I'd love to hear from everyone, whether we agree or disagree on issues. And if you feel to add a personal story, a verse that got you through, please share it. I hope all of us can get encouragement through this thread, I hope all participate.
"How do you maintain your faith during difficult seasons?"
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Psalm 119:50
My comfort in my suffering is this:
Your promise preserves my life.
This verse got me through a very difficult time in my life.
Before I went through the storm, God made promises to me. This verse kept me from committing suicide.
So God’s promises are important and He proved to me that He never forgets them and that they never fail to come to pass no matter how long it takes.
That's why Israel will still be here when all is said and done. If God kept His promises to me, He'll keep them for Israel too.
🕊
I maintain my faith the same way in difficult times as I do in good times.
Faith being a personal surrender to Him and a life inspired by such surrender. I have a couple of prayers that keep me on the right path.
1) God i offer myself to thee, to have with me and to build with me as thou wills. Relieve me of the bondage of self that I may better do thy will. Take away my difficulties that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of thy power, thy love , and thy way of life. May I do thy will always, amen.
2) Father, I am now willing that you should have all of me the good and the bad. I am now willing that you should remove from me every single defect of character that stands in the way of my usefulness to you, my brothers, and my sisters. Grant me strength as I go out from here to do thy bidding, amen.
When times are tough or things go wrong, I still revert right back to what I knew best before being called by God: fear and anxiety. I guess it's my 'default position'. It's overwhelming when it hits and results in feeling hopeless.
When that happens, I pray continually for forgiveness, peace, calm, and faith. I praise Him for everything He has blessed us with. I review scriptures dealing with "Fear not" and "Do not fear" and remind myself these are actually commands. Once I get that back into my brain, it helps a lot and forces me to stop listening to my self-induced noise and just do what God says.
Luke 12:6 Are not five sparrows sold for two [cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
When that happens, I pray continually for forgiveness, peace, calm, and faith. I praise Him for everything He has blessed us with. I review scriptures dealing with "Fear not" and "Do not fear" and remind myself these are actually commands. Once I get that back into my brain, it helps a lot and forces me to stop listening to my self-induced noise and just do what God says.
Luke 12:6 Are not five sparrows sold for two [cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
YES! I have a partial study of God's promises, but I really need to expand it.
Hebrews 12:2 says it well:
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Sometime in our Christian lives we must make God's word our absolute authority. Feelings can betray us, thoughts mislead us, but God's word never fails.
Examples: Does God feel far away? What doe He say? "I will never leave you or forsake you".
Decades ago my marriage broke up and I thought that my Christian life was over. I had so much accusation that I could not deal with it. I was close to despair, until God broke through my wild thoughts. He reminded me of the precious blood. I was forgiven, all I had to do was confess my sin. So I did, and the black cloud lifted off immediately.
When emotions are raging, often the truth we know is overwhelmed. However, it is the truth that will set us free. So we need to learn how to ignore how we feel and stand fast in truth.
My faith in God and His plan for me , for u , for this His earth and all things in it is the ONLY thing that gets me through ' difficult seasons ' . Without God and His plan and His love and His mercy , I wouldn't b here , neither would any of us . God is everything everywhere ! We don't get to breathe without Him , we do absolutely nothing without Him ! This is why we must trust Him implicitly , in the good and , what we perceive to b , bad times . Everything is for us , everything has a purpose , suffering especially ! It's all to bring us closer to Him .
Salvation from this difficult season on earth is the reason for faith in eternal joy in heaven.
Except for the names and a few other changes, my story is the same as the "prodigal son". My dad bought me my dream car for my 21st birthday, instead of being thankful for it, I became proud and looked down on my less fortunate friends.
It wasn't long before my girlfriend and myself got addicted to hard drugs, and I was finding it more and more difficult to swindle enough money from my dads business to support both of our habits.
I lost all of my earthly possessions within three years and I was serving a prison sentence. I had time to reflect on things while serving my sentence, I studied the entire bible and found many encouraging scriptures in it.
One of them was, Deuteronomy 8:11-14 & 17-18 "Take care lest... when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them... then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God... Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’".
this one encouraged me to overcome my addiction to drugs, Philippians 4:13 “ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
This one reassured me that the Lord would help me start from scratch. Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"
I didn't think that my father would forgive me for the evil things I did, but he did. He supported me all the way, but my eldest brother still doesn't talk to me. He considers me a loser and he claims that my conversion and profession of faith are not genuine, he believes it's a scheme to win my father support.
I put God to the test with this verse, and He gave me more than I ever imagined was possible. John 14:13 says, "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son".
Thank you all for sharing your personal stories. Each one is an inspiration. Please continue to share. These types of threads can be a real help for people in difficult situations and in need of uplifting. Keep them coming!
