Sad times

I am working with some very sad people right now. They have pretty much become disillusioned with life and are on the verge of giving up hope.
They have expressed to me that they wish they had the same kind of faith and strength that I have. In trying to devise a plan to help them, I analyzed my own faith and can easily tell them why my faith is strong.
My faith is strong because I have come to the realization that I cannot make it in life alone. Without God’s help, I simply cannot make it. I have lived through terrible times and seen things that no one should ever have to see, and I have experienced things that no one should ever have to experience. Bad things happen in this world and sooner or later we will all have to endure some of them. Some of us are destined to more than our fair share of tragedy. The Holy Spirit is referred to in the Bible as ” The Comforter”. He prays for us constantly and is with us always. Only God can heal grief and give us joy in our lives. He is ready, willing, and able, but we have to do our part. Herein lies the problem. People try to make it on their own and will not submit themselves to God. To make matters worse, some actually blame God for their problems, instead of who is rightfully responsible for the bad things that happen in the world, satan. Without God there is no hope.
The way to receive God’s help is simple:
1. Ask for it – Pray!
2. Find a church with a good pastor and attend regularly.
3. Seek out other Christians and let them help you increase your faith through their testimony.
4. Read and study the Bible daily.

Why is my faith strong? Because I try to do all of the things that I listed. When I backslide and skip any of the above is when I begin to have problems in my life. The way to finding peace in our lives is not complicated, but it is not easy. We have to work at it daily. We must discipline ourselves to do our part. Prayer is not easy, especially if you do not believe that your prayers will be answered. I KNOW that God answers prayer, because He has answered tons of them for me. He doesn’t always say YES however, so know that going into prayer it must be within His will. Finding the right church might not be easy either. We will have to get up on Sunday mornings, instead of sleeping in or going to the lake, get dressed and go to church. We will perhaps have to visit several different churches before we find the one that is right for us.
Personally I do not like going to a strange church for the first time, and I am not exactly the kind of person that most people would think of as being shy. It was difficult to make the rounds until we found the one that was right for us, but it was well worth the effort. It will also be difficult to find time every day to read and study the Bible. There are many distractions in our fast-paced world. I am extremely busy and travel constantly, but still make time almost every day to spend some time reading and studying the Bible. Talking about Jesus in front of friends can be difficult too. I know from personal experience that not everyone will appreciate it, and some of them will think you have “one oar out of the water” and are whacko. It is not always easy to be a Christian, but living without God is awful and you will be without joy.


Like most things in life that are worthwhile, the best things require our BEST effort. My suggestion to those who are suffering if they really want a solution to their problems, is to quit whining and feeling sorry for yourself, and go to “work” on the suggestions listed above.
Ask God to help you and believe that He will. Your faith will be strong enough to get you through any situation, because it will enable God to team up with you. Bad things will still happen, but you will be able to cope with them. Nothing is too great for Him to conquer, (including the most serious problems). If you earnestly seek Him, you will find Him. When you find Him, you will be healed.

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Phil. 4:13
I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me.

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