Worry is is the Chief Thief of our hope! Worry is a stalker, each time we get up the courage to believe again, to start moving forward, AGAIN, here comes worry badgering us to focus on the wrong things! Continue reading
Sunday Reflections
Trusting over Feeling
Yes, [God] wants you to sense His Presence, but He’s more concerned that you trust Him than that you feel Him. Faith, not feelings, please God -Rick Warren
Do you ever feel like God is hiding from you? Have you ever felt like you were going through the toughest time in your life, and He was no where to be found, or like your heartfelt prayers were unheard? If you’ve felt these or similar feelings, what were your responses?
I certainly have had times in my life where it seemed like God was silent. I have cried myself to sleep many nights, wondering if God was even listening to my intense pleas for comfort, clarity, and/or direction. These seasons in my life where God has seemed silent were some of the most challenging times in my faith journey. My responses have varied during these times. There have been times when God’s seeming distance made me shut down, and there have been times when His seeming distance made me pray more and continue to intentionally draw closer to Him. There have been times in these seasons when I have felt alone, depressed, lost, and even forgotten….
If you haven’t experienced these times of seeming distance, it is inevitable that you eventually will, You may even be enduring one of these seasons as you read this, and I want you to know that God has not forgotten you. In fact, it is impossible for Him to forget you. Your ability to inhale and exhale in this moment testifies that He hasn’t. Most importantly, your breath is evidence that you have not reached the end of your life’s story, so that means,
IT AIN’T OVER, and God’s goodness for your life is still ahead of you!
Surrendered
Victory comes through surrender. Surrender doesn’t weaken you; it strengthens you. Surrendered to God, you don’t have to fear or surrender to anything else
~Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life
As much as I’ve understood that “Surrender” is necessary in my personal relationship with God , I had never thought of surrender as being a position of continual VICTORY. Yet, when I read those words, they immediately resonated with me, and awakened me to a greater desire to be fully surrendered to God. Continue reading
Come Closer
Last week, I shared the immense impact that reading Purpose Driven Life had on me this year. On Sunday evenings for the next several weeks, I want to share some of the impactful principles in the book. My hope is that you would be encouraged, and also intrigued to consider reading, or maybe even re-reading the book as well.
The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears
-Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life
Hope Notes 
