My Story: Intentional Faith

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“My Story: Intentional Faith”

Psalms 107:1 NIV

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

 

This week I felt led to share with you all the story of the past year and all that has gone on in my life.  I would like to share a testimony with you.  I know I’ve shared some of this already, but I wanted to go into more detail and be transparent with you as I feel that some of you may be able to relate to this from the past or are going through something similar.  It’s always comforting to know you are not the only one struggling.

 

Sometime earlier last year, my job got really stressful and I had a huge load on my plate.  There were also a lot of different things happening in life in general that I was struggling to deal with.  I started seeing a Christian therapist in 2023 and that has continued to this day.  Throughout 2024, I was dealing with challenges in my marriage, challenges with continued negative thoughts and self-esteem and just feeling very down.  My mood was often all over the place and I did not like how I got snappy with my wife and my kids on a continual basis.  I was just not feeling myself and felt very down and not joyful. 

 

As the months went on, I just kept thinking about it and I finally went to my doctor to get checked out later in the year as I was concerned about my mental health.  I was keeping up my running through the winter months as we joined the YMCA so we could have a place to go and keep up being active.  That was HUGE for me during the winter, so I could go running and listen to music and sermons.  I stumbled upon a devotional through YouVersion from Louie Giglio called “Don’t Give The Enemy A Seat At Your Table”.  After going through that, I got the book and read it.  Then, I got Craig Groeschel’s book, “Winning The War In Your Mind”. 

 

One of the sermons I heard from Louie Giglio he talked about when he was in a deep depression, he decided he need to be intentional about being positive even when he didn’t feel like it.  He started listening to worship music.  When I heard that, it really hit me and I immediately decided to start doing that myself.  I got into listening to Air1 Christian Radio as my wife was listening to it a lot.  Once I started listening to it, I couldn’t stop and then I decided to put my earbuds in at work through the day for music in the background. 

 

After days, weeks and a couple of months my joy has come back and I’m enjoying life once again.  I just feel better and I’m not depressed as I was.  God has also worked in various ways with my job and some details in life and I just see His working so much to bring more joy to my life. 

 

Now as I’m playing on the worship team at my church, as I’ve been doing for several years, the music means so much more to me than before, even though I was already enjoying it.  I’m just enjoying it so much more because the words are going deep into my heart and soul and filling my mind with positivity. 

 

I don’t ever want to go back to how I was feeling before.  It was not fun and I didn’t know how I was going to get out of the depression hole.  I’m thankful it wasn’t worse than it was, but not fun at all.  I know for so long, I just kept thinking, “God, I hate how I feel and I want this to go away!  Please help me to feel better!”

 

I’m sharing this today with you all as I want to encourage you that if you are feeling like this, please be intentional and make a move to bring positivity into your life.  You might not feel like doing it, but you need to!  Sometimes, you just have to force yourself and be intentional.  It really helps when you are intentional and do something to help brighten your mood.

 

I encourage you to keep the faith and be intentional!  Crank up some worship music and let that fill your heart, mind and soul!  It did wonders for me and I have some new great worship favorites now!  Don’t let the enemy steal your joy!  Take it all back!

All Hope Was Lost, Until.....

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“All Hope Was Lost, Until…….”

 

Last night in our small group, we were discussing The Resurrection.  Last week was The Crucifixion.  As we talked in our group, I got to thinking about the time between when Jesus died and when He rose again.  For 2 days, people were extremely lost and without hope.  The Disciples scattered.  So many lost hope in what had just happened.  “Where is the hope of a Savior now?” so many people must have thought and asked each other.  So much was building up through the years that people heard about Jesus and, then, after He came into Jerusalem, the hype was there!  So much happened in the last week and people were filled with emotions.  However, after He died, so many lost hope and thought death had won.

 

We now know and have the hope those people didn’t.  We look back and we have the whole story, but they didn’t know.  They were lost, confused, devastated, you name it!

 

There are so many people today who are wandering around with absolutely no hope at all.  It’s so sad.  It’s our job and mission as believers to share the hope we have so they will also have hope.

 

Also, as believers, there are many of us who also struggle with hope.

 

The doctor gives a life-threatening diagnosis.

One spouse has left a note saying he/she has given up and is gone.

A son or daughter rebelled and nothing seems to work.

A child is diagnosed with a rare disease.

We lose a job and don’t know how to make ends meet.

We can’t afford the house payments anymore.

 

There are so many people hurting and, often times, we lose hope.  Even as believers, we lose hope at times.  As much as we believe God is real and He is with us, life just gets hard.  Sometimes we are so confused. 

 

If you find yourself in this situation and losing hope each day, please, please, please hang on!  Just trust that God will make a way somehow.  Something will finally click and you will walk out of the valley.  Will all your problems go away?  Not necessarily, but God is the God of hope and He will make some way. 

 

For so many months last year and this year, I felt a loss of hope.  I wasn’t myself.  I was down and depressed a lot.  But then I started listening to Air1 Radio a lot and my spirits lifted.  In the past month, God has worked wonders and my joy is coming back. 