many ways. a smile. when difficulty arises, so do my smiles. yes, laugh at trials, tests, tribulations & temptations!. "seize the 4 T's, they're not going to cost me fees nor put me on my knees"! repeat to yourself 1st Corinthians 10:13- 'there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able but will with the temptation also will make a way to escape that you are able to bear it"! another way is to simply resist, yes i said "simply" resist the 4 T's. don't be in the fight of difficulty. retrain your self to resist & not fight difficulty. MOVE ON, ALWAYS!!! having a "MOVE ON" attitude & reaction will set you apart from battling difficulty. yet, another way, invent comical phrases. "trust & you will not rust". "do you're best to pass a test & you will rest". "i will not be bad, mad or sad, i will be glad". learn Psalms 51:12, 16:8,9, 27:14, 34:1, 19, 51:10, 90:14, 98:5, 118:24, 119:165, Proverbs 17:22, Isaiah 40:31 & 41:10, Jeremiah 33:3, & James 1:12. try this, as soon as you recognize difficulty, cogitate on the subject that is the most fun in your life. tell yourself the funniest jokes you ever heard. & learn a "military tough discipline". i've seen many people join the military who were weak willed before they went in & very tough when they exited the military. a lady friend of mine, who lives down the street is super tough, she'll go jogging in the worst weather, heavy blowing snow, hard rain, extreme heat & cold, you name it. as for me, i didn't have to learn to be mentally tough & disciplined, it was already in me. probably, i inherited it from my dad who was super tough, physically & mentally. i know in the past, people thought i was bragging because i am wealthy but they missed the point. that posting wasn't about wealth at all, it was what got me there. the very subject you are talking about, ThereRoseALamb. being resilient, persistent, ambitious, tough not to quit to strive forward, always, as Jesus would tell us if He were here. also, complaining, doubting & pouting will stop progress big time. everyone, forsake that childish nonsense, that's what kids do. "if i fall, i will forever stand tall". "the more we seek, surrender & obey, the more we peak, remember & are okay". "be not problem pondering but solution solving". "sin & you will live thin, obey, pray & you will not pay". "wail & fail or fight with might". blessings to you all.
for me what helps me constantly is from Jesus in essence it says to take it one day at a time, if you want to do something you know you should not simply say firmly "NOT TODAY" and do something else instead, also ask God the father to help you in the name of Jesus and see the results.... amazing.
here are the conrresponding verses;
Luke 9:23:
"And he said unto all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
In John 14:13–14 (ASV), He said:
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask me anything in my name, that will I do.
A little later He spoke even more clearly in John 16:23–24:
23 And in that day ye shall ask me no question. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If ye shall ask anything of the Father, he will give it you in my name.
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full.
Blessings.
God's words can never be underrated. I just go back to it. Infact, the scriptures keep playing in my mind, like Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts I have for you..." and many other scriptures that assures me that He's there with me. Through the storms and fire, highs and lows, hills and valleys.
I remember things He's done for me in the past. The disappointments He turned into blessings.
I listen to uplifting music.
Then prayer is the key. It is wonderful to know that we can speak 'with' God. You talk to Him, He listens. He talks to you, you listen.
God's love is never failing.
I wish I could put more than a like on all these posts. Music sometimes reaches us when simple words can't. I recall when my mother had cancer. I was "holding up" I didn't want to let her see me fall apart, nor my father who needed my support. I happened to run to my house alone to get a shower. I hadn't seen my husband, he was working overtime and suddenly I felt overwhelmed and alone. As I finished my shower I heard the very end of a song on the show I had flipped the TV on. I thought to myself, I wish that I could hear that again. No longer did I get the thought out of my head I heard them say "Sing that again." The song played and everything just came out at once. I was able to continue on. We hit the five years cancer free for my mother. But late last year my father was diagnosed with dementia. He's in hospital now and this song is playing once again. I went to bed last night playing healing Scriptures so I could sleep. One day at a time. Thank you for sharing!
Crossing the calm sea with Jesus
The disciples were getting concerned
The winds started violently blowing
But He was asleep in the stearn
Does He not care that we perish?
We′re helpless and we're so afraid
Jesus arose when they called Him
And said to them, where is your faith?
Because you′ve prayed all night
'Cause you've held on with all of your might
Child, your cries have awoken the Master
Oh, He knows your voice
Lift your hands, it′s time to rejoice
Child, your cries have awoken the Master
It hit you without any warning
The storm of your life had begun
Seeing no hope in the distance
You′re frightened and nowhere to run
By now your vessel is filling
And you're thinking that you′ll surely drown
You cried out for help from the Saviour
And you know you can't give up now
Because you′ve prayed all night
Because you've held on with all of your might
Child, your cries have awoken the Master
Oh, He knows your voice
Lift your hands, it′s time to rejoice
Child, your cries have awoken the Master
You're up there worried that He's fast asleep
The wind′s are so deadly
The water′s so deep
But try to be patient
'Cause soon He′ll bring peace
Just one word from His voice and it all must cease
Only God can take a life and turn it completely around. My father was asked many times down through the years to be involved in prison ministry. There are some people that understand the grace of God, and even though they are in prison, they are the most free they have ever been in their lives. As a song says "He was there all the time", just waiting for us to hear him knocking on our hearts door. Thank you for sharing your testimony. I hope you share it with others, you could help someone else find Christ, I'm sure you do. Blessings.
Yes, these posts are bringing a lot of great songs to mind "One Day at a Time". It's no good to run ahead. I learned long ago I was just frustrating myself and trying to do things in my own strength.
i always think:
1. someone else has it worse
2. everything is temporary in this world
1. someone else has it worse
2. everything is temporary in this world
me too I learned I cannot do much on my own and rely and trust God. He provides what we need and fortifies us to overcome.
I like that verse in Lamentations 3: 21 This I recall to my mind; therefore have I hope: because that is how my mind goes when it all hits the fan. God has done so much for me to show me He is real. I mean personal things, meant just for me to show He knows.
I think on some of these things and understand that whatever is, I don't need to loose sleep over it. Didn't happen overnight though
I think on some of these things and understand that whatever is, I don't need to loose sleep over it. Didn't happen overnight though
my dad used to say, "there's always somebody who has it worse than you".