Many of us go through trials in our lives that can sometimes cause heartache and grief. But while we are in these trials, we must remember to continue to give God the praise, because when praises go up, blessings come down.
We may ask, "Why me, Lord, what is Your purpose for this?" He does have a purpose for us as His children and when we are able to stand on His word in the midst of trials, He will perfect us in the areas that have imperfections. We will come out shining and refined like gold.
We all get hurt or offended in the natural, because we are human and we have emotions. But, in the Spirit, we can praise Him and see the victory in the outcome.
John 14:1 says, “ Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me”. God does not want our hearts to be troubled. When our hearts are troubled, we are unreceptive to His Holy Spirit, therefore causing us to miss God and the things that He has called us to do. That’s just what the enemy wants us to do, be distracted from our calling, because it will give him more of a chance to bring us down with him.
As women, we have to guard our hearts, because our hearts are how we minister and reach others. Sometimes we open it up without being discerning and we end up getting in too deep. Yes, it’s true that the Lord will bring us out, but we have to endure first by being faithful with our praise. We can’t blame Him either because He is not the tempter; Satan is. But, by not guarding our hearts, and not being obedient, we fall into the enemy’s trap.
Did you know that you can hear with your heart? You can, if you are receptive. If you will notice, look at the word “HEART” the word “EAR” is in the center of the word.
For instance, when we get a feeling to intercede for others, and that feeling is so heavy that it causes us to keep praying until it’s lifted, that’s hearing from the heart. Most of the time we may not even know who or what we are praying for but we began to feel a load on our heart to intercede and most of the time, if we are obedient with praying, we feel the release of this burden from our heart. The heart is also used in discerning, when you get an uneasy feeling about something, not necessarily a burden, but you may pick up a bad vibe from someone or something and it cautions you to go another route or to steer away from it. That feeling is coming from the heart.
Our hearts need to stay receptive. Yes, we will get tried, tempted, and hurt in our lives, but we have to stay in praise regardless of the circumstance and not let our natural feelings(the flesh) overtake the Spiritual ones. We also have to control our thought process. (See Philippians 4:8)
Our bodies will tell us one thing, but if we are thinking pure thoughts, we will not find ourselves caught up in situations that are unhealthy to our heart. We all stumble, but God is there to pick us up, if we are obedient to His word.
Single ladies, you don’t have to want for a man, you have God and He’s more than enough. Just embrace Him and abide in His word. And in His time, He will provide you with the man that He so desires for you. Don’t rush things, by looking at the outer appearance, but look deep within a person and see the true being, because marriage should be for a lifetime. So rest and wait on the Lord so that you can get it right the first time.
Please remember to guard your hearts, I can’t stress this enough. Don’t think that everyone who says, “praise the Lord”, is a man of God. If he is praising the Lord, but still trying to conquer your libido, then God did not send him to you, flee!! God is not the author of confusion. You will know when you have met a true man of God if you are seeking and trusting God for him. Don’t get me wrong, no man is perfect and some will stumble, and you will know this because they may stumble for a while, but they will not stay down for long. You will know a true man of God by his heart he can’t do wrong forever, the Spirit will not let him without conviction.
I will leave you with these thoughts:
When you are sick, seek God He is the Great Physician.
When you are lonely and have no one to talk to, seek God He is a Wonderful Counselor, He is Omnipresent.
When you are in lack, seek God He is Jehovah Jireh, He supplies all your needs.
When you are worried, seek God, He is omniscience, He knows and has the power to change things.
When you are depressed and discouraged, seek God, He is El Shaddai and He will deliver you.
When your heart is hurting, seek God, He is the Truth, the Way, and the Life. Our Rock, our Peace, and our Salvation. He is eternal and loving. He will give us an everlasting love when no one else will. His love is unconditional, Agape. He’ll never let you down, He’s always with you, to embrace you, to hold you when you are hurting.
Finally, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. Philippians 4:6,7
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