Why Art Thou Cast Down, O My Soul?

This encouragement comes from one of my favorite devotionals, "Day by Day, A Daily Praise Offering; Heavenly truths as given by the Holy Spirit to Gwen R. Shaw" (End-Time Handmaidens, Inc, Jasper, ARK)

Be shifted back to courage as you read and apply this to your life:

March 26
Why Art Thou Cast Down, O My Soul

Scripture Reading - Psalm 43:5

"Why are thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." (Psalm 43:5)

"It is good to ask this same question. Why is your soul cast down? Have you taken your eyes off Me, your Lord? Do you think that I have stopped leading you with My light and truth?

Why are you disquieted within your soul? Have you lost your faith and hope in Me? Have you lost that unique, simple, child-like trust that you used to have? Why are you disquieted within your soul? Do you think that I don't love you as much as I did? Do you think that I am not the same mighty, powerful God that I was to you in the days gone by?

Why are you cast down, dear soul? It is only because you have allowed your heart to become troubled and entangled too much with the things of this world. Your mind has dwelt on the negative. The doubts of others and their wrong doings have oppressed you. Forget about them. Think about My greatness. Count the blessings I have given you in the past. I have never failed you and I never shall. I shall always be with you. I shall always protect you, lead you and guide you.

And you shall go to My alter and you shall make sweet music unto Me. And you shall praise Me, because I, alone, am your exceeding joy, and if it is true that I am your exceeding joy, then why is your soul disquieted within you?

Let Me fulfill every need of your life. And then you shall be full of joy and you shall praise Me, and I will be the health and the glory of your countenance, and your God.


Be IN courage,

With love,
Linda Mihcelle

A Reflection on Faith

Faith without works is dead. And dead faith don't work!

1 Kings 11:9
God was furious with Solomon for abandoning the God of Israel, the God who had twice appeared to him and had so clearly commanded him not to fool around with other gods. Solomon faithlessly disobeyed God's orders.

Hebrews 11 (The Message)

Faith in What We Don't See

1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

3 By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see...

4 By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain....

5-6 By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely...

7 By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land... As a result, Noah became intimate with God.

8-10 By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God's call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home... Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God.

11-12 By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said. That's how it happened that from one man's dead and shriveled loins there are now people numbering into the millions.

17-19 By faith, Abraham, at the time of testing, offered Isaac back to God...

20 By an act of faith, Isaac reached into the future as he blessed Jacob and Esau.

21 By an act of faith, Jacob on his deathbed blessed each of Joseph's sons in turn, blessing them with God's blessing, not his own—as he bowed worshipfully upon his staff.

22 By an act of faith, Joseph, while dying, prophesied the exodus of Israel, and made arrangements for his own burial.

23 By an act of faith, Moses' parents hid him away for three months after his birth...

24-28 By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house...

29 By an act of faith, Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. The Egyptians tried it and drowned.

30 By faith, the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, and the walls fell flat.

31 By an act of faith, Rahab, the Jericho harlot, welcomed the spies and escaped the destruction that came on those who refused to trust God.

32-38 I could go on and on, but I've run out of time. There are so many more— Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets....Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn't deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.

39-40 Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours."


ACT ON YOUR FAITH...

Faith is opposite of fear:

FEAR -

False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

FAITH -

Fantastic
Adventures
In
The
Here (and NOW)!!

Act on your faith, that which God has called you to do.

Be IN Courage.


United with you in strength and victory,
Linda Michelle

Encouragement for Pressing Through the Hard Places

The Poem "Don't Quit" has a line that says "... When care is pressing you down a bit, rest, if you must, but don't you quit." Sometimes that's easier said than done, especially when you the "pressing" is heavy on your shoulders and on your mind.
A devotion I read today, served to give me added hope and strength. The amazing "God-thing" about it all is that a dear friend called me shortly after I read it and through the tears of her heaviness she began to praise God as I shared this same massage of hope. I pray you too will be inspired.


From Steams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman

March 1

Consider what God has done; Who can straighten what He has made crooked? (Ecclesiastes 7:13)

God often seems to place His Children in places of deep difficulty, leading them into a corner from which there is no escape. He creates situations that human judgment, even if consulted, would never allow. Yet the cloudiness of the circumstances itself is used by Him to guide us to the other side. Perhaps this is where you find yourself even now.

Your situation is filled with uncertainty and is very serious, but it is perfectly right. The reason behind it will more than justify Him who brought you here, for it is a platform from which God will display His almighty grace and power.

He not only will deliver you but in doing so will impart a lesson that you will never forget. And in days to come, you will return to the truth of it through singing. You will be unable to ever thank God enough for doing exactly what He has done.
selected


We may wait till He explains,
because we know that Jesus reigns.

It puzzles me; but, Lord, You understandest,
and will one day explain this crooked thing.
Meanwhile, I know that it has worked out Your best -
Its very crookedness taught me to cling.

You have fenced up my ways, made my paths crooked,
To keep my wand'ring eyes fixed on You,
to make me what I was not, humble, patient;
to draw my heart from earthly love to You.

So I will thank and praise You, for this puzzle,
and trust where I cannot understand.
Rejoicing You do hold me worth such testing,
I cling the closer in Your guiding hand. - F.E.M.I.
(end quote)

The last portion of the Don't Quit Poem reads:

"Success is failure turned inside out,
the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're har'dest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit."


