Don’t Forget
by Gail Rogers
**We have a need for Italian mentors. If you could help meet this need please click here for more info: terri.klatt@powertochange.org
Trusting God seemed so hard for Darcy today. She knew deep down that she could trust God to guide her and show her the way through her difficulty, but this morning she didn’t feel thankful for anything. In fact she felt sorry for herself. Darcy hadn’t realized that, during those times when trusting God can be hard, there are two things that tend to happen.
First, she began to loose her spirit of thanksgiving and praise to God. Then she began to become self absorbed and her thoughts, prayers and actions centered around “poor me”. These two things, left alone, can steer one in the direction of despair. And Darcy could feel it today!
God is so aware of the tendency of our hearts to turn to discouragement and self focus. Listen to the words He gives us as encouragement and guidance when such times want to overtake us.
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Hebrews 13:15 & 16).
Praising God when things are hard is sometimes the last thing we feel like doing. God understands this and actually calls our praise a sacrifice, which it truly is when we offer it in spite of our circumstances and feelings. God also knows we can’t do this in our own strength but “through Jesus” we can. This means we tell God exactly how we are feeling and yet we make the choice to give Him our praise through the strength and power of Jesus. God says this is the evidence or “fruit” of lips that claim to be His child.
He also knows how self focused we can get when times are difficult. He calls us not to forget to have an outward view to help and share with others. In times when we least feel like doing this it also becomes a sacrifice God is pleased with.
And something happens when we choose to make the sacrifice of praising God and reaching out to others when our discouraged heart would rather not. It changes our outlook…it changes our heart…it brings life into perspective and God, who is pleased with such a sacrifice, knows your own load will lighten as you take these two steps.
If you are in a valley today and seeking to trust God with all your heart, He will help you.
Choose a thankful heart today and choose to take your eyes off your circumstances. With praise, keep your eyes focused upward on Him and outward to others. It will make a difference that will amaze you.
Father God,
I confess that today my eyes have been on my own feelings and circumstances. Through the power of Jesus, I choose today to give You my praise. I choose a thankful heart. Help me to keep my focus on You and look to reach out to those around me. Help me to be kind and generous today and to do these things as a sacrifice to You. Thank you that you know me and will use this choice in my life to strengthen and encourage my own heart today. I love you Lord. I ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen
Questions: What do you have a tendency to focus on when troubles arise? Why do you think God asks us to give Him our praise even when times are difficult?
About the Author: http://talk.thelife.com/experience/devotionalforwomen/authors/gail-rodgers/
thankyou donnal and everyone for your much needed prayers:: heavenly father i bring before you today paul lord you know your childs heart father lord he may have strayed far from you but your arm is not so short that it can not save:: lord i know you have spoken to him this week through ur ppl:: father remove the scales from his eyes::he has ears but cannot hear and eyes but cannot see:: father let this time be short in taking him back to your loving care and for the will for his life::lord have mercy on this prodical son may his hours be miserable till he falls on his knees and crys in mercy for you jesus::lord be with all your dear children who have prayed with me and for me lord fill me with your peace let all see you in me i ask this all in the name of our lord and saviour the lord jesus christ amen::: thakyou all for such lovely prayers they are soo lovely and touching:: again thankyou
Dearest Cath,
You are not alone…Our Heavenly Father hears your cry and is there to comfort you…..many will continue to pray about your situation….Love, Donna
thank you for giving us something i so need to think about today
thankyou donna and marilyn for your much needed prayers… praise his holy name in working in dear robins life.. i ask that the lord will make robins dear daughter whole again.. thankyou for sharing that with everyone robin… in my life at the moment everything is silent.. theres no one around..the lord has upheld me for that past few days when situation got worse.. i no hes there.. i ask the lord would forgive me for sheading tears today for things that is in his hands and control i just feel hurt and emotional..forgive me lord.. burning deep within me is trust in u though circumstances thought feelings try to pull me under.. father u gave me a word to arise from the ashes of dispair.. am trying lord but i can only do this in u o lord u give us great promises and u dont give us fear love cast out fear.. lord am alone if this is where u need me to be to deal with me..ive gave all to you.. lord i ask that you would intervine in my life turn all around father bring my loved one to his knees in repentance.. faher only you knows whats happening in his heart and mind. father melt a stone cold heart give him a heart of flesh..father help me to use ur word to bring victory to my life am just finding out after 4yrs of seeking u that ur word has power for that i would find words to bring victory to my life and to my loved ones life lord..father you have all in control.. your ways are not my ways neither are ur thoughts my thoughts.. i really dont like where my life is at present but father am standing in faith in u..lord i need a miracle and i can only find it in you.. thankyou for hearing me father i ask thease things in the name of jesus my saviour.. your daughter catherine…. ladies thankyou for everything this siste has been such a blessing to me the past few days when ive been at the bottom of life
Robin,
Hallelujah and Praise the Lord for He definitely is at work here!!! Love, Donna
Great news, Robin! :) God is so good! Thank you for sharing your praise report!
