Category: Encouragement For The Downcast

¹⁹ Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. ~ Genesis 2:19-20

I believe one of the biggest reasons why young people or people, in general, do not become Christians or associated as Christian in their businesses. Our Christian artists now only want to be known as regular artists, and a lot of the time, it’s because they do not want to lose their creativity or be placed in a box. We don’t want to own Christian businesses because we can’t mix God and our regular lives for the fear that will stop our growth.

Somehow, somewhere along the way, we have lost our creativity. We are satisfied with the mediocre and treat the things of God as common. But that is not how it was in the beginning. God planned for man to be a creative being, acting in the image of God the Creator.

Look at what the Scripture says, God brought every living thing to the man to be named with no help from God in the process. He not only had the capacity to name ALL the living creatures but also the capacity to remember their names. Wow! Talk about creative thinking. That’s your heritage; that is who you are. So go ahead, come out of your comfort zone. Do not let anyone tell you that you are not creative or that being associated with Christianity will somehow put you in a box. Being a Christian becoming more and more like God is exactly why creativity is in your DNA. It’s a part of your God-given image.

Heavenly Father, speak to and encourage those who do not even realize how creative they are. Open their eyes so that they can see the creative and smart being you have created them to be. Place a burning desire in the hearts of those who are creative to use their gifts to further Your kingdom. Give opportunities to those who are willing to step out in faith. Let them shine in Your light with the brilliance of the midday sun. LORD send a wave of creativity over Your people so that Your name may be glorified forever. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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⁶ The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, ⁷ “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.” ~ Exodus 5:6-9

If we read the previous chapter (chapter 4), we will find that “that same day” refers to the first day or the first encounter that Moses and Aaron had with Pharaoh. They had just had a town meeting with all the elders, and everyone was pumped about how concerned God was about them and their situation. Social Media was lighting up, and the whole internet came to a screeching halt as everyone chatted excitedly about leaving Egypt and slavery. I mean, these people had pure hope and joy excitedly surging through their veins. They probably even had detailed dreams in HD color – they were so hopeful and excited. But instead of Pharaoh saying, “Oh, my bad, I didn’t realize you needed worshiping God, please go quickly and do what you need to do.” He said, “No way! Get back to work! and by the way, let me help you with some of that free time you seem to be burdened with!”

So, instead of things getting better, things got extremely worse, and they gave up; they lost hope. And that is exactly what happens to us today. We think deliverance from our Spiritual Egypt should be quick and easy, and because it doesn’t work the way we think it should, or immediately, we give up and lose hope. But I am here today to encourage you that because conditions have gotten worse for you in Egypt does not mean the dream is over. If the LORD is your God and you have been groaning and crying out to Him, He has heard you. He will come to your rescue and deliver you and bring you into your Promise Land. So do not give in and do not give up. Keep the faith and do not lose heart; even if things get worse, God will deliver you.

Our Heavenly Father, You alone are God Almighty, and besides You, there is no other God. You care for us, and provide for us, and satisfy our mouths with good things, that our strength is renewed so we can soar on wings like eagles. Thank You, LORD. Now O LORD, please come down with great concern and see the plight of some of Your people. In Your great compassion, deliver them from their cruel bondage and bring them into a spacious land flowing with milk and honey. Bring lasting hope to Your people, I pray. Hope that can and will weather the storms that are sure to come before they reach the shores of their promise. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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³ Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  ⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. ~ Psalms 37:3-4

Often times, we only quote the last part of this verse, ‘He will give you the desires of your heart,’ and in doing so, we completely miss the how. Here’s what I’m saying, when we only quote the last part of this verse, we miss our obligation to God. Our part of the deal. God doesn’t just give us everything we want. He doesn’t just give us all of our desires. Why?

Because our hearts are filthy and lead us to sin. Look at what Jesus says about our hearts,

¹⁸ But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

Matthew 15:18-19

Jesus was convinced that the heart was deceitful above all things, just as Jeremiah 17:9 states. But don’t be discouraged; look at what David prays to God in

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalms 51:10

Our hearts are deceitful above all else; this is why David prays that God would create in him a NEW heart. This is why David, in the verse above, tells us to first, ‘Delight yourself in the LORD,’

See, when we delight ourselves in the LORD, we are no longer seeking our own happiness. We are no longer seeking our own desires, but instead, we are seeking the desires the LORD has for us. We are now seeking His plan instead of our own because we are now a new creation in Christ Jesus. He is cleansing us from the inside out. The Holy Spirit is transforming us until we are made perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.

