When It’s Hard To Do What You Said you would do
When It’s Hard To Do What You Said you would do
2020 and 2021 was a bombshell inside of a pressure cooker as the worldwide pandemic ran rampant. Let's be honest...we were all just trying to keep our sanity during lock down!
2022 everyone began poking their heads out of their holes to see if the storm had cleared. Cautiously, the world began moving forward.
2023. This was the world's chance. A new beginning. A fresh start. Everyone gets a do-over.
This is THE YEAR!
Briefly rewind to your own thoughts back in January 2023. Maybe the goals were just in your head. Maybe you were brave enough to write them down. Maybe, just maybe, your internal conversations sounded a little something like this...
So...how's it going with all that? Maybe it's time to refocus.
The scriptures have much to say about consistency, remaining faithful, and striving for what is good and Godly. We do not accomplish God's Work on our own strength, rather the Holy Spirit joins us to empower us for His glory. It takes obedience, diligence, and humility.
His Will > Our Will
Here are 10 scriptures to encourage you, stretch you, deepen you, and help refocus you on your mission:
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Luke 16:13
“No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Matthew 5:37
“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”
Colossians 1:17
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Ephesians 4:1
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
James 1:4
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
John 8:31
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.”
Numbers 23:19
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
2022 everyone began poking their heads out of their holes to see if the storm had cleared. Cautiously, the world began moving forward.
2023. This was the world's chance. A new beginning. A fresh start. Everyone gets a do-over.
This is THE YEAR!
Briefly rewind to your own thoughts back in January 2023. Maybe the goals were just in your head. Maybe you were brave enough to write them down. Maybe, just maybe, your internal conversations sounded a little something like this...
- Physically, lets lose weight, eat healthier and hit the gym at least 3 times a week!
- Financially, goodbye student debt! Being debt free is well within my grasp this year!
- Relationally, it's time to make intentional efforts to build up strong friendships, marriages, and strike up some "parenting wins" with the kids!
- Spiritually, church in-person, tithing for the first time, or reading the Bible through in a year are all reasonable goals.
- Sobriety, I'm never going back to what I was. Addiction, bad habits, and poor boundaries with technology are all behind me.
So...how's it going with all that? Maybe it's time to refocus.
The scriptures have much to say about consistency, remaining faithful, and striving for what is good and Godly. We do not accomplish God's Work on our own strength, rather the Holy Spirit joins us to empower us for His glory. It takes obedience, diligence, and humility.
His Will > Our Will
Here are 10 scriptures to encourage you, stretch you, deepen you, and help refocus you on your mission:
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Luke 16:13
“No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Matthew 5:37
“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”
Colossians 1:17
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Ephesians 4:1
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
James 1:4
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
John 8:31
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.”
Numbers 23:19
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
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A Spiritual Green ThumbThankfulness in Times of TrialOne New LifeOne StepOne DecisionOne PossibilityOne FearOne LieOne DayFurther Up. Further In.When TImes Are Good, Don’t Lose GroundBlessings From The FatherWill shame stop exploitation?New Life in ChristNew Life: A Beautiful MessWhen It’s Hard To Do What You Said you would doConviction vs. ActionNot By SightFinding Identity In The Deep EndRefuge In The StormCan I Really Change? One Guaranteed Way Inside“I Made It” A Tribute To Terry TurnerOne Decision. One Choice.Free IndeedI never knew that something that merely peaked my curiosity at the age of twelve, would turn into years of relentless shame and secrecy. Over the course of four years pornography had consumed more of my life than I ever intended to give it. I vividly remember one of my most desperate prayers to God when I was sixteen. With knots twisting in my stomach, and tears uncontrollably running down my face I said, “God, I can’t do this anymore.” It was in that moment He replied, “Jessica, you don’t have to.” If you are reading this, I don’t know where you are in life or the magnitude of the struggles that you face. What I do know, is that there is such a thing as freedom. For me, it was freedom from more than a pornography addiction. Lust, deception, shame, guilt, comparison, rejection, abandonment, and condemnation have all reared their heads in the years that followed that night when I was sixteen. At times I found myself asking, “When will this ever end?” Somehow, I fell under the impression that the surrender of one thing meant that things in this new relationship with God would inevitably be effortless afterward. Not only was I wrong, but I am glad I was wrong. John 8:36 reads, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” To this day, it is a verse that has brought me the greatest joy, and I want to tell you why. Jesus starts out this verse by saying “if the Son sets you free.” I couldn’t keep up with the facade that everything was okay, and that I didn’t have an addiction. Freedom came in the moment I said that I couldn’t do it anymore. It wasn’t ever going to be found in my own ability, and for that I am thankful. I am thankful that I can never be too proud of my own strength and resistance to sin. On my own I will miserably fail. Then later in the verse comes my favorite part: “free indeed.” For only six letters, indeed is a powerful word. According to Strong’s concordance, some definitions include “really, truly,” and “actually.” In other words, Jesus was saying that this freedom is without question. It’s not a distant, unattainable fantasy. It’s an undeniable reality that only He can make possible. So where does this leave you now? It leaves you with a choice. Regardless of where you consider yourself to be in this life, Jesus is the only way to lasting freedom. The lies that tell you that this is how it always must be are exactly that – lies. There is a life beyond addiction. Ten years ago, I found myself at that crossroads where I had to decide if I wanted to keep living the way I was. Jesus wasn’t just as my crossroads, but on the road leading to it. I only had to recognize that He was there.
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