Dear Ladies,
Thank you so much for your prayers. Your words brought great comfort to me this afternoon.
Praise report: My daughter emailed me and then called; she is recognizing some truths about her life. She also realizes that she needs professional help for anxiety and depression. The Lord is at work!
Dear Sisters,
I am praying for Cath and Robyn at the moment……Love, Donna
Dear Robin, a prayer for you is lifted . . .
Precious Jesus, You are our Shepherd, and You lovingly watch over Your flock with care, gently directing Your sheep back when they have strayed. Your Word tells us that You do not slumber, and You count Your sheep, Your know each by name, and not one escapes Your notice when it is missing! Your Word also tells us that, when one, just one, of Your sheep is astray, You leave the flock that is safe, to search for and find the lost sheep. Thank You, Lord, that You love us so deeply! Today, we lift up our hurting sister, Robin, to You, asking that You would minister to her broken heart, as she grieves over her daughter wandering away from her faith. Comfort her in her sorrow, Lord, as You know a mother’s heart is tender to her children. Reassure her of Your faithfulness, that she can trust You to keep her daughter within Your reach, and in time, restore her to You! Make the way rocky for Robin’s daughter, that her days of rebellion would be short. We pray all these things, Lord, asking for Your mercy and grace to reign down upon their family! In the most wonderful Name of Jesus, Amen!
Good morning, ladies! Cath, I just want to encourage you, as you have shared that “things have gotten worse” since our prayers have been lifted — sometimes God has to turn up the heat a bit to bring His children to repentance. You can trust God to watch your dear loved one carefully, as one would watch a cake in the oven — just enough heat to produce the desired results, but not too much that it burns! Just keep your eyes on the Lord, dear sister, knowing that He is faithful, and your loved one will, one day, have a great testimony to God’s redeeming work in his life!
“Almighty”
Dear Anonyomous, Thank you for your prayers. They are much appreciated.
Dear Cath, I echo Marilyn’s prayer for you this day. Dear loving Father, thank you for continueing to be with your precious daughter, Cath. You are there everystep of the way. You are right there in the stillness, Lord. Continue to lead her where she needs to go on her faith journey Olmighty God. Please continue to work in her loved one’s life Lord, for you love all and your desire is that none should perish. Amen.
A much needed reminder for me as I continue to find strength, trust and peace in the Lord since my prodigal daughter as walked away from the Lord and also from me.
Hi there,
Those women who are struggling in their marriage…I received much needed help at http://www.godsavemymarriage.com and also the forum they have at http://www.joelandkathy.com/boards
Blessings, Joanne
thankyou marilyn for your prayer.. thankyou for taking time to lift me before the lord its a few hrs since u prayed for me the situation has got worse.. but all is in the lords hands he sees all and those who trust inhim will not be put to shame.. lord your holding me up at the moment with ur love and ur grace for father i could not get throgh this alone thanku jesus..lord i believe this is all part of ur plan jesus bring this lost soul to ur feet in repentace i ask in jesus name thanku for hearing me lord
amen
thank you jerseygirl, and for everyone else for your continued prayers.
i lifted up a prayer for you guys.
Joining you in prayer, dear Cath . . .
