HOLDING US STEADY

Isaiah 41:10 NLT Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

With the pressures of Christmas, or just generally, we may sometimes feel like we’re doing a balancing act, fitting everything in. Then there are days when everything seems to happen at once and we’re very aware we need the Lord to hold us steady till things calm down, however long they take.😊

The important thing is to remember we’re being held by the One who holds the universe together just by His powerful word, and words are important to us too. When situations are thrown at us we’re often tempted to say the wrong thing, or say what’s happening, instead of what we want to happen! It happened to me a couple of days ago!

We have to do our part and if we can just remember to declare what God has said it will help us stay steady, but the more we voice our fears the more they cause us to wobble and draw them to us.😊 

For instance, when things come against us we can declare the Lord is our strength and shield, that He is our protection day and night (Psalm 121), that His angels have charge over us to protect us from all harm (Psalm 91), that no weapon formed against us will succeed (Isaiah 54:17).

When finances are under threat, we declare the Lord is our Provider, and as we sow the seed He gives us, He will bring a harvest (2 Cor.9:10). As we give, so it will be given to us shaken together, pressed down and flowing over (Luke 6:38), And also (Philippians 4:19).

If it’s our health, as we keep His word before our eyes, so it is health to all our flesh,(Proverbs 4:20-22), that by Jesus’ wounds we are healed,(1 Peter 2:24) that He has sent His word and healed us (Psalm 107:20) and we receive it all and overcome by faith. (1 John 5:4-5)

So next time we feel like we’re on the edge, let’s get our scriptures out and get into agreement with what God has said. Start speaking them and prophesying them into our own future and know the Lord is holding us up, He’s strengthening us and actively helping us.😊

Thank You Lord, right at this moment You are holding each one of us steady. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Paris Bilal on Unsplash

NOBODY’S PERFECT!

Psalm 119:96 AMP I have seen that all [human] perfection has its limits [no matter how grand and perfect and noble];

Psalm 119:96 CEV Nothing is completely perfect, except your teachings.

I wonder if you’re one of those people who strive for perfection and feel upset when you can’t make things as perfect as you’d like, or when other people do things in a less than perfect way and it drives you up the wall?😊

The difficulty is everyone’s standard can be different and only God is perfect! Our verse says our human perfection has its limits and when we recognise that, it can set us free. It’s something I’m still learning, and when we, or someone else, does something that falls short of our standard we have to show grace, because we, or they, have done it as best they can and that’s all we can ask.

Sometimes we set the bar so high for ourselves, we make a rod for our own backs, and we can cause ourselves stress because we were taught that perfection was the only way. I remember hanging wallpaper once in my bathroom and I’d worked so hard all day to get it perfect but when I stood back I realised one panel was upside down and the flowers were growing down, not up! I learned that day to go easy on myself and get things into perspective, so I left it and it became a talking point!😊

I know God wants us to ask the Holy Spirit to help us with all we do, and to do the best we can, but not to the detriment of our health or to make others feel inadequate. 

So maybe this word is for someone today, to lighten up on ourselves, or maybe on others, and be a bit more flexible, to realise only God is perfect. We none of us get it right all the time and we all have our limits, so let’s just enjoy life when it’s perfect, and especially when it’s not.😊 

Can anybody say ‘Amen’?