Is God enough?

Copied from encouragement for today by melissa Taylor

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 (NIV 1984)

Is God enough? It's a question that my circumstances bring me back to quite often. Over a lifetime I've concluded not only is God enough,but He has to be enough.

It takes effort on my part to make sure my heart is staying in this truth.

As a young child,I didn't realize my need for God,but I did realize I had a need that was not fulfilled. I was sexually abused when I was seven years old. My dad left our family when I was eleven. Both circumstances left me devastated,and I didn't understand how God could bring healing at that time. I spent many years trying to heal myself and make myself feel better.

Nothing was enough to meet my needs. Nothing worked.

As I grew older,I moved from being a Christian who simply believed to becoming a Christian actively seeking and following Jesus. And my life began to change.

Because I was having direct conversations with God and consistently reading His Word,I was challenged. I learned that when the hard knocks came,and they would,I needed to ask one question in order to move on: "Is God enough?"

When a friend betrays me,is God enough?

When I need to forgive what seems unforgivable,is God enough?

When my child has issues out of my control,is God enough?

When my marriage is on the brink of destruction,is God enough?

When I am not forgiven by another,is God enough?

When my mom is dying of cancer,is God enough?

When others don't recognize my value,is God enough?

When I struggle professionally,is God enough?

When someone I love uses words to hurt me,is God enough?

When I am in debt and don't know how I'll pay my bills,is God enough?

When my past haunts me,is God enough?

When my health declines,is God enough?

When I am let down and disappointed in my life,is God enough?

The last time I asked "Is God enough?" I opened a boxof personalized Bible verses someone very special had given me. Reading verse by verse out loud silenced the thoughts paralyzing me with self-doubt.

I discovered the answer I always came to when I asked "Is God enough?" Yes He is.

Nothing here on earth is guaranteed. If I lost everything,I'd be okay because no one can take away my Jesus. Whether I live in a mansion on a hill or a shack in the swamp,I have my Jesus. Whether the world is for me or against me,I have my Jesus. When I am knocked down,I get on my knees and find my Jesus.

When life becomes more than you think you can handle,don't quit. And certainly don't believe the lie God is not enough. Instead,ask yourself,"Is God enough for me? Then plant His Word deep in your heart so you'll always have the ready answer,that yes He is. He is enough for me,for you: "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19)

Dear Lord,help me to realize and remember the secret to being content in all circumstances is You. Help me to be aware of Your presence in my life at all times. In Jesus' Name,Amen.

In the midst

Brutally Honest Okay, can I just be brutally honest about something? Comparisons stink. They do. Just when we think we’ve gotten to a good place in some area of our life, along comes someone else or something else better. And our confidence just shrinks back, takes the hand of doubt and starts ransacking our heart and mind. Yes, there are Scriptures that can help with this. And yes, God can use it for good in our life. But honest to goodness, it’s hard on a girl’s heart. Recently, I was put in a situation where something I feel very vulnerable about was held up to another person’s near perfection. My weakness standing beside their strength. My yuck placed next to their glory. My struggle on display in the shadow of their strength. And in the private space of my most inner thoughts, I cried. And even more than that I found myself feeling so defeated by the reality, this will never be a strength of mine. It just won’t. I could work on this area until the cows come home (whatever that means) but I wasn’t designed for this to be my strength.Oh, I can make progress for sure. And heavens knows I do work on it. And on my good days I see how God is using this all for good. But when comparison sneaks in, it can be hard. Worse than hard. It can just quite simply make me forget all the strengths I do have. And when we forget, our hearts shift. We stop being thankful and instead become consumed by that little thing we don’t have. What a dangerous place to be. I guess I share all this today for two reasons. One, because many of you are coming to She Speaks this weekend and I shutter to think anyone would get caught in this trap and live distracted this weekend. Get prayed up right now. Ask the Lord to absolutely get your focus off others and onto the exciting,thrilling, unique calling He has just for you. When I was struggling recently I wasn’t prayed up. I had not asked God to help my focus. I just found myself wallowing and wallowing isn’t of the Lord. Amen! Amen! But whether you’re coming to She Speaks or not, I share this because you need to know. I struggle. Just like you. I’m on a journey of learning. Just like you. And I desperately need His truth to bump into my weaknesses every single day. Only then can I get out of the shadow of doubt and into the life giving reality of who God has made ME to be. And see it as good. Not perfect. Not even close. But good. And good is good.

I copied this from Lysa TerKeurst 's daily blog. I liked it so much I thought I should share.

From Adversity to Destiny

Copied. 

"The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position" (James 1:9).
Most of us avoid pain. We keep our medicine cabinets loaded with pain relievers. We couldn't imagine major surgery without an anesthetic. We are so averse to pain that we think God must desire that we will experience pain-free lives. After all, a loving God surely wouldn't want us to suffer pain, would He? Although God takes no pleasure in our pain, we have to acknowledge that He sometimes allows painful circumstances to occur in our lives in order to shape us and make us more like Christ. Sometimes our times of despair turn out to be a much needed light into our soul.
I once came across the following poem written by an anonymous Confederate soldier, a devout young man who fought in the American Civil War. The lines of this poem express the soul of a man who has learned to view his times of adversity from a different perspective:
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked God for health, that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among men, most richly blessed.*
Do we trust God to lead us even though we can't see the pathway in front of us? Do we trust Him to be all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful? Do we believe He does all things well? As Paul wrote, "Everything that does not come from faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23). That's why God leads us through the dark places.
Only in the darkness do we learn to walk by faith.

