Stop Picking It Up!

I have some wonderful imagery based on a devotional written by James MacDonald regarding trusting God. Scripture tells us to give our problems to God and trust Him with our problems. Our mistake is that once we leave our problems at His feet, we keep picking them up again!

So I have this image of packing all of my problems which I keep praying about in a box. I place the box at God's feet during morning prayer. Then midway through the day, I pick up the box again. It's like I think it's too much for God or that I can't let Him carry it for me. I just keep insisting on carrying it myself.

Not only is carrying the box physically harming me (heart palps, stress, ulcers, etc.), but it's spiritually harming me. I'm thinking about the box more than I'm praising God. Isn't this idolatry?

I know many of you are carrying your boxes also. Let's make a pact to leave them at God's feet and stop picking them up. I think God is stronger than us and is better equipt to carry them.

Remember Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

God Holds Your Hand

(For best effects, scroll down to the Playlist box and click on the Hootie & the Blowfish song before reading this post!)

Isn't that a wonderful image to have? While I'm going through everything, God is beside me, holding my hand. I feel so comforted by that.

I've been reading through Isaiah because it's a great place to dwell when you feel the world is coming to an end (because of stress, not actual horrific disaster). After each end of the world, doom and gloom passage, Isaiah gives hope. Combining a couple great passages I've come up with the following:

Dear Lord,

You are my salvation as a I struggle to trust you completely and not be afraid. You are the source of strength that gets me through each day.

I am trying not to fear or be dismayed, because you are my God. You give me strength and will hold me up with your righteous hand.

You hold my right hand and tell me not to be afraid because you are with me.

Thank you Lord for the scriptures that remind me to trust and not fear. Through the Holy Spirit I will learn to trust. Through Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

Prayer based on these pasages:

Isaiah 12:2 Surely God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afaid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song, he has become my salvation.

Isaiah 40:10 Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand.

Isaiah 40:13 For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you."

Good Morning, Part II

"God Stops" is a termed coined by Beth Moore for those moments that people may call a coincidence, but others see them as God using a moment to teach or direct us.

I had a God Stop the day after I wrote my "Good Morning" post. One of my daily meditation sources reinforced the importance of spending time each morning with God. She used the following verses in her essay:

"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy & be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble" Psalm 90:14-15

"Morning by morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; morning by morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." Psalm 5:3

"The sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He awakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen line one being taught." Isaiah 50:4

"I cry to you for help, O Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you." Psalm 88:13

And as a witness to these verses, I resolve to take time each morning, whether it be 5 minutes or 30, to spend time with God. With God's strength, I can handle anything.

God Bless us all this morning.

Encouragement to Get Through the Depression

As I struggle with my own personal problems that drag me into depression, I turn to the Bible and other Christian writing for the words that remind me to have faith in God.

For those of you going through struggles and finding yourself crying through the scary world, here are some verses in which I find reassurance:

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13

"For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies." Psalm 57:10

"He sends from heavens & saves me..." Psalm 57:3

"in God I trust: I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Psalm 56:11

"... Everything is possible for him who believes." Mark 9:23

"Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens & earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." Jeremiah 32:17

"I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." Isaiah 12:1-2

"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." John 15:7

"Yet this I call to mind and therefor I have hope. Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." Lamentations 3:21-22.

"You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." James 4:2-3

"God has come to help his people." Luke 7:16

I hope one of these verses helps you. I hope even more that one of these verses encourages you to open a Bible and find more verses of encouragement. They are in there. Just ask the Lord to show them to you.

May God bless everyone who is depressed this holiday season.

If you need to find a verse to help you, please contact me. My goal is to share scripture.