Lies That We Believe That Need to Be Replaced with Truth

Luke 12:6-7, “What is the price of five sparrows – two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” NLT

Have you ever believed the lies that God has put you aside on a shelf for now, that God is not enough, and that He is not really involved in your life? Jesus used sparrows to illustrate God’s watchful care and intimate knowledge of us as His children. Heavy burdens can overcome and overwhelm us. I have been there many times. But God sees you; He sees me, and everything that is happening in the world – even to sparrows. Jesus stated in Matthew 10:29-31, “What is the price of two sparrows – one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” Sparrows are very small birds and are not brightly colored. Sparrows were inexpensive in New Testament times, and always around, so they seemed unimportant. Yet sparrows were dependent upon God for their daily needs. Do you fully realize you have great value to God no matter what you can and cannot do? God’s estimate of our worth is not based on our performance, achievements, getting everything checked off on our “to-do list for the day,” or outward appearance. Yet how many times do we judge ourselves by these very things, and they then become idols when they dominate our thoughts.

 It all goes back to living the cross-centered life and preaching the gospel to ourselves every day. God showed how valuable you are to Him by sending His only Son to die for you (John 3:16). Any difficult trial or threat cannot disengage God’s love or cancel out His Spirit from within you.

Next question: Are you believing the lie that God is not really involved in your life? Jesus said in Luke 12:6-7 and Matt. 10:29-31 that we are worth much more than a sparrow and even sees when they fall to the ground. Every life, no matter how small, even the sparrows, is precious to God. No one is beyond God’s care for the details of our circumstances. We have the promise of truth in Psalm 34:15, which states, “The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help.” Then read Isaiah 65:24 out loud: “I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!” Sometimes God’s answer is no, not yet; other times, yes. So, trust God’s sovereign will. God is more concerned with what He needs to teach us and with developing our character to become more Christ-like, is always His purpose.

How do these truths apply to the issues you are currently facing? Ask God to help you see something new about Him as you read these verses again. Ask Him to correct any lies you believe about Him or anything you misunderstand. You may not always feel God’s presence, but dear one, He is right there and cares about what you are experiencing. Ask God what He wants you to learn from the situation. Turn your focus off of “God, this is what I want.” Instead, ask God, “What do you want of me, and direct my steps according to Your Word of truth,” trusting that He will guide you in the right direction, because He is omnipotent, therefore He is able to do anything consistent with His desires as God. “Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust Him, and He will help you.” Psalm 37:5. God is enough.

Listen to Cece Winans – Goodness of God (Official Video)

Fully Connected

John 15:5, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

Do you feel at times you need regenerative power to go on in life? Are you abiding and thriving in God’s redeeming power? In John 15:4, Jesus states, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.” Then, as Jesus declared to the disciples in John 15:5b, “For apart from me you can do nothing.” Jesus is saying, stay close to me; know my words of instruction, wisdom, and correction.

How do you stay connected to Jesus throughout your day? We all get so busy being busy, yet Jesus taught the disciples in John 15:1-2, “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” That is what he is referring to in verse 5. In this chapter, he talks about the fruit of answered prayer, joy, and love as fruit (15:7,11,12). When your life is filled with holiness (Rom. 6:22), helping others (Rom. 15:28; Col. 1), giving praise to His name (Heb. 13), and showing love to others (Gal. 5:22), witnessing to the lost boldly, joyful, peaceful and patient, you are exhibiting and producing the “fruit” Jesus is talking about in John 15:5, continually abiding in putting God first in your life.

I have to ask myself how much time I give to praying. I so often feel anxious or irritated with a situation and stew and stew. But do I remember to talk to God first about it, rather than to anyone else, and remind myself that God is sovereign and omnipresent? He already knows the outcome and the reason. In John 15:5 Jesus tells me, “apart from me you can do nothing.” That is so true! If prayer was the first response, then being filled with the Holy Spirit is life-giving water to our soul, and food from God’s Word should be how we connect with Jesus throughout the day. I recently read that if you want to hear God speak, read His Word out loud!

