Are you scared to be HURT? To be in PAIN? To be heart BROKEN? There are certain circumstances in our life that are inevitable to bring us pain, like losing a loved one, being sick or someone intentionally hurting us. However, there is this kind of pain also that is a consequence of the choices we make. It is the kind of pain that we don’t want to go through because we know it could break us big time.
It could be letting go of a wrong relationship, it could be giving up a compromising business, it could be stopping an addiction, it could be reconciling with a family or friend. Whatever it is that will cause you brokenness and deep hurt, always remember that God’s desire for you is to live a life free from any bondage. God loves you so much that sometimes He has to allow you to go through brokenness so that He can make you whole again and He could give you a life that is truly abundant. The best part of this brokenness is He will always be with you and carry you through.
My friend, don’t be afraid to go through brokenness that will bring a lasting peace in your life. It is never too late. You just have to let go and let God work in your life. Always remember, God wants what is best for you.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
Do you feel that you are ALONE all the time? I believe no one wants to live alone. God has designed all of us to be with someone. Most of the time with our families. If not, with our friends or in a certain community we are part of.
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)
However, not all of us are blessed with good relationships. Some of us experienced being abandoned or being left by the people whom we thought would never give up on us. Or, some are just too busy that they could not make time anymore.
If you are one of those who feels like no one cares for you or no one loves you, I hope that today you will be assured that there is the GREATEST LOVE that is always available for you. EVEN BEFORE GOD CREATED YOU, HE ALREADY LOVED YOU. And that never changed. God will also bring you to relationships that are good for you if you are willing to trust Him on that. So, take heart!!! God’s love never runs out on you! ❤❤❤
Do you feel like you have to prove your worth to other people? Or, have you allowed other people to define your worth as a person? I just want to let you know that you are not alone.
I reached that point in my life that I was swallowed by all my insecurities. I realized how I have allowed other people to define me. And during those times that I felt rejected, I started comparing myself to other people. I saw myself as unworthy and not worth pursuing for. It was during those times that God reminded me of who I am in His sight. I got reminded that if the Creator who made me -pursues me, accepts me and loves me without conditions, then how other people see me does not matter anymore. My worth is defined by my Creator.
I hope that if you are doubting your worth, you will see yourself the way God sees you.
Last 2014, I asked my friend, Xenia to share her God-written love story. It took me two years to be able to publish it here in the blog site, for some reason I don’t know. 🙂
But, it’s never too late to share a great story authored by God. Hope you enjoy a glimpse of Xenia’s journey.
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Written February 2014
Rockwell and I have only been married since August 24th of last year. We are still enjoying the honeymoon stage.
I met Rockwell during the March for Jesus 2000 worship event at Bacolod City. At that time, he was a complete stranger to me. I saw him holding a banner and dancing to the song “Mercy is falling like sweet spring rain”. It was like magnet. My heart fell in love with how his soul loved Jesus while dancing in the rain in front of over a hundred people proclaiming the worth of Jesus. At that moment, I couldn’t help but utter praise and prayer. My prayer was that I wanted to worship the Lord like he did.
Little did I know, I was prophesying him to be my future husband (haha). In college, he was president of the student government in Riverside and I was his secretary. But I never mentioned this fact to him—about that worship event, and the prayer and the hoping. I had a long term relationship during that time and even after college. The prayer that was spoken for him to be for me was forgotten because of the circumstances that happened that I thought I could not control. I took the wrong path when I came here to the States. I got influenced with the worldly lifestyle. God became the last of my priorities. Having a good career and the praises of people were the ones that mattered to me the most.
As I chose to live my life freely, I continued to sin and to forget God. I was making a black hole in the depth of my soul that none of the material, physical or emotional factor can satisfy. The more that I drew farther from the Lord, the more that my life became very meaningless and hopeless. I reached to the point of giving up. I realized that it was not the life that God intended me to have. The life that He promised me was a life that is full of hope and a future. God reminded me that all good gifts come from Him because He is my Dad. I did not deserve the second hand things that I chose to settle with. As He promised, I deserved the fullness of life. When I asked God to take my calloused heart and make it new, it was like He breathed new life to my desert soul and dry bones.
