Discouraged and Defeated?

My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me.  Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.  I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.  I would flee far away and stay in the desert; Selah.   I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.” Psalm 55:4-8

Discouragement is a real problem.  Discouraged people would rather sleep then face one more discouragement.  Why would a person get so discouraged that they would choose to just lie down and sleep?  They are tired.  Those who have graced others mistakes and sins without seeing any change, get tired.  Then discouragement, which is the opposite of encouragement, sets in.  We can not afford to go a day without encouragement.  It is water to the thirsty soul. (Ps. 107:9)

Discouragement is much like taking a nap; it seems ok, and even justified because you are tired.  But, in this day and time it is a trap of the enemy.  Don’t give in.  People who are weary many times do not recognize the enemy’s trap until they have stumbled and fallen into it.

If you have been discouraged and slumbering, wake up to the goodness of God.  You don’t want to miss out on seeing His mighty hand as He intervenes in your situation.  We are in the time in history that we must stay awake, watch, and pray. God’s hand is not too short; He will come and He will save you no matter what situation you are facing.

Instead of giving into discouragement, begin speaking the truth into the situation. Then stand back and see the salvation of the Lord.  Remember, don’t’ give in to discouragement; it is not your friend.

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.  But you, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half their days.  But as for me, I trust in you. Psalm 55: 22-23.

Written by Denise Boggs

The Path of Life

“Show me the path of life…” Psalm 16:11

God knows exactly what is going on in your world. He has provided everything you need to live during these times; and actually He has provided a way for you to live in peace even during times of trouble.   Find the path of life, the peace of God.

Once you find the path of life, stay there, don’t let your heart be troubled.  Stop allowing yourself stray off the path, lost and fearful.  You have a choice; you simple stay on the path.  You have a choice daily;  so don’t allow your circumstances to be in charge.

You have been given the choice and you can choose peace over fear, anxiety, and stress.  You can choose faith over fear; it is that simple.  When you choose faith over fear you just choose life instead of death.  When you choose peace over anxiety and stress you have again chosen life.  The enemy wants to convince you that everything is hopeless, but the God of all peace wants you to know that you have a choice, He says in Deut. 30:15-16, (paraphrased) “Choose life and you shall live.”

It is a choice of life over death, it is that important of a choice. Think about your last doctor’s visit.  If you have a heart condition he made it very clear how harmful certain things like too much sugar and salt are to your health.  It is hard to keep yourself from eating these things, but, for your health’s sake you can do it.  Everyday that you overcome the temptation not to eat those things that are harming your body you feel a difference.  You feel stronger and have more energy.  Did you know that worry and fear are more harmful to our body than too much sugar and salt?  That is why Jesus said, “Stop allowing yourself to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated, cowardly and unsettled.”

I repeat, just stop allowing it; you do have a choice, choose the path of life and walk on it.  Choose the peace of Jesus daily and you shall live.

Written by Denise Boggs..

Lay Aside Every Weight

“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run (active persistence the appointed course) the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1 Amp

The definition for weight in this verse is heaviness or a burden that you carry around. It is always with you and influences every action you take.

People who have grown up in dysfunctional or alcoholic homes may be weighted down by this unexplained heaviness. The difficult situations they have faced growing up were much greater than those of someone who grew up in a healthy home. When faced with difficult situations, a person’s natural response is to blame and judge. You can judge by simply criticizing or looking down on someone for their mistakes.

If you grew up in a dysfunctional home you had many opportunities to criticize, so you may have left home with many judgments. Years later, you may still be carrying around a lot of unexplained weight from judgments that were made and forgotten. But this weight is still there, and it will keep you bogged down and hindered from running the race that is set before you. The weight from judgments actually gets heavier as the years go by.

Judgments also bind you up, and you are bound to do the very same thing you judged someone else for doing. The judgment actually keeps you from doing what you want to do. You are bound up and weighted down by the sin of the judgment.

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.  Mathew 7:1-5

What are the specific judgments that you realize you have made? Once you recognize a judgment, you must first repent to God; then with His help, you can lay aside that weight and sin that has easily beset you for so many years.

Written by Denise Boggs.

Holding On to Hope

“We who have fled to Him for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope that has been appointed for us” (Hebrew 6:18).

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What are you hoping for?

A new job, a husband, a wife, or healing of a loved one?  Whatever you are hoping for let me encourage you to tighten your grip.  It is time to securely grab hold of whatever the Lord has promised you, don’t let it slip out of your hands and don’t give in to even the slightest disappointment.  Spend time with the Lord and this is what happens:

“We who have fled to Him for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope that has been appointed for us” (Hebrew 6:18).

There is something God has appointed for you and when you give-in to disappointment you are in essence saying, “I no longer believe what God has appointed for me will take place.” Disappointments will cause you to let go of the hope. It is like you have been swinging on a rope across a huge cannon, and you let go of a rope right before you get to the other side. When you give in to disappointment you can feel yourself sliding down the rope and if you give in, your strength grows weary and you completely let go.

I know this is how it works I have burn marks on my hands right now from letting the rope slip through my hands. Disappointments were coming from every side. I have been so bombarded by disappointments that I gave in to them. When a friend pointed out that I was disappointed I said, “You better believe I am disappointed” and I began to give her the mile long list. Then I was troubled because I wanted her to understand all the things that disappointed me.

But, the Lord would not allow me that privilege. He lovingly said, “That is what you get when you are in kindergarten.”  Then I remembered, in kindergarten my teacher would give us a sucker when we were disappointed if it was raining outside and we couldn’t go out to play. The Lord reminded me, “You are not in kindergarten and you can not give into disappointments.” I must adjust my grip and hold on or as Paul said it in Hebrews 6:18, “hold fast to the hope that is appointed for us.” The word appointed means it has been prearranged and set before me so all I do is grab it and hold on tight for Hope is the anchor of my soul.

Written by Denise Boggs.