My Grace is Sufficient

The other day, I was in prayer with God, and this thought, My grace is sufficient, popped into my mind. God had me think on it and study it, because I asked a simple question, "What does that mean?"

I searched the meaning of "grace" because I was curious exactly what it meant - and to my surprise, here was the definition given to me by Google.

: (in Christian belief) the free and unmerited favor of God

I've heard many definitions of God's grace, but this one stuck out to me the most. God's grace is free and unmerited. That means, we don't have to do anything to get this grace and favor; we just have to be His.

Now that we've heard the definition, let's go back to My grace is sufficient. The first part of 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness...”

My grace is sufficient...  God's grace is enough. What's it enough for? Anything. Everything. It doesn't matter what situation we're facing, what matters is that having God on our side, that's enough. 

Take a look at what God said in the next part of that verse, "My strength is made perfect in weakness."  

When we feel at our weakest, God's strength is perfect. As I was struggling with some things, my weaknesses, they brought me closer to God. They opened up doors I hadn't experienced with Christ before. I had opened a door to the Savior, even though I was struggling and feeling all alone. God's strength helped me through my weakness. His strength helped me fight a battle I had been struggling with.

His strength had proven to be perfect because I was relying on Him to get me through this. I didn't have the strength myself to face the tormenting thoughts the devil was placing in my head. (I was fighting worry and depression, and the devil was using this against me.) It had been a constant battle for weeks to get over this and I was worn down. I didn't know if I could make it anymore, but God showed me that His strength was enough to get me through because it was perfect. I'm only human. I couldn't have done it on my own, and God knew that. 

This whole time, God's grace was more than sufficient. His free and unmerited favor was mine; all I had to do was reach out and get it.  His strength was mine. All I had to do was reach out and take it. 

Don't let your situation dictate your life. God has sent you His strength. Lean on Him. And always remember, His grace (free and unmerited favor) is more than enough. You can do this. You can make it through whatever storm you're facing. Don't let the devil have the wheel because he'll take you down the wrong path every time.

God Will Supply Your Needs

I'm so sorry that I've been absent for a month on my blog!  I've had a busy month on the author front, touring my books, searching for agents, and trying not to stress over it all.  That's partly why I've written this post.  It's not just my worries on the financial front, but others that sparked this post.  

There seems to be a lot of unnecessary worry over things that we don’t have control over.  The money for this month’s bills isn’t in.  If we have the money to pay the bills, we don’t have money for anything else.  Making ends meet is difficult, and it’s stressful.  But that doesn’t mean God doesn’t love or care for us.  Because Paul said, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

But what happens when we’re still struggling?  We pray and pray and pray.  We cry out to God, begging for answers, but it doesn’t seem like our need is being met.  But we’re human, and our eyes are deceiving.  When was the last time you went hungry?  What was the last bill that you couldn’t pay? 

Psalm 37:25

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

God has made us a promise.  God has promised to supply all our needs, and in return, His seed (us) will not beg for bread (or anything else that you need.)  God doesn’t want His children struggling.  Why?  If we’re struggling, we can’t focus on Him, because our minds are on something else.  If we’re worrying, we’re pushing God out of the equation, and God needs to be right in the middle of that equation.

Your equation needs to look like this: 

God + Tithes/Offerings – Worry – The Devil = Peace and Needs Met

Take the worry out of your life.  God cares about you.  God is not going to let you suffer.  He has proven to me over and over again just how much He loves me.  I’m not rich, nor am I famous (yet), but God has supplied my need!  He’s given me money to pay my bills, to sow into other ministries and church, and the money to go out with my friends.  I may come close to being extremely low on cash, but God never fails in giving back what I sow! 

Notice that I’ve been talking about sowing seeds.  God loves a cheerful giver!  (2 Corinthians 9:7)  Don’t be stingy in giving God your money because really, you wouldn’t have gotten that money if it hadn’t been for God. 

