Plans to Prosper You and Give You Hope!

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Today my heart is hurting for each of you who are going through difficult times. Whether you are suffering from health issues, broken relationships, grieving the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, or loss of physical ability to perform a job; OR you have a close family member who is in a difficult situation; it hurts and you just want it to go away!  If I had a magic wand, believe me I would wave it over you and 'voila' everything would be fixed! Now I realize that I cannot change your circumstances, but right now I want to walk through these extremely painful situations with you; be your support, cry with you; pray with you; rejoice with you (for each milestone you overcome). My heart goes out to each of you and I pray that God bring each of you the desires of your hearts!

I encourage you to tell God what your desires are. He wants to see his children happy and he desires to please you. After you tell Him what you desire,  THANK Him for the answer He has already set into motion. He is working already to bring about the answer...even when we can't see that anything is happening. He has a plan. He is Powerful. He is the Healer, and most of all HE LOVES YOU!

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

My prayer for each of you is that God will restore you...So that He will be glorified.

How to Prevent Slipping into Depression

by Joyce Meyer
Does your happiness depend on everything in your life being just right? If you think you can't be happy until all your circumstances are right, you will never be happy. We all experience times in life when we feel down for various reasons, but we can't allow our circumstances to control our emotions. Satan seeks to fill our minds with negative thoughts and emotions that cause us to feel down. He is a discourager, and he pulls us down emotionally, spiritually, financially, and in every way he can. But Jesus is our Encourager, and He came to lift us up. He came to give us righteousness, peace and joy, and all these things cause us to feel up!
Everyone experiences times of frustration and distress over unfulfilled hopes and dreams. When things don't go according to our plans, it is normal to feel disappointment. But we must be careful how we deal with that feeling, because disappointment is the beginning stage of depression. If we remain in a state of disappointment for too long, it can turn into discouragement, despair, and finally depression. Psalm 30:5 tells us that ...Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Things may make us feel sad temporarily, but we must not stay sad. Just as we cannot afford to stay mad very long, neither can we stay sad very long. If we do, Satan takes advantage of the open door and pushes his way further into our lives, bringing more serious problems with him.

Don't Trust Your Thoughts and FeelingsOur number one enemy is emotions. We tend to be led by how we feel, but we must realize that feelings are fickle; they change from day to day! We should be careful not to follow every thought that comes to our mind because our thoughts and feelings don't dictate truth to us. For many years of my life, I experienced regular depression. I would awaken many mornings with a little voice in my head saying, "I feel depressed." I believed this was my own thought, not realizing that it was Satan making suggestions to me through my mind. Later, when God drew me into a closer walk with Him and I began seriously studying His Word, I learned that I didn't have to follow every feeling and thought that I had. I began to speak aloud and say, "I will not be depressed." I learned to put on the garment of praise spoken of in. Isaiah 61:3 We may not always feel like praising, but a victorious person does not have the luxury of living by feelings.
I've learned that staying disappointed can cause me to start feeling discouraged, which is a deeper problem than disappointment. But I've also learned that you can't be hopeful and discouraged at the same time. So as soon as the devil attacks us with disappointment and we start feeling discouraged, we need to turn to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to fill us with hope. A brief period of discouragement may not have a devastating effect, but long-term discouragement can lead to depression—a very serious problem.
Resist the Devil and Rejoice in the Lord! Depression
If you don't let the devil impress you with what he does, then he can't oppress you; and if he can't oppress you, then he can't depress you. So choose to be led by the Holy Spirit and you can have victory over depression. We can choose to keep a hopeful attitude by renewing our minds with the promises found in God's Word. We can claim the promises as our own and stand in faith, believing God to help us overcome our feelings and move forward into better things. We can't control all of our circumstances, but we don't have to let what happens today ruin tomorrow. We can actually turn things around by making a decision to let go of the situations that caused the disappointment and discouragement, and move toward the good things God has planned for our future.
Many people are depressed because they can't face truth, but the Holy Spirit came to reveal truth to us. We can't get past depression until we quit making excuses and blaming everyone else. We must face the truth and take responsibility for our actions. When we do that and ask God to help us, the spirit of heaviness leaves us and we feel light and free. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:30,...My burden is light and easy to be borne. Being depressed about circumstances does not change them, and it is a total waste of time and a thief of joy. So we must stop letting our feelings, mind, body, and past experiences rule us and allow God to give us a fresh plan, a new idea, a new goal! You can experience victory over your emotions by being led, guided, controlled, and ruled by the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent to us as our Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener and Standby to remain with us forever (see John 14:16). Thank God, we don't have to be disappointed, discouraged, despondent, depressed or in despair. Jesus is not only the Way, but He is also the way out! Jesus is our healer, our glory, and the lifter of our heads.
This article is taken from Joyce's audio teaching, Understanding and Overcoming Depression is defined in part as "a hollow; being in a low state; a state of sadness; dejection." The real cause of depression is not where we are, but our attitude about where we find ourselves. It is possible to learn to live on the other side of your feelings. We will always have feelings; they will never go away, but we can make our feelings line up with our decisions. That's why God gives us the fruit of self-control. James 4:7 tells us to resist the devil, and we must also resist depression, and anything that resembles it, because it is of the devil. Philippians 4:4 says, Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice! If we stay filled with the right thing, the wrong thing has no place.  additional teachings: http://www.joycemeyer.org/Articles/EAArchive.aspx

Give All Your Worries

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." 1Peter 5:7

"Cast your cares upon Lord Jehovah and he will support you, and he will never give terror to his righteous ones." Psalm 55:22

6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 4:6-7


"Commit your way to the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." Psalm 37:5

"Come to me, all who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28

Thankfulness

Thankfulness takes the sting out of adversity.
         In EVERYTHING give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1Thessalonians 5:18;  Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; Colossians 4:2; Giving thanks always for ALL things  to God the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20

        If we give thanks to God in all things (regardless of our circumstances) He will bring us joy (regardless of our circumstances). This may seem irrational to some, or even impossible, but to those who choose to obey, God sends blessings even though difficulties may remain. We can choose to do, even when we don't feel like it. In Psalm 146:2   David says, "While I live I will praise the LORD: I will sing praises to my God while I have any being." in Psalm 145:2 "Every day will I bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever."  I love the Psalms. It is where I go when I am feeling sorry for myself, when I am feeling like God is far away, when things are not fair, when I am angry at someone....and the list goes on.  When I thank God for a situation that is difficult or even painful, it's as if a light has been turned on, and I see things from a different perspective.

Today, take time to read Psalm 145 & 146. Make it your own.

The Battle is not yours

v12) "We have no power against this great "multitude"  add your situation  that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You. "

 and the Lord answered them...v15) "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great "multitude" add your situation,   for the battle is not yours but God's" 

v17) "You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you!"

2 Chronicles 20:12, 15, 17

Do not lose heart

 

"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."2 Corinthians 4:17-18

it may not seem momentary or light; but our affliction, in comparison to  eternity is just that... if I can only remember that. God is shaping me for something big, He sees the whole picture, I can only see what's here and now, one little puzzle peice. I put my trust in Him. that is an action word, PUT, that means I intentionally place my life in His hands. Psalm 55:22 "Cast your burden on the Lord and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved"!   

God has a plan for you! and it is a GOOD plan. 'As long as you focus on Jesus, you are safe. If you gaze too long at the myriad of problems around you, you will sink under the weight of your burdens, when you start to sink, simply call out "Help me, Jesus!" and He will lift you up' from: Jesus Calling by Sarah Young