So often we have to make choices that can be crucial for our future and these decisions can be life altering. Whether it’s a new job promotion or a job loss, we are left with new beginnings on both sides of the spectrum. All too often decisions left unattended can become wrapped in a blanket of indecision. We know that the Spirit of the Lord will help us with many decisions if we but listen to His voice.

Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Prayer is a vital part of the process in decision making; as the Lord wants us to rely upon Him and His Word. We can be standing at a crossroad and have many ways to turn, but until we look up and seek the Lord we will be unsettled with our choices. As choices come your way today; rest in Him, wait upon Him, study His word, spend time in prayer, and trust Him with the outcome.

Phil. 4:4-7  Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Today Lord I face many decisions; help me to know that you are in control and You Lord God ultimately take me on the path I am to walk as I place my trust in You. Amen!

More of Jesus and less of me is the single most needed thing in life. Daily I must lay down my life and take up the cross to follow after my Redeemer; for He who lives in me is more precious than anything this world has too offer. I know in order to crucify this old flesh and follow solely after the Lord; I must completely surrender my will to Him and allow the Spirit of the Lord to work in and through me in order to proclaim the good news that brings true freedom and liberty.

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of prison doors to those who are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn. To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the plating of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

What is so wonderfully amazing is when we come to a crossroad in life, just knowing He is right there waiting for us to call upon Him; He will do exactly as His word says!

Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know”

Do you need more of Him today? If so, just call and He will answer you. He is right there, ready and waiting. Place all of your trust and hope in Him, you will be amazed as well.

Have you ever felt as if you were about to lose your faith in God? It starts with you feeling far from Him. You don’t want to pray, read your Bible or go to church. You feel dead inside and you start drifting further and further away. Before long, you’re telling yourself that God doesn’t care about you anyway and what’s the point?

If you’ve ever been in a similar place or know someone who may be there now, take heart, because God has a right now word for you.

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

” ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ “ (Luke 15:11-32)

It’s a plan of the Enemy to make you think God doesn’t care about you. He even tries to convince you there’s no need to try to re-establish your relationship with Him because you’ve messed up too badly. When the voice of the Trickster comes, don’t listen - he’s a liar and the truth is not in him.

Just as any parent welcomes back a lost child, God will do the same for you. He chose you before the foundations of the earth were laid and He will never leave you or forsake you. So, there is no need to feel lost anymore. You have been found - run back to your Daddy!

Blessings,

Joyce

Successful living is not measured by what we own, where we live, where we have been, nor whom we are associated with, but it comes from the matters of the heart; one that is completely surrendered to Jesus Christ. The successful recipes of life spring forth from our own personal experiences gained through a loving relationship with the Lord himself. We can read so many passages in His Holy Word to see what recipe He may have for our daily walk with Him.

Seek Him today and glean from His word, see what He has for you and your household.

• Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the Lord with all your heat and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.
•  Proverbs 21: He who follows righteousness and mercy, Finds life, righteousness and honor.
•  Matthew 6:33  But seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you as well.
• Phil 3:14 I press toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
• 3 John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. (Isaiah 61:1)

Several years ago, I had a coaching client who had gone through a series of personal losses. Those losses became the focus of her life - what used to be and what would never be. That was a very painful time for this young woman. I gave her an assignment to find someone who was in need of encouragement. Her search took her to our county hospital, where she found the ward for babies born addicted to crack. She became a volunteer there, holding the babies and giving them much needed love.

A powerful thing happened to my client - she found that the more she gave to those babies, the less time she had to focus on herself. And, because of all the problems those little ones had, she started seeing hers from a new perspective.

When our lives seem at their lowest, one of the best things we can do is to encourage someone else. We may not have everything we want, but God has blessed us with gifts we can use to encourage and build up the Kingdom.

If there ever was a time that people are in need of encouragement, it’s now. As Christians, we should have a word for all those who cross our paths and make up our circle of infuence. The Holy Spirit lives inside of us and He will guide us if we take the first step to point others to the One who can give them eternal life.

Take a moment to evaluate your days. Are you making them count? Is some part of your daily focus the brokenhearted, the captives, the prisoners? No matter how bleak your situation may look, find someone else to lift up. Not only will you feel a little better, but you will also be an obedient servant for the Lord.

Blessings,

Joyce

Habakkuk is a short, but very detailed book of a prophet that helps us to look at prayer with readiness and confidence. He prophesied in a time when nation rose against nation, peace was nowhere to be found, chaos loomed in the streets, and the people of God were in moral dilemma. While he wrestled with God as we read in Chapter 1 an answer came from the Lord; v.5 Look at the nations and watch and be utterly astounded. Habakkuk waited on God and was willing to persevere no matter what it looked like. This was a prayer of complete trust and the willingness to wait on the Lord.

The Lord once again spoke to him and said; 2:5.6 “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets, so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation waits an appointed time, it speaks of the end and it will not prove false. Though it linger wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Praying with this preparation helps us to be ready no matter what the day may bring; God’s answer will surely come”.

In Chapter 3 there is a word of prayer filled with confidence that speaks of total trust in God no matter how silent He may seem at the time. v:17-19 “Though the fig tree does not blossom, nor fruit be on the vine, though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food, though the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be joyful in the God of my salvation; The Sovereign Lord is my strength, He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights”.

What an ending of hope, promise and victory in the Lord. No matter what it looks like, no matter how destitute things may seem, no matter how perilous the times are; we can rejoice in God and trust in Him. I pray that as you read this book you will see the faithfulness of God, to trust and believe is of the utmost, for the just shall live by faith. Total faith in God brings about peace when there is no peace; total trust in God enables us to be joyful in the midst of pain and sorrow. The Lord is Sovereign and He will neither slumber nor sleep. He is our keeper!

Pray with a willingness to wait on Him, with all honesty and confidence, praying with a readiness to seek Him, persevering to the end and be confident in this.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 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.(2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 16-17)

Are you in a hard place right now? Does your life seem to be spiraling out of your control? Have you asked yourself where God is in all of this? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, there is good news.

First, your condition does not affect your position. Scripture says that you may be hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted and struck down but you belong to Jesus. And when you know whose you are, you can have hope that you will leave your hard place. By the grace of God, you can trust that He will make sense of your current condition and circumstances.

Second, it’s not about you. Often, when we go through the hard places of our lives, it’s so that we can bring glory to God and be a witness for Christ. If you’re in a hard place, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Not only will He bring you out, but you have the opportunity to use what you’re learning from your experience to be a blessing to someone else.

Third, look at your life through eternal eyes. If you look at your hard places through earthly eyes, you will get caught up in despair, depression and hopelessness. Never forget that you are not of this world. What you see through earthly eyes is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. When you view your hard places in light of eternity, you will see your life from a totally new perspective.

You are not crushed, in despair, abandoned or struck down. You are, however, still here and still able to accomplish great things for the kingdom. No matter how hard things get, you can survive and thrive, in Jesus.

Blessings,

Joyce