Tag Archives: Jesus

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The Lonely Truth

Loneliness is a disease! Did you know ‘lonely’ people have higher cortisol levels and less immunity to infections? Because of this, it is necessary for their bodies to work harder to pump blood. These folks also have increased trouble with self control and are prone to develop the obvious; depression leading to suicide, alcoholism, and difficulty getting deep sleep. And as if that wasn’t enough, they also have faster progression of Alzheimers. Gulp.

Being alone can kill you.

When I feel the weight of being alone, it’s really when I’m not connected with God. When the demands of the day override my dedication to seeking God. I wondered if deep down I was really fearing that God would leave my heart empty for many more days. I confess His goodness with my lips but doubt His faithfulness with disparity. When I am confident in my closeness with Christ, the consciousness of singleness vaporizes. My thoughts become focused on how beautiful and big He is, that my needs for a companion seem so small and somehow fade into the background.

I think it’s interesting that many times in scripture Jesus withdrew to ‘lonely’ places to pray. Why did He go to lonely places on purpose? After all, the enemy prowls around like a lion (1 Peter 5:8). Think about how a lion preys. A lion gets his prey alone. A pride of lion will hunt down game twice it’s size, but singled out, makes for an easy meal. But I imagine Jesus is thinking in the emptiness of a desert place, the worries of the world fade and distractions that once tried to fill this void vanish.

So maybe, just maybe, there is good to be found in being alone after all.

Maybe the lonely truth is that in my abandonment, I find God. And as I soak up the goodness of a Father so deeply in love with me, I realize the pangs of solitary living are satisfied with a robust zeal that revives the beat of my dead heart. I am made whole again, in the constant companionship of Christ, who covers the wounds and fills these longings. My desire begins to weave with His will and my faith strengthens as a single strand becomes the cord.

The seasons shift, but my trust, it still remains.

Oh, my Lord. Some days I think I get what your Word is trying to say, and other days I’m drowning in tears of forgetfulness. I am trying to live in your ways, but my flesh is weak and my spirit fails. Come, like you promised. Fill me with your living Spirit. Just like you said you would. Turn to me and be gracious, God. This loneliness is an affliction to more hearts than my own and so I ask for Your healing touch to revive their souls in this moment. Come with grace and mercy. Come riding on the wind. Come restore your bride, just like you said you would, Jesus. We’re waiting.

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Breaking Out From A Rut and Planting New Roots

This has been a tough few weeks. I have felt deterred by the weight of devil’s cunning devices to distract my good intentions with mediocrity. I’ve been settling on things that are ‘acceptable’ and ‘honorable’ but not beneficial or considered wise concerning His plans for me.

My determined worship that discovers facets of His being have been disturbed and I utterly miss His secrets; about Himself, His plans, His desires for my life. All this busyness has been meaningless when you consider that I’ve made Jesus a ritual of religiosity, merely breathing through the motions of morning prayer. The roots of my relationship with Jesus go deeper than my most recent attempts to usher in His presence and that is why I so tenderly confess that my heart has been slowly breaking for a breakthrough.

I didn’t just wake up here. Some weeks ago, I allowed Satan to steal my joy through a circumstance that didn’t come out as I had hoped. A rather crushing blow. I let the devil demoralize my heart by preying on one of my greatest fears. I had failed… me. Days of seeking and studying ‘joy’ did not parade in a restored life of rejoicing. With every fiber in the fabric of my being, I have been so desperate for an intervention of deep communion with God. I’ve been crying out for Christ to intercede.

Joshua 1:5 “No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.”

Did you catch that? He will not fail us. We may fail, but God will not. And He is for us! Failure doesn’t always look like a grievous sin or mishap. Sometimes it’s a slow decline or decay that snatches up unsuspecting, sincere followers of Christ. God is the strong arm that picks us up when we struggle to stand on our own. Abba wipes away our tears, brushes off the bloodied scrapes on our knees and mends the wound in His warm embrace. When our Author’s plans for hope and a future seem out of reach, He reaches down to offer them up! At this time, it seems all I can do is cast myself entirely upon His ability. I’m blinded to any ambition but to please God. I’m grabbing onto the hem of His garment for healing and grace to go where He leads. As I walk in the shadow of the Almighty, He equips me to do the impossible. There I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

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A Journey With Jesus

My heart has been downtrodden for some days and the weight of it has worn heavily on my body. The doctor diagnosed my physical ailments as tendonitis. I shed tears of joy and ones of sadness. I’ve been chasing my God day and night for relief, but His brief silence has been unsettling.

In the middle of my grief, I heard His voice, ‘let’s take a journey’. How? My muscles are in pain. ‘Come’. So I grabbed my tennis shoes and keys. As I was walking out the door, I noticed my hand, in an unusual way, felt no pain in its grasp. I walked to the trails and felt His nudge, ‘it is time’. I started a steady jog. A mile down, I wanted to walk again and it was as if His hand reached down and held my head high, ‘look to me’. The trail in front of me faded, the passersby blurred, and everything else dimmed. My gaze fixed steadily on the clouds, I counted all the ways of His goodness. I don’t recall the breaths I breathed, only the air He supplied. I couldn’t remember the trail I had traveled, only the place He had brought me. I should come down from the clouds to get clarity on where I’m at. ‘Don’t look down. Don’t look back now. There’s time for that when it’s all over. Just keep your eyes on me… trust me… we will get there.’

