Greater than I

Feeling overwhelmed and heavy-hearted, I cried out to You for help in my desperation, Oh Lord and You spoke Psalm 61:2 to me: 'From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.'

I find when I am the most desperate, is when the Lord feels the closest. He's not drawn to me by my begging, complaining, yelling, having a pity party, etc. He's drawn to me because I have a heart after God, and I know that I know that I know ... that if He isn't with me, I can't do ANYTHING. My desperation for Him, my knowing that He's my everything out of all the things/people in the world, that it's Him who is mighty to save, is what keeps me in that place called 'there' and keeps me humble before Him.

Father God, You ARE greater than I Oh Lord, be not far from me. Help me. Heal me. Comfort me. Provide for me. Make sense of all this chaos. I pray for godly wisdom. To be led by Your blessed Holy Spirit. Quieten the raging waves within. I pray this for all those in need as well. I bless You Lord, in the name of Jesus.

God's Rest ... Got It?

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Matthew 11:28

God is already working IN You, THROUGH You, and FOR You, to bring you to a place where everything is provided for. You responsibility is to rest and receive it. God’s rest isn’t sitting in a chair or lying down on your couch - it’s a matter of the heart and a way of life, given to us because of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

TRUE REST is believing that God is always working on your behalf. TRUE REST is believing that God will never leave, forsake or fail you. TRUE REST is believing that God delights in promoting, blessing and favoring you.

When you believe that God is doing all these things for you and so much more, then you can stop ‘doing’ things in your own strength and you can live with ongoing peace, knowing He will freely give you all things.

That doesn’t mean you need to stop going to work or stop taking care of your family (though yes, we ALL need breaks and time away). What it means is there can be rest IN work, not necessarily rest FROM work. When we walk in the rest of God, it means that we are continually committing our burdens, responsibilities, workflows, schedules, relationships, family needs, problems … everything in our lives to the Lord.

When you do this, it allows you to experience genuine peace in whatever you are involved in. You are continually trusting and believing that God will always give you a better outcome in your circumstances than you can do on your own.

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11

Those who rest … are trusting and believing.

Father, I pray that you help us to walk in Your rest and to continually commit our burdens, responsibilities, schedules, relationships, problems, family needs … everything in our lives to You. Thank You that we will find peace and rest in doing so. In Jesus’ name, amen.




Related AFTA Blogs:

Got Rest? 
The Enemy of Busyness
You Deserve a Break Today

What's at the End of Your Rope?

 

 

 

 

Moses said to the people,
Don’t be afraid. God’s come
to test you, so that the fear
of God will be with you to
keep you from sinning.
Exodus 20:20

 
 
 
 
 
 

When you're at the end of your rope, you're at the beginning of hope. Grab on to JESUS ... He's our lifeline of hope. Hope in God, He's the only one that will never fail you. He can be trusted.

Our bad circumstances don't negate how good God is. He is good ALL the time.

Maybe 'What's at the end of your rope?' is the wrong question. I'll rephrase it to 'Who's at the end of your rope?'

Praise Him ... and HANG ON!

Father, I pray that You help us not be afraid when we’re being overwhelmed with circumstances. Thank You that You won’t leave us when the going gets tough ... we’ve all been there, done that in other relationships and it’s getting old. Help us to renew our minds to the fact that there IS hope and it's YOU. No matter what happens, YOU’RE our ONLY hope of a LIFELINE. Give us faith to grab on to You and NEVER let go. You sure aren’t. I love You Lord, amen.

 

 

see also:  God's Hand
               There's a Reason for That Test, You Know
               Faith Walk
               The Man with the Plan
 
 
 
 
 

You're Surrounded

 
 

The Lord your God is going with you.

He will fight for you against your enemies,

and He will give you victory.

Deuteronomy 20:4

 
 
 
 
 
 
Are you overwhelmed by the attacks of the enemy? Feel like you’re all alone? Feeling afraid?
 
We live in a fallen world. There's evil on every side. There's sickness, temptation and sorrow. Tragedy and loss sometimes strikes. Problems with personal relationships, economic difficulties, personal failures.  

 

What shall we do? The answer is found in faith.

God is greater than ANY circumstance or emergency we might find ourselves in. He won't be caught off guard by it. He is well able to help you overcome. Because if He's for you, NO ONE can be against you (Romans 8:31). NEVER run from your enemy. It only delays promotion. Know that when an enemy shows up - promotion is being offered.

Fear not that which tries to torment, for those that are with us, to protect us, are more than those that are against us, to destroy us - angels are unspeakably more numerous - God infinitely more powerful. When we are magnifying the causes of our fear we ought to possess ourselves with clear, and great, and high thoughts of God and the invisible world.


 

 

'Don't be afraid,' the

prophet answered.

'Those who are with us are

more than

those who are with them.'

2 Kings 6:16

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Don't panic. Don't be afraid. Don’t look at the enemies that may be surrounding you, instead focus on Jesus and the help that is yours as a child of God. There's more going on than just what you see. Unseen by the physical senses, God is there to support, protect and encourage. Be unmoved.

God gives peace AND rest.

The Lord gave them peace and rest ALL AROUND, just as He had promised. Not one of their enemies opposed them - He placed all of them under their control. Joshua 21:44
 
 


Even seemingly surrounded and overwhelmed, there’s STILL more with us than be with them. Jesus is standing beside you -- you ARE NOT alone today. He’s ALWAYS with you.
 
 
 
 

God is greater than any enemy. Period.

Father, I pray that You help us to feel Your presence with us instead of fear when seemingly surrounded by the enemy. Give us protection on every side, build and be a protective fortress around us with Your presence. Open our spiritual eyes to see You and the angels of protection You have around us. I bind the attacks of the enemy trying to come against us and our loved ones and cast them to the pits of hell. Lord, give us peace and rest on EVERY side. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.
 
 
 
see also: 2 Kings 6:8-23
             Romans 8:31-38