Malachi 3:7-12

Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?  Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.  And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

When we give tithes and offerings, God gives back to us.  He supplies us with His riches and glory!  Every need that we have will be met with blessings that we won’t have room to receive!  Oh how good God is!  He doesn’t let His children suffer.  We cause the suffering.  The devil causing our suffering.  So kick him out of the equation, kick worry out and you’re left with peace and every need supplied. 

Psalm 23:1

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Worrying. What good does it do for you?

I’ve always considered myself a compulsive worrier, and honestly, sometimes, I still fight that worrying.  Worrying used to consume my mind – and body for that matter.  I couldn’t stop thinking about the things that I couldn’t control.  But why should I worry?  What was worrying actually doing for me?  Absolutely nothing except for taking my focus off of God.

I think the devil uses worrying to keep our minds off of that God has promised us.  See here in Matthew 6: 25-33:

                   Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

God says that He knows what we need.  If we just seek Him, he will give us everything that we need.  So why are we worrying about these things?  God has already promised us that we’re going to get them.  We just have to seek Him.

John 16:24

Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

The other day I came across something in James that had me thinking, and this was my thought: Worry is a sin.  Think about it.  When we worry, we aren’t putting our faith where it needs to be in God.  We are doubting that God will take care of our every needs. 

James 1: 6-8

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.  A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

These verses in James are talking about asking for wisdom, but I feel like we can apply this to everything that we ask for.  Ask in faith, don’t waver because if you do, you’ll be like a wave, tossed here and to.  Don’t think that you can’t receive anything from the Lord.  The Lord supplies all our needs!  Just read back to what He knows that we need.  He will give us these things!

Philippians 4:19

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

This verse doesn’t say whatever we need.  It says God will supply ALL our needs!  God knows what He’s doing.  God knows what we need.  Just sit back and put you faith where your worry is!  Take out that worry and doubt and substitute it for faith!  What have you got to lose?

Too stressed to be blessed?

Do you know the old saying, "Too blessed to be stressed"?  Well, it's actually true, but we tend to lose sight of that during the stressful moments of our life.  Sure, we know that we're blessed, but when the world is weighing on your shoulders, it's hard to see that.  Really hard.

I battle stress and worry on a daily basis.  It's hard for me to overcome.  Hard but not impossible. 

I picked up my Promises for Women from God's Word book and was flipping through it.   I just wanted to read a few verses of something before going to sleep.  I notice the header, Stress, on one of the pages.  I began reading the verses it gave.  One of them was, Psalm 23.  I thought Well how on earth is that gonna help my stress?  I kept reading, hoping that I would come across something to use for when I'm stressed.  I ended up reading through seven passages about stress. 

You know, I was uncertain about how those certain passages spoke to my stress.  Until I came to the last passage.  Phillippians 4: 6-7

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (ESV)

I'm not sure what version of the Bible is used in this book, but I like the wording of it.

Never worry about anything.  But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks.  Then God's peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.

Now, I've read these verses a hundred times before.  But, it struck me.  Why was I worrying about things that I couldn't control?  Why wasn't I seeking God about my worries and asking Him for help instead of doing things my way and by myself.  And God, well, He will guard your emotions and give you peace!

It's hard, I know, to let God take things in His hands.  Heck, we're stupid little fleshly humans.  We want to do things ourselves and not trust God.  When we shut Him out like that though, we're keeping ourselves from experiencing peace of mind.

Think about that for a moment.  We're giving up our peace solely because we don't want to trust God and stop worrying. 

My challenge for you (and me) is to give up the things that are stressing us and talk to God.  He'll guard us and give us peace.


As an author, these mostly pertains to fellow authors, but the tips may be helpful in addition to this post, at helping you de-stress.  Check out this blog post on my writing blog.

Stop Talking, Start Praying - Moving beyond our worries

Some things have been on my mind lately.  Mostly, they’ve been revolving around our country, what’s happening with it, and all these politics.  I’m not a very political person, and I usually don’t speak out about my politics.  This is still one of those times.  This post ISN’T about politics or how I view the running of this country.  This post is about something we’ve probably forgotten to do. 