"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God..." Ephesians 6:10


"I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency]. Philippians 4:13 (Amplified Bible)

"He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 NIV


Be IN courage.

With love,
Linda Michelle

Do We Have as Much Sense as a Goose?

Be encouraged by this inspiration that an anointed sister shared with me today.

This spring when you see geese heading back north for the summer flying along in a "V" formation, you might be interested in knowing what scientists have discovered about why they fly that way. It has been learned that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following.

By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

BASIC TRUTH #1
PEOPLE WHO SHARE A COMMON DIRECTION AND SENSE OF COMMUNITY CAN GET WHERE THEY ARE GOING QUICKER AND EASIER BECAUSE THEY ARE TRAVELING ON THE THRUST OF ONE ANOTHER.

Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back in formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front.

BASIC TRUTH #2
IF WE HAVE AS MUCH SENSE AS A GOOSE, WE WILL STAY IN FORMATION WITH THOSE WHO ARE HEADED THE SAME WAY WE ARE GOING.

When the lead goose get tired, he rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

BASIC TRUTH #3
IT PAYS TO TAKE TURNS DOING HARD JOBS...WITH PEOPLE, OR WITH GEESE FLYING NORTH.

The geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

BASIC TRUTH #4
WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL WHAT WE SAY WHEN WE HONK FROM BEHIND.

Finally, when a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gunshot and falls out, two geese fall out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it is either able to fly or until it is dead, and then they launch out on their own or with another formation to catch up with their group.

FINAL TRUTH
IF WE HAVE THE SENSE OF A GOOSE WE WILL STAND BY EACH OTHER LIKE THAT.
(end quote)

Be IN courage!!

With love,
Linda Michelle

Quoted Wisdom

"We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
(1882-1945)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life." I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
— Maya Angelou


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in (your) weakness".
Jesus as quoted by Paul
2 Corinthians 12:9

Be IN courage!

With love,
Linda Michelle

Grandma's Hands

My cousin shared this email with me, and I share with you, praying it will touch your heart and inspire your soul as it has mine.


Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands.

When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK.

Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. 'Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking,' she said in a clear voice strong.

'I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,' I explained to her.

'Have you ever looked at your hands,' she asked. 'I mean really looked at your hands?'

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.

Grandma smiled and related this story:

'Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.

'They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor.

They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war..

'They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special.

They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse.

'They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.

They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.

'These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life.

But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of God.'

I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandma's hands and led her home. When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think of grandma. I know she has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God.

I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face. (End Quote)

"Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands. Your words have held firm him who was falling, and you have strenghtened the feeble knees. But now it is come upon you, and you faint and are grieved; it touches you and you are troubled and dismayed. Is not your (reverent) fear of God your confidence and the integrity and uprightness of your ways your hope?" (Job 4:3-6)



"For You, O Lord, are my Lamp; the Lord lightens my darkness. For by You I run through a troop; by my God I leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord is tried. He is a Shield to all those who trust and take refuge in Him. For who is God but the Lord? And who is a Rock except our God? God is my strong Fortress; He guides the blameless in His way and sets him free. He makes my feet like the hinds'(firm and able); He sets me secure and confident upon the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; and Your condescension and gentleness have made me great. You have enlarged my steps under me, so that my feet have not slipped. ...The Lord lives; blessed be my Rock, and exalted be God, the Rock of my salvation." (2 Samuel 22:29-37,47)

Be IN courage!
United with you in strength and victory,
With love,
Linda Michelle

Wait in Order to Gain Strength and Wisdom

Wait: 1. To remain inactive or stay in one spot until something anticipated occurs.
2. To remain or be in readiness or expectation.

In this New Year it will benefit us greatly if we learn to wait more. Wait in the presence of God, at His feet, so that we can not only be refreshed in our strength and spirit, but so that we have time to catch our breath and assess where we are on our journey in life. How comforting it is just to sit and relax in the company of golden silence and peace. There is much to do this year as we move further into our purpose and the things that God has ordained for our lives. In order not to "miss a beat" wait more. You will be encouraged by the ease of your movement afterwards (Acts 17:28)

Gain insight and courage from Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest. And wait...the best is yet to come.



January 4th.


WHY CANNOT I FOLLOW THEE NOW?


"Peter said unto Him, Lord, why cannot I follow Thee now?" John 13:37

There are times when you cannot understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings the blank space, see that you do not fill it in, but wait. The blank space may come in order to teach you what sanctification means, or it may come after sanctification to teach you what service means. Never run before God's guidance. If there is the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt - don't.

In the beginning you may see clearly what God's will is - the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, something you feel distinctly before God is His will for you to do, never do it on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will end in making difficulties that will take years of time to put right. Wait for God's time to bring it round and He will do it without any heartbreak or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move.

Peter did not wait on God, he forecast in his mind where the test would come, and the test came where he did not expect it. "I will lay down my life for Thy sake." Peter's declaration was honest but ignorant. "Jesus answered him ...The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied Me thrice." This was said with a deeper knowledge of Peter than Peter had of himself. He could not follow Jesus because he did not know himself, of what he was capable. Natural devotion may be all very well to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel His fascination, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will always deny Jesus somewhere or other.


Be IN courage.

United with you in strength and victory,
With love,
Linda Michelle