Struggling? 5 Things God Won't Say to You

Cindi McMenamin has tremendous insight into women's needs and struggles, and she writes to encourage and strengthen them. In this Relationship with God UPGRADE, Cindi writes about what God will never say to the hurting, confused or frustrated heart.

She asks, "Are you struggling right now? Wanting to hear from God? Hoping that when you finally do, it will be something encouraging?"

As a matter of fact, as I (Dawn) received Cindi's article, I was hoping for that. I was eager for an answer "right now"—but God nudged me to pause and think biblically. That's exactly what Cindi is helping us do here.

Cindi continues . . .

There are a few situations in my life right now that could really stress me out. My husband is waiting to hear about three different job opportunities, and to be honest, he needs at least two of the three!

Now, I can pull out my hair, and lose sleep at night, and keep calculating what we'll do if he doesn't get any of those jobs. Or, I can realize it is ludicrous for me to worry that God isn't aware, or doesn't care, or won't provide for us in time.

I choose to not be ludicrous.

So I thought of five good reasons not to worry about that or anything we tend to worry about. Those five good reasons come down to five things you and I will never hear God say as we hand Him our worries and concerns.

So here they are. You never have to fear any of these responses when you trust God with what is on your heart.

1. You've got this yourself.

Instead of putting it back on us, God tells us in Exodus 14:14: "I will fight for you; you need only to be still."

2. I really don't want to hear about it.

To the contrary, God wants a relationship with us in which we tell Him all that is on our hearts and minds. Not because He doesn't know, but because He wants the intimacy that develops as we share our hearts with Him. Intimacy is developed through communication.

We are told in Psalm 62:8, "Trust in Him at all times...pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us."

3. You don't need Me. 

Even if we think God has abandoned us because we've acted independently before, God knows better than we do how very much we DO need Him.

In Philippians 4:13, we are told we we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. The key is Christ's strength.

So don't worry about Him thinking you don't need Him.

Even when you THINK you don't, you really do.

4. Sorry, it's impossible.

Jesus, Himself, said in Matthew 19:26: "With God all things are possible."

5. I don't want to do anything for you.

Sometimes we don't tell God what worries us, or even ask for something, because we fear He doesn't want to give us anything.

If you're a parent you know how far from the truth that is.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:11: "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!"

There you have it.

Does God care? Oh yes.

Can He handle it? You bet.

Give to Him all that is worrying you today and experience the wonder of His peace.

What is it that you are struggling with alone that God is waiting to help you with?  

Cindi McMenamin is a national speaker and author of 15 books including When God Sees Your Tears, and her most recent, 10 Secrets to Becoming a Worry-Free Mom.  For more on her books and ministry, or to download free resources to strengthen your walk with God, your marriage, or your parenting, see her website, Strength for the Soul. 

Trusting the Trustworthy God

Rhonda Rhea is just plain funny. Until she's not (on purpose). Rhonda's spiritual depth always amazes me, like when she's sharing about the character of God and how we relate to Him, as in this Spiritual Life UPGRADE.

"Sometimes people agree with me without even thinking it through," Rhonda says. "Of course, let’s face it, that shouldn’t happen all that often. Still, when something happens only occasionally, it makes every occurrence that much sweeter."

Have you ever had anyone trust you that much? I (Dawn) have, and I can testify how sweet that is!

Rhonda continues . . .

When someone agrees before even fully knowing what I’ve said, it makes me feel like I’m sort of the “terms and conditions” of people. Oh, the power.

Basically I’m letting you all know that you can trust me. At least part of the time. I’ll be honest and tell you that you still wouldn’t want to leave me alone in a room with your nachos.

But other than that, trust.

The trustworthiness of a promise always depends on the nature of and the power held by the one making that promise.

Let’s get real, once someone adds a layer of melty cheese, if you trusted me, I would question your trust-judgment. But our God? The very essence of who He is in nature is flawlessness. The power He holds can’t be compared to anything or anyone else. He has it all.

Paul said in Hebrews 10:22, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (ESV). So Paul is talking to us as believers here when he says in the next sentence, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (vs. 23).

It makes sense to have faith in the One who is faithful.

It makes sense to trust in the One who is trustworthy. His record is clear. He has never failed to deliver on a promise. Never.

God’s Word is filled, cover to cover, with one blessed occurrence after another of promises kept.

We have His nature as the basis for our trust in Him. We have His power, knowing He is fully capable of carrying out His promises. And if that’s not enough—which it certainly is, but still—we have His love for us to top it all off.

