Focus on the following scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!
“A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.” ~ Proverbs 18:16
I paused as I wrote the title of this blog, wondering if I should give it a different title. As a big proponent of making sure that the words you speak about yourself are positive, typing “Infertile Woman” in my title gave me pause. The Bible tells us that the words we speak (and the labels we attach to ourselves) carry the power of life or death (Proverbs 18:21).
If you are struggling with infertility, do you label yourself as “an infertile woman?” I think we need to come up with some other label that designates you as a someone who is filled with hope for becoming a mother, not someone who dooms herself to endure barrenness. Got any suggestions? I’d love to hear about them. Please put them in the comments section below.
Back to the Bible verses. I wrote a post in February listing five verses that would be helpful in developing or maintaining hope for having a child. Here are five more that should be helpful:
John 17:23 (NLT)- “…you love them as much as you love me [Jesus]”
Lamentations 3:26 (NKJV)- “It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”
Hebrews 13: 5 (NLT)- “For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
1 John 5:4 (NLT)- “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.”
1 John 5:14, 15 (NIV)- “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
What other bible verses do you depend on to give you hope? Please share them below.
Ever doubt that the blessings of God are for YOU?
Well, rest assured, they are!
What have you asked Him for lately?
Go ahead, accept what is yours to receive from God.
Get more ways to build your hope in Evangeline’s book, ” A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility.”
Focus on the following scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!
“Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.” ~ Isaiah 50:7 (NLT)
Focus on the following scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!
“You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.” Job 10:12 (ESV)
This post is from a friend, Keith Rogers, who enjoys teaching about our authority in Christ. Thanks Keith for helping us SEE our authority.
Not long ago, I heard a good analogy of what spiritual warfare is all about. Picture an NFL football field. On each side of the ball, there are 11 guys who are in perfect condition. They’re some of the strongest and fastest people on the planet and few, if any, can stop them.
Ah, but there are some weaker people out there on the field. These guys are slower, not nearly as strong, and quite a bit smaller. But they have a whistle and a yellow flag, and all they need to do to control those big strong men is to simply throw that flag or blow that whistle.
These people, the referees, have little power on their own. But the power they do have comes from the NFL, and that makes all the difference on the field.
In the same way, you and I may have little power on our own against the dark enemies of the invisible world. But the power we do have comes from another source: Jesus. And on the spiritual battleground, that power is what makes all the difference.
In Christ, you fight not for victory, but from victory. Because of that, you have every bit of authority you need to defeat the enemy at every turn!
“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” Luke 10:19
IN CHRIST, YOU’RE FIGHTING THE ENEMY WITH ALL THE AUTHORITY YOU NEED.
LIVE IN VICTORY BECAUSE OF THAT WONDERFUL TRUTH!
Romans 4:18 (NLT) tells us how Abraham had ridiculous hope—“Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations.”
Abraham believed God’s promise. Even when there was no reason to hope— Sarah had been barren for decades and he was nearly 100 years old—Abraham kept believing that they would have a child. Their predicament made hope seem nonsensical, even laughable. But Abraham kept hoping.
This wasn’t the first time Abraham had experienced and maintained ridiculous hope. God told him to leave his extended family (very unusual in that culture) and go to a different land, promising him that he would be blessed and become great. Abraham made a decision to step out and find out. The promises came true as Abraham trusted God.
I think Abraham was an outstanding example of how to have ridiculous hope in the midst of infertility. He opened himself to hear from God. He trusted what God said. So much so, that he changed his name from Abram, which means “exalted father” , to Abraham, which means “father of many nations.” Imagine hearing other people call him father of multitudes when he and Sarah didn’t even have one child! Think of the ridicule he must have experienced. That required having faith in what God had said, trusting that what God had promised would indeed come to pass.
Repeatedly hearing that description of himself , through others calling his name, surely must have built Abraham’s faith (faith comes by hearing–Romans 10:17). There was another factor that increased Abraham’s hope for a child and faith in God’s promise. We learn in Romans 4:20 (YLT) that he “was strengthened in faith, having given glory to God.” The act of praising God, acknowledging His majesty and honoring Him by the words that Abraham spoke, helped to build up his faith.
He had ridiculous hope in God, viewing Him as the only One who could give him all that he desired.
What will it take for you to have ridiculous hope?
Focus on the following scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!
“Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits.” ~ Psalm 68:19
I got distracted last week.
On Saturday, 7/27/13, I woke up with a “little ache” in my lower back. By Saturday night, nausea and a headache had set in. Relief did not come even after using the pain reliever and heating pad. With no appetite, I endured the weekend of feeling yucky, eager for the doctor’s office to open on Monday morning. I was fortunate to get a same-day appointment. Diagnosis? Just a viral infection that “should pass in few days”.
During the eight (8!) days it took to finally feel better, I watched TV (most of the time). My body ached for almost a week, yet the achiness did not serve as a reminder to do what I knew (focus on Jesus). Tiredness and headache set in and I didn’t persistently look to a different source of strength after I took the pain reliever . Nausea swept through and I did not seek out alternative nutrition for the part of me that was not sick—my spirit. The headache, back ache, tiredness, nausea each became a physical distraction that I allowed to keep me from pursuing the spiritual solution to my problem.
Thankfully, I’m feeling much better today. Looking back on this past week, I did not follow what I’ve encouraged others to do so many times—get in the Word of God, find my answer to the problem at hand, and focus on the answer. I got distracted by the symptoms and the TV. I feel like I wasted a LOT of time last week. No writing, no working on goals, no online posts, and certainly no chores or exercise got done. Admittedly, I didn’t feel like doing much of anything. I didn’t even feel like strengthening my spirit by reading God’s love letter to me (the Bible). But God so lovingly strokes me with His gentle, fatherly hand and tells me, “It’s okay, I’m still here with you.”
Proverbs 18:14 (NKJV) encourages us that, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?” Within the Word of God lies the answer to every problem we can ever experience in life. I know that. I teach that. But, I got distracted by my circumstances. Has that ever happened to you?
Today, no more beating myself up with thoughts about what I should or could have done in the midst of that illness. All the “Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda” in the world won’t change the past nor help in moving forward. Now is the time to praise God that He kept me through those eight days and will continue to do so. Now is the time to read and marvel about how His power and favor work in my life. Now is the time to realign my focus so that I continue to look to the One who loves me and does nothing but good on my behalf.
I’m looking forward to a productive week where I handle distractions in a much more effective way. Are you?
Focus on the following scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” ~John 3:17 (NIV)