"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up."
Deuteronomy 6:5-7
"Praise be to the Lord, for He has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song. The Lord is the strength of His people, a fortress of salvation for His anointed One. Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;
be their Shepherd and carry them forever."
Psalms 28:6-9
"But I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. O my Strength, I sing praise to You;
You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God."
Psalms 59:16
when you lie down and when you get up."
Deuteronomy 6:5-7
"Praise be to the Lord, for He has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song. The Lord is the strength of His people, a fortress of salvation for His anointed One. Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;
be their Shepherd and carry them forever."
Psalms 28:6-9
You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God."
Psalms 59:16
Ever had "one of those days?" Well, I had one and I am so thankful for God's Word to bring comfort in the midst of the stress in our lives. Next time you are overwhelmed, take a nice, long deep breathe and exhale, moving yourself into the presence of a compassionate, comforting, loving Lord. Remember His promises, remember His provision, the peace that He alone provides. He is your perfect Counselor and Friend, knowing exactly what you are thinking and feeling in any moment.
I don't know what your tendency is to go to when you are stressed out, maybe alcohol, drugs, depression, food, shopping, running away physically or emotionally...but I encourage you to run to God. Our human nature is to run to the tangible things because it is proof we are going to be okay, we feel the help and we can see it. It may be an object or a person that we run to and seek refuge to make us feel better.
But I tell ya, NOTHING IS SWEETER THAN A GOD -SIZED HUG when we are hurting. You cannot see it, you may wonder if He is really there, but if you rest and be still, you can feel Him. If you need to call a friend, there is nothing wrong with that, but it should be your second "call." First, seek ye first the Kingdom of God then call your brother or sister in Christ. God can and does use fellow Believers in your life to encourage you and love on you, to share wisdom and insight. Sometimes we need that talk time, especially us women. We need each other.
Friendships come in many shapes. We have historical friends-those who have been around our whole lives and have experienced life's growing up with us; seasonal friends-those who God has given for a season to share a life's moment; mentoring friends-those who have been given to us to mentor us throughout different phases we enter in life (we may be the mentor for another); casual friends-those who we enjoy fellowship with and connect with on different levels; family friends-those who are closer than friends, they are like family and will be forever part of our lives; lifelong heart friends-those who we have connected with on a deep spiritual level and will forever be a part of our heat and soul. Friends are a blessing to treasure no matter how long they have been in our life! Take time to Thank God for the gift of Friendship and Sisterhood!
Let me encourage you if you are the listening/comforting friend, be sure to pray for your friend who is having the bad day, who is hurting. God will use you as his vessel if you sync your spirit with His in the moment to bring His comfort to your wounded friend. Entering into a gossip session or joining their cause will not bring healing. But God can use you to share His tangible hug, His words of comfort, encouragement, truth and peace if you submit yourself to His spirit.
I pray that you always have a good day, but you know, sometimes it takes "one of those days" to make us stop and reflect on the bigger questions in life...what is my purpose, why is this happening, where am I supposed to go, what path am I headed down, what changes do I need to make in my life, and so on.
"Father God, Thank You for hearing our cries and seeing each tear in our heart. Lord, would You hug those who are hurting, comfort them in Your embrace, give them a security that can only be provided by You. Thank You God for the gifts of friendship and relationships in the family of God, may we count it a blessing to have that sweet friend and may we be that sweet friend to another. Help me to run quickly first to You and be still, resting in You Lord. Be my refuge and strength. Thank You for Your steadfastness, never moving away from me but desiring me to come to You. I know You will never forsake me, I know You love me, for all the good and all the bad and I humbly thank You. As I bow before Your Heavenly throne, would You grant me peace, comfort, protection in the warfare and wisdom to do what it is You have called me to do in every little thing, in every big thing, every area of my life, in all that I am, guide me. God, I love You. amen"
I don't know what your tendency is to go to when you are stressed out, maybe alcohol, drugs, depression, food, shopping, running away physically or emotionally...but I encourage you to run to God. Our human nature is to run to the tangible things because it is proof we are going to be okay, we feel the help and we can see it. It may be an object or a person that we run to and seek refuge to make us feel better.
But I tell ya, NOTHING IS SWEETER THAN A GOD -SIZED HUG when we are hurting. You cannot see it, you may wonder if He is really there, but if you rest and be still, you can feel Him. If you need to call a friend, there is nothing wrong with that, but it should be your second "call." First, seek ye first the Kingdom of God then call your brother or sister in Christ. God can and does use fellow Believers in your life to encourage you and love on you, to share wisdom and insight. Sometimes we need that talk time, especially us women. We need each other.
Friendships come in many shapes. We have historical friends-those who have been around our whole lives and have experienced life's growing up with us; seasonal friends-those who God has given for a season to share a life's moment; mentoring friends-those who have been given to us to mentor us throughout different phases we enter in life (we may be the mentor for another); casual friends-those who we enjoy fellowship with and connect with on different levels; family friends-those who are closer than friends, they are like family and will be forever part of our lives; lifelong heart friends-those who we have connected with on a deep spiritual level and will forever be a part of our heat and soul. Friends are a blessing to treasure no matter how long they have been in our life! Take time to Thank God for the gift of Friendship and Sisterhood!
Let me encourage you if you are the listening/comforting friend, be sure to pray for your friend who is having the bad day, who is hurting. God will use you as his vessel if you sync your spirit with His in the moment to bring His comfort to your wounded friend. Entering into a gossip session or joining their cause will not bring healing. But God can use you to share His tangible hug, His words of comfort, encouragement, truth and peace if you submit yourself to His spirit.
I pray that you always have a good day, but you know, sometimes it takes "one of those days" to make us stop and reflect on the bigger questions in life...what is my purpose, why is this happening, where am I supposed to go, what path am I headed down, what changes do I need to make in my life, and so on.
"Father God, Thank You for hearing our cries and seeing each tear in our heart. Lord, would You hug those who are hurting, comfort them in Your embrace, give them a security that can only be provided by You. Thank You God for the gifts of friendship and relationships in the family of God, may we count it a blessing to have that sweet friend and may we be that sweet friend to another. Help me to run quickly first to You and be still, resting in You Lord. Be my refuge and strength. Thank You for Your steadfastness, never moving away from me but desiring me to come to You. I know You will never forsake me, I know You love me, for all the good and all the bad and I humbly thank You. As I bow before Your Heavenly throne, would You grant me peace, comfort, protection in the warfare and wisdom to do what it is You have called me to do in every little thing, in every big thing, every area of my life, in all that I am, guide me. God, I love You. amen"
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