 

Wherever you are, DON’T LOSE HOPE!

Living In The Red

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“Living In the Red”

Matthew 10:16-20 NIV

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

 

I recently saw a commercial advertising medicine that would lower risks for people who struggle with certain health conditions.  As I watched this brief commercial, the thought suddenly came to mind about how medicine allows so many people to avoid the risk of “living in the red”.  That phrase just stuck in my mind for a little bit as I thought about how so many of us take medications and are encouraged to live in certain ways to avoid living in the red danger zone.  No one likes to live with dangerous health number levels.  When we get blood tests, we want to see numbers in the normal range.  We tend to cringe and realize needed lifestyle changes when we see high numbers. 

 

As I considered this while watching the commercial and after for a while, I thought about how we so often do the same thing in our spiritual lives.  While we definitely do not want to “live in the red” with our health, we honestly tend to also think this way with our spiritual lives.  We tend to want to do everything possible to stay in the “normal” range and not leave our comfort zones.  We know that Jesus calls us to live for Him and obey where He calls us to go, but we don’t want to get our hands dirty and live risky lives as He has called us to live. 

 

Jesus NEVER called us to live comfortable lives.  In a sense, He has definitely called us to “Living in the red”!  He wants us to take risks and trust that He will be with us and bless us as we step out in faith for Him.  He often calls us to leave our comfort zones and trust that He will guide us through difficult and trying situations. 

 

Think of so many situations with people in Scripture where God called them to do amazing things for Him.  I don’t think anyone did anything incredible without living in the red, getting out of their comfort zones.  The great and powerful stories we read about in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation are people who took risks because they trusted God to lead.  We all need to be more willing to do things God calls us to do that we are uncomfortable with.  We all know and are probably cringing right now thinking of what we’ve been putting off that God is calling us to.

 

God has called us to a life of “living in the red”.  He challenges us to grow in our faith and trust Him in all situations.  I want to encourage all of us to think of what areas in our lives God is challenging us to leave our comfort zones and step out in faith.  How does God want you and I to be bold in living in the red? 

 

God never promised us an easy life!  Even though we often want that, He never commanded that and never intended that by sending Jesus Christ to us.  The journey of life we are all on is intended to be “living in the red”. 

Take It All Back

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“Take It All Back”

John 10:10 NIV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

 

The title of this devotional is taken from a new song by Tauren Wells.  In this song, he sings about taking back what the enemy stole.  I have used this passage in several sermons in the past as well as devotionals.  This time, it has really hit home with me in the past year as I’ve found myself struggling through a lot of negative thoughts about myself and my self-esteem being way down so often. 

 

God has been doing a work in and through me for the past year as I’ve dealt with so many negative thoughts about myself.  I was bullied and teased a lot as a child and that has made for a lot of challenges in my adult life through the years.  God has not only blessed me with a supportive family, but also a great Christian therapist who has truly helped me work through many struggles I’ve had.  I’ve also shared a little with you all recently that I’ve battled stress, anxiety and some seasonal depression. 

 

I am being very transparent with you all because I feel like I’m not alone at all in the things that I’m dealing with and experiencing.  I’m hoping that by being transparent some of you will relate and know that you are not alone in this battle.  For a while now, I’ve just really struggled with a lot of negative thoughts have affected my work life and personal life.  I started reading books and watching sermons about winning the war of the mind.  As I read a book and watched sermons by Louie Giglio, I learned that he battled deep depression many years ago.  Thankfully I haven’t fallen into that hole and I hope I never will.

 

One thing Louie said in one of his sermons that really challenged me was that he decided to be very intentional about listening to worship music, even when he didn’t feel like it.  I made that choice in the past month or so and have been listening a lot more to Christian radio and letting those songs fill my mind and soul.  By doing this, I feel like I’m taking back what the enemy stole.   

 

Friends, the enemy is so good at attacking us and stealing our joy in life.  He’s done that so much with me through the years in various ways.  If he can get us to hold onto worry, anxiety, stress and busyness, then we are distracted from what matters most. 

 

Listening a lot more to Christian radio and reading more has really helped me fill my mind with more positive thoughts.  So, I want to encourage us all to be very intentional about feeding our minds with positive things even when we don’t feel like it and we feel down.  It’s made a huge difference in how I feel and now I have these songs stuck in my mind all day long. 

 

Take back what the enemy stole!

This Is Too Hard

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“This Is Too Hard”

Matthew 26:39 NLT

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father!  If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.  Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

 

I don’t know how many times I’ve used the phrase, “This is too hard” through my life.  I’ve lost count how many times I’ve found myself either thinking this or saying it to someone because of a challenging situation I was in.  I’m sure many of us have said this multiple times as we’ve found ourselves in unwanted, uncomfortable and challenging times. 

 

Who really wants to wake up each day and look forward to challenging times that make life hard?  No one!  I think it’s so important for all of us to take time to focus on this moment in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is so close to His death and He is honestly pleading with His Father to possibly get Him out of the situation.  This is one of the most human situations in all of Scripture.  Jesus knows what He has to do, but He wrestles with this and agonizes over it. 

