Tag: jesus

Have you ever heard that saying, “there is a season for everything?” Well, often times, when things are out of control, we go back to what’s familiar instead of waiting for or trusting in the promise. God has your situation all worked out. But, when things get out of control, we want to hold onto our old ideas or ways of thinking to try and figure out how to handle situations. But, often times, we can’t figure out why God can’t just fix the situation in the moment. We build up these questions in our head and ask, “where was God? Did He just not show up? Am I alone in this battle? I don’t see you God, why do you feel distant?” But, the truth is… He has never left you.

Matthew 11:28-30, talks about the weary and burdened. That when we go to him, his promise is rest. He is gentle and humble. He sees the burden you carry and wants to help you.

Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” That heaviness you feel, is not from God. It is because you tried to do it on your own instead of waiting.

Proverbs 18:24, this verse talks about how there is someone who sticks closer than a brother that we can lean on. Anyone wanna guess who that might be? That’s right, Jesus!!!

This is not to shame or guilt trip anyone. Because let’s be honest, none of us are perfect, but we are human. Our imparfections is what makes us discontent when something doesn’t go our way. I fall into this too. But, the point of this is always… Jesus won’t abandon you in the middle of the sea nd leave you in the boat. Luke 15:6 talks about how Jesus left the ninety-nine to go after the one. The one Jesus went after, is us. We have been given grace not because we deserve it, but because Jesus loves us so much.

Think about Saul before he became Paul. He believed in God, but, he was a murderer of Christians. One day, he traveled the road of Damascuss when confronted by a bright light (an angel of the Lord) that caused him to go blind. God could have just left him there and not given him back his sight. But God, he saw his heart transform and his mind was renewed. His sight was returned back to him and he was changed from that day on. His name was changed to Paul. God gave him his new identity from that day on.

You may be asking yourself, what is the point of this story? The point is this… Things are not microwavable. As hard as it is to think about, we have to wait on the Lord. Sometimes what we see is not always the final outcome. Challenges, trials, tribulations will come. Unexpected events will come, but joy always comes in the morning.

For Paul, the Joy came when he figured out he was blind. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. That was only because he recognized the spiritual blindess he had and the fight and battle he went through to restore it, that was like the red sea splitting for him to get to his victory. He knew, he wasn’t going to be blind physically forever, but the condition of his heart had to change.

So, when things seem out of our control, just know that it is ony temporary. This will pass and victory will be yours. But this process is only for a moment.

One final question to think about

What is one thing you are struggling with right now? Do you believe Jesus is fighting this battle? What does this battle look like? Do you want victory?

Comment bellow and I will respond and pray with you. God bless you

Tiffany Branigan

John 15:4

“Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bare fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you, unless you abide in the vine.”

Psalm 46:10

“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the Earth.”

I am not a parent, but those that are, you know that a toddler has a hard time sitting still or laying down for a nap. You have tried everything, calming music, rocking them to sleep, patting them on the back, but they seem to be so restless. They feel discontent, irritable because something deep down is bugging them, but cannot say what it is. So what do we do to help them? Pray the peace of God over their lives. We ask God to intervene, because we don’t know what else to do as parents. Guess what God does? Just like with Peter, James, John in the boat when the seas raged, Jesus came, walking on water and calm the raging sea.

Maybe right now, something inside you is feeling restless. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but it’s causing irritability and maybe even sleepless nights. I have good news! Jesus is here and he wants the fears, worries, anxieties, pressures of life, so you too, can rest. In that moment, it’s as if Jesus is saying, “let me comfort you and give you the rest that you need right now.” I wanna let you know parents, we are all little children in the eyes of God. Sometimes when things get too much and we don’t know how to talk about it or we don’t know how to express it. God knows, he sees and he will comfort us. We will feel that gentle pat on the back, we will feel a warm hug from the Holy Spirit, we will hear a sweet sweet sound, like a whisper from heaven saying, “Here am I.” Psalm 46:10 reminds us that we are not God. We don’t have the answers and we never will. The promise that it gives us is peace. Peace in every situation. Peace in every circumstance. When you call up upon the name of the Lord, and when you feel overwhelmed and stressed out. Exalt him for he is good. God will never let you down.

