So, Here Is Your Word For Today: RELEASE IT! Did You Wake Up Carrying That Load Again Today? How About You Also Let It Go Today? Here is your Faith Decree: I Decree Today That I Will No Longer Stumble Over My Struggles, Or Cry Over My Crisis:

Jesus is always an ever-present help in times of trouble. Sometimes God will keep you from the fire. Other times, God will make you fireproof and take you through the fire. God’s love for you is heavier than the load of cares and concerns you keep carrying! So, Here Is Your Word For Today: RELEASE IT!

We May Have Talked to The Lord About Our Burden, But We Have Failed to Trust Him with Our Burden. Did You Wake Up Carrying That Load Again Today? How About You Also Let It Go Today? Let Jesus Do with It What Only He Can Do.  God’s Hands Can Handle What Your Hands Cannot! 

We May Have Talked to The Lord About Our Burden, But We Have Failed to Trust Him with Our Burden.  Like a car in need of repair, it is not just enough to tell the mechanic what is wrong with the car. You must leave it with him! Probably the biggest single reason we will not let go of our crushing burdens and concerns is this: CONTROL. We insist on keeping it under our control. We are too stubborn or too afraid to roll it over onto Jesus back.

Here is your Faith Decree: I Decree Today That I Will No Longer Stumble Over My Struggles, Cry Over My Crisis, Agonize Over My Afflictions, Retreat From My Refining Process, Or Have A Tantrum Over My Trials. There is no test given to me, that my God hasn’t already provided the answers to pass.  This time, when my Faith comes out of the Furnace it will be on Fire instead of in Ashes! In Jesus Name I Decree it to be so. Amen. So, It Is and So Shall It Be! RELEASE IT!

How Many Times Have You Thought or Said ’If Only I Had Just Waited on God? You May Have Talked to The Lord About Your Burden, But You Have Failed to Trust Him with Your Burden. Impatience Produced Ishmael; Promise Produced Isaac...Therefore, WAIT!  God’s Plan Will Prevail and Produce What He Promised! Do Not Mess Up God’s Promise Over Your Life by Attempting to Produce a Harvest from a Seed God Never Told You to Plant! There Are Seasons in Your Life! You Cannot Rush It, But You Can Surely Ruin It! Stop Trying to Help God Out. Therefore, Always Wait for God’s Due Season! Trials are for training you to win victoriously! Which is why the life of the believer is not without trials! Ephesians 6:16.

Like it or not:  God allows circumstances to develop around our lives to give our faith opportunity to be proven! “Also, through Him, we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces PROVEN character, and PROVEN character produces hope.” (Romans 5:2-4 HCSB) Did you catch all of that? “…We Also Rejoice In Our Afflictions…” Why? Because Our Afflictions, “Produce Endurance, Proven Character and Hope…” In Other Words: Your Affliction Works to Your Advantage! How Your afflictions are proving that you have what it takes to endure the battle and win the victory. But it also works on your character. That’s what God does when He sends afflictions into your life to improve your character. He wants you to grow and develop His characteristics in your life in such a way that people can see His stamp of approval on your life. Your character is your brand. It tells people what you stand for and what you will not tolerate. Your afflictions are teaching and training you to maintain good character, integrity and a reputation that is above reproach and one that resembles God’s

Truth Is: It’s Only When We’re Tested In Battle That We Become Skilled Warriors!

Therefore, you might as well get ready because you can be confident God will allow trials to come your way through afflictions such as: a strained marriage, straying children, critical bosses, false assaults on your character, or a difficult friendship that requires unconditional love. However, regardless to how many afflictions come our way, God has promised us, “many are the afflictions of the righteous: But the Lord delivered him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19). So, what are you crying and complaining about? There is no affliction that is permanent! They are all temporary! when you pass your training tests of trials, “…the Lord will deliver you out of them all…”

Don’t be discouraged in battles, God is using them to develop you into a great warrior, skilled in spiritual warfare!  No longer a generation who has no experience in battle! But now a generation that makes the devil cringe every morning when your feet hit the floor to remind Him, you’re dressed in the whole/full armor of God, and you’re ready for another fight! “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but MIGHTY through God to the pulling down of strong holds;” (2 Corinthians 10:4). Cheer up and gear up because your afflictions are training you to pull down strong holds!