 

Friends, when we go through hard situations, Jesus knows how it feels.  No matter what pain or agony you are feeling, He is right there with you.  As I pondered this Scripture and scene today, it just made me think of all the times we have all said, “This is too hard” as we experience challenging situations.  There are times we just don’t want to be in and don’t want to deal with.  We’d rather walk away and not deal with the situation in front of us.  We plead with God to remove the hard times so that we don’t have to suffer anymore. 

 

As much as we want to avoid pain, sometimes God needs to use the painful situations to help us grow.  Whatever painful situation you might be experiencing right now in our life, have a real heart to heart conversation with God and tell Him everything you are feeling.  He’s not surprised that you might be pleading with Him.  He wants to hear your agony and your pain and for you to be real with Him.  It doesn’t mean He’s going to take the pain away, but it will bring you much closer to Him.

 

There are many situations in life I wish that I could just steer clear from, but I know that God challenges me and wants me to grow through these to become stronger.  I also know He will be with me through all of it.  I’ve been dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety through the past months in various ways and learning about myself in ways I never considered before.  I know that God is teaching me to deal with what I’m experiencing and He is showing me nothing is too hard to get through with Him. 

 

Every time I think something is too hard for me, I just need to remember what Jesus experienced and I know that I’m not alone.  Whatever your painful time is, know God is with you also.

Just Be In Awe

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“Just Be In Awe”

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 NIV

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.  Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.  Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.  God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

 

A few weeks ago this passage came up in church and it really spoke to me.  As I read these words, I thought to myself, “How long has it been since I just sat in silence before God and was in awe of Him?” 

 

I’m not at all against us bringing our concerns and requests to God.  He invites us to lay our burdens at the Cross.  However, we so often fill our time with prayers doing all the talking and rarely just sitting in silence quieting ourselves before Him.  How long has it been since you sat before God and just took in the silence?  Why don’t we do this more often?  Why??  Because it’s UNCOMFORTABLE!!!  We live in a “GO, GO, GO, GO, GO, GO” world and it’s very difficult to feel productive when we are just doing nothing but taking in quiet time before Him.  Plus, we have become accustomed to bringing our laundry list of requests before God without considering time to just sit and be still to listen.    

 

A couple of years ago I read the book “The Ruthless Elimination Of Hurry” by John Mark Comer and one of the things he mentioned that I’ll never forget was when you are sitting somewhere waiting for an appointment or something else, instead of pulling your phone out to occupy the time, just sit there doing nothing.  It’s hard!  Who wants to just sit in silence and do nothing?? No one!

 

I want to encourage all of us to find time and be very intentional in the coming days and weeks to find time where we just sit and do nothing before God.  Be in awe of Him.  Ask Him to speak to you and fill you with His presence and just be present before Him.  We definitely need to practice this more. 

 

Find some time soon and just be in awe.  Sometimes, our words need to be very few and we need to stand in awe of God.  He loves us bringing our worries, concerns and cares before Him, but He also loves when we are in total silence just taking in His presence. 

 

Just……Be……..In……….Awe

Facing Our Giants

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“Facing Our Giants”

1 Samuel 17:48

As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.

 

Last week, we discussed the story of David and Goliath in our small group session.  I’ve read this story so many times through my life and have heard it in church through many sermons.  However, something always seems to hit you differently at some point in time about a passage you’ve read so many times in the past.

 

This verse really stood out to me in our study time together and I mentioned how the verse states David had no hesitation in running up to the battle line to meet Goliath.  This is a confident person who knew that God was with him and would help him conquer Goliath.  David had experience of trusting in God in the past and knew God would be with him as he fought Goliath.  He was confident and did what he needed to do.  Saul tried to put armor on him to help, but David didn’t need that.  All he needed was a stone and his sling.  Wow!

 

As I’ve thought more about this passage this week, I think about how all of us face giants in our lives that scare us to the point where we can’t face them.  Stress and anxiety hits us and we cannot even fathom facing our giants.  The enemy has as way of making us feel like the giants are way bigger than they are.  Don’t get me wrong, some giants are terrifying, but God is BIGGER than any giant we face.  That doesn’t mean the giant will just disappear because we have God on our side.  However, it DOES mean that God will give us strength, courage and endurance as we face the giants.

 

Often we get upset when God won’t remove a giant from our lives.  We have to remember that His ways are not our ways.  Although we cannot often understand what God is doing, we know that He is working and that He’s worked through us and with us in the past.  We have to trust Him and face our giants.  It takes much prayer and faith. 

 

I find myself dealing with a lot of giants in my life and I get stressed out and anxious easily.  I need to fully focus on God and pray for wisdom, strength and endurance through it all.  We can all be like David and run to the battle line to face whatever is in front of us staring us right in the face.  We can conquer with God’s help.  Running away from our giants will never solve our issues. 

 

I want to encourage all of us today and every day moving forward, to bring fears to God regarding our giants and ask Him for the wisdom, strength, endurance and confidence to face the giants head on and watch God do amazing things.