Broken until you reach the end of yourself

Have you ever been broken until you feel you reach the end of yourself? This is the time to reach out to God, who provides many rich promises of love, hope and strength in His word. Throughout the ages, millions have trusted in Him and not been disappointed. Perhaps this sounds like too simple a solution in this modern age of complication and sophistication, but I assure you, simplicity is the key to life. Jesus says, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest". Matthew 11:28. Won't you trust Him today?

A promise that God will fill our hearts with joy

I love this Bible promise that God will fill our mouths with laughter and our lips with joy. It tells us that we can rise above our circumstances at all times and no matter how troubled we may feel, God will always be our grounding, and not what is happening around us.

Dealing with my workaholic issues...

I couldn’t sleep last night – again.  The reason why was I was plagued with thoughts of work.  My mind was racing – I actually realised that I was thinking of the same things over and over again, resolving them and then thinking of them again. One of my colleagues once told me that my problem is that I think about people that are not even thinking about me – in the work context, that is – because I wanted to rush my lunch so that I could get back to the conference room.

It got me thinking as to why – why was I doing this? It all came back to my fear of failure. I have a fear of failure! This is what makes me a workaholic. But what does it matter, even though I am giving my all to my work, working as unto the Lord, as we are encouraged in the bible, Jesus said that “Do not be over-anxious, therefore, about to-morrow, for to-morrow will bring its own cares. Enough for each day are its own troubles” Mt 6:34. 

This does not mean that I have to give up work, or giving my all to what I do.  It means that at the end of each day, as soon as I walk out of that door, I am leaving everything in the hands of the Lord – trusting Him that all will be fine and that tomorrow when I walk in the door, things will still be fine.  He never sleeps or slumbers, so I can trust Him for all of these things!

Halleluia! What a mighty God we serve! I bow down in reverential awe of His splendour and greatness and I pray that you, dear reader, will be able to trust God with all that you do and leave today’s troubles for today.  God has given us a spirit of a sound mind and not of fear (“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” 2 Tim 1:7).

Be encouraged today!

DEPRESSION

Sometimes life can just be so depressing, especially when things do not go our way. I read once of a person who just had three words as the cure for depression "rise above it". Rise above it, rise above it, rise above it! What comforting words in times of sadness and sorrow, to rise above it and fight to face the next day. Jesus is so great, He gives us the kind of peace that we can only get from knowing Him. The peace that passes all understanding.
It is only up to us to reach out to Him and seek the comfort that He can provide. He is so gracious.
There is no tomorrow without hope. There is no future without hope. But where can hope come from? I believe it comes from trusting our Saviour, I mean, putting all our trust in Him, not leaving some behind, just like how the toothpaste tube always has 'just a little' left which can not be squeezed out, except with huge determination!
So this is my message for today. There is no shadow of turning with Him who loves us unconditionally. Through loving Him, trusting Him unconditionally, placing all our burdens on Him, we can handle the burdens of life, the depressions of life, all the minor worries and sadnesses! Oh, everything! In fact, He is not called Omnipotent and Omnipresent for nothing!
May these words bless and encourage you.

The rose I used to create the picture below is courtesy of www.wallpapersafari.com

You are precious in God’s eyes

“You are fearfully and wonderfully made.” Ps 139:14
I was thinking of what we say outwardly to others and also what we say inwardly to ourselves. The former is a reflection of the latter.
The things we say inwardly, or self-talk as it is known in psychology, are very much a reflection of our self-esteem. For instance, if you are often telling yourself how stupid you are, how nobody loves you, how meaningless your life is, the fruit of this kind of thinking comes out in the way we react to others. Sometimes even the things that other people do or say have the effect of confirming this negativity which we carry within ourselves. An example, somebody at work implies that you are careless, immediately this remark goes straight to the negative feelings you have and it comes out as it's true, I am a useless nobody and I can't even do my work right.
The resultant effect is that the nothingness we feel, the emptiness, the sadness, the lack of understanding of our existence, become heavier and heavier.
But in God, who says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, we do not need to carry around such negativity. Maybe that other person is carrying around a bundle of hurt just like you are and they make that thoughtless comment that brings your heart right down. Give yourself a break. When you find yourself saying these negative things inwardly, turn it around to the positive and the truth, because you know it’s not true that you are worthless – God says you are very valuable and precious in His eyes. It’s not true that there is no hope for you – God says that our hope is in Him - "so the helpless has hope" Jeremiah 5:16.
It’s not true that you are not loved – God says that He has loved you with an everlasting love ("I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness" Jeremiah 31:3).
These are not just empty words, they are special promises that God has made. And our God, praise His Name!, is so great and His promises are not like our promises. Our promises are just like our lives, a breath, a wave washing over the shore and then disappearing into the great big sea. But God's promises are everlasting, through the ages HE has proven Himself true to His word.
So why not put your trust in Him, dear friend, dear downtrodden, sad, lonely friend, and ask Him to take the hurts that you feel, which you have been accumulating throughout your whole life, and ask Him to renew your spirit. Often when I feel down I think of those precious words “I am a new creation, no more in condemnation” ("Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new."
2 Corinthians 5:17). Just as I know I am a new creation, I urge you to put these timeless words into your spirit and to put your trust in Him today.
May these words strengthen you.