PRAY.

I’m not saying that you don’t pray.  That’s between you and God, but what I’m saying is that it’s easy to FORGET to pray about important things.  Instead, we want to talk about it, get our feelings off our chest.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but sometimes, that can do more damage than good.

I strongly believe that we need to stop talking about it and start praying about it.  Talking won’t do any good.  It will lead you to worry unnecessarily or start unintentional debates that might not lead to the best of times. 

My family and I were discussing politics and some decisions we weren’t too thrilled about our president making, but I stopped the discussion and said, “It’s time we stop talking and start praying.”  Because, you know what?  God has us in His hands.  God will be the one who delivers His people out of the mess we find ourselves in.

Psalm 29:11 (Amplified Bible) says, “The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.”

So why should we keep talking about our problems, or the problems we MIGHT face when the Bible says that The Lord will give us strength; He will bless us with peace?  Isn’t that enough that enough to know that no matter what happens in our life, that God will give us strength and peace?  He isn’t going to let anything bad happen to His people. 

Sure, we all face trials and tribulations, but God will give us that peace and strength we need to survive it. 

This goes beyond politics.  This applies to everything in our lives.  We need to stop worrying and talking about it to praying about it and seeking out the only person who can help us – God. 

I’m not saying don’t discuss your problems with friends, family members, counselors, etc.  What I’m saying is, sometimes we need to talk to God about it.  Prayer changes everything.  So, stop talking about it and start praying about it.  You’ll feel much better about it in the end.

Why so negative?

Negativity is like a poison.  It spreads until finally it's taken over your mind.  It sits there and dwells until finally, you can't see anything positive.  You don't speak positively, everything is negative speaking.  Well, the Bible tells us that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit." (Prov. 18:21 NKJV)

We are supposed to mind our tongue.  We can do the most good or the most damage by using just our mouth.  It is the member of our body that will keep us in the most trouble.  Since this is the case, then why should we speak negatively about the things in our life.  We will only make things worse on ourselves by speaking this way.  Why not speak good things into our lives instead of speaking the bad things?

Just a few chapters over, the Bible says, "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles." (Prov. 21:23 NKJV)  If you speak badly, you're only bringing trouble to yourself.  So why should we sit back and dwell on the things that we see as negative?  Why should we say the negative things that we are thinking?

I have to admit, I'm not always an optimistic person.  I try to be, and I honestly need to be more optimistic than pessimistic.  It wasn't until recently did I start thinking about how badly these negative thoughts affect our lives and attitudes.

James 3: 5 says, "Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.  See how great a forest a little fire kindles!"  Don't let your tongue spread the negativity around like a poison!  Speak good things into existence.

Have you ever thought about the negative things you say and how they actually impact your life?  Why say that you're living a bad life?  Why not say, "I will live a good life.  I will live a happy life!"  Doesn't that sound much better than thinking and speaking, "Well, it's a bad life for me.  It'll never get better."  With that attitude it won't!

God doesn't want us miserable.  He doesn't want us to worry.  He wants us happy, healthy and whole.

Think about it.  Doesn't negativity and worrying go hand in hand?  Of course it does!  With that negative thinking, you're going to be worrying about your future which GOD HOLDS IN HIS HANDS!  He knows what He is doing.  Why can't we just trust Him?

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:6,7)

Why should we think negatively when it says that "the peace of God" will guard our hearts and minds?

Paul said to fill our minds with "...things that are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things." (Phil. 4: 8)  He didn't say to think negatively! He said, basically, to think on good things!

Even in Colossians 3:2, it says, "Set your  mind on things above, not on things on the earth."

Why worry when you don't have to?  The things on earth don't matter!  It's God that matters.  It's God's plans!  Quit thinking about what could go wrong, and start thinking about what could go right!  God has His hand in our lives.  It's Him we should be seeking when we feel negative and down and out.  It's God who knows what we need in our lives.  Don't push him out because you think something will go wrong.  Bring Him in instead.  It can only get better for it.