You can trust the One who loves you without limits, without reserve. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV).

Our Lord loved us all the way to the cross. His love is perfect. And that leads us to trust Him without the slightest apprehension. Our faith is well-placed. “But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth” (Psalm 86:15, HCSB).

David wrote also in Psalm 143:8, “Let me experience Your faithful love in the morning, for I trust in You” (HCSB).

Love leads to trust. And trust leads to love. That is perfect!

Anytime you encounter a challenge, difficulty, doubt or question, it changes how you see that struggle when you remember that Your Father is trustworthy. Not part of the time. All. In every room. He is perfect, He is powerful and He loves you with a lavish love.

Those are His terms. Those are His conditions. Oh, the power!

What encourages you to trust God the most: His nature, power or love? Can you thank Him today for being your trustworthy God?

Rhonda Rhea is a humor columnist, radio personality, speaker and author of 10 books, including How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person?, Espresso Your Faith - 30 Shots of God's Word to Wake You Up, and a book designed to encourage Pastor's Wives (P-Dubs): Join the Insanity. Her new book, Turtles in the Road—coauthored with her daughter Kaley (another UPGRADE blogger)—is releasing soon. Rhonda, a sunny pastor's wife, lives near St. Louis and is "Mom" to five grown children. Find out more at www.RhondaRhea.com.

Do You Believe God Is 'Almighty'?

Our beliefs, Dawn Wilson says, motivate our actions. In this Spiritual Life UPGRADE, she challenges us to think about what we sing and say regarding God's "might."

Ever have a song get stuck in your brain and you ended up singing it all day long? That was me with the hymn, "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty."

As I sang about the God of Creation who "wondrously reigneth"—the One who by the power of His might uplifts and sustains all He has made, the One who prospers our work and defends us, the One who deserves our praise and adoration forever—I suddenly stopped singing.

"Do you believe that?"

Now I'm not sure if that voice was the Lord asking me about the strength of my faith or the enemy tempting me to doubt God's nature (maybe it was a bit of both), but I knew I couldn't ignore that question. What we believe motivates our actions.

So I started thinking about God's might, and opened my Bible because I want to base what I believe on solid truth. Here are some things I discovered.

1. God the Almighty has the ultimate power over all His creation.

He created all things (Genesis 1:3). Everything from the tiniest organism to the largest whales, from a grain of sand to the expansive universe. He made and sustains everything through His power and might.

The Lord first shared His name, "God, the All-powerful One," (El Shaddai) with Abram in Genesis 17:1, saying, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless." We see the name again in communications with and between the biblical patriarchs (Genesis 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; and 49:25).

God wanted Abram and his descendants to know He is not at all like the gods of the nations surrounding Israel. His power is beyond all other powers in the great universe He created. His power is unlimited and great (Job 37). 

He does as He pleases because He is the sovereign God! (Psalm 115:3; Isaiah 46:9-10; Daniel 4:35) His purposes cannot be stopped. He is eternally good and just and we have no right to accuse Him when we don't understand His ways (Job 40:2; Romans 9:20-21).

We can take refuge in His strong love and protection (Psalm 46:1; Proverbs 18:10).

2. God the Almighty performs wonders and miracles.

The Lord does "marvelous things beyond number" (Job 9:10). He can do more in and through us than we can ever think to ask or even imagine (Ephesians 3:20). This should inspire us to come boldly to the throne of God and ask for great things (Hebrews 4:16), because God may want to give them to us for our good and for His glory.

Sometimes, I think, God even more honored when we don't know what to ask — when we simply see where He is working and hop on board. It's not our agenda we ask Him to bless, but rather His mighty plans, that He may alllow us to participate in with joy.

God is working in powerful and mighty ways. We just need to be alert to see Him at work!

3. God the Almighty is awesome and great.

Moses described Him as the "God of Gods and Lord of Lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God" (Deuteronomy 10:17). When we come to the Lord, we must come with a sense of awe, wonder and holy fear.

The name "God Almighty" should inspire us to revere Him and give Him the glory due His name (Psalm 29:1b-2; 1 Samuel 12:24). His splendor is beyond our comprehension.

Just spend some time looking at the stars to get a tiny glimpse of God's might and majesty.

The heaven's declare His glory, and all things He has made are evidences of His "eternal power and divine nature" (Psalm 19:1-3; Romans 1:20).