Don’t give up hope. Don’t stop fighting to do good. The LORD is faithful to His children. Seek Him first, and you will receive the desires of your heart.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek The Desires of God’s Heart.

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¹³ Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. ~ James 5:13

When we’re in pain and going through hard times, who is the first one that we go to? Often times, God is the last person we go to. A lot of times, we go to others before we go to God. Sometimes we don’t even go to God. Why?

My whole life, I was taught that no matter how small or how the problem, I can always take it to God. My parents made sure that I understood that God wasn’t just this impersonal God in Heaven who didn’t care about us. They made sure that I knew that God is more than just an all-powerful God to be feared but a friend, a comforter, a helper, and a father.

The LORD is an awesome God that should be feared, but He is also our Heavenly Father that loves us more than silver or gold. Just like no problem is too small or too insignificant to bring to your earthly father or your best friend, nothing is too small or insignificant for your Heavenly Father. He wants to help you. He wants to be there for you, to be the shoulder that you lean on.

So, when hardships and trials come your way, go to God first. You aren’t bothering Him. You aren’t annoying Him. God wants you to come to Him with your problems. He wants to take the load off of your back.

²⁸ Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

⁷ Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Go To God.

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“²⁶ Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” ~ Romans 8:26

Even as Christians, we still have weaknesses. Our main weakness, in my personal opinion, is prayer. Prayer is our main way of communicating with God, yet the majority of us don’t pray often, and the rest of us give the excuse that we don’t know how to pray. While I believe that everyone should pray multiple times a day, not because of strict religious beliefs, but because communication is the way you keep a relationship alive. Without communication, the relationship will die, and you will no longer know God, and God will not know you, as it is in our human relationships.

Here’s our saving grace, though. If we pray, even if we say we don’t know how, we are reassured that the Spirit will intercede for us. How amazing is that? The Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. When we don’t know what to pray or how to pray, the Spirit will pray on our behalf. So don’t give up praying; the Spirit will teach you how to pray. And in the meantime, while you don’t know exactly what to say or how to say it, the Spirit will intercede on your behalf. So pray in confidence. Be encouraged, Jesus didn’t leave us here to fend for ourselves but sent us the Helper.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray Like The Spirit Ceased.

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“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” ~ 2 Timothy 1:13-14

Paul writes two letters to Timothy, encouraging him as he oversaw the work in the Church of Ephesus as well as other Churches in Asia. Paul takes the time to encourage Timothy, as well as to strengthen him. This was the purpose of these letters, to strengthen and encourage a young man in a difficult call. But Paul doesn’t tell Timothy to try to do it himself. No, in fact, he tells Timothy to follow his sound or healthy words, with faith and love in Christ Jesus, and to guard or earnestly strive to do the call through the help of The Holy Spirit.

Sometimes we try to do things on our own without the help of anyone, but no person is an island. No human being can succeed in anything completely alone. Your call may be hard. It may even seem impossible, but if you rely on the guidance of a trustworthy and Godly mentor, faith and love in Christ Jesus, and endurance through the Holy Spirit, you will succeed. So don’t be discouraged today, but be encouraged, for you are not alone.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Strive To Fulfill Your Call.

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“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” ~ Psalms 73:26

Even though our heart fails, and we feel hopeless, God is our portion. In other words, no matter how low you feel, how sad you are, or how much you miss a loved one who has passed on, God is holding you. When your heart fails, He revives your heart and strengthens it. No matter how many times your heart fails, God will always be there to tell your heart to beat again. Place your pain and suffering into His hands, and He will restore you and strengthen you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let Your Heart Beat Again.

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“Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” Ecclesiastes 7:8

A lot of the time, we get stuck on our past. We get caught up on how we started the race when we should be focusing on how we finish the race. If we start the race strong but fail to finish, our strong start means nothing. It’s like the old story of the tortoise and the hare. The hare started the race as the champion, but his pride caused him to take too many detours, and he lost the race.

While the tortoise started slow and patient, all thought he would surely lose, but he had his eye on the finish line and won. Here’s my point, sometimes we start on the losing end, but that doesn’t matter, for every sin we’ve committed has been whipped clean by the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit, we have been transformed into a new creation. The old has passed away, and the new has come. So be encouraged today because your past is behind you, and your future is in front of you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Finish Strong.

