An Encouraging Word

Hi ladies,

Are you discouraged?  Fearful?  Or anxious?  If not, perhaps you have friends or loved ones who are?  There certainly seems to be such a heaviness upon people’s hearts from all that we’re seeing on the news these days.

How we need to remember the words Jesus spoke in John 14: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”  (verses 1-3)

Ladies, the only way in which our hearts won’t be troubled is if we are in our Bibles every day, listening more to the words of God than to the words of man.

As we read His Word, we are reminded that God wasn’t mentioned even once in the book of Esther, yet He was involved in every circumstance; His fingerprints were left on every page.  We remember the book of Ruth, where we meet this poor widow and read of her desperate situation.  We also read, however, of how God turned it all around in an amazing way.  We consider Peter, when he stepped out of the boat and walked on the tumultuous waves.  But we also are confronted with what happened when he took his eyes off of Jesus, and he began to sink.

Yes, as we’re in His Word we see King Herod breath threats to the church: one minute he’s alive and the next minute he’s dead.  We witness Saul, the one killing Christians, suddenly meet Jesus and the next thing you know, he’s the greatest evangelist ever.

We will never hear such stories on the news, but just as He was present and active in those days, He is present and active in our day!  We could say that God is “nowhere” - or just by sliding the “w” over - we could say that God is “now here.”  People are getting saved by the hundreds in Muslim countries!  We need to remember that things are not falling apart, but rather, they are falling into place.  Our Bibles are coming to pass right before our eyes!

The enemy wants us to be discouraged and fearful; those are his tactics. They leave us utterly helpless.  Jesus said, however, “In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33)  We must remember that the enemy is defeated!  When Elisha’s servant went out and saw that the army surrounded the city, he asked, “Oh no, my lord!  What shall we do?” We read, “‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered.  'Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.'  And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’  Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”  (See 2 Kings 6)  That is how we need to see our current situations.  May the Lord give us eyes to see that the armies of the living God surround the enemy!

May the church be awakened and on our knees, living wholly for God with a heart wholly dedicated to Him.  It is time to put away our idols, no longer resemble the world, and be done with having divided hearts.

Spend time in the Word, read Psalms 37 and 18, and let His truth wash over your mind and give you peace.

We would see Jesus,

Karen Pulley

Ps - If you missed the summer study, “Letting Go: Finding Peace in His Plan” and would like to further meditate upon the truths of God’s sovereignty (that He is in control, even when the world or your world feels out of control), please click here for the three-part series and study booklet.

For a 10 minute devotional video on how we can strengthen ourselves in the Lord, as David did during his time of distress by looking to the Lord, click here.  It is in looking up that our hearts, truly, can be lifted up.