After 14 years, God finally honored my prayer during that rainy event, having a heart that was so raw and open. Rockwell came back into the picture after I sought God’s purpose for my life. I did not beautifully wait for him. But God still turned my wasted life to a beautiful story when He rescued me and I was able to find fullness and grace again in Him. Isn’t God amazing? He remembered every detail! He gave me the gift of a husband that I did not deserve.
Indeed, a life of worship and prayer is the key. God alone is good and faithful to His promises! He is full of mercy, grace and love for all of us. Our life should never be focused on the gifts that He gives us but our life should be all about who He is and His worth. How could a God still love us and still want us despite the things that we have done and will do which are not pleasing to Him? That’s our God!
Many are the plans in a man’s heart but only the will of God prevails.- Proverbs 19:21
It is not someone or our husband or wife that will complete us. The fullness of life can only be found in Jesus. I am blessed to have a husband whom I can see Jesus in him. It’s an opportunity for me to be able to love him with grace and mercy just like Jesus loves me. To be wired to Jesus, the Only Source of unconditional love, is how we are able to truly love someone unconditionally. I believe that we can never give what we do not have. To be an overflow of love, we need God’s love to overflow in our life.
Or, are you one of those “single beings” who will once again feel like an outcast on the 14th of February? That feeling when you can’t ask any of your girlfriends to hang out with you because they all have dates. That feeling when you see everyone posting in FB/Instagram photos of flowers and chocolates they received. That feeling when all of a sudden you just feel like eating out and you can’t find a place because you didn’t make reservation days before. If that’s how you had been feeling for the past years, it’s okay. Trust me, you are not alone in that boat.
I said it’s okay because I believe it is not about being insecure, jealous or bitter. It’s that feeling when you walk into a conference of doctors and you are a musician. It emphasizes what you are not. Not yet married, no kids – STILL SINGLE. And for sure, you get that feeling on other days too. Valentine’s day just adds more drama to it.
So, do you dwell or do you overcome?
If you choose to dwell on that feeling, make sure that it will not lead you to do something temporary just to make you feel better and will have consequences that you will regret in the future. If you choose to dwell and sink in your emotions, bring it all to the Lord. You can ask Him, you can cry out to Him, you can be desperate in His presence. You can be real to Him. He will not judge you with what you feel.
If you choose to overcome, make sure you don’t overcome it by being stone-hearted and hostile on people who celebrates relationship and marriage. If you choose to overcome, it is because you choose to trust on God’s timing for you. You choose to be grateful because being single also has its own blessings that you can enjoy.
So, whatever you decide to do on Feb. 14, I hope that you do it in LOVE.
Love for God, Love for Others, Love for Yourself.
Sending God’s love to you, Stifany (Princess Pepay)
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; Makehaste, O Lord, to help me. Let those beashamed and humiliated together Whoseek my life to destroy it; Let those be turned back and dishonored Who delight in my hurt. Let thosebe appalled because of their shame Whosay to me, “Aha, aha!”
Reflection:
David was seeking help from the Lord because of his enemies who wanted to destroy his life. He had no one to run to but only to God. Are you in the same situation right now like David was? You feel like no one likes you or everyone is against you? Or perhaps, you feel like your life is so messed up that people don’t care anymore about you? Or, you experienced being humiliated and belittled? Or if not, maybe you just feel burned out with your day to day things in life that you have to force yourself to get up from bed every morning?
If you are experiencing any of these, I want you to remember two things. One – God loves you. Two – God cares for you.
David surrendered to God those people who wanted to ruin him. He did not fight back and took matters into his own hands. Instead, He let God handled this trial in his life. And, God wants it the same for all of us. Whatever trial you are going through right now, God wants you to surrender it to Him. The Bible said that our enemies are not of this world. Ephesians 6:11-12, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rules, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” The enemy is the devil who uses people or situations to tempt and provoke us that we may disobey God. But Satan will never win with God. When Jesus died on the cross and resurrected, Satan was defeated. That’s why what he can only do is take more souls with him to his destiny in hell.
When someone is trying to test your patience or has hurt you or doesn’t like you, always remember, that person is not your enemy. All you can do is to surrender it to God and just continue doing good to that person, even pray for that person. If you feel so tired and worn out with your work, remember that your boss is not your enemy. The devil uses this situation to make you hate your boss and even steal your time away from God. So instead of complaining, spend more time with God and give all your concerns to Him. The devil trembles when we do these things with God.
