Women Archives - Page 7 of 8

April 3, 2013 By Janice

Trust in God and He will deliver you from all your cares

BEAUTY FOR ASHES – HELP FOR A HURTING WIFE

DAY 3 – Trust in God and He Will Deliver You From All Your Cares

1 Peter 5v7 – Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you

Small Verse, Big Results

A small verse, but if we do what Peter says, and face life by trusting God we can be sure to receive big results. This verse taught me one of the most important lessons in my Christian life.

Another verse similar to this one is found in Psalm 55:22: Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.

Isn’t this a wonderful promise, and your answer to how to defeat the devil when he seeks to attack you? God has promised He will never let you fall. He holds tightly to your hand and will never let go. He cares about you, He is concerned about you but it is up to you to surrender ALL your fears and ALL your anxieties so that He will be able help you.

Don’t Let the Devil In!

Life is not always easy but when we worry, fret and forget to trust God, we bring stress into our lives and into our bodies. Sometimes we dwell on our fears and allow the devil to gain strongholds over our minds, we end up losing sleep, even making ourselves ill as we allow our fears to haunt and grip us. The devil loves to keep us in worry and fear and he will prey on our weaknesses, because this keeps us from reaching our full potential and the plans which God has for us.

Pray With Boldness

So how do we CAST all our anxieties on Him? I believe the only way to do this is to pray. The dictionary tells us that to “cast” is to throw, shed or propel something. The word “cast” is a strong, bold word and tells us here that we’re not just “giving” our cares to God, we’re throwing them to him, far away from ourselves, once and for all. We are privileged that God is asking us to “cast” all our anxieties on Him because He will bear them for us so that we don’t have to. When we worry, we are grieving God because we are not believing that He knows what is best and we are denying His love and care. We are not trusting God to deliver us from whatever is going on.

I Once Was Anxious and Fearful

Believe me, I know what it’s like to be gripped with fear and worry – for a long time I didn’t trust God to take control. I was riddled with anxiety and was a nervous wreck. I didn’t realise that I was sinning by being like this. I thought I was “entitled” to worry, after all, I was the victim here! God doesn’t want you to be like this, He wants you to live life to the full, Jesus came down to earth to give you life in abundance. Your freedom has been purchased with His precious blood, He didn’t waste one drop, so we shouldn’t either. Claim all that He has made available for you at the cross!

Hold Your Daddy’s Hand

A dear friend once put it very simply and asked me how I would feel if I was crossing a busy road with my daughter and she refused to hold my hand and just stepped out onto the road facing terrible danger. I would feel hurt and very sad that my child would not trust me to guide her across that busy road. This is how our Father feels when we refuse take His hand which is always outstretched towards us to help us through our life’s journey. It hurts Him when we try to do it all ourselves and He watches sadly as when we fail over and over again instead of holding onto Him. We need to allow God to deal with our “anxious care” in exchange for His unflinching love and “affectionate” care which is never ending. Reach up and take His hand today, He will never let go!

He Is Waiting For You

You have a loving Father who desires you to come to Him with all your shattered dreams, disillusionment, dashed hopes and fears. He understands all that you are going through. He is willing to release you of ALL your cares, and take the care of you upon Himself. He feels your pain and your sadness. He cares for you so much that He has already made the ultimate sacrifice by taking all your pain, your shame and your worries on His own body so you don’t have to.

God Will Supernaturally Transform Your Husband

I no longer live in fear about what may happen tomorrow. I know that this is not of my own doing. I had to allow God to take control and when I did this, He supernaturally transformed my marriage, my husband and me. God did the impossible for us, He will for you too!

Beauty for Ashes

Gen 3x – Helping wives of men involved in sexual impurity

April 3, 2013 By Janice

God hears you and will answer your prayers

BEAUTY FOR ASHES – HELP FOR A HURTING WIFE

DAY 6 – God Hears You and Will Answer Your Prayers

JOHN 14 12 – And whatever you ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son

God Does Not Lie

This is a mighty promise! Whatever you ask in the name of Jesus will be done, so that the Father is glorified! Do you believe this? I didn’t really believe that God would give me what He promised, I thought that either I wasn’t good enough, or that this only happened to other people, not me. I remember someone telling me that if I didn’t believe a promise like this, then I was calling God a liar. This really impacted me, I felt really ashamed because I know God is not and cannot be a liar. It is impossible for God to lie, therefore this verse has to be true.

Jesus Paid it All

The Bible tells us we can go to our heavenly Father and ask for the desires of our heart in the name of Jesus and because of Who Jesus is and what He did at Calvary, God answers. God never hears you because of what you have done or because of who you are; it’s always because of Jesus. And the Father will move heaven and earth in order to honour the name of His Son.

None of us are perfect, and there are days when we are distant from God, when we change like the weather (as they say in Northern Ireland!), we can be full of faith one minute and not have any faith the next, but Jesus never changes. So come to the Father in His name, not your own name, and claim from the Father all that Jesus made possible through His death on Calvary.