God Cannot Abandon You. God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

Some people felt that when they needed God the most, He could not be found. This is what started their personal faith, battling with the feeling that God had abandoned them. I often say if God seems at a distance guess who moved. He has not gone anywhere, where is your dwelling place, where have you take up residence lately.

Painstakingly, we began to learn and study for ourselves about who Jesus was and what He really said. That is when you will find Him. The real Jesus, the God Who was always there giving you the freedom and grace you needed to explore your faith.

He had not abandoned you; you were just looking for the wrong person. The man-made persona of Jesus some people had been taught about during their formative years; He was not the true Jesus.

When we look back on a situation or season of life, you will see how God was showing up in some great ways, they were simply hard to see at the time:

1. Provision. It does not always come in the means you asked for, but God’s provision is being extended to you. Have faith. See the little things, they are there as part of the bigger picture.

2. Protection. Even when the world seems to be falling apart around you, God has got you. Bad things happen to us or those we love, and it seems there is no possible way God is protecting anyone. But He is there. Only Jesus can redeem what was meant for evil.

3. Preparation. At the end of the experience or sorrow, we begin to see how we were being prepared for what comes next. We can help others who are suffering. We can stand assuredly knowing that God had our best interest at heart all along.

God has promised to always be with you and the real God cannot break that promise. Here is the evidence of God’s true character: Compassion, Second chances, Forgiveness and Unconditional love. According to Miriam-Webster, the definition for Christian is, “One who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ.” Notice it says, “professes belief.”

There are many well-intentioned people who are preaching a brand, or form, of Christianity that are not in line with the heart and track-record of God. If your red flag is raised because of how a church or individual is speaking on God’s behalf, listen to that inner voice. It just might be the Holy Spirit directing you.

God took care of you yesterday. He is taking care of you now. He will take care of you tomorrow!

Let us be honest, there were some moments you could not wait, so you just took off, and you caused a crash. Or maybe you are about to sin the sin of “get-there-itis” today! And maybe it is even a good goal. Maybe it is something you want to accomplish for yourself, your family, business, ministry, or church. Maybe you want to get married, or something to help your child, or to help other people. BUT God has not made it come to pass. So, you are starting to push, to plan, to scheme, to arrange, to manipulate to make it happen.

And truthfully, I cannot even begin to count the number of times I have sat across from someone in counseling who has that very same testimony…’If only I just waited on God.’ How many marriages would not have fallen apart; ministries and churches split; homes foreclosed; businesses shut down; finances dry up, and all because we just had to make it happen, by any means necessary, instead of waiting for God to make it happen, in His time, in His will, in His way.

However, unfortunate for us, we preferred to travel down the harder road of trying to “help” God out. We start formulating plan ‘b’ since God’s plan ‘a’ is taking entirely too long! We start scheming and scamming only to get what we wanted, but not at all what we needed!

Many of us are accustomed to having a back-up plan. We are depended upon to figure stuff out, to make it work, to fill in the gap, to strategize how to rob Peter to pay Paul. But all of that, is all of us, and none of God. You see, it is not like Sarai was hoping for a promise, the promise was already given, she did not even have to ask for it, it was given without the need of her request. All she had to do was wait on the timing of God for its fulfillment. And saints, that is exactly where we get it wrong! We tend to get impatient, devise a plan and go wandering instead of waiting. But what does the Bible have to say?

Wherever your “…EVEN IN THIS PLACE…” is, know that God sees you, hears you and cares for you. Even if your ‘this place’, is a place of sorrow; grief; anger; bitterness; loneliness; brokenness; abandonment; lack; pain…God sees you, hears you and cares for you “…EVEN IN THIS PLACE…”

Even if your ‘this place’ is heading to divorce court; the psychiatrist; another specialist; the unemployment line; in the midnight hour of tears…God sees you, hears you and cares for you “…EVEN IN THIS PLACE…”

Even if your ‘this place’ just left the abortion clinic; the maternity ward with no baby; a place of stagnation; confusion; fear of tomorrow; low-self-esteem; rejection; suicidal thoughts; high; drunk; going to jail or just getting out…God sees you, hears you and cares for you “…EVEN IN THIS PLACE…”

At dialysis; receiving chemo and radiation; struggling in rehab; in the wheelchair; on the cane; with the walker; dressed up; dressed down; and too weak to even get from under the covers…God sees you, hears you and cares for you “…EVEN IN THIS PLACE…”

Are you getting this?