Precious Lord and Savior, You are the great I AM, the Alpha and Omega, our Rock and our Redeemer! Your love is matchless, and Your mercy and grace are everlasting! We thank You that our sin has been cancelled by Your blood, shed for us, and we praise You for Your gift of salvation, which is for all who claim it! Lord, we come to Your throne of grace, asking for Your divine intervention in the life of Cath’s precious loved one! Her heart is so deeply grieved by his willful rebellion against You, the Lover of his soul! Lord, we thank You that You are patient and compassionate, and no prodigal is too far from Your reach! Break his heart, Lord, that You could empty it of the passions of this world, and fill it with Your Spirit. Make his way miserable until he falls at Your feet! Comfort dear Cath, Lord, as she mourns this sense of loss, reassuring her of Your faithfulness! Let this time for her, be a time of Spirit-care and faith-building, as she waits upon You for the desires of her heart! Build her up, Lord, that she would not be disabled by the enemy in her brokenness. We pray these things in Your most Holy Name, Jesus, Amen!
please pray for me….am in the wilderness at the moment.. ive been through so much emotional upset in my relationship. pray the lord would heal me and heal me of any bitterness towards this person who i love dearly.. let me show the love of god and show forth a beautiful person in Him…my loved one walked a way from the lord in a state of rebellion.. pray for him that the lord would bring him to his knees in repentace and draw him near and melt his hearden cold heart..the lord knows his heart knows mine..father ive let go shine forth your glory in my life in you i trust in this storm.. forgive me of the times ive tried to take over and try to do what only you can lord melt a cold heart and save a soul who is lost and decieved by themsevles..if ther was no satan and no world we would still have are worst enemy oursevles lord.. i trust in you father bring joy from my mourning.. bring peace where thers none give beauty for ashes.. father you no my sisution lord intervine and turn my life around as only u can.. all things are possible with god and those who trust in him will not be put to shame… i ask this in jesus name thankyou for hearing me lord thankyou for dears ones who pray for me.. your a wonderful saviour i love you jesus amen
Dear heavenly Father, I lift up Dear anonymous to you this evening. You know her situation gracious Lord and you know what she needs right now. Continue to give her the Grace that you Almighty Father can give. Please continue to give her strength and the awareness that you are walking right beside her. When she feels like she doesn’t have the strength to go on any more, Lord, you are carrying her. Just as refrain from the Song” On Eagles Wings, by Michael Joneas says, which is based on Isaiah 40:31
You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord,
Who abide in His shadow for life,
Say to the Lord, “My Refuge,
My Rock in Whom I trust.”
Refrain
And He will raise you up on eagle’s wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His Hand.
Lord, let anonymous feel you hands holding her up this night as she needs your strength. Work with her Lord. You know us and how hard it is to forgive and let go. Thank you Lord for promising to be with her every step on her journey towards wholeness. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen
please pray with me, as I ask God for grace & strength to fast, to get out of my situation and to heal properly. That God would also heal me of any bitterness of the past, where I was wounded, etc. It has truly been one of the hardest tests, b/c I was deeply hurt yet I am required to forgive. I am trying. God bless you all. Thanks again for reading.
Thank you Gail for all of your mentoring. Whenever I am down, I do try to start thinking of all my blessings. At first, I still feel down, but start to change my attitude when I see all that God has done for me already and how many blessings are still to come. I am going to try including praise and thankfulness in my prayer journaling time again.
God has spoken many times to me about doing things for others. Sometimes I do get too focused on me and my needs and problems. I can almost hear God’s voice saying “It is not always about you!”. “Be Jesus to others.”. I try to keep an upbeat attitude. I work with teenagers as a high school teacher. I work with the students on an individual basis. They have a way of always reminding me that it is not about me at all, but it is about them! Ha. I try to bring God’s presence into their lives by being close to God as I am speaking to them. I think they can sense that calmness, peace, and love. Even though it is a public school, the founder and director is Christian, and many of the kids are Christian. I am thankful that if I do bring something about God, I am not going to be in trouble for that.
Andi, I thank you for your example of praising God through all things, and Judy D, I echo your prayer for all. Praise be Jesus Christ!
Thank you, Gail, for today’s devotional! A sacrifice of praise. . . . I have read it in the bible and the term used, but this gave more in depth and personal meaning to me. To be able to praise the Lord no matter the circumstance. A sacrifice of praise. How wonderful!
