Are you struggling to hear the voice of God?

Today's post comes from Anita at Scattering the Stones

 

‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place

and get some rest.’

Mark 6:31 NIV

Are you aware of God’s voice throughout the day, or is the noise surrounding you drowning out His voice?

Silence can mean many things to different people; some love it, while others fear it, some fight against it. I am sure that it is no co-incidence that the level of noise has increased, as the separation between God’s ways and the world’s ways, are becoming further apart. Noise clouds judgement, overwhelming the still small voice, causing further confusion.

Is it easier to fill your life with noise, than to be still in silence?

If I asked what you heard right now, what are you hearing?

I am not just talking about the voices from those who need us, calling for our attention, or the noise from traffic, radio, TV, phone …. But also the words we repeat over in our minds, our worries, the words we carry around in our heart, the endless list of things we need to accomplish …

I used to be frightened of silence. Very rarely would I be without some sort of noise in the background. It wouldn’t necessarily be anything I was particularly listening to, but would be an essential tool to prevent me from thinking too much.

In my late teens I went on a long retreat of several weeks; to help me get through a difficult time. It was the first time I had really been on my own, without family and friends. I was broken; in need of God’s healing. Most of the time I felt afraid, in grief and in desperate need of a hug. I would walk around lost. But the retreat centre ministry team knew what I needed. I needed to work it all out with God by my side and Him alone.

‘Serve only the LORD your God and fear him alone.

Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him.’

Deuteronomy 13:4 NLT

Apart from services, there was very little noise. You could drop a pin at one end of the building, and I expect you would probably hear it at the other.

Though it was extremely hard, I will always cherish that time of great pain, as when I went home, never again would I need to always have background noise. I actually spend most of my time craving silence. Through my time there I learned to truly listen; to me and to God. I began a beautiful journey of discovery, deepening my hunger to hear God’s voice through the noise of this world.

Are you taking the time to listen?

Often when we come before God with our prayers, we ask to hear from our LORD through words of encouragement, help or direction; either through being led to specific scripture or by other means. But when we ask, are we taking the time to listen to His response, His voice?

‘Be still and know that I am God’

Psalm 46:10 NIV

God calls us into His presence, to present our needs before Him, but we also need to remember that it is about relationship.

The Bible is full of people with their requests to God to listen to their prayers, such as -

‘LORD hear my prayer!

Listen to my plea!

Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress.

Bend down and listen, and answer me quickly when I call to you.’

Psalm 102:1-2 NLT

God is waiting for us to listen to His voice.

When we ask Him to be near, He is already there. Like Mary, we need to sit at His feet. (Lk 10:39). We need to go to Him, sit at His precious feet, and bathe in His Holy presence and just listen.

As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, not only do we need to read His word daily, but we also need to take time out to listen, as this pleases our God (Deut 13:18).

Let us crave being still in His Holy presence, to cry ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty’ (Isa 6:3) from the depths of our hearts.

‘Come, let us worship and bow down.

Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, for he is our God.

We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care.

If only you would listen to his voice today!

Psalm 95:6-7 NLT

Let us pray:

Lord I worship You and bow down before Your throne of grace.
Please remove the barriers in my life, to only hear Your voice.
Help me to be still in Your holy presence, to hunger and thirst for Your truth and light.
I want to listen to Your voice; I am sorry for the many times I have not listened, when I have placed my focus upon other things.
May my relationship with You deepen; may there be no need for words, just being.
May my life be refreshed in Your green pastures.
In Your name
Amen

Application:

Today, I invite you to plan some time to spend purely listening to our Lord. Take your Bible, go where there are little distractions, sit, wait, and be.
I love visiting woodland, a garden, or the coast. Ask God to speak and just listen to what He wants to share with you; nothing about needs, just be, in complete worship of the King of kings.

I hope and pray that you will be abundantly blessed.

Blessings in Him

Anita x

Image by A Hunt  © Scattering The Stones

I run a Christian Ministry called 'Scattering The Stones', sharing God's love through encouragement, prayer and praise. You would be most welcome to join me. If you would like prayer, please feel free to contact me.

Where is God in our suffering?

Today's post comes from Anita at Scattering the Stones

'And when they suffered, God suffered too;

And the messenger of His presence acted to save them.