Claim the healing, not just physical, but emotional also, which Jesus paid for with those stripes on his back, He took your fears, your worries, your sadness, your doubts, all your stress, your hurt and your pain, so you don’t have to. If your husband is still captive to pornography, claim freedom, in Jesus’ name because of what He did at Calvary. Claim victory over your marriage in Jesus’ name.

Pray with a sincere heart, and wait for God to answer, His timing is perfect, so be patient.

God’s Will Be Done

We are challenged in our prayer life not to pray for our will, but to pray that God’s will be done in our lives and in our world. Is your prayer more focused on knowing God’s will and working with Him or is it more on telling your needs and doing your will? Prayer is not the twisting of God’s arm in order to make Him do what we want Him to do for us but rather prayer is finding God’s divine will, coming into agreement with it, and declaring that His will be done in that situation. We should not pray selfishly, but for the glory of God. Our prayers will be answered if the ultimate aim of our prayer is to glorify the Father. If we don’t intend for God’s glory being obtained through our prayer, that prayer might not be answered. Jesus glorified His Father in everything He did while here on earth and the Bible tells us we are to be like Him.

God Will Transform your Marriage

If you want to see God transform your marriage, you need to pray consistently and specifically for the power and presence of God in your home. He allows us to be a part of His plan in bringing about change in people’s lives, whether that be our husbands, other members of our family or whoever else He may bring alongside us. Remember, though, it is always God who is using us to bring about change in the spirit of other people. We are no more able or less able to affect people to change in the physical realm than we are in the spiritual realm. It is the Holy Spirit within us that brings about the changes.

Jesus said in the next two verses, ‘You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. If you love me, you will obey what I command’

So, why not give it a try? Start today to obey and pray, so that the Father will be glorified in the Son. See what God can do!

Beauty for Ashes

Gen3x – Helping wives of men involved to sexual impurity

April 3, 2013 By Janice

God has promised to restore and strengthen you

BEAUTY FOR ASHES – HELP FOR A HURTING WIFE

DAY 5 – God Has Promised to Restore and Strengthen You

1 PETER 5v8 9 10 – Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Don’t be Afraid of Satan’s Roar!

Unfortunately we can’t hide or avoid this spiritual battle against the forces of evil. As Christians, Satan is seeking to destroy us and one of the ways he tries this is through our marriages. He is the source of the fiery trials that we endure. This first verse describes the devil as a roaring lion seeking to devour us. The lion roars just before pouncing on its prey to startle and frighten the poor creature and take it by surprise. Don’t be afraid of Satan’s roar, we need to stay alert so we can see him coming before he catches us off-guard. Lions are strong, frightening animals, but they do not have much endurance, so when the prey withstands the initial “roar”, the lion will leave it alone or “flee” from it. It is the same with the devil. We have to withstand his initial roar, and he will eventually leave us alone, the Bible says he will flee from us.

Don’t Try to Do This Alone

Personally, I don’t believe we should be telling our marriage problems to everyone and anyone who comes our way, but I do believe we need to talk to someone like a Pastor or another trustworthy Christian, preferably one who has been through the same experience and understands your situation. I say this because the battle is not for you alone. Jesus is the good shepherd and He will lead His sheep, we are the flock, but unfortunately the devil is prowling in the hills like that lion mentioned before, looking for that solitary sheep which has somehow wandered off from the flock and is vulnerable, discouraged and weak. This makes it easy prey for the devil. It is important to have someone come alongside you at times like this, so call someone now and talk to them, don’t try to fight this alone. God has given us good Christian friends in the body of Christ who will help protect us from the enemy. They will pray for you and encourage you.

You Are Not Alone

In the last study, we talked about how God comforts us so that we can comfort others going through the same experiences as we do. Peter also assures us in 1 Peter 5 9 that we are not alone in our suffering and that God will deliver us. Another great promise from our caring Abba Father! Remember, your fellow-Christians are going through the same things! God has been and always will be faithful to His Church in the midst of suffering. So why is God allowing family problems that torment us? Why does God allow us to suffer sickness and disease? He is doing with you as he did with Jesus. He is bringing you through suffering and into glory. The path we walk as Christians is not an easy one, but it has to be none other than that of Jesus Christ.

God's love is for always! — God’s love is for always!

Take Courage!

The all-seeing, all-powerful, all-loving, all-gracious God cares deeply for you. He loves you. People may speak evil of you, or do evil to you. Trials and temptations attack on every side. God sees everything and He feels your pain. Remember to cast your cares onto Him, knowing that when you do this, He will never let you be shaken. Trust Him, tell Him you love Him. Your steadfast faith in your sufferings shows what your relationship is with God. If we are Christ’s, then whatever we face is for His glory and for our good.

Stand Firm

You are not alone, you have sisters-in-Christ all over the world, who are suffering the same as you. God has promised to deliver you like He has done for me and for many of them. So stand firm, trust Him to do what He says He will do!

Beauty for Ashes

GEN3X – Help for wives of men involved in pornography

April 3, 2013 By Janice

God will give you all the Care, Comfort and Love you will ever need

BEAUTY FOR ASHES – HELP FOR A HURTING WIFE

DAY 2 – God Will Give You All the Care, Comfort and Love You Will Ever Need

PSALM 91 – Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust”. Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because He loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.