The focus for our prayers should not be “God, this is what I want.” But “God, what do you want of me to glorify and be more like Christ in this situation? It requires living in steadfast endurance, obeying God’s will, and staying close to Christ in our thoughts, producing much fruit. Jesus declared in John 8:32b, “the truth will set you free.” Yes, God’s Word of truth will set us free from depression, anxiety, fears, loneliness, and grumbling when we are having it feed our soul and hearts and minds.

Are you in a crisis or somewhere in between? Ask God to help you bear fruit out of it, which will be peace, love, and righteousness (Jeremiah 17:5-10). Jesus is the source of life, grace, and spiritual fruit. Stay connected by abiding in Christ through prayer, reading and meditating upon God’s Word, and realize apart from God you can do nothing.

Listen to Lauren Daigle – Lord I’m Tired (Lyrics Video)

Strategy in Coping With Pain and Suffering

2 Corinthians 4:17-18, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” NLT

Have recent trials like physical pain, relationship struggles, someone’s harsh and hurtful words, financial hardships, or unmet dreams tested your faith? During these times, if we focus on eternal life instead, gives us hope beyond the current pain. Our true identity needs to be in Christ, not in our suffering, because as Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians, we find our strength and purpose in serving Jesus, which helps us persevere and focus on our eternal future.

Paul stated in 2 Corinthians 4:13, “But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” Paul referenced Psalm 116:10, where the psalmist referenced his faith and trust in God amidst affliction, which he quoted in writing the church in Corinth to encourage and instruct them in their faith: “I believed in you, so I said, “I am deeply troubled, LORD.” That was a worshipful response, in trust in God, amidst afflictions. Speaking God’s Word to ourselves opens the transformative power, authority, and continuity of Scripture, poured into our hearts and minds.

We all have human limitations and trials, as Paul did, who experienced physical pain, frequent imprisonment, constant dangers, and emotional and spiritual struggles. Yet Paul’s strategy was to fix his eyes on Jesus rather than on the problem, because it was a means to have spiritual growth and participation in Christ’s sufferings (Rom. 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 1:5). God is still good. God is still faithful. Hebrews 12:2 gives us Paul’s strategy: “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

So dear reader, don’t give up. Keep on keeping on in living for Christ and for His glory. That is where your identity resides. Persevere faithfully, fixing your hope not on this life, which will have an ending, but the life to come that is unending. Seek proper medical treatments as needed, a Christian friend you trust, or financial advisors when needed, and pray for God to provide the needed wisdom and discernment for your situation as you read His Word. God is using what you are going through or will go through. Your Savior, Jesus Christ, experienced intense pain and suffering for you. He understands your suffering. Preach the gospel to yourself every day to be reminded of that fact. “Fix your gaze on the things that cannot be seen” – your future up in Glory.

I like how The Message paraphrases 2 Cor. 4:16-18, “So we are not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, and gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”

Listen to God, Please Give Me Peace – Phil Wickham

Why Did This Happen To Me?

2 Corinthians 12:9, “Each time he said, “my grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” NLT

Have you ever thought about the lies you believe versus the truths you believe in? Our beliefs are formed by our upbringing, family, culture, and age group, influencing what we think is right. But all truth is significantly found in Scripture and guides our thinking and actions rightly, as we read it, as Psalm 119:160 states, “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” Then Romans 15:4 declares, “For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.”

2 Timothy 3:16 states, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” Some people think the Bible is a collection of Bible stories and use it like an online search tool when something comes up. But that is not how the Bible was written. It was written to reveal the characteristics of God and the message of the gospel. It was written for God’s children, and it is about God. As Tara-Leigh Cobble of the Bible Recap has said, “In her own journey, she first read the Bible believing it was “about you,” looking for personal answers and self-centered meaning. Then her pastor challenged her to shift her lens: stop reading for yourself, and instead look for what God loved and hated, and what motivated Him to act.” Asking questions like “What does this passage reveal about God’s character?” and “What is God trying to teach me about Himself?” can help deepen understanding when reading Scripture.

