“With God all things are possible!” Matthew 19:26

We live in troublesome times and tend to focus on man and his weakness rather than God and His power. That is a great mistake. It is the duty of the pastor to reverse that order. These words from a message by James Smith in 1842 serve as a good example for us:

The omnipotence of Jehovah is ruled by His wisdom and holiness, His justice and love. He can do everything consistent with those attributes–but nothing contrary to them.

God’s omnipotence is altogether on the believer’s side. All that God consistently can do–He will do for His people. Nothing is too hard for the Lord.

He can make us contented in the most trying circumstances–and happy in the deepest affliction. He can so bring down our minds to our condition–that we shall glory in tribulation. He can turn darkness into light, and bitter into sweet; and bring the richest joy out of the deepest sorrow.

The omnipotent God is your God! His omnipotence is engaged for you!

Do not look at your difficulties–but at the omnipotent God as engaged for you!

Do not look too much at what you are–but at what your God can make you!

Do not dwell on your own weakness–but on the Lord’s strength!

Call nothing impossible. “Is anything too hard for Me? Do not I fill Heaven and earth, says the Lord?” His ways are in the sea, His paths in the mighty waters, and His footsteps are not known! It is possible for God to hold you fast . . .
in the most slippery path,
when surrounded by the most determined foes,
and feeling the greatest weakness–and He will do so!
None shall be able to pluck you out of His hand!

It is possible for God to supply all your needs, in the most trying times; as He did Elijah by the ravens, and the poor widow by the increase of the oil and meal. And He will do so! Only seek the Lord, trust in the Lord, leave difficulties with the Lord–and you shall not lack any good thing. He will display His wisdom, sovereignty, pity, and power in dealing with you; and perhaps fill you with wonder, surprise, and love, at His ways.

All that God is–He is to you!

All He has–He has for you!

All He has promised–He will fulfill in you!

Ever, ever remember that all things are possible to . . .
your God,
your Father,
your Savior,
and your Friend!

Considering his great knowledge of God, it is no wonder that Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Phil. 4:13). Keep your focus on God and you will feel the same way. That’s the way to face your trials!

Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted. – Psalm 25:16

Everyone, at some point in life, experiences loneliness. In his book Facing Loneliness, J. Oswald Sanders writes, “The round of pleasure or the amassing of wealth are but vain attempts to escape from the persistent ache…. The millionaire is usually a lonely man and the comedian is often more unhappy than his audience.”

Sanders goes on to emphasize that being successful often fails to produce satisfaction. Then he refers to Henry Martyn, a distinguished scholar, as an example of what he is talking about. Martyn, a Cambridge University student, was honored at only 20 years of age for his achievements in mathematics. In fact, he was given the highest recognition possible in that field.

But he still felt such emptiness inside. In fact, he was quoted as saying that instead of finding fulfillment in his achievements, he had “only grasped a shadow.”

After evaluating his life’s goals, Martyn sailed to India as a missionary at the age of 24. When he arrived, he prayed, “Lord, let me burn out for You!” And in the next 7 years that preceded his death, he translated the New Testament into three languages!

Do you want to know what the key to overcoming loneliness is? It’s living your life on a purposeful mission for God. So if you find yourself with feelings of loneliness, reach out to others with the love of Christ and watch the peace of God invade your heart!

Pray that God would reveal to you areas where you can turn any loneliness into service to Him and that you would be overcome by His supernatural peace.(From Senior Living)

There are certain sins and temptations that take all the strength you can muster. You push them out of your mind one minute, only to see they’re back the next. They’re like a fly in the house—buzzing and darting, landing out of sight, then zooming by again just when you’d forgotten about it.

Sometimes these sinful pulls and attractions will leave for a few days, a few weeks, maybe even months at a time. We think maybe we’ve licked them. But then they show up again. We feel our back stiffen. We’re not confident we can sustain another assault.

But how about looking at it differently this time? The Bible teaches us that temptation is a test. In other words, it’s a signal that God is up to something. A prize awaits on the other side—new spiritual ground, new spiritual muscles. So by leaning hard on the Lord to get us through unscathed, we won’t just be scoring a single, isolated victory; we’ll be letting him inch us closer to opportunities that have been sitting out there all along, just waiting on our obedience.

The Bible says “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). So the next time you find yourself facing one, keep your eyes not only on winning, but on where winning could take you. You already know what losing can cost you. See if that doesn’t give you the toughness to stand strong.

Pray this prayer: Lord, I don’t understand why you allow temptation to be so difficult sometimes. But I’m believing that you have great things in store if I’ll pass this test. Be there to get me through. — Coach Joe Gibbs

Failure doesn’t have to be final. Failing doesn’t make you a failure. Failure is often the first step to a great victory!

Every student of the Bible knows that God forbids worry and urges us to pray. Sadly sometimes we don’t take either as serious as we should. Although greatly troubled by our anxious feelings we tend to dismiss them as a mere weakness rather than confess them as sin. And although we might speak of prayer as the greatest force on earth we often act as though it is useless. Then we wonder why nothing changes for the better. We would fare better if we had the attitude expressed in this prayer by Jay Adams, in my opinion one of the wisest Christian counselors of our time: