“If you dwell on your own feelings about things rather than dwelling on the faithfulness, the love and the mercy of God, then you’re bound to have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Our feelings are very fleeting and ephemeral, aren’t they? We can’t depend on them for five minutes at a time. But dwelling on the love, faithfulness, and mercy of God is always safe.” ~ Elizabeth Elliot.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

James 1:17

“Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep… How priceless is your unfailing love, O God…” Psalm 36:5-7

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; love and faithfulness go before You.” Psalm 89:14

“Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.” Psalm 25:6

“His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.”

Luke 1:50

Faith is the Secret

Our faith grows by encountering resistance and responding with a choice to believe in and trust our Heavenly Father. Just like muscles get bigger and stronger by lifting weights, so our faith grows stronger by coming face to face with firey trials – difficult circumstances that are painful and confusing – and daring to lean in to our God. Trials make us frustrated, hurt, angry, and fearful. So if faith is the secret, how do we respond in trials in such a way that will grow our faith?

Determination and persistence in the face of struggles is essential. This type of Christian can’t be thwarted, disengaged, distracted, or tempted away from the unchangeable truth that God is in charge, and that He is good. Those who are persistent in faith understand that God wants the best for our lives, and has a preferred and blessed future that is filled with His glory. This person can’t be moved by what is seen, but is preoccupied and focused on the unseen, determined to win the “prize of the upward call”…

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38, 39 NKJV)

This is not a Christian in the fire…this is a Christian ON fire. Persuaded of the amazing love of Christ through every storm, persistent in moving forward , determined to believe in and trust in God in every circumstance. Faith doesn’t come by whining….it comes by hearing the Word of God, rehearsing it in our minds in those battle moments, having a proactive response to the resistance that accompanies the firey trial.

Whatever trial is facing you today, remind your soul of the goodness of God. Stand firmly on His Word, and dare to believe that Word.

~ Kirk Henderson

“It is just as important to trust God as it is to obey Him. When we disobey God, we defy His authority and despise His holiness. But when we fail to trust God we doubt His sovereignty and question His goodness.”

Jerry Bridges

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

“When designing a bridge, the engineer must take into account three different, but equally important loads: the dead load, which is the weight of the bridge itself; the live load, which is the weight of the daily traffic; and the wind load, which is the pressure of the storms that beat on the bridge. The engineer then plans for bracings that will bear all three loads.

True believers in Christ need bracings for the dead load of self, the live load of daily living, and the wind load of emergencies and trials. The only bracings strong enough to withstand all three loads are found in Scripture, avaiable to us at any moment. Therein we strengthen our spiritual bracings so that we gain wisdom and comfort to face daily struggles or life-altering trials.”

– David Jeremiah

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:14-17

God gives gifts – and abundantly!  And he doesn’t give gifts randomly, but carefully, “to each according to each one’s unique ability” (Matthew 25:15).  Remember, no one else has your talents.  No one.  God elevates you from common-hood by matching your unique abilities to custom-made assignments.  “Well done good and faithful servant,” Jesus will say to some (Matthew 25:23).

Maybe your dad never praised you or your teachers always criticized you, but God will applaud you!  And to have him call you good… well, when he does, it counts.  Only he can make bad sinners good.  And only he can make the frail, faithful.  “Well done, good and faithful.”  The point? Use your uniqueness to take great risks for God!  The only mistake is not to risk making one! ~ Max Lucado

We all love to quote the verse Jeremiah 29:11; “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” And it’s true! But God doesn’t want this verse simply FOR you, He wants to live it THROUGH you. He has big plans for the world, and you are a part of them! So, how do you find your plans? The very next verses: “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with ALL your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:12-13. If you seek God with 50% of your heart, you don’t get 50% of God. Find Him when you surrender yourself completely to Him – and He will show you His plan for your life, step by step!

“Real true faith is man’s weakness leaning on God’s strength.”

Dwight L. Moody

“When we feel the stress of the storm we learn the strength of the anchor.” ~ Our Daily Bread

“For when I am weak, then I am strong [in Christ]” (2 Corinthians 12:10)  

“Weakness usually precedes strength in the spiritual life. Don’t resist periods of weakness in your life. Let God have His way; let Him make you strong.” David Jeremiah

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

What is the difference in fate and destiny? Fate is the expected result of life’s normal progression. The direction your life moves without effort. The life you live when you refuse to take the risk of faith.

Destiny is the potential result of a life designed by God. It is the direction your life moves through daily surrender to Holy Spirit. It’s the life you live when you take the risk of faith to follow Jesus.

When you follow Him, He propels your life forward! Evidence of this is a life that:

1. Rejects passivity.

2. Embraces responsibility.

3. Lives courageously.

4. Invests eternally.

If you are “stuck”, spinning your wheels, wandering, or lacking purpose, the answer to meaning in your life is found in putting your trust in Jesus, and God’s plan for your life!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

Philippians 2:13

~ Pastor David Jett

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. (Proverbs 16:33)

In modern language we would say, “The dice are rolled on the table, and every play is decided by God.”

In other words, there are no events so small that he does not rule them for his purposes. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?” Jesus said. “And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:29–30).

Every role of the dice in Las Vegas, every tiny bird that falls dead in a thousand forests — all of this is God’s command.

Let us therefore stand in awe and be at peace, knowing that no natural event is outside of God’s wise and good purposes, and perfect control.

~ John Piper