YOU ARE NOT ALONE … The other night I couldn’t sleep,  attacked by a sense of failure … discouragement …  anxiety… depression … aching, in pain … But I was not left alone. (continued below). You are never alone.  Read short story below … [Song: We are not alone].

When Troubled … Be Encouraged: A Few Words from Heaven to Your Soul.

Be certain of this, others have been where you are, they have been tempted to cave to the pressures, to give into the doubt, to be overwhelmed by the circumstances. They have been betrayed, slandered, and abused. They have lost loved ones, have faced severe temptations, have been horrifically abused: mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually … but those who cried out to Him for help in faith, were able to overcome, able to persevere, able to be strengthened in their weakness, and able to live to tell us about it, to become witnesses in their generation, and even in ours.

1 Corinthians 10:11-13 (NIV)
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 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 [a way of escape] so that you can endure it.

Psalms 23:4 (KJV)
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Deuteronomy 31:6 (KJV)
6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

John 6:37-40 (NIV)
37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

John 10:27-30 (NIV)
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Exodus 6:6-8 (NIV)
6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.’”

Deuteronomy 4:32-34 (NIV)
32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

As I wrote before: YOU ARE NOT ALONE

 

A confession: Not of strength, but of weakness.

The other night I couldn’t sleep, I felt like I was suffocating, had trouble breathing, had trouble in my stomach, trouble in my heart. It was racing (I have A-Fib), and it looked like another night I was not going to get rest for my mind, my body, or my spirit. In this place of frustration, the spirit of despair began to descend. I felt attacked by a sense of failure. I was constantly being reminded of past failures, of projects started with good intentions, but ended without the blessing they were intended to have. Discouragement, anxiety, depression, aching pain, continued to take a hold of the moment. The whole mess caused me to feel helpless, hopeless, and without worth.

But I knew somewhere deep down inside of me, that I was not alone. Somewhere in my soul I cried out a silent prayer in my heart. I asked My Father for His Strong Arm. I asked for His protective embrace. His mighty outstretched arm that has done mighty deeds, to wrap around my shoulder, and bring me mercy, and bring me comfort and relief.

And I will be honest. I don’t always have my prayers answered. I ask for lots of things to be restored, that I have seen to be dashed to bits. So this experience is not about my great faith, or my great character, or any goodness in me, or anything even related to me. It is about the mercy and kindness and nature of God.

I needed God’s help, and God showed up. I felt His comfort. I felt His Mercy. I felt His Acceptance, His Forgiveness and Grace. I felt it through the embrace of my soul. I felt His mighty arms around me, I cannot exactly explain it, but I can tell you I felt it. I felt the attack of my mind and my emotions begin to subside. I felt the rest of my heart and my breathing, and my stomach stop churning. I felt thanksgiving and gratitude and peace replace the previous turmoil of soul.

I’m not saying it always happens like this, but I can testify, that it did happen this time. No. I didn’t get all my prayers answered that night. But what I did get was an unforgettable moment of Love and Truth. The Mighty King of Heaven cares for the lonely, the despised, the rejected, the and He saves all who call out to Him from a pure and humble and contrite heart. And I was able to sleep for the first time in a few nights, for longer than 4 hours of sleep. When it looked like I was not going to get hardly a wink of sleep.

It’s not like I am special. He has been doing this work of Love, throughout all the ages, and in every generation. He has made a Covenant. A Legally Binding Document–that’s why it’s called a TESTAMENT. It represents His Will, and Testament. Should we enter into His Covenant, and Receive His Conditions of Blessings and Curses. Rewards and Punishments … Should we accept our responsibilities and our challenges and overcome our weaknesses by faith, will we be like the saints of old, walking in Unity and Harmony with Heaven, and enjoying the Favor of God upon our lives. This is a rock solid guarantee, based on His Word, His Character, His Nature, and His Covenant Signed with HIS BLOOD.

DEFININTION: Tes·ta·ment | noun

1) a person’s will, especially the part relating to personal property: father’s will and testament.

2) something that serves as a sign or evidence of a specified fact, event, or quality:

KNOWING HIS COVENANT, and walking it out in our real lives, will produce a great reward, but maybe not in this life. That is not guaranteed. In fact, the opposite is guaranteed: All who live godly in Messiah … will be persecuted. If we have not been deceived by a false Gospel Message, we will, along with the Apostles, Rejoice that we were considered worthy to suffer for the Name.

Acts 5:41-42 (NASB)

41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

Everything He has done, He has done for Us. Let everything we do … let us do it with Him in Mind, and we will never regret all that we have done.

Shalom,

Brother Thomas

2 Timothy 3:12-17 (ESV) 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Psalms 23:1-3 (KJV)

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Luke 1:46-53 (NIV)
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.

Hebrews 13:5-6 (KJV)
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness [the love of money]; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

 

Isaiah 40:1-5 (NIV)

1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her

that her hard service has been completed,

that her sin has been paid for,

that she has received from the LORD’s hand

double for all her sins.

3 A voice of one calling:

“In the wilderness prepare

the way for the LORD;

make straight in the desert

a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be raised up,

every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level,

the rugged places a plain.

5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,

and all people will see it together.

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

 

Song: Coming Soon. (Any Suggestions?) May be you have a better choice or selection …