Abundant life

John 10:10

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 

I read this devotion that highlighted this scripture with the elaboration on the part about having life more abundantly. Saying life more abundant with everything. Challenges, opportunities, changes, etc. So, think about it. Life is abundant with those things too. Don't be discouraged with the challenges that come your way. Jesus overcame and the same power lives in us. Look at the abundance with eyes that see what our Lord sees. Live fully.  

Today I Will Make a Difference

 Awesome words I found this morning. I love it and thought I should share.

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.
I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.
I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It’s OK to stumble… . I will get up. It’s OK to fail… . I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.
I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

Another good devotion

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways" (Isaiah 55:8-9).
God speaks to his children in many varied ways. God has said that his ways are not our ways. If left to our reasoning, we will fail to fully walk in the full counsel of God, which leads to poor decisions.
Thus, our goal is to avoid being deceived and to develop a listening ear that hears the voice of God with confidence. Our goal is to have such intimacy with God that we can walk in the full blessing of our decisions and to be assured they are not based on our own reasoning alone. This does not mean that we do not use the intellectual and logical skills that He has equipped us with.
A.W. Tozer said that the man or woman who is wholly and joyously surrendered to Christ can't make a wrong choice - any choice will be the right one. J. Oswald Sanders explains his method of receiving guidance from God for decisions; "I try to gather all the information and all the facts that are involved in a decision, and then weigh them up and pray over them in the Lord's presence, and trust the Holy Spirit to sway my mind in the direction of God's will. And God generally guides by presenting reasons to my mind for acting in a certain way."
The apostle Paul said, "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:13). God has equipped us with everything we need to make good decisions. Hearing His voice is the first step toward making right choices in life.
Do you have a decision to make? Submit that decision to the Lord, ask God for clarity. Ask Him to make the desires of your heart the same desires that He has for you in this matter. Await His perfect timing on the matter. Then you can be assured of making the right decisions.

Mean Girls

 After reading this today I felt it needed to be shared. I tried posting it on facebook, but obviously facebook didn't like it because it would not post. So, here it is.

"You're beautiful from head to toe, my dear love, beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless." Song of Solomon 4:7b (MSG)
The words on Facebook glared back at her. "You are so ugly! You are fat, annoying and I hate you!"
Lindsay just sat there, staring at the screen, baffled. "What did I say? What did I do?"
Maybe this has happened to one of your children, or in some way they've faced this same type of painful rejection. Maybe you have felt it yourself. I recently spotted a t-shirt at the mall that read "You're no one until someone talks about you." What a sad state of affairs.
Growing up in a world where "Mean Girls" and "Gossip Girl" are movie and TV titles, it comes as no surprise that "mean" defines many females today. How can we guard our hearts against this? As a mom, what can we do when our children's hearts are crushed by meanness?
Feeling unaccepted is nothing new. In Song of Solomon 1:5a, we are introduced to a young girl who felt this way: "Don't look down on me because I am dark..." (MSG). She felt rejected. Those feelings are so opposite of what we and our children want to feel. We long to be accepted.
Matthew Henry concludes about this passage in Song of Solomon that we, as represented by the young girl, are "often base and contemptible in the esteem of others, but excellent in the sight of God." [1]
We can counteract the poison of meanness by remembering who we are in God's eyes. I am excellent in the sight of God and so are you. Song of Solomon 1:5b reveals the tanned girl's acceptance of this truth; she knows full well that her Lord finds her lovely. When I know that I am accepted by the Lord, it puts me exactly where I need to be to slough off insults and to help my child do the same.
When my daughter was in sixth grade, she was 5'10". One day as she got off the school bus, I noticed she was holding back a flood of tears. Once again she had been made fun of for her height.
On that day, her youth pastor wasn't there. Her teacher, counselor and small group leaders weren't there either. But her mom was. I began telling her how her Father saw her. Sharing truths like these:
• "My beloved is mine, and I am His..." (Song of Solomon 2:16a, NKJV).
• "You're beautiful from head to toe, my dear love, beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless" (Song of Solomon 4:7b, MSG).
• "The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord" (Psalm 45:11, NIV).
I poured these truths and others into my daughter that day and continue to remind her of them still. I put them everywhere so that together we can read them over and over again. When we feel rejected, these words remind us that we are, in fact, accepted! I pray they will be a sweet reminder for you, and perhaps your daughter, today.
Dear Lord, help me to be purposeful in putting Your truth about who I am into my heart and mind so that am not swayed by the opinions of others. And when the time is right, I can pour Your truth into the hearts and minds of my children and friends. When my child feels rejected, help me remind them that in You they are accepted. In Jesus' Name, Amen.