So, it boils down to: do I believe, do you believe, that God’s grace is sufficient – that it is all you, it is all I need, because His power works best in our weaknesses as Paul taught and lived in 2 Corinthians 12:9? I have so many limitations. Paul even had something along those lines himself. It is thought to have been a physical affliction. God didn’t promise to take it away but promised to demonstrate His power through Paul. Paul didn’t ask God just once but many times to take whatever it was away. Each time, God said to Paul, “My grace is all you need.” Can I say that? Can you say that? Whatever our limitations are, God intends for them to develop Christian character and deepen our worship of Him, because we then affirm God’s strength, which gives us hope.

Jerry Bridges, in his book, The Discipline of Grace, says: “Learning to live by grace instead of by performance helps us to accept the discipline of adversity. For one thing, we realize that God is not disciplining us because of our bad performance but, on the contrary, because of His love for us. . . So we learn not to ask, “Why did this happen to me? (meaning, what did I do to deserve such bad treatment from God?). . . until we see the harvest of righteousness and peace produced by it.”

Did you notice that Paul used the word “weaknesses?” That shows his humility in admitting he had many, not just one. He used the present tense of “sufficient” (LSB) and “all you need” (NLT), which reminds us that God’s grace is always available. When you wonder, “Why did this happen to me?” embrace humility and see yourself as a vessel for God’s grace shining through you. That is all you need.

Listen to New Name Written Down In Glory (Lyric Video) Charity Gayle.

Changing The Way I Think

Romans 12:1-2, “And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” NLT.

Have you thought much about what you think about the most? We each need to examine ourselves from time to time and ask, “Am I living for Christ in my actions in holiness in this circumstance and in my thoughts, or only for myself?” At conversion, our hearts are changed within us, giving us a new perspective under Christ’s authority and helping us avoid conforming to ungodly patterns. Our emotions, however, reflect what we worship. They reveal what has captured our hearts – what we crave, treasure, and serve. Our prayer needs to be Psalm 119:114: “You are my refuge and my shield; your word is the source of my hope.” Our obedience from the heart is what God wants as we live a daily sacrifice to Him, trusting Him to guide and direct us because our sins have been forgiven at the cross.

How do you worship God? Do you realize how important it is to read His Word daily and talk to Him in prayer? That is how one cultivates a closer relationship with Him. The Bible teaches us about God, His personality, which is found in His attributes. When you read Scripture, pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and that it will help you love Him and others more. Ask Him to help you see something new about Himself that you have never seen before. Then ask Him to help you correct any lies you had not realized were wrong about God, or anything you might have misunderstood. Lastly, ask Him to direct your steps according to His Word, as the author of Psalm 119:105 stated, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a life to my path.” That changes the way we think.

Do you realize that, as a follower of Christ, you take the Holy Spirit with you everywhere you go because of the redemptive work on the cross? When you read God’s Word, the Holy Spirit reminds you throughout your day of the truths that you have read. But if we don’t spend time in Scripture, we are actually quenching the Spirit’s work in our lives because the Spirit works through the Word of God. When you habitually read God’s Word, you will be transformed into a new person by Him changing the way you think. Your response pattern in using the Bible to solve your problems will be forming new biblical ways of understanding and forming new biblical patterns automatically. Then you will know God’s will for you, which is “good and pleasing and perfect.”

As Ephesians 4:22-24 admonishes, “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.” Then, as Colossians 3:10 states, “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.”

Don’t know where to start in reading the Bible? Choose a book such as Psalms, John, Philippians, or Colossians for a few suggestions, and read it repeatedly for a month. This practice helps your mind and heart become new by fostering biblical thinking patterns and a biblical approach to life, firmly rooted in Christ.

