by Grethe Stanley | Aug 11, 2019 | encouragement
James 1: 2-3 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to count my trials as joy, but what I have learnt over the years is that when I feel like giving up, that is the time to hang on, to hang onto what God’s word says, and to remind myself that God is not surprised by anything that is happening in my life, and He will give me the strength to get through it, and not just get through it, but learn something about myself while I am hanging on.
The scripture I go back to time and time again is in Proverbs 3: 5-6 trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.
by Grethe Stanley | Jul 12, 2019 | encouragement
Some days it seems that everything goes wrong, one thing after another, after another. The last few weeks for me have been like that. But in it all I have had the peace of God, I have been acutely aware that even though my circumstances don’t make sense to me, my God has a plan in it all. If this sounds like you today, don’t just talk to yourself, saying, “I just cant take anymore of this.” Don’t talk to your friends, saying, “I just cant put up with anymore of this.” Don’t struggle with the same tests day after day; If you feel your peace and joy slipping away, talk out loud to satan. If he is trying to steal from you, say, “Forget it, devil; you are not getting me upset today!” Try it, it works.
Romans 5:3 Moreover (let us also be full of joy now!) Let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.
by Grethe Stanley | Jun 17, 2019 | encouragement
Samuel 17:47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lords and he will give all of you into our hands.
Word for today is one of my favourite daily devotions, I was greatly encouraged by today’s that is why I want to share it with you.
How you handle life depends on how big you believe God is. If He is too small;
(1) You will live in constant anxiety thinking everything depends on you.
(2) Your outlook will be dictated by your surroundings, or worse, your critic’s
(3) Without the acceptance of a loving God you will be a slave to people’s opinions.
(4) You will constantly crave recognition because you don’t understand that your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you
John Ortberg says that when we make the mistake of shrinking God, we offer prayer without faith, work without passion, service without joy, and suffering without hope – which results in fear, retreat, loss of vision, and failure to persevere.
When Goliath threatened the Israelites, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. (1 Samuel 17:11) They din not think God was big enough for the job. But not David! He knew how big his God was and he simply said “the Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, will save me.
You and I can face anything when we know what David knew – “the battle is the Lords, and He has never lost a battle yet!! So we do not have to depend on our own resources. David may have felt small, but he knew God was big enough for the job.
Converted slave-trader John Newton said, “if the Lord be with us we have no cause for fear. His eye is upon us, His arm over us, His ear open to our prayer, His grace sufficient, and His promises un changeable.” It all depends on how big your God is.
by Grethe Stanley | May 30, 2019 | encouragement
The thief (devil) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. John 10:10
What part of that scripture are you living today. Have you allowed the thief to rob you of your peace/marriage/job/health etc. or are you living in the freedom that Jesus offers us if we surrender to HIM. Jesus gives us peace in all circumstances; He (Jesus) will never leave you or forsake you (that’s the TRUTH.
by Grethe Stanley | May 21, 2019 | encouragement
You (Lord) know me inside and out, You know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, How I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I had even lived one day.
Psalm 139:15-16 (Message translation)
Have you ever asked God, “why did you make me this way”? Sometimes the things that we think are our worst faults, God will use too His greatest glory:
who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mould it, saying “why did you shape me like this”? Romans 9:20 (Message translation).
Jesus died so that we might enjoy our life in abundance and to the fullest until it overflows. You and I are not going to enjoy our life if we don’t enjoy ourselves. Today I choose to celebrate the unique way God has made me. How about you?
