Tag: hope

He’s Got Your Whole World In His Hands

Photo courtesy of Microsoft Images

“Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the LORD your God.” Deuteronomy 10:14 [NLT]

Today, rest in knowing God loves you and will load your day with great benefits.

Expect it—that’s what HOPE is all about!

As you rest in Jesus, enjoy this song by Israel Houghton.

Supernatural Truth

Supernatural Truth. Is there such a thing? The Bible says there is:

“Your word is truth.” John 17:17 [NKJV]

“Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” John 6:63 [NLT]

God’s Word in the Bible is Supernatural Truth. It is eternal and unchanging. God gave us His Truth so we can use it. We are free to use it to bring life and light to our circumstances that seem to be filled with nothing but endless darkness. We use His Word  by believing and speaking it. 

We are enabled by His Truth when we wield it as a sword, using it as an offensive weapon in our struggles [Ephesians 6:17]. God promised that when we believe and speak His Word it would produce prosperous results [Isaiah 55:11]. By believing and speaking His Word, we are speaking words that are empowering, life-giving and situation-changing. Believing and repeatedly speaking His Word brings the essence of HOPE and LIFE to our lives.

Does the struggle with infertility weigh heavily in your life? It did in mine. Believing and speaking the Word help me to become an overcomer in that struggle. I want to encourage you:

Trust in the power of God’s love for you which is embedded in His promises in the Bible.

Believe in the unfailing power of His Word [” Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave…” ~ 1 Kings 8:56 {NLT}].

Bring life to your situation of barrenness by using God’s Word to tap into His good plan for your life.

Confidently trust the power of Supernatural Truth!

 

5 Bible Verses Every Infertile Woman Needs To Know

If you are struggling with infertility, you know what a hopeless situation it can become, if  you let it. When I dealt with it, I found the best source of hope was the Bible. It contains numerous scriptures that pertain directly to infertility. It also gives many accounts of women who were once barren/infertile/childless but became a mother all because they trusted God to be true to His Word.

I’ve said it before, Infertility Sucks! But I know firsthand that it can be overcome. Here are five verses that I meditated on and repeatedly used as verbal affirmations, putting my name in each scripture. I think you’ll find them to be great sources of HOPE.

Deuteronomy 7:14 [NKJV] ~ “You shall be blessed above all people; there shall not be male or female barren among you.”

Isaiah 50:7 [NKJV] ~ “For the Lord God will help me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.”

Leviticus 26:9 [Amplified Bible] ~ “For I will be leaning toward you with favor and regard for you, rendering you fruitful, multiplying you and establishing and ratifying my covenant with you.”

Hebrews 11:11 [NLT] ~ “It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise.”

Luke 1:37 ~ “For with God NOTHING shall be impossible.”

Are there other scriptures in which you find hope? Please share them below.

Keeping Hope Alive!

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Some scriptures to encourage you:

“And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.” Psalm 39:7 NLT

“I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God.” Psalm 38:15 NIV

“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Romans 5:5 NLT

Please watch this 30 second video and be encouraged to keep hope alive during this struggle with infertility.

 

Infertility Sucks!

Hope During Infertility

Yesterday, while talking with a friend about my experience with infertility, I was reminded of some of the emotions that surfaced during that struggle:

  • Shock
  • Devastation
  • Demoralization
  • Aloneness
  • Jealousy
  • Confusion
  • Stress
  • Shame

I felt inadequate as a woman because I couldn’t do the one thing that women can do that men can’t— give birth. There are additional depressing feelings that were brought on by infertility but the point I want to make to you is that I OVERCAME them. Thankfully, I had understanding friends who pointed me to God. They encouraged me to learn about the women in the Bible who experienced infertility and overcame it. That was a turning point for me!

If you’re struggling through the emotions of infertility (and I do mean through–don’t get stuck there), you know where I’m coming from–infertility sucks! Please know that you are not alone. Trust in the Word of God. Trust in His love for you.

Have confidence that God’s promises of fertility are true for YOU. Find and anchor your hope in them.

Focus Friday

Focus on the following promise throughout the day. God said it and it’s what He desires. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Speak the Word continually and expect God to do what He has said!

“No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame.”  

~~ Psalm 25:3

God’s Circle of Blessing

Each day, take time to remind yourself that because of Jesus, you live in God’s circle of blessing. It’s the place where He lovingly pours out provision, safety, healing and favor.

Here’s an excerpt from my devotional ebook, “A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility.” Enjoy!

