by Alisha | Sep 22, 2014 | Uncategorized
Are you feeling frustrated over a situation that you’ve prayed about, but haven’t yet received the answer to?
If so, I want to encourage you to resist that frustration.
You see, frustration is not faith. It is actually unbelief because deep down, a part of you is asking, “Why isn’t this working?” It allows doubt to begin to creep into your heart.
But faith believes that God is working even when it doesn’t look or feel like He is. Faith is not moved by what it sees, nor by what it feels.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” — 2 Corinthians 5:7
Faith does not waver. It keeps its eyes fixed on the eternal promises (the Word) of God.
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” — 2 Corinthians 4:18
So what do you do when you begin to feel a sense of frustration?
- Resist it — stand against the temptation to become frustrated.
- Continue to give God praise for the answer to your prayer.
- Enter into REST.
“For we who have believed do enter into rest…” — Hebrews 4:3
Rest in the truth that God’s Word works. Rest in the truth that He holds you in the palm of His hand. Rest in the truth that He loves you with an everlasting love. And rest in the truth that He only wants to do you good.
He is working behind the scenes even when you can’t tell. He is taking good care of you. If you’ll keep standing in faith, you will have the very thing you are believing God for!
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by Alisha | Aug 11, 2014 | Uncategorized
“When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said He would do.” – Romans 4:18 (MSG)
Do you have a situation in your life right now that seems hopeless? Maybe you have more than one circumstance or situation that appears hopeless or even impossible. If so, please know that you are not alone.
We all go through tests and trials that sometimes leave us feeling desperate and despondent. Everything around us looks as if we will never make it through. And it feels as if our world might come crashing down on top of us.
But I want to encourage you today to follow the example set before us by our father in the faith, Abraham. Romans 4:17 says that even though “everything was hopeless, Abraham believed God anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw…”
Abraham made the decision to not live according to his senses. He chose to believe God’s Word over everything else that he saw, heard and felt. The circumstances were screaming at him that what he’d been promised was impossible, yet…
He believed anyway.
Whatever you are going through, whatever you are facing, God is still on the throne. His Word is still true. What He has promised, He will surely do!
For God Himself has said, “I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down (relax My hold on you)! Assuredly not!” – Hebrews 13:5 (AMP)
Though your situation may appear to be worsening, all hope is not lost. Don’t despair. Don’t be afraid. Choose to place your trust in the One who sees you, loves you and knows exactly how to work your situation out. He will never fail you. He will never forsake you. He will never let you down.
No matter what it looks like, choose to believe God anyway!
Prayer:
“Father, even though my situation looks hopeless, I know that You are still on the throne. I believe Your Word over what I see, hear, and feel. You know exactly how to take care of the problem(s) I am facing, so I ask for Your help. Please come right into the middle of my circumstances and fix them for me. Show me what I need to do regarding this situation. I trust in You to bring me through to victory! In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
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by Alisha | May 5, 2014 | Uncategorized
All throughout the Bible, we are told to “Fear not” or “Be not afraid.” But it is very obvious that there will be plenty of times when we will feel afraid. The problem comes when we allow those feelings to dominate and paralyze us – when we bow our knee to the spirit of fear.
Are you allowing fears (or even feelings of inadequacy) to keep you from doing what you know you should do? Are they holding you back from doing what you want to do?
If we’re not careful, we can live in bondage to fear and intimidation all of our lives and never fulfill the dreams in our heart. Join me over at Managing Your Blessings as I talk about facing those fears and overcoming them.
Don’t allow fear to rob you of your destiny!
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by Alisha | Apr 14, 2014 | Uncategorized
Living to please Him. It’s what I want my life to consist of. And I’m sure it’s what you want for your life too.
Anyone who has walked with the Lord for any length of time knows what a truly wonderful God He is. He is perfect Love. He is incredibly generous in His giving. He’s unbelievably gracious and merciful in every way. He is simply amazing!
He has told us in His Word that He will give us the desires of our heart – whatever we ask – if we will seek Him and delight in Him.