When I am feeling threatened or attacked by the devil, I use my Sword, which is the Word of God.

I quote verses from the Bible at my enemy, especially Psalm 91 and the result is I feel God’s protection and comfort almost instantly.

This is my favourite Psalm and I have memorised it so it becomes engrafted into my heart.

I have it stuck to my fridge and I put my name in there and pray it over my life.

I would strongly advise you to do the same, so:

read it, recite it, pray it and proclaim it.

God Is Good All the Time

The first verse is so powerful and if we are obedient and do what it says to do, we will find the rest we so need!

God is a good God, He is a God of love and He loves you so much, He wants the very best for you! He will ALWAYS honour His promises, but there is something we must do to claim these wonderful promises and that is to “dwell”, or remain, stay, live in the secret place of God. “WHOEVER dwells in the shelter of the Most High WILL rest in the shadow of the Almighty”. Every child of God looks towards His mercy seat, but we all do not live in the most holy place. We can all run to it at times of need or crisis, but when all’s okay, we wander off again. Please don’t just run to Him in times of need, stay in relationship with Him in every circumstance – good or bad.

When we are in continuous communion and stay close to God, we get to possess all those wonderful rare and special benefits that are missed by those who follow at a distance. There is no shelter imaginable that compares to the protection of Jehovah’s own shadow. There is no better refuge when going through a storm!

Snuggle up close to your Abba Father, He is the Source of the Shadow. He is standing there waiting for you, His little girl, longing to give you ALL the care, comfort and protection you need and crave.

He Will Protect You

Verses 11 and 12 tell us: “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

Did you know that in the Spiritual realm God has angels waiting on standby for your protection? You just need to cry out to Him and ask Him to send His angels down to protect you. God will do what He has promised and set His angels in motion. I have prayed this prayer on a couple of occasions when I thought things were impossible, and God changed my situation around straight away. Isn’t God’s provision wonderful?

He is the God of the “I WILL”

Thousands of years before you were even born, this prophetic Psalm was written, God-breathed, JUST FOR YOU. He has promised to respond to your pleas for help in every threatening circumstance. He has made preparations ahead of time for whatever your situation. “HE WILL call upon Me, and I WILL answer him; I WILL be with him in trouble, I WILL deliver him'” (Psalm 91 15).

I love how God uses these words “I WILL” over and over again here. When you call on Him, HE WILL BE WITH YOU IN TROUBLE AND HE WILL DELIVER YOU! This is a mighty promise, you need to claim it over your life, your marriage and all your circumstances.

Please feel free to email me any time you wish.

Beauty for Ashes

Gen3x – Helping the woman whose husband is involved in porn

March 28, 2013 By Janice

Allow God to heal your broken heart and bind up your wounds

BEAUTY FOR ASHES- HELP FOR A HURTING WIFE

DAY 8 – Allow God to Heal Your Broken Heart and Bind Up Your Wounds

Psalm 147:3 – He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds

Isaiah 61:1- He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted

There is healing for the broken hearted. I don’t know about you, but that really comforts me. God has promised to heal your broken heart and to bind up your wounds. These verses have really impacted me over my journey of healing and I pray that they will impact you also.

Ask God to Bandage and Sew up Your Wounds

The words “bind up” in both verses come from the Hebrew word “chabash” which means “to tie, bind, to restrain, to bandage”. I believe God reached down into my innermost being and touched my wounds. It felt like He had bandaged them and had began to heal me from the inside out. To think of God bandaging up my wounds is a comforting thought. He can and will do the same for you, God loves you so much and He will take the time to personally reach down and bind up or bandage all your emotional wounds.

“Heal” in Psalms 147:3 is the Hebrew word “raphe” meaning, “to heal, to sew together or mend.” Have you ever had to have stitches? Why does the surgeon need to stitch our wounds? It is to hold them together so they have time to heal.

We can’t physically see the healing God does inside of our bodies, but He is at work and is sewing you together again “stitch by stitch” so that over time you receive complete healing.

“He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147 3)

“He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted.” (Isaiah 61 1)

What Does it Mean to be Broken?

When I looked up the dictionary, the meaning I got for “broken” was this: reduced to fragments; fragmented; ruptured; torn; fractured; not functioning properly; out of working order. Is this how you feel? Do you feel like your heart has been reduced to fragments? Ruptured, torn, fractured? IT REALLY HURTS! It’s like your heart has been shattered into many pieces. You may feel crippled emotionally and exhausted physically. Ask God to help you, to strengthen you and to heal you. Hand it all over to Him, trust in Him and allow Him into those broken places.

Allow the Great Physician to do Heart Surgery

God, who is the greatest Physician ever, will come in and perform heart surgery on you. Can you picture Him lovingly fitting all those little pieces back together again? God will mend your broken heart!

Healing is a process though, so try to be patient, it may take time, but God’s timing is always perfect. He will heal you and strengthen you and perfect you.

Just open up your heart to Him and allow Him to do surgery on you. You won’t regret it, I know because He fixed me!

Beauty for Ashes

Gen3x – Helping wives of men who are involved in pornography