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The Tortoise and the Hare

“The head cupbearer then spoke up and said to Pharaoh, ‘I just now remembered something—I’m sorry, I should have told you this long ago. Once when Pharaoh got angry with his servants, he locked me and the head baker in the house of the captain of the guard. We both had dreams on the same night, each dream with its own meaning. It so happened that there was a young Hebrew slave there with us; he belonged to the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he interpreted them for us, each dream separately. Things turned out just as he interpreted. I was returned to my position and the head baker was impaled’ Pharaoh at once sent for Joseph. They brought him on the run from the jail cell. He cut his hair, put on clean clothes, and came to Pharaoh.” ~ Gen 41:9-14 msg

God had given Joseph a dream and a promise, but it was taking a lot longer to come true than he had hoped. But God was keeping watch over His Word to ensure it would come to past, and He does the same thing today. Therefore, if God has given you a promise, wait for it, though it lingers, do not give up or lose hope for it will surely come to past. It awaits an appointed time and will not prove false, nor will it delay, but God’s Word will accomplish everything He has sent it to accomplish.

Our Heavenly Father, help us to hold on to our promises and not to give up. Help us to refrain from setting our own timetable because the righteous will live by faith. No more stumbling and doubting because of our unfulfilled dreams. For we know the day will come when the dream becomes a reality no matter how big or how small our dream is. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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“³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” ~ Matthew 6:33

Sometimes we get our priorities confused and lose sight of what is most important. Jesus was teaching on that very thing. He explains that seeking God is the most important, even more so than money and clothes. He said if we got it right, God would add all the other things we need. Admittedly, that is a hard teaching when you have hungry mouths to feed and little naked bodies to clothe. But the truth is, these things aren’t eternal, but your soul is eternal. Your soul will live somewhere forever. No one says on their dying bed, “Man, I wish I had a few more suits of clothes.” Or, “Man, I wish I had more money in the bank.” No, they don’t. At that time, those things aren’t as important as they seemed when we were experiencing the lack thereof and eternity seemed a long ways away.

I’ve experienced lack, and I’ve experienced plenty, and yes, plenty is much better by far. The world is so focused on instant gratification that we’ve lost sight of seeking God. We’re so caught up with keeping up with the Kardashians, the rich and famous, the rock stars, the rap stars, the movie stars, and the fallen stars that we have no place or time in our busy lives for seeking the Bright and Morning Star. Statistics tell us that the average Christian attend a church service twice a month. I wonder how many diligently and fervently attend the weekly TV service of their favorite show.

At the beginning of every year, my family and I observe a twenty-one day fast. We turn off our TV, our secular music, entertainment like video games, social media, secular books, etc.; we limit shopping only to emergencies, we cut out soft drinks, coffee, meats, processed foods, and other pleasures of life and come together to diligently seek God. Our children have been doing the fast with us from time they were very young. We always have a theme and a specific thing or two (bedside lost souls) that we fervently pray about.

Admittedly, a few years ago, I was a bit discouraged at work because things were not working out the way I had envisioned them to be. To my shame, I was so discouraged I was even considering not doing the fast that year, something I’ve never done since we started oh so many years ago. Nobody knew how I was feeling. Then I received a family group text from my youngest daughter (18 years old at the time) stating how excited she was about that year’s fast. How she believed that was the year for open doors. She felt like Genesis 32:25-28 should be our theme. It is where Jacob wrestles with God and doesn’t let go until he receives a blessing from God. She felt in her spirit we needed to press in and wrestle with God in prayer and not let go until we received our blessing.

Wow! Now, if that’s not a reason to get excited and want to shout about, I don’t know what is. It’s not everyday parents receive a text from their 18-year-old saying how excited they are about turning off electronics, TV, computer games, etc., and putting away Christmas presents and deny themselves in order to seek God. When they were small, we were told, “Those children are too young to fast.” But look at them now. We didn’t deny them food as children; we asked them to give up certain things: playing outside, TV, Gameboy, etc. We taught them the importance of seeking God. Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not turn away from it.

Let me encourage you for this New Year to seek more and covet less. Do not teach your children the pleasures of instant gratification, and it’ll pay off in the end. Set a time to diligently seek God as a family, and may your New Year bring you peace, joy, happiness, good health, a closer walk with Jesus, and prosperity, with all your children serving the LORD.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and salvation that You’ve lavished upon us. Thank You for the privilege of being able to seek You. Help us to find You this year as we seek. Help us to hear from You, answer when we call. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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