Receive and experience the amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, deep, deep within yourselves. Philippians 4:23 (MSG)
The Apostle Paul finished his thoughts in the fourth chapter of Philippians with the above exhortation to the believers. After he taught them some important truths, he prayed that they would receive and experience the grace of God! You see, all those truths would have been like seeds fallen on a hard ground if it was not for the grace of God. They needed the continual grace of the Lord to keep their hearts soft, so that the seed of life could germinate and produce the good spiritual fruit!
We live in tumultuous times, and everyday we are bombarded with more negativity and darkness. Similarly to the Philippians church, we are also in need of the amazing grace of God deep within our souls! We need His comfort, reassurance, and peace in uncertain times, and we need His supernatural enablement to help us to put to work the truths we learn.
Unfortunately, many of us spend more time listening, watching, and reading the news than we spend time in the word of God, prayer, and worship. Hence, the result is that weariness, discouragement, disillusionment sets in. We begin to doubt and meditate on all the things that are wrong around us rather than meditating on who God is for us! We need God’s grace deep within our souls to help us to continue to stay on track and not lose faith in the midst of a faithless culture! Are you seeking the grace of God to enable you to live an overcoming life right now!?
In the next few days, set aside a day for prayer, fasting, and looking unto Him. As part of your fast include shutting off all the news and social media outlets and just be present before the Lord. Praise Him for who He is and give thanks to Him for His love towards you. Worship Him and read the word of God. Listen to His still small voice in the midst of all the chaos and let Him speak to you. In the presence of the Lord, your worries and anxieties will dissipate. Your perspective will begin to change. Your faith will begin to be stirred up, and your hope will return.
Right now, the world needs us to be a beacon of hope in the midst of all the darkness. If we are going to bring any hope and good news to the those around us, we need to remain and walk in faith, hope, and love!
The below scriptures are for you to meditate on. I chose the Message translation, so you can hear the word of God afresh and allow yourself to receive from Him what He has for you.
Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. Philippians 4: 4-9 (MSG)
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Thank you so much. What a blessing to read anew His heart. I am moved to tears knowing that He is my hope and it makes so much more sense to stay focus on Him. El Shaddai.
Praise the Lord! Amen! Thanks for sharing Helen.
Yes, He is our hope!