Listen to Matthew West – Goodbye Yesterday (Lyric Video).

This Is What Is Required

Micah 6:8, “No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” NLT

“He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does Yahweh require of you but to do justice, to love lovingkindness, And to walk humbly with your God?” LSB

God always calls for repentance and living righteously. This passage presents Micah the prophet’s imagined courtroom, where God, the judge, has proven His case before the court, showing the injustice and deceit of Israel, whose own sin brought their affliction upon them, and appealing to the people to repent. It teaches us to shift from merely external religious performance to internal moral and spiritual integrity in our vertical relationship with our God and Savior. It is like a checklist for godly living as echoed in Proverbs 11:19, “Godly people find life; evil people find death.” That is pretty cut and dry. Evil people die without hope and miss out on the fullness of life, compared to those who are born-again and believe in Jesus Christ, who (John 11:25) has given eternal life. Then in Deuteronomy 10:12-13, Moses gives a summary that is easy to remember: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you must always obey the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.” We, I, need to remind myself every day of the gospel and that fact in living a cross-centered life in loving, following, serving, and obeying Him.

Micah 6:8 challenges us to examine whether we are living out what God requires of us, reflecting on whether we are compassionate, humble before God, and showing mercy to those who have wronged us. Showing mercy stops emotions of resentment and bitterness. What about not letting our ego take over our thoughts, actions, and words? As James 3:13 declares, “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.” Our perspective needs to be as 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

Spurgeon applied the idea of how to walk humbly with your God (Blue Letter Bible, David Guzik Commentary) in one of his sermons which stated:

  • Walk humbly when you are spiritually strong.
  • Walk humbly when you have much work to do.
  • Walk humbly in all your motives.
  • Walk humbly studying God’s word.
  • Walk humbly when under trials.
  • Walk humbly in your devotions.
  • Walk humbly between you and your brothers in Christ.
  • Walk humbly when dealing with sinners.

Have you discovered who or what you really are in Christ? Then you will be humble, live rightly with integrity, show mercy one more time than you feel like it to someone, and be humble before our great God. This is what God requires of you and me today.

Listen to Help My Unbelief by Chris Tomlin (Official Audio)

Priorities – Lies or Truth?

John 17:4, “I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” NKJV

Psalm 5:3, “Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:4 NLT.

How often don’t we all complain that we don’t have enough time in our day to get everything we are supposed to do done, and we are utterly exhausted? We have work obligations, family obligations, etc. So, the “list” we have made up for the day can become an idol to us, determining our sense of need for happiness on a seemingly good day versus a bad one, according to our own list. We have then made it a god in our life instead of doing each day what God wants us to do in obedience and honoring Him. I have to think about this myself and question what is on God’s list for me to do today, taking the whole picture into account from His perspective.

Jesus had quite a long list, wouldn’t you say, that He needed to do to accomplish God’s plan of redemption? Yet at the end of His life He declared, “I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” John 17:4 NKJV. Jesus accomplished this during the time on earth that God gave Him to do so. He doesn’t say He completed everything the disciples wanted Him to do, only what God gave Him to do.

What if, on your “to-do list,” you pray and say, “God, this is what I think I need to do today; what do you think, because I desperately need your help? I can’t do it on my own, and I want to give you glory in all that you have given me to do.” David did this and sought God’s counsel and wisdom in his responsibilities. The first thing he did each morning was give his requests to God and put his hope in God’s words.

Ephesians 2:10 explains our identity as it states, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Since this is true, remember you are not inferior and don’t need to compare yourself to anyone else or their great list of accomplishments. Grace-based living, preaching the gospel to oneself every day, leads to perseverance, producing virtues of serving with joy and peace, knowing one’s secure identity in Christ, in one’s pursuit of holiness. Each of us has seasons in our lives. What God gave me to do in my late twenties is different from what He has me to do now. The same is true for you. Yes, you have limitations – I have limitations. But God is enough is the truth we, and I, need to live by.