God’s Circle of Blessing

“I will bless you richly. I will multiply your descendants…”

~ Genesis 22:17 ~

The Living Bible Translation of Psalm 25:13 says, “He shall live within God’s circle of blessing, and his children shall inherit the earth.” To whom is this passage referring? The previous verse tells us…the person who reverences God.

Living in God’s circle of blessing enables us to enjoy the best in life even when circumstances around us tell, and sometimes yell, otherwise. Isaac, Abraham’s son, was a great example of living in the circle of blessing.

The Bible’s account in Genesis 26:1-13 tells how there was a famine in the country where Isaac lived and he wondered if he should leave like so many others and go to Egypt where there was no famine. God told him to stay and that He would be with Isaac in his obedience. God promised him increase in all areas of life, including children.

In the midst of his country’s famine, despair, lack, and death, Isaac was blessed with extreme abundance because he stayed where God wanted him—in His circle of blessing. Infertility is like a famine—extreme hunger and despair—except it’s for a child. Just as Isaac experienced great bounty in the midst of famine, so can you, when you choose to remain in God’s circle of blessing even as your circumstances scream “famine.”

You can live in God’s circle of blessing by keeping the ears of your heart open to His Word. Hear Him as He speaks to you through it. Receive the Word by faith, as personal promises from God to you.

Receive His wonderful blessings by saying “thank you” to Him for the promises you find in his Word for your child. Repeatedly speak His Word, His Truth, over your life. When we speak the Word, we’re in agreement with God. Receive His blessings by living in His Word and resting in His grace.

No matter what the doctor’s reports say, you don’t have to be stuck in the famine of infertility. Declare that you live in God’s circle of blessing because famine can’t exist there. Jesus is God of abundant joy!

Nothing is too hard for Him to change; therefore He can change your circumstance of infertility. His Truth, His Word, can bring extreme abundance in its most wonderful form—the blessing of a child.

Speak the Word: I choose to stay in God’s circle of blessing.  He is my source of everything good. 

More Encouragement: Galatians 3:14; Hebrews 6:14

To receive another free sample of  additional devotions from ” A Seed of Hope,” click HERE.

An Affirmation

From an old hymn of the church, comes a wonderful affirmation to not only sing but to whisper to ourselves throughout the day. It reminds me of John 15:5 when Jesus said, “I am the vine, you [are] the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

This song was written by Annie S. Hawes and Robert Lowry:

I need Thee,

O I need Thee.

Every hour I need Thee;

O bless me now my Savior.

I come to Thee.

God’s Got This

If you like to be in control of things in your life like I do, you may sometimes experience frustration that life is not working out exactly as you had planned. When my husband and I decided to start having children, we thought pregnancy would happen according to our timeline that we had developed a few years earlier. It didn’t.

After numerous doctor visits, temperature charting, lab tests, tears, anger, and many times of asking God “why,” we finally decided that we’d put this issue of infertility in God’s hands. And He did not disappoint! The Bible says to cast all our cares (those things that distract us from believing in God’s willingness to help us) onto God. He wants us to choose to focus on the truth that He is not only able to move mightily on our behalf, but He is also willing to do the  impossible in our lives. He loves us so much and wants the “best” things we desire in our lives to line up with His “best” plan.

When we reach a point in life’s circumstances that we can truly say within our heart, “God’s got this,” we are positioning ourselves in the place of rest that He intended for us to be in all along. It’s in that place of rest, which is actually a place of great strength, that we see His best plan for us come to fruition. 

Looking to Jesus

Someone once said, “Looking to your past gives you regrets. Looking to your future gives you opportunities.” I’d like to add to that—“Looking to Jesus helps you finish the race of life as a victor.” [Hebrews 12:1,2]

When we look to Jesus, it gives us hope for being rescued out of the situation of infertility and anything else that’s a struggle. After all, He’s the one that rescued Peter out of the breath-snatching waves of water. He rescued Paul from the grip of hatred and fear. He loosed Lazurus from the chains of death. He rescued sick people from various illnesses and fed thousands of hungry people with just a few loaves of bread (twice!).

Look to Jesus and be encouraged! Because of His obedience, death, and resurrection, we have access to blessings that the Father intended for us to have all along. Looking to Jesus is what we need to do to be reminded that He did everything necessary , on our behalf, for us to be rescued from bondage and brought into freedom. He finished and satisfied every requirement so that we are now qualified to claim and enjoy all the blessings that He has already given us, including overcoming infertility.  [Ephesians 1:3; Deuteronomy 7:14; Deuteronomy 28:4]