You are God’s Beloved, no matter where your “…EVEN IN THIS PLACE…” currently has you. You cannot ever go unnoticed by God. He loves you too much to lose track of you, even when it is you who laced up your sneakers and went running right outside the Will of God for your life. He is still there. Don’t you see Him? Don’t you hear Him? Well, He sees and hears and cares about you, no matter what you have done; how many times you have done it; who you did it with; why you did it in the first place; where you did it; when you did it; He does not even care if it was deliberate, and all your fault, your Father loves His children! And like the prodigal son’s father, your Father sees you as far away from Him as you are, and still He is heading in your direction with arms open wide and a whole new garment of clothing to shed your past and mistakes. He is ready to restore you, why are you delaying your own recovery? Today, take IT, and all of IT to Him, and let Him take all your staleness and grant you a fresh start. Today is a great day to begin again. Last time, you ran off with your own plans and mission. This time stick with God, the road ahead will be so much easier!

Remember, God sees you, hears you and cares for you… “…EVEN IN THIS PLACE…

God extends an awesome and encouraging invitation to His children in Psalm 55:22. It says, “CAST your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).” (AMPC) “When you leave everything in God’s hands, you see God’s hands in everything.” “The same God who set the universe in motion is the same God who holds your life in His hands.” (Heather Dixon)

You my friend, as well as all your cares, are in the safe, powerful, and protective Hands of the Almighty God! Therefore, what is taking you so long to finally cast all your cares on Him? In other words, why carry what you can cast?!

In 1 Peter 5:7, you are invited to cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. So why is it still in your hands? The Living Bible reads: “LET HIM HAVE ALL YOUR WORRIES AND CARES, for he is ALWAYS thinking about you and WATCHING EVERYTHING THAT CONCERNS YOU.” (TLB) The word ‘HAVE’ is defined as ‘TO OWN’. God not only grants us the blessing of casting, assigning, and transferring our cares and concerns, but He also becomes their newfound owner! To ‘own’ is ‘to have or hold as private property.’ They no longer belong to you! Now, how encouraging is that? Again, with this promise belonging to you, why are you not casting what you know you cannot carry?

If we were to draw a picture of you and your burden right now, would you be all bent down, staggering beneath the weight of it all because you have been trying to carry it yourself? But remember this, there is another person in the picture! It’s Jesus, walking right beside you, whispering, let it go. Give it to Me Which reminds me of the three Hebrew boys in Daniel 3:25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. (AMPC) No matter how hot the furnace of affliction you must endure, know that you are never left to walk through them alone, Jesus is always an ever-present help in times of trouble. Sometimes God will keep you from the fire.

Other times, God will make you fireproof and take you through the fire. He is simply waiting for you to cast your fiery trials, cares, and concerns on Him. And why does God want you to cast your cares on Him? Read 1 Peter 5:7 again in the following translations:

“…He cares about you” (NLT)

“…He cares for you.” (NLV)

God’s love for you is heavier than the load of cares and concerns you keep carrying! So, here is your word for today: RELEASE IT!

You May Have Talked to The Lord About Your Burden, But You Have Failed to Trust Him with Your Burden. Like a car in need of repair, it is not just enough to tell the mechanic what is wrong with the car. You must leave it with him! Probably the biggest single reason we will not let go of our crushing burdens and concerns is this: CONTROL. We insist on keeping it under our control. We are too stubborn or too afraid to roll it over onto Jesus back. Stubborn because we want our way with it, no matter what. Afraid because we apparently do not trust what Jesus will do with it. The Result: an emotional and spiritual hernia from carrying what you never should have been carrying!

What is it going to take for the weight on you to be lifted? You are going to have to reverse what you learned from The Little Engine That Could; and say those liberating words, I think I can! That moment of surrender makes you desperate for what God and God alone can do. And desperation is the condition with which God can do the most.

Here is your Faith Decree: I decree today that I will no longer stumble over my struggles, cry over my crisis, agonize over my afflictions, retreat from my refining process, or have a tantrum over my trials. There is no test given to me, that my God hasn’t already provided the answers to pass.  This time, when my Faith comes out of the Furnace it will be on Fire instead of in Ashes! In Jesus Name I Decree it to be so. Amen. So, It Is and So Shall It Be!       