Out of enduring love, compassion, and concern,

God Himself rescued them.

Through all those years long ago,

God picked them up and carried them through.'

Isaiah 63:9 (The Voice)

  

Today, are you tempted to wear a mask to hide your true feelings?

 

Is it a happy mask? You know the one, where your smile is stapled onto your face, and if you dare move your lips, the sheer weight of the sadness, pain, hopelessness, fear or the guilt you feel in your heart, will end up causing your face to plummet to the ground. If Jesus was to stand before you and look into your eyes, would He see an expression of joy that matched up with your carefully applied smile, or would they tell another story?

  

Being real with one another 

 

In a world that encourages us to hide our true feelings, no matter where we are in our relationship with God, sometimes the truth we know in our hearts is affected by how we are feeling. Where we are travellers making our way along the journey set before us, there are many mountains we must climb and valleys to walk through. Sometimes that path can feel like it is littered with potholes of every size. 

Life isn't easy! If it was easy we wouldn't have seen the tears shed by our Saviour, as God came in the form of man, to demonstrate His great love for us.   

'My eyes are swollen with weeping, and I am but a shadow of my former self.'

Job 17:7 NLT

 

 Pain is real, suffering is real, you only have to turn the news on the TV or pick up a newspaper, let alone talk to our friends and neigbours to know that many are suffering. I read a powerful post by Beth Moore the other day called - Big Sisters and Little Sisters, this post received almost 1,000 comments! Talking about real life issues, the daily battles that are affecting each of us; the battle in the spiritual realm being felt in daily life. 

One of the enemies fiery arrows and great lies, is to make us feel that we are alone, through whatever we are going through. We often can't see how there may be thousands of others, struggling with similar issues that we do. Sometimes we just don't understand how anyone, including God, can truly know the true extent of how we feel, or worry about how other's will see us.   

'My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me.'

Job 30:27 NLT

 When we are tired and our hearts are heavy from the burden of troubles, physical or mental pain, the very act of suffering tears at our heart, tormenting our minds and bodies. With the weight often becoming unbearable; hope often feeling very far away, wondering if we will get through it all. But there is great hope, we need to listen to the voice of our Saviour whispering to us, 'give Me your burdens' (Ps 55:22).

 

In the middle of the battle, it may feel like God has turned His head in the opposite direction, as though He has closed His ears to our pain; with our prayers seemingly left unanswered. We may be persecuted and struck down, but we will never be abandoned by our God (2 Cor 4:9) . We only have to read the book of Psalms to catch a glimpse of the process of suffering right through to songs of praise of God's glory, in the middle of the writer's darkest hour and the revelation of God's grace.

  

'I am suffering and in pain. Rescue me, O God, by your saving power.'

Psalm 69:29 NLT

 

If there has ever been a time that we need to be real with one another, to lift one another up in love as God intended, to our LORD who listens to the cries of our hearts, it is now!

We need one another; Jesus knew this, and demonstrated how real love should be.

Instead of judging and criticising one another, praise for our Saviour needs to be on our lips, reflecting Jesus to one another, as the Holy Spirit prompts us from within.

  

Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:31-39)

 

When the enemy likes to whisper into our brokeness that we are alone, that no one cares, that we can't get through this fiery trial, we need to speak out the words of truth to one another, that God will never leave us (Heb 13.5).

When we feel despair, not knowing where to turn, we need the body of Christ to shelter, encourage and mourn with us in our sorrow, for we have been adopted into God's family (Eph 1:5) 

When we feel overwhelmed (Ps 55:1-2) our first call should be to the King of Kings. He who has recorded every day of our life (Ps 139:16) and every tear shed (Ps 56:8) in His book. 

When we look to God for help though times of pain we are reminded to read the stories of the prophets in God's word, for strength and encouragement, of how God helped them in their struggles (Jas 5:10).   

