church

Hopeful vs. Hopeless

Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , One comment

Hopeful or hopeless? (New Wine Women’s Day Reflection 4)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit Rom 15:13

Christie Wimber “The enemy can’t take away your promise so he’ll try to take away your hope. Live in the promise of what God has spoken”

How often does God speaks to us about something and we feel enthused and full of hope. He lifts our heart and our soul and we feel back on track. Then only a short while later we’re questioning ourselves…”Did God really say that?” “Was I just hearing what I want to hear?” “Maybe I heard wrong”. God’s Word does not dilute over time. His words last forever. If He makes a promise to you He will keep that promise.

It’s the enemy that wants you to question that Word, to doubt it ever happened, to worry, to lose heart. Here’s where we have to be strong and say to ourselves “Be still my soul and trust in God”. We need to make a choice to live in what we know He has shown us and when we’re struggling with doubt we need to worship and keep on thanking God for what He IS doing, because even if we can’t see anything yet, we can be sure He is DEFINITELY at work.

I love the picture that was going around on Facebook recently (above) with the two rabbits that are growing carrots. The one that has little growth on the top is all forlorn and the one with lots of green growth on top looks very pleased with himself. However, under the ground the carrot of the rabbit with little greenery on top is HUGE! He just can’t see it yet!

Take heart today and make a choice to put your hope in God, who will NEVER let you down.

 

Worship shifts our Focus (New Wine Women’s Day Reflection 1)

Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

After having the pleasure of being a part of the worship team on Saturday at the New Wine Women’s day in Harrogate, I thought I would start my blog with some reflections on what was a brilliant day of worship, teaching and healing (as well as 1600 women getting together and having a great time!).

Christie Wimber shared how when you worship, you place your focus on the Father, and you’re saying to Him, “I put my hope and my trust in you, and not in myself.”  Even when everything around you seems to be falling apart, it’s trusting that God is working and He knows what He is doing.  It’s funny how when things are straight forward, we find it easy to focus on God, yet when things are out of our control, instead of keeping our focus, we tend to scurry around like ants, who have just had their anthill stomped on.  Frantically trying to rebuild structure and regain control.  God must wonder what on earth we’re doing!  We have Him within us and beside us, waiting to be our strength and guide us through and yet we so often choose to focus on the problem.

Let’s make a conscious decision – in the chaos, when we feel anxious, in the mundane and in difficulty, to worship and praise our Father who is, as Christie Wimber shared, “ALWAYS working on our behalf”  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose” Rom 8:28