Start each day in God’s Word. Ask Him to correct any lies you believe about Him or misunderstandings as you read, helping you see His truth more clearly. Then ask God to guide your priorities and tasks for the day by His grace and sovereign will, so that your daily decisions are more aligned with His purpose. Conflict and chaos will expose our idols in our hearts – be mindful of that. Thrive where He has placed you by developing a deep and lasting relationship with our Lord and Savior through reading His Word daily and in prayer. Do your priorities lie in lies or truths? Ask God – He will tell you and set you free. Then pray Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”

Listen to Phil Wickham – The Name Above the Storm.

Peacemakers Relate Truth

James 3:17-18, “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.”

James, who was Jesus’ brother, was known as a peacemaker. It is recorded in Acts 15:13-21 that, when he became the leader of the church in Jerusalem, he turned to God’s Word as the ultimate test of truth between the Gentiles and the Jews, in getting along as brothers and sisters in Christ, rather than to man’s opinions, personal experiences, and convictions, as also noted in Galatians 2:9-10. His peacemaking skills came to the fore as he reached an acceptable compromise on an issue, bringing peace by drawing upon the Word of God.

How does one receive a blessing of being a peacemaker? Jesus promised this blessing in Matthew 5:9, during the Sermon on the Mount: “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.” Being blessed by God is more than merely being happy, which is about a happening. Happiness is like an elevator – it goes up, and it goes down. But when one is peace-loving and gentle, not depending on outward circumstances, we experience hope and joy. As Galatians 5:22-23 states, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Joy is a natural fruit of walking in the Spirit. Sounds like a job description of a “peacemaker,” doesn’t it?

James calls us not only to hear the truth from God’s Word, but also to put it into action in our lives. James teaches us in James 1:22, “But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” He says it is like looking in a mirror and then immediately forgetting what we look like (James 1:24). We need to preach the gospel to ourselves daily, which gives us hope, joy, and courage. So, putting James 3:17-18 into practice, our ambition in communication needs to be to please God and to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30), as shown through our word choices. How often would we have stopped to pray and ask God to tell us what to do and say so that we wouldn’t make mistakes because of our own selfish desires and idols of the heart, when faced with conflict?

When was the last time somebody provoked you? Oh, just an hour ago, you might say, or less! Yet 1 Corinthians 13:5 states, “love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.” Pray that you will not engage unnecessarily in conflict. When someone else is angry, think of Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Listen, pause, and refuse to sin in your communication (Proverbs 8:6-8). Pray to have the qualities of being “a peacemaker to reap a harvest of righteousness.” Foolishness leads to disorder, but the wisdom found in God’s Word leads to peace.

Therefore, James 3:17-18 should be a grid for any conversation or word of instruction. May our actions show sincere mercy, reflecting God’s goodness, and seek to be peacemakers, as James was and as Jesus taught in Matthew 5:9. Plant peace and reap righteousness as God blesses peacemakers.

Listen to God of Every Grace, Keith and Kristyn Getty.

Mind Renewal

Philippians 4:8, “And now dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” NLT

Training ourselves to renew our minds in God’s Word is part of God redeeming us in our sanctification. That is the process of being made holy and set apart for God’s purposes in our lives, as we live in ways that reflect God’s character and values. We have to fight against living by our circumstances – for that is not where our identity lies. We have to discipline our thoughts, as Paul taught in Philippians 4:8, because God is our source of power and our daily guide, both when things are clear and when they are unclear. He is the true and only source of contentment and peace.

Reviewing past answers to prayers and praying, which is simply communicating with God is one way to renew our minds. Ephesians 4:23 instructs us to, “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.” That takes discipline. Every time a king in the Old Testament failed to ask God for counsel in making a decision, they failed miserably. Our motivation needs to be always for desiring God-honoring ways and honoring God in all we do and speak.

