Tag: slave to sin

By Pastor Andrew Farland

The movie Groundhog’s Day is about a weatherman who gets caught in a perpetual time loop, reliving the same day over and over again. It’s a comedy for sure, but it can be a reality for some people who experience daily depression or anxiety. They wake up every day struggling to find the energy to get started, struggling to find the motivation to go to work, school, or church.

Have you been there?

Have you ever made it through a day only to wake up and feel like the universe is playing some cruel joke on you? If so, you’re not alone.

I understand because I’ve been there before.

Most importantly, God understands because He is right next to you as you go through it all.

Psalm 23 says, “though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God is with us; His rod and staff comfort us.”
The Bible tells us that in those moments when we ask, “Is it always going to be like this?” God emphatically tells us, “No!”

Does it mean that we will never go through a valley? No. Does it mean that God will keep us from facing challenges? No. It does mean, regardless of how we feel, God is walking next to us, always, through the middle of the darkest times.

So, if you feel like you’re not making any progress, remember that 3 steps forward and 2 steps back is still 1 step forward. It will take time to get through the valley and to feel the comfort of God’s rod and staff. But, trust in the words of Psalm 23 that God is with you and won’t let you down.

Matthew 28:20
“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

Like millions of you, I deal with depression and anxiety. It’s a constant battle that I face every day.

On one of those days, as I was driving in my car during a season of depression, I had an “aha moment.” It was one of the first times I had ever felt God stop me in my tracks and say, “Look. I have something you need to hear.”

So, as any normal person would do, I ignored the voice the first time and kept driving. But again, I felt God yelling at me, “Stop what you’re doing. I have something to tell you!”

At that point, I figured I should probably stop and pay attention. I pulled over to the side of the road and heard God tell me, clear as day, “One person filled with hope can minister to millions.”

It was my aha moment.

God had given me a clear direction for my life.

As someone who had gone through serious bouts of depression and anxiety, God told me that my job isn’t to run out of the burning building and never look back. Instead, my job is to turn around and try to help as many people as humanly possible. I’ve found that you don’t know how many people are suffering from depression until you’re struggling with it yourself.

Since we’re just beginning this 40-day journey together, I want you to know that I understand what you’re going through. I have walked in those shoes, I’ve walked through the darkness, and I’ve come out on the other side. Over these 40 days, I want to help you, and other people like you who are struggling, catch a glimpse of the peace that surpasses all understanding that only God can give.

I am grateful you’ve decided to walk with me. I am praying for you as you take steps toward God because I know how difficult each step can be.

Let’s pray these words from Psalm 16 today:

Psalm 16:1-2
Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

I’m convinced that one of the biggest tools the enemy uses against God’s people is selfishness.

Why? Because when we’re self-focused, we miss everything going on around us: the neighbor in need, the friend with anxiety, the family member who needs prayer. When we focus too much on ourselves, we can even miss the divine appointments God has set up for us.

Honestly, the most difficult time to focus on others is when we’re tired or we feel like our tank is empty. After all, we can’t fill someone else’s tank when we are running on “E.”

Do you feel like your running on empty?

I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news, but fatigue is just a lame excuse! When you are connected to God, you can reach into His tank, when yours is empty, and bless the people around you.

God has put something inside each and every one of you to give away. Ask yourselves what gifts, talents, skills, and passions you have that you could use for the benefit of others? They are the very things placed within you by God and He will give you the energy to use them.

In Psalm 37:34,
David gave us the two prescriptions for getting through those seasons when our tanks are empty when he wrote “Hope in the Lord and keep His way.” In other words, trust God and do good.

Do your best today to fight against selfishness by trusting God and finding ways to serve. Keep the blinders off of your eyes so that you can see the needs around you. And, if your tank is empty, lean into the gifts that God has given you to bless other people.

He will no doubt give you the strength to build others up.

Luke 10:27
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

In the Old Testament, we read about the Israelites, God’s people, having to travel for 40 years through the wilderness.

God had rescued them from slavery in Egypt but guided them through a challenging and turbulent journey toward the Promised Land, a beautiful country where God’s people could finally settle and enjoy their lives.

Along the way, God’s people complained and wished for the journey to end. They even wished to go back to a life of slavery because it would be easier than that wilderness.

Have you ever been there?
Have you ever been stuck in a long, difficult season?
Have you ever thought that it might just be easier to give up?

We’ve all been in that situation.

The question remains: why the wilderness?! Why does God lead us into long and arduous walks through the desert? Three truths from the Israelites’ 40-year journey can help us answer that question.

The wilderness wasn’t a place of punishment. It was a place of preparation. God sends people through the wilderness to prepare them for the Promised Land. The truth is that God’s people would not have been able to appreciate God’s blessings if they hadn’t gone through a time when God felt distant. What might God be preparing you for?
The wilderness wasn’t the last stop on the tour. There was a plan unfolding before their eyes. Some were willing to see the lessons that God might be teaching His people. Others were hardened. What lesson is God teaching you? What lessons has He already taught you in the desert?
The wilderness was the place where God demonstrated His patience and not His wrath. God let the Israelites mess up and eventually find their way back to Him. Thankfully, God gives His people time to figure things out. He doesn’t expect us to see His lessons or understand what He’s preparing us for. He just wants us to keep the faith and get back up when we stumble.

You should know that God was active in the wilderness when the Israelites were on their 40-year journey and He’s always with us in the middle of the valley.

Let’s sum everything up. Why the wilderness? God needs us to go through the desert so that He can teach us the lessons we’ll need in the Promised Land. If you’re on the other side of the wilderness, you know this is true. If you’re in the middle of one, keep the faith and look for the lessons God is trying to teach you.

Deuteronomy 2:7
“For the Lord, your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.