4. God the Almighty will righteously judge those who reject Him.

We don't like to think about this aspect of God's might, but it is true. Revelation 19:15 describes the "recompense" of God—the "fury of the wrath of God the Almighty."

The Lord desires for all to be saved, but some will not believe the gospel of Christ (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:8). (The Apostle Paul recognized the importance of praying for and evangelizing the lost, because we do not know the hearts of men.)

He is the Maker and the Master! Someday every knee will bow before Him (Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10).

5. God the Almighty draws us into a personal relationship.

God said to Moses, "...I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them" (Exodus 6:2-3).

It is this aspect of the Almighty God that most touches my heart.

When God the Son came in the flesh to die on a cross so our sins could be forgiven, the true wonder of His might was made manifest in our hearts. Jesus died to redeem us, reconcile us and  restore us to the Father. 

Anyone who trusts in this provision by the Almighty One will find sweet refuge (Psalm 91:1-2; Proverbs 14:26).

God, the Almighty, protects His own. This does not mean we will not suffer—maybe even a martyr's death—but that our refuge is in Christ forever. We are rescued and we will not perish (John 3:16-17; Romans 8:31-39). The Lord is "mighty to save"! (Zephaniah 3:17)

6. God the Almighty evidences power in His children.

One of the blessings of our restored relationship with God is His power working in and through us.

"...be strong in the Lord, relying on His mighty strength" (Ephesians 6:10)

"...The people who do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits" (Daniel 11:32).

The hymn encourages us:

"Ponder anew what the Almighty can do, if with His love He befriends you."

Do you believe God is Almighty? How does believing that motivate your life? Are you seeing God's power manifest in your life and ministry?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator of three blogs: Heart Choices Today, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. She is contracted researcher for Revive Our Hearts and a writer for Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

When Faith's Song Goes Silent

When I think of Cynthia Ruchti, I think of hope and wisdom. It's the hallmark of her life and ministry. In this Spiritual Growth UPGRADE, she calls us to value the unique song of silence.

“What happens," Cynthia says, "when faith’s song goes silent? Or is missing key notes? Or grates on our nerves because it feels out of tune?”

Oh, how well I (Dawn) remember a whole long year when faith's song felt out of tune. I was miserable and depressed. And I know what Cynthia says is true.

Cynthia continues . . .

Many of us express our faith in song:

• He’s a Good, Good Father
• I’m Standing on the Promises of God
• He’s All I Need
• How Great Is Our God
• This Is Amazing Grace
• Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine

But the heart doesn’t always feel like singing, at least not an upbeat, confident, triumphant song.

Life’s circumstances can threaten to turn our “praise songs that work great for cardio exercises” into a dirge, a lament, or a barely-hanging-on-how-miserable-can-this-get? blues tune.

Every time we open to the book of Psalms in the Bible, we’re reminded it’s not a twenty-first century problem. Listen to the way the psalmist David intertwined the wrestlings of his faith with the truths that held him in their grip:

“Get me out of this net that’s been set for me because you are my protective fortress” (Psalm 31:4 CEB).

“I rejoice and celebrate in your faithful love because you saw my suffering—you were intimately acquainted with my deep distress” (Psalm 31:7 CEB).

“Have mercy on me, Lord, because I am depressed. My vision fails because of my grief, As do my spirit and my body ...

"Strength fails me ...

"I’m a joke to all my enemies ... I scare my friends, And whoever sees me in the street Runs away ...

"I am forgotten, like I’m dead, Completely out of my mind ...

"But me? I trust you, Lord! I affirm, ‘You are my God.’ My future is in your hands” (Psalm 31:9-15 CEB).

No matter how long the lament, how soul-rattling its lyrics, how far distanced from hope its tune, the song turns from minor key to major when the Truth gets its solo.

When faith’s song seems to have gone silent, for whatever logical or unexplainable reason, we have options:

• Listen to the fear-inducing noise our rusty, creaking soul makes in the hollow, silent spaces.
• Listen to the unbelieving or skeptical world that claims silence is a sign of God’s absence, despite reassurances to the contrary in God’s never-silent, never-will-I-leave-you-or-forsake-you Word.
• Realize that silence is its own song.

My music educator father often said, “Play the rests with as much intensity and focus as you do the notes on the page. Rests are not moments of nothingness. Play the rests.”

When only twenty-two, the hymn writer Robert Robinson penned these faith-gone-silent words in 1757. How true they ring today.

“Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”

Listen for the significant, pregnant-with-promise moment of silence after that familiar confession in this modern version (video) at the 5:15 mark. It will steal your breath, and steel your resolve to keep listening in the silence.

Do you value the silence or fear it? And if your answer is fear, reflect on the “and”—the moment of resting and regrouping—in Psalm 46:10.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

Unlike many other verses in the Bible, these eight words appear without alteration in translation after translation. These words.

Stillness—or silence—was prescribed by God as a prelude, or an accompaniment, to knowing He is God, and finding our rest and courage in that truth. Is it in part because a whisper sounds loud in the silence?

So I’ll ask again, and prepare myself to answer the questions honestly too.

     Do you value silence?

          Have you heard its song?

               What did it teach you?

Cynthia Ruchti tells stories hemmed in hope. She’s the award-winning author of more than eighteen books and a frequent speaker for women’s ministry events. She and her husband live in the heart of Wisconsin. Connect with her at cynthiaruchti.com or hemmedinhope; or check out her recent release—Song of Silence.

Graphic of bench, courtesty of Morguefile.

Invest in Your Prime Relationships - Part 1

What are your "Prime Relationships"? In this Relationship UPGRADE, Dawn Wilson encourages the kind of "investments" in these relationships that reap powerful results—so it's important to know what they are.

[Note: For a more detailed version of this post with scriptures, see my other blog: Heart Choices Today.]

Investments are not only about money. Investments are akin to watering what you want to grow! We can invest in relationships!

When we invest in someone's life, it likely to cost us something. But investing is wise!

• Someone invested invested in my life this year with her time, helping me with a project.
• Another someone invested in my life using her financial resources.
  
• And another invested encouragement, motivating me to see the big picture when I was so focused on one failing day.

I want to invest in others' lives too, with time, talents, finances, prayers, words, truth ... and so much more. I'm asking the Lord to help me see needs so I can "invest" wisely. How about you?

In this two-part post, I want to share some practical ways we can wisely and faithfully "invest."

These are the first two "investents."

          Investment #1. INVEST in YOUR LORD

Don't forget: this is your prime relationship! 

Jesus said, "...what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36). 

We can store up treasures and yet not be "rich toward God" (Luke 12:21).

1. Know the Lord.

• Examine your heart. Do you really know Him, or just know about Him? 
• Seek Him. Pursue Him. Be intentional. 
• Grow in your intimacy with Him. 

2. Deposit Your Life with the Lord.

• Trust His character. 
• Appreciate His love. 
• Celebrate your security (in Christ). 

3. Seek to Please the Father.

• Yield Your body to Him. 
• Be obedient to Him.
• Follow Jesus' example. 
• Discover how to be like Jesus! 
• Bear good fruit! 
• Love others well. 

4. Cherish His Word.

• Use your Bible. 
• Stand for truth. 

5. Rely on the Holy Spirit.

• Don't Ignore God's Gift. 

          Investment #2. INVEST in  YOURSELF.

Viewed correctly and biblically this isn't selfishness.

If you don't invest in your own health and well-being, how will you find the strength to invest in others?

Loving others as yourself assumes you've learned how to love yourself biblically (Mark 12:30-31). 

1. Take Care of Yourself!

• Nurture your body.
  
• Move your body.
  
• Relax.
  
• Get some sleep .
  

2. "Paint the Barn."

• Maintain the Temple... reflect the beauty of the Lord who created you. 
• Style yourself for a simple, attractive appearance.

3. Expand Your Horizons.

• Discover your strengths and weaknesses ... your spiritual gifts.
  
• Develop some new skills and explore creativity options. 
• Expand your knowledge.
  
• Further your education.
  

4. Plan for Strategic Dreaming!

• Plan to decompress.
• Plan in daily "breaks" to rest and recharge.
  
• Give yourself permission and time to dream. 
• Be a FINANCIAL investor.
  
• Set aside some "dream" money.
  

5. Practice Gratitude.

• Look for things to appreciate. 
• Train yourself to notice God's goodness. 
  
• Be thankful for grace.
  
• Worship in thanksgiving.
  

We'll continue with three more "investments" in the next post. [Note: for a longer version of this post with scriptures, see my other blog: Heart Choices Today.]

Meanwhile, do you need to invest more in your relationship with the Lord, in your own well-being, or in your husband? Which of these tips might help today?

Dawn Wilson,  founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator of three blogs: Heart Choices Today, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. She is contracted researcher for Revive Our Hearts. She and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.