The Joy Of The Lord Is My Strength In ALL Situations!!
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever. Psalm 30:11,12
Many godly people love and serve God in their home, church, and community. Everything is going great, and then suddenly, tragedy strikes. A loved one becomes ill, or ends up in prison. If we are the parent, we are ashamed and may even blame ourselves for our child's choice, and because of them, consider ourselves unworthy to serve God.
We carry with us the burden that somehow we have failed, we've done something wrong that has made God angry, and now we are being punished for it. It becomes a consuming shame, and if not dealt with, it will steal our peace and joy, our service too.
Many Christians fall into this same trap. They allow the enemy to rob them of their peace, steal their joy, and kill their witness over situations beyond their control. It's true. Satan has always been a tempter, but where he catches us off guard is by thinking he tempts us to do bad things. Our flesh mostly takes care of that job. The fact is that Satan tempts us in order to lose what God has given us.
If Satan can rob our joy and steal our witness, then he can make us useless in the kingdom of God. This is when we become unproductive, because our faith is stripped by unexpected heartbreak. Nevertheless, you and I must not let Satan use our circumstances to steal our joy.
That sounds good, but how do we find true joy in the midst of heartache? We find it by depending on the Lord. David reminds us, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song" (Ps 28:7).
First, David believed God heard his cries.
Second, he relied on God's provision and strength.
Third, David trusted in God's help with all his heart. This kept him from growing weak, losing heart, and giving up
.
Finally, because David believed God was for him, in him, and behind him one hundred percent, David was able to give thanks with a joyful heart.
Like David and many of us, we will experience situations that can steal our joy and leave us feeling unworthy to serve God. To think this way is to see ourselves outside of God's grace. Remember that you and I don't serve God because we are good enough...We serve God because He's good enough. It's His perfection working through our imperfections.
By the same token, our joy is not defined by our circumstances. It's based on our relationship with God who, in due time, will bring us out of our present situation. We are the Kings kids. Our Father made all things out of nothing and created us in His image. He's not exactly a 95 pound weakling, and if God is for me, who can be against me?
Exercising faith in God - not circumstances - aids the discouraged heart so that Satan cannot steal our joy or purpose. Let not your heart be troubled, but trust in Him to see you through. God has given you His Word and empowered you by His Holy Spirit to walk the path He has set before you. Trust Him and let the joy of the Lord be your strength today.
May the Lord bless you according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus and keep you in perfect peace. Amen
God loves you and so do we,
About The Ministry:
"New Arising Christian Church" is a non-denominational full gospel preaching church dedicated to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is a Holy Spirit led healing ministry designed to encourage and help Christians grow in their everyday walk with God, and to equip them to do the work of the ministry as shining examples of Gods grace, mercy and love in a dark and troubled world.
Our Pastor, James K. Oppong, recently returned from a trip to Israel where he was working closely with the Benny Hinn Healing Ministry. At the present time, he is in Ghana to dedicate the church that we helped to establish with our financial support. The church membership is presently at 5,000 and growing quickly. We are believing God for a mighty outpouring of His Spirit and an overwhelming harvest of souls for His kingdom as pastor James proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ to the hungry souls of Kumasi.
We would like to hear from you:
Your letters, comments, encouragements and personal testimonies of what God has done in your life are sincerely welcome. We would be happy to use your testimonies in future blogs and hubs to give God glory and encourage others in their Christian walk (but only with your permission).
We also encourage you to send any prayer requests that you may have. Our entire church will pray over them, set up a prayer chain with area churches and stand with you in faith believing for God's intervention on your behalf because there is nothing impossible with God.
We, in turn, ask that you pray for this ministry to grow, not only in our surrounding areas, but to spread throughout the world, preaching the Word,equipping the saints for service and drawing God's people to Him. Our goal is to continue expanding this ministry, and to provide support to various outreach ministries, both at home and abroad, as the Lord provides, to bring Him glory.
We thank you in advance for your prayers and financial support of this ministry. With your help we can make a difference. My personal desire is to touch as many lives as possible with God's love, mercy and grace. There is a saying that goes something like this "people don't care what you know til they know that you care". If someone is starving, the last thing they want to hear is "let me pray for you". The first step to showing God's love is to provide for their needs. Once the gnawing pain is gone from their belly, they will be open to hearing about God's love, because they have experienced it first hand.
With your help we can be a father to the fatherless, support the widows and orphans, feed the hungry, provide clothing and shelter for the poor. By doing so we can bring many to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and fulfill the call of Christ in our lives. Help us in our quest to bring healing to a sin-sick world. With your help we can make a difference.
BE AN AMBASSADOR FOR CHRIST...HELP US TO HELP OTHERS IN THEIR TIME OF NEED. LET'S SHOW THE WORLD THAT GOD CARES.
Your Tax Deductible Donations Can Be Mailed To:
New Arising Christian Church
138 Providence Tpke. (Rte. 146)
Millbury, MA 01527
508-865-9797
Checks/Money Orders can be made out to: New Arising Christian Church
A large portion of your donations will go toward support of the rapidly growing church of believers in Africa, as they build churches, schools, hospitals and supply clean water, clothing and food to those in need. They will also need your continuing prayer, as that region is a hotbed of witchcraft, idol worship and voodoo temples.
Prayer Requests, testimonies and correspondence may be sent to:
newarisingcc@msn.com or our church Website at www.newarisingchurch.com
We look forward to hearing from you, and pray that God will bless you abundantly in every area of your life, and keep you and yours safe from all harm and danger. God Bless You All.
In God's Service,
Bruce Kowalke
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