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    • Even through sleepless nights…God cares!

      Posted at 7:00 am by sneuhofer, on September 21, 2018

      Psalm 56:8 (MSG) You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, Each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.

      Just when you think you’re utterly alone and there is no one who can even begin to understand the pain you’re going through…you stumble across this verse (Psalm 56:8) in God’s word. This verse is a promise we can cling to in the middle of our sleepless night. God knows and furthermore, HE CARES. He cares so much about us that He has a record of every tear we’ve cried and every ounce of pain we’ve ever suffered. He even knows the number of hairs on our head (Matthew 10:30).

      Why? He’s a caring Father who loves us unconditionally. He sees us every second of every minute of every hour of every day. NOTHING that happens to us can ever shock him. He knows that someone close to you will betray you. He knows that someone who vowed to love, honor and cherish you will walk out. He knows that someone you love will fall ill with a debilitating disease. He knows that someone looking for a fix will steal everything of value.

      HE KNOWS. HE SEES. HE CARES.

      When we’re on our knees with tear-stained faces, He wraps us in His embrace (Song of Solomon 2:6 and 8:3) and whispers “It will be ok, I am right here and will never leave you nor forsake you.”

      How will you handle these times in your life?

      • Will you trust Him and His plan?
      • Will you allow Him to work through this situation to make you more like Christ and grow your faith in the process?
      • Will you dive into His word and find His promised to stand on?
      • Will you turn your back on God thinking that He has left you to “fend” for yourself?
      • Will you hold onto the anger and bitterness allowing it to fester?

      I encourage you to cry out to Him and tell Him everything. Ask Him for wisdom and guidance. Read through His word and discover what He has to say about His closeness during times of chaos.

      I love the lyrics to Blessings, a song written by Laura Story. I have included the lyrics and a link to the song below. This song has helped me look at tough times in a completely different way.

      Blessings (Laura Story)
      We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
      Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
      We pray for healing, for prosperity
      We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
      And all the while, You hear each spoken need
      Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
      ‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
      What if Your healing comes through tears
      What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
      What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
      We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
      We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
      We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
      As if every promise from Your word is not enough
      And all the while, You hear each desperate plea
      And long that we’d have faith to believe
      ‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
      What if Your healing comes through tears
      What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
      What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
      When friends betray us
      When darkness seems to win
      We know that pain reminds this heart
      That this is not,
      This is not our home
      It’s not our home
      ‘Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
      What if Your healing comes through tears
      What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
      What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
      Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
      What if trials of this life
      The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
      Are your mercies in disguise

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      Posted in life storms | 0 Comments

    • Yes you can be…unshakable

      Posted at 7:44 am by sneuhofer, on September 20, 2018

      Watch out! There are rough times ahead!

      John 16:1-3 (MSG) I’ve told you these things to prepare you for rough times ahead. They are going to throw you out of the meeting places. There will even come a time when anyone who kills you will think he’s doing God a favor. They will do these things because they never really understood the Father. I’ve told you these things so that when the time comes and they start in on you, you’ll be well-warned and ready for them.

      In the 16th chapter of John, Jesus is preparing the disciples for the day when He will return to the Father. Jesus knows that the disciples’ hearts are troubled because He’s going away (v. 5). Jesus assures them that when he leaves, he will not leave them high-and-dry. He will send them a Helper…but the Helper can only come if Jesus goes. When the Helper (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will not only help the believer but the non-believer as well. The Holy Spirit will lead them into all truth. In this chapter, Jesus had so much more to say to his disciples but they weren’t ready to hear it. It was too much for them to handle at that moment.

      Isn’t that an awesome thought? God cares so much about us that He gives us only what we can handle – one thing at a time.

      In our lives when things get chaotic, it’s easy to let stress overwhelm us. But don’t let it. Psalm 48:14 (NASB) ensures “God is our God forever and ever and he will guide our paths until death.” He’s got our lives, and each and every circumstance in the palm of His hand. God will guide us through the Holy Spirit living inside of us. It is the Spirit who leads us in ALL truth.

      Jesus spoke these words in John 16 over 2,000 years ago to His disciples and they are still true for us today. Isn’t this truth comforting?

      John 16:33 (MSG) I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world

      you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.

      I am so thankful to know that Jesus tells us we can have deep peace by trusting him. There’s one more thing to notice about this verse…Jesus tells his disciples they would have trouble too. “In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties.” GREAT…  just when we thought it was safe to go outside. But catch the last few words of verse 33… “But take heart! I h have conquered the world!” Jesus knew his time was coming soon. He knew he was going to die, but death would not hold Him. He would defeat death and the grave and rise again, conquering our sin once and for all.

      So be brave dear friends. Jesus has “…told you these things to keep you from giving up.” Hold on to Jesus with everything in you! Dig into His word to find His promises for your situation and stand on them! You can do this! The Holy Spirit is living inside you…guiding you…giving you strength!

      What circumstance do you have in your life right now that you need to be brave and stand firm? Are you giving up or are you relying on the Holy Spirit to guide you in all truth?

      Be brave! Don’t give up!

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      Posted in conquering current circumstances, Peace | 0 Comments

    • Pushing through the pain

      Posted at 7:00 am by sneuhofer, on September 19, 2018

      2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (MSG) “So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”

      How many times in your life have you felt like throwing in the towel? Perhaps it is a situation in your relationship that is really getting out of hand and you just can’t seem to manage it any longer. Or, is it the stress level at work? What about something with your finances, are you cutting the “fat” in your budget and you still can’t make ends meet? It’s like every fiber in your being wants to throw your hands up in the air and scream at the top of your lungs “I can’t take this anymore, I give up!” If this is where you are…believe me, I completely understand and know exactly how you feel. I have been in each of these places a time or two…and it’s really not fun at all.

      But, as tough as situations may seem at times and, as tough as what I am about to write may be hard to read, I feel I must share it with you. Life is temporary. I will say it again just in case you missed that…  LIFE IS TEMPORARY. We are only here on this earth for a little while. These three words might be a little tough to swallow because right now, at this moment, it may see whatever it is you’re walking through is taking an eternity to overcome. I promise… it’s not.

      There is all of eternity to gain if we look at this world through a temporal view. If you read through Paul journey in the book of Acts (beginning in chapter 9) and the epistles he wrote, you will see that he suffered great trials and distress as he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout his known world. Paul didn’t let the trials or circumstances of his situation to stop or deter him at all. Why? Because Paul understood the truth…his rest and reward were in heaven.

      I admire Paul’s strength and perseverance! All too often when we face problems of any sort it’s easy to focus on the problem (or the pain it’s causing) instead of looking at what’s on the other side. Paul knew he needed to draw his strength from the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:16) to push through times of trials, pain, and suffering.

      We never know what God will bring out of our deepest suffering or greatest trial. But I do know what His word promises in Romans 8:28 (NCV)

      “We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. They are the people he called, because that was his plan.”

      Did you catch the word EVERYTHING?  This means God will use every experience, every heartache, every trial, every mountaintop…EVERYTHING…for our good.

      Related reading: Romans 5:3-4

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      Posted in suffering, trials of life | 0 Comments
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