“You, Lord, are my Shepherd. I will never be in need.” Psalm 23:1

This is a quote from the 23rd Psalm we have heard read many times as we journey through a Christian life. Maybe— many from different faiths we may have been at a funeral or public gathering where this famous Psalm was recited. There are those in faith who have wondered about these promises when faced with a challenge, where they are in need of some kind. No matter how desperate the situation, may you always know that these words are still promises. Promises that we must hold onto. As long as we have a close relationship to our Shepherd, we hear His voice every day, and learn to trust His loving guidance along the way. He will always make a way where there seems to be no way.

I have personally been in many situations where; I have faced many obstacles. I learned years ago to draw closer to God during those times and He will speak to us. The more you talk to Him, and listen to Him—the more you are able to know His voice when He speaks to you, perhaps there is something about an obstacle that may teach you. He will show you and answer you when you ask Him anything. Jeremiah 33:3: ” Ask me, and I will tell you things that you don’t know and can’t find out.” “The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit does not speak on His own. He will tell you only what He has heard from me, and He will let you know what is going to happen.” John 16:13. In John 10:5 it says: “The sheep will not follow strangers. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice and they run away.”” But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the Shepherd, and he goes through it. The sheep know their Shepherd’s voice. He calls each one of them by name and leads them out. When He has led out all of His sheep, He walks in front of them, and they follow because they know His voice.” John 10:2,3,4. ” Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep.” John 10: 15.

Spend quality time in His word, in prayer and worship and draw close to Him and you will know His voice in daily life directions. The sheep know His voice.

Each day gives us a chance to start over again!

Irving Berlin’s famous tune “White Christmas” has a line that says—” May your days be merry and bright…”

We all know that some days are not the least bit merry or bright, rather some are difficult, especially for those who are unable to see their loved ones, or who may have lost loved ones from circumstances beyond their control. It’s Christmas and other holidays that make for a day filled with memories some of those memories wonderful. However, some of those memories may be lament worthy.

Revelation 21:5 says “Then the one sitting on the throne said: I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. My words are true and can be trusted.”

This is a promise —that those who believe in what Christ has come to this world to do, die for our sins, rise again to the Father so that we may have a chance to start our lives over again. A chance to live forever as He saves our souls —for those who put their faith and trust in Him.

“Believing in Him gives us a chance to start over again, no need for lament, we are not ruled by our past sins but only by a risen, living Savior, Christ Our King.

“He makes everything new!”

Happy New Years!

Though Christmas time to many is a time to gather, love and share in community, friends and family. There are those who have a difficult time this time of year, those who have lost a spouse, or close family member—any holiday can be a challenge. As a counselor, this has proven to be the most challenging time of year for many, for sure. I am writing this today to bring a new hope, a new perspective on this time of year. People experience loneliness much more during this time. C.S. Lewis quoted: “Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him, everything else thrown in.”

Martha Beck: “Loneliness is proof that your innate search for connection is intact.” So, it’s innate for us as humans to desire connection. Sometimes the only people around us, are ourselves and God. At these times we can enjoy memories of those loved ones still in our lives and focus on walking on. John 14:18 says, ” I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.” This is so true. One of my mother’s favorite songs was: “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Here are the lyrics:

When you walk through a storm hold your head up high

And don’t be afraid of the dark.

At the end of a storm is a golden sky

And a sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,

Walk on through the rain,

Tho’ your dreams be tossed and blown.

Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart

And you’ll never walk alone,

You’ll never, ever walk alone.

Ask Jesus into your heart, it will be the greatest gift that you have ever received or will ever receive. He came to sacrifice His life for our sins, and lost conditions. He lived, died and rose again for your new hope of eternal life! A new hope, a new beginning, and you will never walk alone! Merry Christmas everyone!

Everyone walks through seasons when it may become difficult to keep our trust in the Lord without wavering. I believe that is called being human.

Today is Columbus Day and I was reading some history of Columbus, crashing into a coral reef in Haiti in 1492. Their Christmas day was busy with transferring all the cargo from the Santa Maria onto the other two ships, then to his crew’s surprise, 40 of them were left there to begin a colony called the La Navidad. Sadly, when Columbus came back a year later, not one of them were left. I started thinking, “wow, I thought I had a rough life.” I could not begin to imagine how traumatic it must have been to have been one of those 40 people.

There are times when we have to stand on God’s word in order to continue to keep our trust in Him. Here are some scriptures to listen to and stand on to keep our focus on God:

Psalms 118:8- “It is better to trust the Lord for protection, than to trust someone else, including strong leaders.”

Psalms 46:10-“Our God says, calm down and know that I am God. All nations on earth will honor me.”

Proverbs 3:5,6-“With all your heart you must trust the Lord, and not your own judgement. Always let Him lead you and He will clear the road to follow.”

Sometimes we have to ask Him to help us to remain steadfast, and He will help you in your darkest hour.

Trust God!

There are those who found it to be their life’s quest from childhood to survive, to get up and try again. Resistance at all sides, you fight and struggle and fight yet again! My life was like that. The scripture:” The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalms 34:18

These words brought healing to my heart. When we forge the trail out of pain, we need to learn to grieve all the losses, all the disappointments, all the tragic moments, and truly learn to let go, forever, of each crushing moment, or memory, and learn to forgive quickly.

“I could not possibly let go forever of all those painful things-you may say, ” I say to you I would never have been able to let go of all the pain of the past without God’s help. Revelation 12:11(NKJ) “And they overcame him (meaning the enemy of our soul) by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” It is the love of God for each of us, which helps us to be truthful to ourselves, then we may begin to grow in every way. Every one of us needs to grieve those things that want to destroy us, lost loved ones, lost vocations, lost relationships, lost goals, the list goes on and on. Every grief journey is unique. Some losses are so great that it is not possible to get over the loss on your own, and with the help of God we learn to move forward. Journaling helps me immensely. Throughout our journeys, in reflection- it becomes evident to us that without the protection of the blood of Jesus, we surely would have perished in the making of our testimony, but Christ protected us by His blood, and it was only the plan of God and His love for us that allowed us to live to give a testimony. King David wrote Psalms 40-here are a few things that “overcoming” brings to each of us: “He pulls us out of a pit of despair, He allows us to stand with our feet firm on a rock (of Jesus), (makes us feel safe), He gives us a new song, a song of praise to Him, many will see our lives change, many will come to honor and trust the Lord ( others may run away from us), He has marvelous plans for us, His love and faithfulness makes us secure.” There are many more promises in the Psalms, those are a few.

If you have found yourself at a place where you are tired of surviving, tired of overcoming, fighting every step of the way, it’s time you asked Jesus to be Lord of your lives, your pains, your brokenness, your crushed hearts, let Him come and make your life all new, He gives us our testimony and His precious blood protects us, and keeps us safe through our testimony. Each and everything that has ever happened to us was meant to help others find their way to freedom through our testimony.