 

In our suffering, God suffers too

 

The powerful, life changing ministry of Jesus, speaks right into the heart of darkness; that tries to overwhelm us, to press us down and imprison us. Our Saviours light is there, for the enemy's darkness will not be able to extinguish the true light! (Jn 1:5) 

When Jesus was suffering greatly with the knowledge that a friend was about to betray Him, handing Him over to his death, Jesus taught the disciples to love one another (Jn 13:34-35). As Jesus waited in the garden of Gethsemane, asking the disciples to watch and pray with Him (Matt 26.41), He felt alone in His time of need, abandonded by His friends, as their flesh was weak. As Jesus cried out to His Father, He wept, asking for the cup of suffering to be removed for Him, but also wanted the will of God to be completed (Mk 14:36). 

Unless we take off that mask, risk being vulnerable with each other, and reach out to our Christian sisters and brothers, they won't know our need. We are many parts of one body, let us be the Church that God intended without walls, and reach out to those who are in need, providing encouragement and support.   

'So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.'

Romans 12:5 NIV

In our weakness, there is great opportunity to be strong, as we depend on the One who knows our hearts, and everything we go through.   

Power of prayer

 

Prayer is such an amazing gift! The more I spend time in prayer, the more I fall in love with it. Not only are we able to share our concerns, tears, pain, with our Creator, but it also draws us closer to Him as we present the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ to God. As we come together at the throne of grace.

Let us be real with one another. Let us pray for one another, and join together in prayer with our shields latched on to one another, keeping our eyes focused on the Author and Perfecter of our Faith (Heb 12:2).   

'He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.

When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.'

2 Corinthians 1:4 NLT

Let's pray

 

Father we come together on our knees for one another,

please help us to be aware of one another's needs. 

May we be aware of the prompting of the Holy Spirit, to pray for one another. 

We praise you for all that you bless us with; we thank you for your mercy, and gift of grace. 

For the sisters and brothers who are suffering, we ask for your love to surround them. 

Where they feel alone, and don't know where to turn, may they know your comfort. 

Where they are in great pain, may they feel your arms wrapped around them and know your healing touch. 

Please raise us up to be your church to one another, to shine brightly for you in the darkness.

In our weakness, may we know your strength. 

We pray for each sister or brother who leaves a prayer need here today, we thank you for each one of them. We join with them, we stand with them in their pain, and present their requests to you as the body of Christ. 

Thank you Lord that you hear our prayers, we pray a blessing on each person who reads this devotion. 

May Your kingdom come, Your will be done. 

In Your name, 

Amen   

Today I invite you to share a need or if you are not comfortable with that - just your name, as God knows your needs.

Let's be on our knees for one another, and seek the face of our God together.   

Anita x

Image © Nita Joy Designs

Roots That Run Deep

Today's post comes from Dawn at The Most Perfect Gift

I love sitting on the swing on my front porch in the cool of the summer morning. There is something about the early morning that brings hope and peace to my soul. Perhaps its the promise of a new day, the starting over and God's mercy for another chance to get right what I didn't the day before. 

Many times my boys will come out and ask me what am I doing? I say, "I'm praying or talking to God." 

It is in these times where I feel God's love so much I just want to cry. His love and faithfulness is beyond my understanding and all I can do is praise and thank Him. He is my portion and my cup runneth over. 

This morning as I was sitting in my favorite place, a group of boys from the high school track team ran past my house. One by one I wondered, do you know Jesus? I asked God to bless each and every one of these boys and prayed that they know Him. I wondered where are their roots and how deep do they go? My thoughts turned to my own boys. Will their roots run deep so they can stay strong in the Lord all the days of their lives? 

I was reminded of a message a guest speaker spoke at my church a few weeks ago. Her message was on exactly just that. We must have strong roots that run deep so when trials come we may bend, but we will not break. We need to be so rooted in Him and His Word that we are able to walk through the storm with Jesus Christ and declare victory when we get to the other side. 

"Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude." Colossians 2:6-7 NASB

Many times I have thought I wish I had tunnel vision and all I could see was Jesus. This way nothing in this world could distract me from keeping my eyes fixed on Him.

I love the words from the hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His Glory and Grace.”

As Christ followers we need to feed ourselves daily with His word and encourage and build each other up. As the body of Christ let’s not be weak, but strong with roots that run deep.  Are you with me?

Heavenly Father,
We come before You today, Lord with praise and thanksgiving in our hearts for who You are. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on You and not on the things of this world. You are our hope, our salvation and our shield. Renew our spirits, Lord that we may be obedient in reading Your word and getting closer to You so that our roots are deeply planted. Help us to stand strong during the storms of our lives that we may glorify You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Jesus, say a prayer for me...