Our own understanding of our circumstances may not capture the full picture, and we have limited knowledge, so it comes down to Proverbs 3:5 instruction, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” God is a better judge of what we need than we are. We need to follow what Jesus taught in Luke 12:31, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.” Then ask yourself, what do you know about God that you didn’t know a month ago? Think about that.

Yes, we all are tempted to give in to anxiety as life has its ups and downs. But in renewing our mind by thinking biblically, and on Matthew 6:27, which Jesus taught, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” The obvious answer is NO. We know that, but it takes, again, renewing our minds in God’s Word to give us daily, moment-by-moment joy and peace that He is in control. Worrying damages our health, disrupts our ability to think clearly, affects how we treat others, and reduces our trust in God. As Jesus taught in Matthew 6:30b, “Why do you have so little faith?” Renewing our minds continually through reading and studying God’s Word will change our way of thinking to a biblical way of thinking. As Romans 12:1-2 states, “And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” NLT. Yes, be reassured that God’s will for you is “good and pleasing and perfect.”

God’s ultimate purpose for us is to redeem us from sin and sanctify us to live a life that reflects God’s character and values. Rather than only coping with anxiety, God’s Word is sufficient to transform our thoughts, attitudes, and eliminate our wrong thinking, forming us into a new person, and guarding our thoughts with the truth of Scripture.

Engage in God’s Word each day, and preferably in the morning, before anything else. Ask for His counsel and guidance, strengthening your faith and hope each day, in obedience to Him. We have to keep our thoughts focused on our identity in Christ, the gospel, and the truth of Philippians 4:8 as we renew our minds biblically.

Listen to MercyMe, Tim Timmons & Sam Wesley – Make It Well.

Coping With Any Predicament

Proverbs 17:22, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” NLT

Proverbs 17:27-28, “A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.” NLT

Who would you rate as the wisest person who has been your go-to mentor when you needed someone to listen to you about something that was deeply bothering you and needed their words of wisdom? Solomon was one of the most famous in the Old Testament, for his wisdom, which he received from God when he humbly asked for the ability to justly judge the people and to know right from wrong (1 Kings 3:9), and is one of the main writers of the book of Proverbs. The wise people in my life that I have sought out from time to time live out Proverbs 16:21, which says, “The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive.”

A “broken-spirit” (Prov. 17:22) is cross-referenced with Proverbs 15:13: “A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit.” Furthermore, Solomon stated in Ecclesiastes 8:1, “How wonderful to be wise, to analyze and interpret things. Wisdom lights up a person’s face, softening its harshness.” Wisdom is not learned automatically; it comes from the ability to see life through eternal eyes, from God’s perspective, and then to know the best course of action to take. “Knowledge is having the facts. Understanding is the ability to discern what the facts mean and how they fit together in the big picture. Wisdom is knowing how to apply your knowledge and understanding, translating it into the everyday life of a Christ follower.” The Bible Recap, Tara-Leigh Cobble, page 339.

God blessed Solomon with an understanding heart. The apostle Paul taught in Philippians 4:8, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” ESV. This was Paul’s secret in prison in coping with his predicament. We all face struggles, and that is when we need to put off our fears, and put on 1 Peter 5:7, which states, “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Our hearts need to crave, treasure, serve, and worship our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. Our emotions reflect what we worship and what has captured our hearts. David said in Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” God is righteous, gracious, and merciful. Christ’s communication was always timely. We need the skill of being timely in our communication, as it says, “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances. Proverbs 25:11.

Be encouraged – seek out a godly mentor when needed. Model the grace that God has so graciously given to you. Have an ongoing list of what you are thankful for that God has done in your life. Then, as you read God’s Word, ask Him to give you knowledge, understanding, and wisdom so that you can cope with any predicament. Then you will have good judgment. Our trials reveal our loyalty to God (Psalm 44:21b-26). Lastly, Ps. 119:143 gave me great reassurance recently as it says, “As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.” NLT. That is the source of our solution for coping with any predicament.

Listen to My Soul Will Wait (Psalm 62) Official Lyric Video.