“Take delight in the Lord,and he will give you the desires of your heart.” ~ Psalm 37:4 (NIV)
And…
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him.” ~ 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV)
He has bestowed marvelous blessings upon us: salvation, healing, provision, wisdom, direction, and anything else we need in life. All we have to do is receive these blessings from Him.
But in the midst of all the wonderful things He gives us each day, let’s not forget to give back to Him. Let’s find out what pleases Him and seek to pursue those things.
In Colossians 1:10 (AMP) the Apostle Paul prays, That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things…
This should be the biggest desire of our heart to be fully pleasing to the Lord and to desire to please Him in all that we do.
And in Ephesians 5:10 (AMP) we are told: “Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord [let your lives be constant proofs of what is most acceptable to Him].”
So how do we know which things are pleasing to the Lord?
The most important way to find out what pleases the Lord is to consistently spend time in fellowship with Him. We do this by reading and studying the Bible and coming into His presence through prayer and worship on a regular basis.
Living in continual fellowship with the Lord changes us. We become more and more like Him. We learn to hear His voice more clearly. We begin to sense the things that are important to Him.
Time in His presence separates us to Him. It brings our will into agreement with His will. It aligns our thoughts and ways with His thoughts and ways. We grow to love Him and desire to please Him more and more each day.
In fact, the Bible tells us about a man who lived in continual fellowship with God. His name was Enoch:
Genesis 5:24 (AMP) says, And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God…
And do you know what else the Bible says about Him?
Hebrews 11:5 tells us, By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
How did Enoch please God? By walking in continual fellowship with Him. He had a genuine, living, thriving relationship with Almighty God.
We only have a few verses that even mention Enoch, yet we can see that because of his love and hunger for the Lord, he pleased Him so much that he was allowed to step on over into His very presence.
What an incredible testimony!
So, we understand that the first step in living to please the Lord is to live in unbroken fellowship with Him. Staying connected to Him is vital to pleasing Him.
Over the next few weeks, we will look at other attributes that please the Lord. Let’s make it our greatest ambition in life to live to please Him!
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by Alisha | May 6, 2013 | Uncategorized
Proverbs 13:12, 19 (NLT) Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true, there is life and joy…It is pleasant to see dreams come true.
What is the greatest dream in your heart? If finances and time were no object – if you were financially free and had all the time you wanted – what would you be doing with your life? How would you spend your time?
Think about that.
What are you truly passionate about? What is that burning desire that has been with you most of your life? What consumes your thoughts and vision for the future?
Many dreams and desires come and go, but the ones that stay with you for years, the ones that just won’t go away, are usually God-given. And those dreams can help you determine your calling and purpose. (Click here for further reading on Discovering Your God-Given Purpose.)
But too often, the passage of time and the reality of an unfulfilled life steal those dreams. Too many people have given up on the dream and vision for their future that they once nurtured and cherished. Due to discouragement and disappointment, they have allowed their dream to die.
Don’t allow your dream to die while you are still living! It’s never too late. God can restore to you what you have lost over the years (Joel 2:25) if you will ask Him and trust Him to do so. If circumstances beyond your control have destroyed the dream you once had, ask the Lord for a new and better dream!
John 10:10 tells us that it’s the enemy (Satan) who comes to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus came to give us abundant life. The Message Bible says, I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
In fact, the Lord has promised not only to give you the desires and dreams of your heart, but to exceed them – to go far over and above them:
Ephesians 3:20 (AMP) Now to Him Who…is able to carry out His purpose and do superabundantly, far over and above all that we dare ask or think, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams.
But you have to push through the discouragement and disappointment. Never allow yourself to wallow around in self-pity. Don’t be so quick to give up on the thing the Lord has placed in your heart to do.
Take the dream in your heart and lift it up before the Lord, then submit it to His will and plan for your life. If it is truly part of His purpose for you, you will know. Keep the fires of it burning by praying about it on a regular basis. Practice faith and patience until you see it fulfilled.
When your dream is fulfilled, as Proverbs 13:12 says, there will be “life and joy.” And you will be so glad you didn’t allow it to die!
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