not have to be wordy, complicated and over thought out. Just go to your Heavenly Father and talk to him. Use simple words and I promise He will know exactly what you are saying! And when someone says something like, Pray the Lord will heal me, you can just say Jesus, help my friend, you know their need. He will do his will in them, just as he does in you. And their plight is not a surprise to him and neither is yours!

1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor.”

What does this mean to possess your vessel?

It is talking about our minds and our bodies in a way that is honoring to God, not in a way that is self-pleasing or world pleasing. If you are a child of God, a born-again believer in Jesus Christ then your life should reflect that not just in public, but at all times.

We are told in verse 3 to abstain from sexual immorality. This not only means in the deed itself but in our minds and hearts first. Sin starts in our minds, drops to our hearts and in most cases is acted upon because we did not stop and turn from the thought or thing before us. When we allow ourselves to look at an inappropriate thing once, the second time is a little easier, the third even easier and so on. Our consciousness not longer sounds a warning to us and the voice of the Holy Spirit is silenced.

We forget that we need to be very careful not to allow images to get stuck in our heads, if we do, especially for men they can be pulled up years later and trip us up once again. And if we are constantly watching inappropriate things on TV or the movies, we will try to justify it as just art, or we say that we can appreciate the storyline and just have to deal with whatever was inappropriate. This simply is not true! We have a choice to make, but all too often we make the wrong one.

We tend to forget that as believers we are never alone. Whatever we are doing the Holy Spirit is with us. We drag him into whatever situation, conversation, and the inappropriate images we are seeing. Also, we can be guilty of staying in conversations that we need not be a part of. So many people think nasty jokes etc… are funny and even if you are uncomfortable you will stay because you do not want to look weird to your friends. We keep silent and listen.

Just think how different the story would have been had Joseph not ran away from Potiphar’s wife. He did not stay there and try to reason with her when faced with the temptation, the wrong choice, HE RAN!!! He did not care about the consequences of doing the right thing and even though to us it looks like he was punished anyway, his conscious before God was clear. He desired to please God above all else! Do we desire to please God? Do we have a desire to keep our vessel with honor, turning from anything that would pollute it?

Even if it is a quick “look see,” it is wrong. We need to constantly be alert and when that still small voice in us sounds the warning bell we need to RUN! Even if it means we are in the presence of a friend, colleague, meeting, whatever. If we need to exit the room to preserve our honor and keep our hearts and minds pure, we need to have the courage to take the laughter, questions, consequences etc…that might come. Others may not understand, but God will and he will be pleased.

A long time ago I worked with a woman. She was beautiful on the outside, but I quickly learned that she had a vulgar mouth at times and she would come to work telling of her drunken, sexual escapades. It only took once for me to know that I did not want to be apart of any conversations she might be having. I left in the middle of the very first one, embarrassed by her words and for her. When she later asked me why I left I was honest with her. I told her of my walk with Christ, how I wanted my mind to stay pure before the Lord and that for me being in a conversation like that, simply put made me very uncomfortable. So, I made a simple request; if she was about to tell something dirty or a crude joke to please warn me ahead of time and I would dismiss myself. She understood and was kind about it and would say,”you might want to exit now.” I did!

It was sad to me that such a beautiful woman had such a dirty mind and actions. Knowing the things she was doing and particularly the filthiness of her mouth drastically diminished her outward beauty to me. I prayed for her and continued to show her love. We were friends in spite of this. Why? Because although I did not like her lifestyle, I had the opportunity to show her unconditional love. We talked about other things and had lots of good conversations that I stayed for.

Do not get me wrong, I am not perfect. But as my relationship with the Lord Jesus has matured, the things of this world are not so shiny and fun anymore. My desire to please him outweighs my desire to please me.

The bottom line, it matters to God what we say, what we see and what we do. It matters that we possess our vessel with sanctification and honor. I want to be that person, do you? It may require not seeing a popular movie that looks great from the previews but has filthy content. By the way, if you do not know this, you can go to pluggedin.com and see what is in any movie playing and many TV shows. It will tell you in detail if there is anything inappropriate in it, down to how many cuss words, any nudity, even if it is just a woman showing too much cleavage. I love it, it has saved my husband and I from going to sees something that we ultimately would have had to walk out of. Yes, I have missed what looked like a good movie because the content was “not” what myself and my husband needed before our eyes.

Blessings to you as you choose to keep yourself pure in thought and deed. Remember the world’s view of your choices when desiring to please God first does not matter…God’s opinion does!
Let us pray for one another that we will stay on the right path, with the right desires as we journey in this foreign land!

Have you ever wondered what if…you had been born to another family? Had you not gotten a divorce? Had you not had an abortion? What would you have if you have finished college? The list can just keep on going, fill it in with your list of what ifs. The list can be exhausting causing us great distress if we focus on it. Sometimes we have a list of our failures that is way longer than our successes or at least in our eyes it seems that way. We live with regret about the things we did not do and the things we should have done. Constantly seeing ourselves as less than anyone else.

Wake Up, people! Your life has been exactly as God decided it would be long before you were born. There is nothing you do or choose to do, nothing you have done or did not do that is outside of God’s control. He is Sovereign in every way. Our mistakes are all apart of a much bigger picture. We do not know what the picture looks like or how far along we are in the drawing process. But God does and he never loses sight of what he is doing.

See, we think we can do something that will totally surprise God and cause him to be concerned that this time he cannot help us. This time was too far. God is writing our story. He allows enough mess ups, wake-ups, mountain-top, low valley experiences to mold us and shape us and to draw us ever closer to him. When I look back at my life I am amazed at how far God reached to grab me, but he knew he would and when the day of my salvation came, he reached into my heart and moved me to the altar. All the bumps along the way did not deter me but instead encouraged me to follow him. I needed Jesus, I needed his love, his peace, his healing power.

Jesus intercedes for me in other words, he prays for me. Just as he told Peter he had done for him.

Hebrews 7:25 ” Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints, and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

We have a high priest, who intercedes for us every moment of every day. We have a God who has designed our lives, put us on the path of his choosing and says that we can trust him through it all. Take your what ifs and give them to him. Lay them down. One less burden to carry in your backpack of life. Thank him that through every bad choice, every wrong direction he was with you, somehow using it to guide us ever closer to him. He was keeping us even when we did not feel kept. Thank him for forgiveness that is so final he does not remember the offense.

Here is a new what if…what if you read and pray more. What if you serve others selflessly, what if you choose this day to let him be Lord of your life, what if you surrender it all and take his yoke which he promises is lighter. Matthew 11:29-30 “Take my yoke upon you, learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

What if?