Who Couldn't Use a Little Bit of Encouragement?

I have been in much need of encouragement these past few days. I feel like everything in my life is one huge obstacle that keeps coming over and over. I dodge one thing or get over that hump and the next one comes but in most cases there are several coming at once. Kind of like playing dodge ball in gym class. Here I am the target standing with all sorts of things trying to get me out. Frankly, it has gotten to me this week. I am trying really hard to askGod daily for his hope. I  admit I am wanting just one big good thing to happen and I guess it is just not God's timing yet. I sit and wait but being patient is hard for me. It's kind of more like I fidgit all the time asking God when, how long, I am ready, I can't take it anymore. So I have to dig into scripture and reassure myself that God is real and he will persevere.


I just finished reading Mary Beth Chapman's new book, SEE. Very good book, I highly recommend it for those who are grieving or going through a tough time. In her book, she referenced a lot of good scriptures and quotes I wanted to share mostly because I have needed them.


The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10 ESV


One of my favorites...
I think I may have already written this one but I needed it today.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33 ESV


Without giving much of the book away, there is an event she had gotten the idea from in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 but the idea went incredibly wrong and I could totally see something like that happening to me. I remember reading this verse somewhere soon after my brother had passed and it gave me hope that someday I might be able to bring some kind of comfort to someone. So the verse pierces my heart.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.


There are so many ways in which I connected to her and how she felt. In her blog that she had written one year after her tragic loss, she talks about her emotions and I could relate to them on so many levels. She talks about being sad beyond sad, being angry and mad, confused, bewildered, having a paralyzing fear that she wouldn't be able to pull through the pain and completely let go, and at her darkest place, she wondered, "God, where are you and why would you choose us to walk this out...it isn't fair." Then she goes on and says, "And then, all of a sudden, I hear this voice in my head that reminds me over and over again of not what I feel, but what I know." BAM, WOW, lights went off. EXACTLY, how I feel and I am sure all of the other's in this world who have lost a loved one. She is such a real person, very open about herself and her life. What kind of person questions God? Everyone, we all do it. We all want assurance and we all want to know why things happen to us. I can't imagine how January 30, 2011 will be, one full calendar year without my brother. But I am envious of him, he gets to enjoy real life, we have to endure this life.
C.S. Lewis
We're not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us;we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.
There is nothing we can do with suffering except to suffer it.


1 Peter 5:10 ESV After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
I'm just saying, any day Lord, any day!
You can't decide what happens to you, but you can decide what happens in you. ~Dr. Benny Tate
Galations 6:9 Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't get discouraged and give up.
I continuously try not to give up and to keep moving along, with faith and hope I will continue on my path, figuring out what God has in store for me. While I walk this journey,  I must constantly look ahead.
The wise man looks ahead. The fool attempts to fool himself and won't face facts. Proverbs 14:8 TLB
One prayer to pray continuously throughout your day is "Lord, give me your wisdom"
Whether we are facing lifestyle conflicts, disputable matters, cultural distractions, voices of doubt, or discouraging delays we must look foreward, we cannot change the past we can only accept it, but we can move on and find hope in the days that lie ahead of us only through God's help. Soloman said all of his troubles were caused by 1 single mistake; fighting God, ignoring and resisting his will.
Who couldn't use a little bit of encouragement today? And everyday?
With Love,