Cast your cares.. Stephanie gritzinger

 https://youtu.be/gWcE2QNQE9s

Psalm 27: 13-14

I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

 Nothing more true than this right here. Remaining confident in hope.  He is good no matter how He answers. Because He is always working good in us. And that good that Hes working in us, is not just for ourselves. But it is to encourage others of what He has done and continues to do.  Even if it's just taking us from fear and anxiety, to hope and faith.

 Remain confident and prayer. Be consistent in prayer. Prayers prayed according to God's will are already answered in eternity. Believe that!  Rest in that!  So why pray if it's already answered?  Your prayers will change from asking, to  believing the very thing you're praying for.  I believe nothing makes God more happy than hearing prayers of faith in what we are praying for.  Even if our prayers aren't being answered as quickly as we would like, we begin to sing praises of hope.  Praises of Who He is. What hes done. What He is doing in us.

Of course we would all love immediate answers to our problems. But in the waiting is where He is drawing us closer to Him.  He tells us in his word to come to him and he will give us rest.  To cast all our cares upon him.  To trust him and not to lean on our own understanding. There is freedom in letting it go and trusting him.

 So when you don't know what to do.. pray, and cast all your cares upon Him.

 For your glory Lord

Kim D

Holding on to hope.Bryan and Katie Torwalt..

 https://youtu.be/fTXtI-bIu3U

John 16:33, " I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

 This peace is truly a peace that passes all understanding. In John 8:31-32,  Jesus speaks about abiding in Him and knowing the truth, and the truth will set you free.  Knowing the truth! Jesus has said that all power has been given to Him in heaven and on Earth.  Knowing the truth, that I am in Him, and He is in me, what can come against me?  Knowing that saten was  defeated at the cross, and that he only has as much power as I give to him. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7,  What a treasure it is to have the living God make His home within us.

 The more time I spend in the word and learn about trials. The more I learn that a trial is a negative event that God either causes or allows.  But every trial is only to grow and mature us spiritually. To drive us to God at another level of knowing Him, and Christ in me. 

 I am learning more and more to fight the good fight of faith, 1 Timothy 6:12.   I love how Hebrews chapter 11:1 puts it. It tells us that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 

 There are many things that I don't see the way God sees them. The things that He allows to come my way, are for the good in moving me closer to Him. Knowing him more. That he is kind and powerful, and a good good Father.  But satan's tactic is to move me further away by keeping my eyes on the struggle, and the wondering in my mind of why?  Or how can this be good for me?

  I know that I will never understand everything and I don't need to have all the answers.  But I do know in Ephesians  chapter 6:10-13, God's  word tells us to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. And 3 times in these scriptures He says to "stand firm!"

 So as things are allowed to come my way,   I know He is with me. He will help me "stand firm" as He fights my battles as I dress in Him.  He is truth. He is my righteousness. He is my peace. He is my shield. He is my salvation. He is the word that cuts to the core. 

For Your glory Lord

Kim D