Tag: god’s love

By Pastor Andrew Farland

Some days are so difficult that you barely have enough strength to keep going, even you feel like you’re standing at the edge of a precarious cliff. It’s hard not to quit. You get down on yourself. No one else could possibly have it as bad as you right now, you think. You even compare your horrible situation to everyone else’s “highlight reel.”

But what I want to tell you is this:
Simply enduring the trial/suffering you are going through, glorifies Jesus. It’s okay to not be okay. We all face challenges. We all have bad days.

But today, I want to remind you not to quit. At just the right time, God will lift you up. He’s done it for me when I was at rock-bottom. There have been times in my life where I didn’t think I’d make it. When I thought my depression and anxiety would overtake me, but they didn’t. I’m still here and so are you.

Today it is enough to endure what you are going through. Take it easy on yourself and come to Jesus with the weight of what you are experiencing. When you do this, He promises to give you peace and bring you back from the cliff’s edge! Let God surround you with His love as you ask for His presence to come. You are loved. You will make it through this!

Isaiah 41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

2 Chronicles 15:7
“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

God has given us the amazing ability to communicate with each other. But many times we take this precious opportunity for granted and misuse it! We use our words to hurt and tear down others instead of building them up!

When God created the world the bible tells us that He spoke it to be. Words have power. In the book of 1st, Timothy Paul instructs Timothy not to waste his time with words that are “useless” and “don’t help others to live a life of faith.”

How about you? Are your words building people up? Or are your words tearing others down? Are you using your words to encourage and edify people? Or are you using them to gossip about them?
The next time you find yourself in a difficult situation and you aren’t sure if you should say what’s on your mind, ask yourself this question:
Is what I’m about to say loving and helpful?
Remember, you are free to choose what you say, but you are not free from the consequences of your words.

Proverbs 18:21
“The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

Someone once told me, God is rarely early but He’s never late.
One of the things that give me joy is being able to see people come alive! And there is no better picture of this than kids! They get excited about just anything!

One day while walking around the lake there was a boy and his dad. The boy was running out ahead of his dad pointing to the water. He was yelling back to his dad all the cool stuff he was seeing. “Dad, look! A turtle!”
The dad smiled and loved seeing his son so excited but he never picked up his pace. He was slow but steady, knowing eventually He would get there to see what his son discovered.

Just like this story, in our joy, we tend to run ahead of God to go exploring, yelling back to Him all that we see and discover. You see just like that man, God is walking at a consistent pace. And just like that father God isn’t always as fast as we’d like Him to be. God’s timing and our timing are very different, but God is never late, He’s always right on time.

Today, maybe you are still holding to a promise you’ve had for years, wondering if and when God was going to come through. Maybe you’re crying, asking God to help you.

Well, today I want to tell you, God sees you and hears you! He’s got your situation all under control and He’s on the way! To us, He seems late, but in His wisdom, He knows He’s right on time.

Habbakuk 2:3
“These things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

One of the rarest metals on Earth, gold holds value for us in a variety of ways. Of course, we use gold in our jewelry, but it’s also vital in dentistry, electronics, and currency.

One bar of gold weighs 26lbs and is worth over $640,000 USD!
The United States federal reserve has a gold vault that lies 8 stories underground and holds over 350 billion dollars worth of this precious commodity.
The steel vault that protects all this gold itself weighs 150 million pounds!
That vast wealth and the resources necessary for its protection are nearly inconceivable.

But did you know that the Bible says that your FAITH is FAR MORE valuable than GOLD!?

Here’s my question for you today:
Are you protecting the precious faith God gave you as much as the federal reserve is protecting their gold?

1 Peter 1:7
“These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold–though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.