Blessings

J.P. Olson

www.journeyintotheword.com

Join Journey Into The Word each Sunday evening at 6:00 PM CST & 7:00 PM EST on the NOW Network  http://www.theNOWnetwork.org

ROKU, Cable & Online: https://www.thenownetwork.org/sunday

God Has Brought People Out Of Domestic Violence, Addictions; Bad Habits; And Bad Decisions, And Still Some Act As Though They Are Still Where They Were! Listen In To What God Said To Them, And You And Me As Well.

Leviticus 26:12-13, "I will walk you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright [with heads held high as free men]." (AMP)

The text in Leviticus 26:12-13 is an essential passage for a lot of us who don't realize how valuable we are. See, the people here, the ancient Jews, had been mistreated in Egypt, they'd been used, they'd been hurt, and they'd been belittled (sounds like the testimony of a lot of us.) And so, the awful result is, that they started to believe that being treated like cheap labor was what they were worth. And that couldn't be further from the truth.

See, they were out of Egypt, but Egypt wasn't out of them. They were out of bondage, but the bondage wasn't out of them. And I'm afraid that's the very description of many of us today. God Has Brought People Out of Domestic Violence, Addictions; Bad Habits; And Bad Decisions, And Still Some Act As Though They Are Still Where They Were! There's nothing worse than being a prisoner for so long that even when the bars open, you remain in bondage!

Listen In To What God Said To Them, And You And Me As Well. "I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright [with heads held high as free men]." (AMP)

Well, today is your day of encouragement because I refuse to allow you to wallow, wilt, and die! Neither will you allow yourself or anyone else to bury you before you die! If we are all brutally honest, we all sin daily (and for the rest of us simple church folks, we sin by the nanosecond)! Now, I know some super-spiritual folks tend to act like they sit next to Jesus every day, but then if that were true, why did they need a Savior in the first place? We may not commit the same evil, but we're just as guilty as the next for a crime of corruption! And in case some folks are under the impression that sin comes in 'sizes,' let me help you…Sin Has No Size! One Size Fits All! There are no 'big and little sins.' God does not grade our sins by measures and levels! God has concluded that both come under His judgment whether one person takes a person's! So, whatever your sin was, be it deliberate and willful, accidental, or even unknown, when you take it to God and repent and ask for forgiveness, it is done in that very instant, and you need not prove levels of righteousness to mere man! Those who you have wronged, you sincerely apologize, make it right in whatever way you can, ask for forgiveness, and walk in newness going forward determined to be better today than you were yesterday and better tomorrow than you'll be today!

Remember This: John 8:3-11, "The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?" They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt. Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?" "No one, Master." "Neither do I," said Jesus. "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin." (MSG)

Moral of the Scripture: Until You're SIN-LESS, Remain STONE-LESS! Even Jesus set the record straight. He wrote in dirt; He didn't throw it! So, if anyone approaches you with shovels in hand, don't argue, fuss, or fight. Just shake it off, step up, step out, and step off! You are no longer under condemnation, nor are you bound in bondage! God has broken the bars of your yoke, and you are now free, so talk, walk, act, and live like it!

Romans 8:1, "Therefore there is now NO condemnation [NO guilty verdict, NO punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior]." (AMP)

Psalm 103:12, "He has REMOVED our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west." (TLB)

1 John 1:9, "If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His nature and promises] and will FORGIVE our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose]." (AMP)

Back to our text, God told them what royalty they were and that it was about time they started living like the treasure they were. Maybe that's what God is trying to say to you today. My friends, you are more valuable than you give yourself credit for!

But maybe you've felt like a loser, a reject, a victim. So, you've been throwing yourself away, and there are a lot of ways to do that. You can throw yourself away academically by not trying, not working very hard, getting sexually involved, and maybe throwing yourself away chemically or alcoholically. You could be trashing yourself by what you do for pleasure, what you listen to, or watch, by putting yourself down, by settling for bad relationships. Maybe you've even thought about suicide. It could be you don't try because you don't believe you are worth it.

Well, I've stopped by to drop off a vital message to you today: YOU'RE WRONG!

God is saying to you today: You are My handmade creation! My people are no longer slaves to their enemies; you can now walk with your head held high! And yet, so many of you are still making a mistake that breaks the heart of your Creator. You believe you are trash because some people treated you like trash. Maybe there are some people here who were sexually molested, homeless, domestic violence, emotionally and mentally abused through verbal abuse, various addictions, overweight, underweight which has affected your self-esteem, ADHD, but no, you are who your Creator says you are. God created you. God loves you. God purchased you through the death of His Son. You belong to God. You are not trash!