Today's post comes from Toya at Faith.Hope.Love - Inspiration for Life's Journey

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. ” (Luke 22:31, 32 NLT)

Simon, I've prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out...(Luke 22:32 MSG)

Have you ever felt that your faith was failing? That you've prayed, fasted and praised yourself into a "holy tizzy" but you still find yourself discouraged and faithless? Or that you've grown so tired of waiting on God that you no longer pray, dropped out of your bible study and would rather spend Sunday lying on the couch than going to the house of worship? 
 
There are certain situations and times in our life where we will be discouraged. Discouragement is a tool of the enemy to get us to give up on God and get distracted from our purpose. In my own life I've seen Satan use what I refer to as the the "triple threat" to weaken my faith : Doubt, Fear and Anxiety. 
 
Doubt: Anytime you've been believing God for something and there's been no breakthrough or change in a situation doubt can easily creep in. While you still may keep the request on your prayer list and make your petitions known to God and others, that doesn't always stop thoughts like "can God really fix it?" or "whats the point in praying?" to take over and chip away at your faith. I often hear people say "Well I believe God CAN do anything but I just don't believe he will do it for MY situation". Sound familiar, huh? I've come to learn that kind of thinking is a trick of the enemy. If not dealt with quickly, doubt can become a hindrance to the very prayer we are already "wishy washy" about. 
 
Fear: Once Satan has planted a seed of doubt into our mind, fear is usually the next culprit to strike. Satan wants us to become fearful that our situations won't turn around and our prayers will never be answered. Having fear of what your future holds instead of hopeful expectations can be a recipe for disaster. When you operate out of fear you can begin to think the surest way to get your desired outcome is by manipulating people and situations to take control. If we are controlling a situation, this leaves no room for God to work a miracle, which is exactly what our enemy wants to happen. While fear is a common feeling we all have, we don't have to give in to our fears to the point where they hinder our faith. We have to confront our fears and fight back with an unshakeable confidence that trusts in Gods perfect plan. I love how Joyce Meyer says it: "Fear is a dead end but Faith always has a future" 
 
Anxiety: Now that the enemy has us doubting Gods power and fearful of the future he uses feelings of anxiety to completely wear us down! The root meaning of the word anxiety is: 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress. So even if there is no REAL danger, stress or threat anxiety can still come up on us (it's all in our mind!) 

Playing out all the "what if" scenarios only lead to worry, dread, uneasiness and depression. We can getso caught up in worry about things that may or may not happen that we lose focus on what's happening in our life now!

Matthew 6:34 MSG translation says : "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Worrying about the future will not accomplish anything or make your prayers get answered faster. We have to trust God and his timing, he will give us all we need to persevere through any pain. 
 
At some point, most of us will be hit with the "triple threat". However, isn't it encouraging to know that we have a savior who is interceding for us? The same way he did for Peter we have to believe that he can and will do the same for us. If the enemy is attacking you with doubt, fear and anxiety, I invite you to say this simple prayer: 
 
Jesus, I come to you asking you to replace my doubts with belief (Mark 9:23, 24) and help me confront my fears with hopeful expectations that you have a perfect plan for my life (Jer 29:11). When I begin to worry and be anxious about circumstances beyond my control help me to be content with my portion and seek your peace that passes all understanding so that my faith will remain strong. (Philippians 4:6,7) Lord I trust you with my whole heart and I'm grateful that you know just what I need. Thank you for covering me in your love. 
Amen 

Don't Let Your Obstacles Become Giants

Today's post comes from Kassie at Guiding Light From His Word

“Earth, shake with fear before the LORD,
before the God of Jacob.
He turned a rock into a pool of water, a hard rock into a spring.”
(Ps 114:7-8)

This week, if you come up against obstacles that try to become giants in front of you-- remember, it is "the almighty God”  alone that makes the earth tremble. As long as we are steady in Him, then the obstacle remains simply that-- an obstacle, and God Himself gives us the strength to handle them, (or) to go through them, to withstand them, and to get past them.