My mind started to think about how far I had yet to go and a heaviness weighed down my strength. Once again I felt His touch holding my chin high, ‘it’s only me and you Trisha, just me and you, that’s all you have to worry about’. A plane flew in my line of sight and He said ‘they fly close to me and can even get in the way sometimes, but be not mistaken. Do not get distracted. They are not Me.’

The awning of a bridge overhead reminded me that we had a little more than a mile left, and then the music stopped. And He said, ‘keep looking at me. Don’t stop, don’t get distracted, keep your eyes and mind on me and I will sustain you.’ I kept running but in the quietness thoughts weaved in and out, if you stop now, no one will know… your body is tired, just let up a little and run the rest later… you’re not going to make it. ‘Look at me Trisha, I will sustain you, trust me. I am the air that you breath. I am the supplier of life. Just keep your mind on my me, it will be over before you know it.’

Another awning said we only had a quarter mile left and He said ‘give it all you got’. That seems impossible, I am tired and I can’t see anything with my eyes in the clouds. ‘Trust me, trust me’. So I raised my step higher and propelled my body faster with everything I had. My mind wanted to visualize a 400 meter dash and how long that was, but I shook it off I trust you! I trust you! I trust you!

I crossed the final post… and let out a deep breath. I didn’t look back. This journey wasn’t about how many steps I took or what I passed up. This was about my journey with Jesus.

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Searching For Your Hand

Praise you Jesus for your healing power… thank you Lord for your light shining through the darkness to a world searching for your hand at work! We give you all the glory! Through my tears I am not letting the enemy steal my joy in Jesus. Thank you God for still being faithful. And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. Matthew 8:13

There’s so much uncertainty with my cousin’s brain injuries; we’re caught between hope and realism. Being with family and at hospital with my cousin, oh, it was just one of the greatest gifts and warmed my heart so much. I hung up encouraging posters in his line of sight, played Jesse’s favorite music for his ears to hear, held his hand and massaged his legs for his skin to feel, and read stories of healing from Matthew– speaking in prayer those words in the name of Jesus over Jesse’s life. Either way, whether it’s from his body in that hospital bed or his spirit hovering above, I believe my cousin sees and knows he is loved and that’s all we can do. To God be any glory from the miracles/healing that occur.

Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

I opened the door to my house, it was very quiet, evident that I left in a hurry and hit me what all just happened. It feels like everything in my life stopped for a moment but the world kept spinning. I’m pretty tired and a bit lost to not be at the hospital when there’s someone in need, but I understand the Lord has it all in His hands and my prayers from hundreds of miles away still have power too. Overall, the joy of the Lord has remained my strength! So if you’re wondering how to pray for me, pray for God’s companionship to comfort me in the quiet and mercy from others as my heart feels a bit ‘needy’ during this time.

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Prayer For Divine Protection

I thank You Father that according to Isaiah 54:17 that no weapon formed against me shall prosper because I am the righteousness of God. Your favor surrounds me like a shield. (Psalm 5:12)

I declare that every attack that the devil has planned against me is diverted now in the name of Jesus. I use my words to agree with God’s Words, and therefore I cannot be defeated and I cannot be terrorized.

Fear has nothing in me because perfect love casts out fear, according to 1 John 4:18 and perfect love has been shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Perfect Love is God Himself living in me, therefore fear cannot live in me because God lives in me. And if God lives in me and He does, then love lives in me, and fear and torment cannot live in me. They cannot even come near my dwelling place. Praise the Lord.

I will fear no evil because God is with me (Hebrews 13:5-6). God Himself said that He will not in any way fail me nor give me  up, nor leave me without support…

He said I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless or forsake, nor let you down (AMP version). The Lord is my Helper; and I will not be seized with alarm. I will not fear or dread or be terrified, what man can do to me (Psalm 27:1, Psalm 118:6)

As the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21), I can speak the word of God and it comes to pass. I can declare and degree a thing and it shall come to pass. (Job 22:28). He is watching over His Word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12) and it will not return to Him void. (Isaiah 55:11)

Every time I speak God’s Word, the angels hear it and they hearken to the voice of His Word; they hasten to carry out that word and bring it to pass. (Psalm 103:20). I cannot be defeated or destroyed; I condemn right now every tongue of fear trying to speak to me, every tongue of terror, every tongue of disaster, and tragedy. Nothing can defeat me, for if God before me, who can be against me.

Thank You Lord, that You have given me authority and Dominion over this earth and everything in this earth. I have authority over every serpent and scorpion and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt or harm me or my family (Luke 10:19)(Psalm 115:16)

I believe what God’s Word says and I will not be moved by what’s going on around me.

Now I declare that God is on my side, Jesus is Lord, and every mountain of fear, terror and plots against me is removed right now in the name of Jesus. I declare today that Satan has no power over my life; that every weapon he has, has been defeated, that fear has been cast out, that love makes my faith work and therefore I cannot fail. God’s Word cannot fail and that’s what we are made of – His Word, Made in His Image, after His likeness, with the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of His Words.

Therefore by the Blood of Jesus, I dwell in the secret place of the most High. I abide under the shadow of the Almighty. He has given His angels charge concerning me to guard me in all my ways. They will bear me up in their hands lest I dash my foot against a stone (Psalm 91)Thank You Lord for all Your Blessings. In Jesus Name Amen.

Satan I command you to take your hands off  me right now. I command you to cease and desist in any and all attempts to bring destruction or harm to me and my family. Father, I ask that You place a hedge of protection around my home now and around my body. In Jesus Name Amen.

(http://www.pastorjostwm.com/node/39)