To be able to overcome the works of Satan, indeed, we must put on the full armor of God. What are these? These are mentioned in Ephesians 6:14-18.
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ”
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
You alone dear God is powerful, mighty and sovereign. There is no one like You and no one can defeat You. Thank Lord for your Son Jesus, because of His death and resurrection, the devil was defeated. Thank You for the victory we have through Jesus Christ. Help us Lord to overcome temptations and attacks of the devil. I can’t do it on my own strength Lord. I need your power to enable me to walk each day without being defeated. I surrender all of my problems, my worries, my concerns to you dear God. I’m letting you take charge of my life from this day on. Thank You for giving us a full armor that we can stand firm for you. This I pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. ( 1 Corinthians 10:13)
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)
You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your loving-kindness and Your truth will continually preserve me. For evils beyond number have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; They are more numerous than the hairs of my head, And my heart has failed me.
Reflection:
Failures, mistakes, wrong choices, bad decisions – all of us are not excused from all of these. But we don’t have to continue living a life full of these. Not that life will be perfect and we will never make mistakes, but it will be a life with less.
God has promised forgiveness once we have received Jesus in our life. “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more”. (Hebrews 10:17) And aside from the gift of salvation and eternal life, God has given us a Helper, a Counselor – the Holy Spirit. Once you start having a serious walk with the Lord, your life will never remain the same. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)The role of the Holy Spirit is to help us each day to choose and obey God as our response of our love for Him, that we may become a new person. “For Christ’s love compels us…” (2 Corinthians 5:14). The love of God is just irresistible not to love Him back.
God’s love and compassion is unconditional and endless. He is patient with you as you desire to become better. You just have to depend on the Holy Spirit and listen as He convicts your heart when you are about to make wrong decisions. And as we desire a deeper relationship with Jesus, we also have to do our part to get to know Him more.
Here are the things that we need to start including in our day to day walk with the Lord.
1. Pray – This is our way of communicating to God. Our prayers need not be memorized or repetitive. You just have to pour out what’s in your heart to God. A format you can follow is the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). Or, you can also do this simple format as you are just starting to learn how to pray (ACTS). Eventually, you can speak from your heart whatever the Holy Spirit is leading you.
Adoration – acknowledging who God is and giving Him praise (loving, kind, forgiving, etc.)
Contrition – confessing to God your sins and asking Him for forgiveness and to help you repent
Thanksgiving – giving thanks to God for everything that He has done for you
Petition – asking God for your daily need, protection and for other people
Every end of the prayer, we always say, “This we ask (or pray) in Jesus’ Name.” As Jesus said in the Bible, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:12-14)
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. (1 Timothy 2:5)
2. Read the Bible – If we talk to God through prayer, God talks to us through His Word – the Bible. As you start your day in prayer, it would also be nice to start your day hearing what God has to say to you for that day. You can read the Book of Psalms for your morning quiet time and you can start with the Book of John as you learn more about Jesus. Just like in any battle, the Word of God is our weapon for any temptation that would come along our way for that day. It would also be nice if you have a journal notebook where you can write what God has been speaking to you for that day.
3. Be part of a community. God created us not to be alone. We are made for relationships. It is important that we also become a part of a community that shares the same belief. One way of being a part of is to be a part of a small group or a Bible study group. This way, you can also learn from others, pray for each other and be an encouragement for one another. You will realize that you are not alone in the journey that you are going through. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)
Are you excited with this journey with the Lord? You can pray like this as you start on with this journey.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
You are so loving and full of compassion. Thank you for the gift of forgiveness that you will remember my sins no more because of Jesus. Thank you for giving me another chance to become better as a person. Help me to become more dependent on the Holy Spirit as He leads me to do the right things. I am excited as I desire to know and love Jesus more. I ask that you would strengthen me each day, that I will always have time for prayer and reading of the Bible. I ask also Lord that you would bring me to a group of people who shares the same love for You. From this day on, I entrust my spiritual journey with you. This I pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Song:
Now That You’re Near by Hillsong
"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:14