If you start to fret about, “But, how…” remind yourself, and take heart, that the same God who provided water from a rock to care for His people, still does amazing things now. God has not changed. His Word says, "The Lord says, 'This is my agreement with these people: My Spirit and my words that I give you will never leave you or your children or your grandchildren, now and forever.'" (Isa. 59:21)

Jesus, who came to earth as God in human form, said, "Earth and sky will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed." (Mark 13:31)

Hold to the promise that  "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Heb. 13:7)  My friend, whatever "need" you are facing right now, know that you too, (just like the people of Israel) could be standing right in front of a blessing, without you even realizing it.  The source you need maybe right in plain sight, it just might have a different exterior than you are expecting. Don’t limit God from the impossible He can perform in your life.  He can provide in many different ways, and in some ways you would never have expected. Nothing is impossible with God when He is about to "pour out water from a rock" when one of His children are in desperate need of supply.  Just remember the Israelites went 3 days before they saw God's mighty hand. He was waiting for them to quite complaining about the "lack of" and to "ask Him."

Whatever "obstacle" you face this week-- let it remain just that-- an obstacle. Stand in faith that you serve a faithful God. Don't let whatever it is become a giant. Know that mountains are merely the size of an ant hill to the one who created the heavens and earth. He is more than able, and we are more than conquerors in Him.

My friend, God will make a way for you-- because FAITHFUL is the one who calls you.

Blessing to you today and this week.


Praying in Faith:
"Father God, thank You for being our God. Lord, I still believe You are a God of wonder, and that You have not changed. I still believe that You are a God who will do a mighty work for those who wait on You and trust You. Lord, I praise You as my God. Lord, not only are You my God-- but You are the God of this reader, and I pray You will open thier eyes to see You in an amazing way.  Lord, I ask You to strengthen them in their spirit. Lord, I ask You to help them to stand firm in their resolve to follow You. 
~In Christ Jesus name, Amen~

I Give You Glory!

This week's post comes from Dawn at The Most Perfect Gift

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” Hebrews 12:1-2

When I read this scripture, I can easily vision myself with other Christians running into the wind with the look of perseverance on our faces. We are running and stripping away at our clothes [sin]. Pieces fall to the ground and we keep on running our eyes fixed on something straight ahead.

We are running to the cross that is in the near distance. The cross is empty. Yet just beyond it we can see Jesus sitting at the right hand of God in the Lord’s throne room. All the while Christians that came before us are sitting up in the clouds cheering us on. “Go Dawn! Go! You can do it! Just keep your eyes on Jesus! He loves you and is waiting for you at the end of the race! Remember what He endured for you on the cross?! You can do it!”

I can remember being a little girl and hearing the story of Jesus’ resurrection. All I really remember is there was a tomb, Jesus was there and a huge boulder. How did He get out of the tomb with a big boulder in the way? I’m not even sure if I remember Him being nailed to the cross or maybe I chose not to remember because it all seemed so gruesome to me. It saddens me that as a little girl I never understood the story. Somehow I missed it.

Thank you God for opening my eyes and giving me the understanding of what You did for me, for all of us who believe! Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

There is so much love at the cross. God gave us [sinners] His only Son so we could have eternal life. “God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

I have no words that are sufficient. Why don’t you join me for the next few moments with our hands raised to Heaven and worship Him!

Oh, how beautiful

Are you Lord

It’s Your words, it’s Your love

Oh, how glorious are you Lord

It’s Your power, it was Your cross

That saved me and rescued me

Just a moment there set me free

I give You glory glory!

With a crown of thorns You became a king forever!

Love Casts Out Fear

This week's post comes from Salina at State of the Heart

Psalm 29:11
"The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace." NKJV

Fear has the tendency to sweep in, curl around inside your body, and burrow deep into your mind. It takes over all normal thought processes and leaves you with a feeling so strong it can only be described as panic. This attack continues until you reach a point where you're sure your heart is going to explode, your legs might fall out from under you, and breathing no longer becomes quite so automatic.

King David was in the midst of these feelings when he wrote Psalm 55." My heart beats violently within me; the horrors of death overcome me. Fear and panic overpower me; terror overwhelms me. I say, "I wish I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and settle in a safe place! Look, I will escape to a distant place; I will stay in the wilderness. I will hurry off to a place that is safe from the strong wind and the gale." (55:3-8).

