Monday, December 3, 2018

5 Encouraging Truths To Remind Yourself


1. Have struggles? You're not alone, we all need Jesus

There are no “Super Christians”, everyone has struggles and nobody can live a Christian life without being connected to Jesus, The Vine (John 15:5). As we resist the enemy, steadfast in faith, remember “that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world”. (1 Peter 5:8-9). Also, “consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” Hebrews 12:3

2. Your identity isn’t defined by what other people think.

What God thinks is what matters: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11. “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.” Psalm 139:17-18

3. What other people do is never your fault

You are only responsible for your own actions and not the actions of another. “The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” Ezekiel 18:20b. Likewise, it's nobody else’s fault if you don’t continually ask God to refill you with the “oil” of the Holy spirit. (Luke 11:13, Matthew 25:8-9). Nobody else can have a relationship with God for you, so use your God-given free choice to seek God for yourself.

Your main concern should be what God does and wants to do in your life, so don't worry about others do or don't do. As disciples of Jesus, we are to follow Jesus, not other disciples, so mind your own walk with Jesus (John 21:20-22). While we are to encourage others to follow Jesus or to stay faithful in walk they already have with Jesus, we can't walk for them (and nobody can walk for you either). Jesus said that if anyone thirst, let them come and drink (John 7:37). We all must come to Jesus for ourselves.

4. Your worth is not based on your performance

Your worth comes from God who made you and redeemed you: “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.'” Isaiah 43:1. “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

The Christian life isn't about what we do, it's about what God has done and wants to do through us. "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10. We need God's Spirit in order to love the way He does (Romans 5:5).

5. God can do great things through you

“With God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26b. Remember when Moses was called by God, he was asked “What is in your hand?” (Exodus 4:1-3). God can use the simplest things for His work. Don't compare yourself to others, remember that everyone has different gifts, but the Spirit and the Lord are the same (2 Corinthians 10:12, 1 Corinthians 12:3-4). Since Jesus is Lord over everything and everything we have comes from God, then how does comparing yourself with others make any sense? (1 Corinthians 4:7). How much can we do without Jesus? Nothing. (John 15:5).

Your life may be broken, but when you give life to Jesus, He can use the pieces to bless others. How is that? It's when we find comfort in Him who bore our own suffering and then share that same comfort with others around us. (Isaiah 53:4, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4). God can turn a mess into a message, a test into a testimony, a trial into a triumph, and a victim into a victory. Call upon God in the day of trouble, He will deliver you from the hand of the enemy and then you will have a testimony to tell that glorifies God for what He has done to help get you through (Psalm 50:15, Psalm 107:2). In order to be powerful witnesses, we need the power of God's Spirit (Acts 1:8, Zechariah 4:6).

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