Dear Stephanie, Darla, and Erica, Thank you for your openness and desire to be in God’s Will. I pray for you. Father, I pray for these dear sisters, for encouragement, love, and peace to fill their lives and for Your hand to guide them daily. May their sacrifice of praise be a sweet aroma to You. In Jesus Name I pray, amen
This is the lesson of the past few years that God has been focusing my heart,mind and soul on: praising HIM in and thru all things; no matter what. Ill health, lack of finances, fear of job loss; yet thru it all when I ‘praise HIM’ all things fade into their proper perspective. When I least feel that I can praise HIM I lift my arms toward heaven as a literal example of ‘a sacrifice of praie to HIM.’ This simple action works; as it seems to break thru the spiritual black clouds and allows HIS love and mercy and grace to be felt w/in me and thus out toward others.
HE becomes the focus rather than the cirumstances.
Stehpanie, an amazing web site for folks who are wanting to mend and repair damaged marriages is; rejoiceministries.org.
The couple who minister thru it were actually divorced for a # of years. They teach a person to STAND firm in prayer and life to help their ‘Progigal’ spouse to return. It is a site that is not wishy washy but teaches good, strong spiritual truths on things to say or how not to send mixed messages to a spouse. I encourage you to check it out. May God bless you as you commit this time to listening to HIM and as well for your knowing that you will be able to ‘bless your parents for this time’ as well as their blessing you in having a place of peace in which to ponder the things of God!
Welcome Stephanie! :) I posted on the blog from 2 days ago on Dealing with Angry People, and the information given might be of some help to you! It addresses struggling marriages, and the website that I shared is an excellent resource site. May the Lord give you wisdom and encouragement, as you visit your parents! God bless!
As I was going through my mail, with tears flooding down my eyes, feeling sorry for myself, I opened this message. My marriage is weak due to years of emotional abuse and more. I will be taking myself and our two daughters to be with my parents in Dallas in a week for some support and love needed right now for me and the girls. But this message helped me to do a heart check. I need to watch out for going with a woe is me, everybody love us attitude, and go with a servant heart and mind. I need to praise God that my parents are willing to let us come, that I have the resources to start over if our marriage does not make it, that my parents love God and so much more I can think of. So, I am asking for your prayers that God will guide me in regards to my marriage, my children, my family, and most of all that I take this time to draw closer to him and put him first! Thank you and I will keep all of you in my prayers as well.
Amen, Darla! :) The Lord inhabits our praises, and when we lift Him up in every circumstance of our lives, it pleases Him, for that is what we are created for! Dr. Tony Evans, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, TX, and founder of The Urban Alternatives ministries, has put it this way: we should be praising God in all situations . . . if our car breaks down, we should praise Him that we had a car in the first place; if our house burns down, we can praise Him that we even owned a home, when a child becomes ill, we can praise Him for the privilege of being a parent. The list goes on and on. Just as Gail has said, when bad things happen to us, we have a choice — we can focus on our circumstance, or we can choose to focus on the One Who sees us through!
Erica, trust that the Lord has a wonderful plan for your life. Before I opened the devotional today, I said a quick prayer from my desk here at work. I just needed to hear truth today and how to apply it to my life. I had not felt this low in a long time. I was feeling sorry for myself. My last child graduated, my dad’s heart is bad, we just finished cleanup after a flood, my oldest daughter moved away and the straw that broke yesterday was the younger woman I work with received a promotion. God has yet convicted me of my selfish ambition and confirmed that His purpose and plan is perfect. I may feel betrayed by those around me, but the Lord sees my heart. He determines my path. Not man or woman. I have been blessed with so much in my life. Richness that abounds from the Father. Forgive me Lord for taking my eyes off you. You are not the wishmaker, but the Creator of all good things who deserves more than just praise from an empty emotional heart. You deserve the best that I can muster.
Thank you for this devotional, I thought my financial situations was getting better and then I received a summons to court for debts I owe. I’m struggling so hard to make and I’m still not out of the woods but I could feel the pressure building. These words have encourage me, I can’t say I’m stress-free but I know God has to work in my favor. I’m thankful all of the great things God has done, I need clothing a family member gave me some clothes they could no longer fit due to weight loss. I needed food and my mother took me along and bought groceries for me. The blessings are there and I know that God will provide even in my darkest hour. Thank you for uplifting my heart when I need it most – again another great blessing God gave me through you. Thank you.