There are times when I understand exactly how David felt. I too would like to run away from my fears; I'd like to run so fast and so far that eventually I would outrun everything that troubles me. I've reached a point in my life though where I know fear can take such a hold of the body that if left unchecked it will carve away at your soul as though it was a cancerous growth. The more you try to run from it, the stronger that hold becomes, until eventually it will eat through every living cell in your body.

I can’t explain why fear leaves us feeling so powerless, but I guess it's one of the negative consequences of allowing fear into our lives; we start out believing we have the ability to control what happens to us, but in actuality we don't. There is only one way to control our fears. When David continued writing his Psalms, I believe that by chapter fifty six, verse eleven he discovered the way to alleviate this pain and fear. He wrote, "In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 56:11)

I keep replaying that verse in my head and every time I come to the part that says "what can man do to me" I picture whatever problem I’m facing at the time and read it as "I will not be afraid. What can ____________do to me?" From personal experience I know how paralyzingly fear can be, but God has the cure to remove it. I don't have to fear anyone or anything, there is nothing too big for God to handle, there is nothing He doesn't understand, and He will continue to grant me all the strength and peace I need to get through each and every problem I face. I’m so thankful to have "the peace of God that surpasses all understanding to guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7)

Please pray with me:
Dear Lord;
We all experience fear at different times in our lives, but You tell us do not fear for You will bless us with peace, the kind of peace that surpasses our understanding. We may not know what the future holds, but we do know that whatever may come You will be there to give us the strength to get through it, and the ability to face it without fear.
Amen 

There Is Power in the Name

This week's post comes from Dawn at The Most Perfect Gift

Shortly after the New Year began I made a promise to myself. The promise was to intentionally recognize when I begin to feel overwhelmed and to “nip it in the bud”.

I know all too well how the busyness of my daily life can consume me. Before I know it I am being swallowed up into the belly of the beast. I don’t even recognize myself anymore just trying to stay afloat, one busy day running into the next with no time to breathe or rest. I get frustrated, easily annoyed and lack any kind of patience trying to balance work, taking care of the kids, paying the bills, grocery shopping, cooking dinner, cleaning the house, laundry, church, the list becomes endless. Then finally I get enough sense to realize this isn’t right!?! Where is the joy, the peace, the fun?

I know we have all been there. Yet, we think we get a plan in place and things run smoothly for a while, but then life happens. Before we know it, we are caught up in the vicious turmoil once again rolling and rolling more unbalanced and out of control. Just maybe we can grab onto something that may help us stop, hopefully not hurting ourselves or knocking down the ones we love along the way.

So, I began to think, I need a plan. Perhaps a word or a phrase to calm me when life gets overwhelming, but it must be something powerful.

I don’t know about you, the most powerful word I know is in fact, a name. JESUS!

The song “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” by Lindell Cooley comes to mind.

You don't have to know how to pray

All you have to know how to say is Jesus, Jesus

In a shouted voice or a whispered tone

In a crowded room or when you're all alone

Just say Jesus, Jesus

Jesus, how I love the name of Jesus

Every day is the same

Jesus, He's the lover of my soul

Jesus, there's power in the name of Jesus

My life is forever changed because of Jesus,

He's my Savior and my Lord

You can listen to the song on YouTube, Jesus Lover of My Soul.

Call on the name of the Lord! Give Him Praise! Hallelujah! Immediately, joy and peace will enter your soul. You will be filled and refreshed. There is power in the name of Jesus! Are you feeling depressed, lonely, overwhelmed, stressed, hurt? Call on Him today to fill you up and refresh your spirit!

Believe me, it does work! When I begin to feel a little bit overwhelmed I start praising Him. Have you ever just yelled out “Hallelujah” as loud as you can?!!? The stress and worry leaves, bad moods are turned around. You will walk around smiling because you won’t be able to contain the joy, the song that sings within. Isn’t this how we were meant to live? Praising God and being joyful in good times and in bad. All because of the power in the name of Jesus!

Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah! We praise you Lord for your faithfulness and unfailing love. Thank you for keeping your promise to never leave us nor forsake us. We will praise you and shout out your name. JESUS!
In your wonderful holy name,
Amen