Challenge:

For those that have tried to do things on their own. Learn to abide in Jesus and let him carry you and see how God moves in your life.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I pray over every parent, every home, every circumstance and situation. I ask the peace of God to flood over their homes and go into the kids schools. Go into the workplace of the hard-working parents. Sometimes, some days are hard and we cannot do it without you, Lord. As we abide you, may you carry us to victory as we rest and wait on you, Lord. For you have given us a promise and with that we say, “yes sir, yes and amen.” Guide us by your Holy Spirit, so that as we abide in you and your words abide in us, we will rest in knowing that you God are for us and not against us. We trust you and release our burdens to you, in Jesus name, Amen!!!

If you have ever lived in Florida, then you know the storms that come through here are what some people call “catostrophic or nothing to mess with.” But, even if these storms are what people have said, we walk by faith and not by sight. We trust that even in the middle of the storm, we are anchored to the source (Jesus) and in Him, we have nothing to fear. Before the storm, we are checking the raidar and hoping, praying that it doesn’t come at us. That we don’t get hit by the storm. We take every precaution, use sandbags, clear out anything outside we know is not stable enough to hold in a storm and move it. So now, we have done everything that was needed to be safe, the storm comes, destroying everything. Once the storm ends, fears, doubt, maybe tears, anger, all come up because of what was lost in the aftermath.

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten
    the great locust and the young locust,
    the other locusts and the locust swarm
my great army that I sent among you.
 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
    and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
    who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
Then you will know that I am in Israel,
    that I am the Lord your God,
    and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed. And afterward,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.
 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
 I will show wonders in the heavens
    and on the earth,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
    there will be deliverance,
    as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors
    whom the Lord calls.”

Joel 2:25-32

What is God saying here? Whatever you have lost, I will restore twice as much as what was taken. this means, that no matter what you have lost, what happened, why it happened, God is in your corner. What the enemy meant for evil, God meant for good. (Genesis 50:20-21). The enemy thought he had you, but Jesus said, “you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1). He understands the grief and the loss. (Psalm 147:3; Matthew 11:28-30). He understands the anger and the fears (John 2:14-22), but even still, He shows up in the mess just like He will in the victories. This is all to say, Jesus understands what you are going through because He experienced all of those emotions too. Throughout scripture, he gives hope, for He is hope. “He gives love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galations 5:22-23). For that is who He is and what he does. Be encouraged today, that one day, the trumpet will blow and the alarm will sound. Jesus will come back again wrapped in glory and take up those in the graves and all the saints (those who are saved) and we will be in the heavenly places with god Almighty praising Him and giving Him glory.

As deep cries unto deep, so does my soul cry out to you my Lord. When things don’t make sense and words are hard to form, you are the on whom I run to. I long to know you more Lord. Jesus, you hear the cries at night and how my soul is desperate for a touch from heaven. you made it clear to me that what I was looking for, was not what I needed at that time. What I need is something only your spirit can give. Everything inside of me is saying, “you are the Messiah, my refuge, fortify my faith and make me more like you.” I want one thing, but I can live without it, what I cannot live without is you. I see your hand Jesus reching into the water to grab me, as I grab a hold of your hand right now, I lift my eyes to the heavens, my countenance towards you. As you have delivered me from my enemies, I will rest and remain in you. Holy Spirit, fill those empty spaces with more of your love and truth. Sanctify and uplift me into your hands for I want to just be held by you right now.

Maybe right now, there is someone who is going through a hard season right now and just needs to be held. Needs a hug, or to be told, “everything will be ok, I am standing with you even if noone else does.” I believe we all need eachother, especially in the hard times. We are not called to isolate, we are called to battle and stand by eachother in those hard times and the good. It’s ok to not be ok. But don’t hide from those that just want to help. I want to ask, “where are you looking?” Because our eye gates are very sensitive, as well as our ears. What goes in is what comes out. If we surround ourselves with those who are Christ centered, positive, uplifting, we will be filled up to overflow. We cannot let the hard times or seasons push us back to who we were. Everyday, we need to strive to be more Christ-like. Are you ready to get filled up to overflow?