You've got to keep moving. Whatever you let sit will go bad. When you have an assignment from God, even when you are hurt, keep moving, keep serving, keep giving, you keep moving. Whatever sits goes bad, you sit long enough your legs will go to sleep; your hands will go to sleep. If your battery sits, your battery will go bad. your car, automobile, if you don't drive, it will go bad. Let your mind sit; it will go bad. An idle mind is a devil’s workshop. Let the meat sit, let the fruit sit, let the eggs sit, and it will go bad. Whatever you let sit will go bad. we are designed to move, so keep moving.

Feed yourself on another level for where you are going. Listen, I know you have been offended, I know you have been hurt, sometimes you have been rejected in a place where they do not see your worth & value, and they have made you feel some way about yourself, but you will go to another place and find there are such great values. You will be surprised who needs what's in you. But you've got to keep moving. I don't care how hard you were slammed to the ground, keep moving, take your time to get up, re-invent yourself, look up, anoint up, dress up, worship up, you got to keep moving, eat up, restore what was lost in you.

Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship [His masterwork, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set] so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us]." (AMP)

THAT'S WHO YOU ARE!

Maybe some people have looked at you and thought you weren't worth much, and they treated you like trash. Well, they didn't know who you are. They had no idea of the value you carry within. 2 Corinthians 4:7, "But we have this precious treasure [the good news about salvation] in [unworthy] earthen vessels [of human frailty] so that the grandeur and surpassing greatness of the power will be [shown to be] from God [His sufficiency] and not from ourselves." (AMP) You carry treasure, and you are God's treasure! And just because they didn't know it doesn't mean anything. You need to know it! Don't break God's heart anymore by throwing away what He thinks is worth so much He would die for you. He would die for the very wrong things you have done, for every rebellion against Him in your life. You were worth the life of Jesus Christ, His Son.

Isaiah 43:2-4, "Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you. I've called your name. You're mine. When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead-end—Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba, threw in! That's how much you mean to Me! That's how much I love you! I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you." (MSG)

Philippians 2:5-8, "Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity, took on the status of a slave, and became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion." (MSG)

So, I don't care what you've done, how many times you've done it, where you were, who you were with, how long you were there, there is absolutely nothing that can stop God from loving you, protecting you, providing for you, claiming you, forgiving you and redeeming you! Nothing, Not Even YOU!

God loves you so much that He didn't even wait for you to break free, nor did He depend on or even expect you to break free; no, the Scripture says, "I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD, WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT SO THAT YOU WOULD NOT BE THEIR SLAVES; AND I BROKE THE BARS OF YOUR YOKE AND MADE YOU WALK UPRIGHT [WITH HEADS HELD HIGH AS FREE MEN]." (AMP)

Did you notice how many times God said "I"? He said He would walk among you; He brought you out of the land of Egypt; He made sure you would no longer be a slave; He broke the bars of your yoke; He created you to walk upright, even with your head; held high as FREE! Don’t let your sin, nor your past keep your head down, your shoulders slumped, your back bent, your eyes downward, and your spirit downcast! You are no longer bound; you are free! John 8:36, "So if the son makes you free, then you are unquestionably free." (AMP)

You have one God who is your Only judge! And He determined that you are Redeemable! You have value, and you have worth, you have a fresh start, and you have a second chance! If God had no more use or need of you, then the breath of life that He's loaned you, would default and you would die, but instead, you've opened your eyes to a brand-new day! A new day of fresh mercies! Last night was not your Last night because your Lord still needs you! So don't under-value and under-estimate yourself and let no one else do it to you either!

You will not stay here any longer. You have been set free from the bondage of others, and more importantly, the bondage of yourself. God loves us so much that He didn't wait for us to get ourselves out of the yoke; no, He broke it for us! And so today we are free, no more limitations; no more self-doubt; no more low self-esteem; no more questioning God's love for you; no more if God can do this for everybody else but you. No More! God has changed both your position and posture, and today is the day you live, talk, and act like it!

YOU, MY FRIENDS, ARE YOKE-FREE BECAUSE GOD HIMSELF BROKE THE BARS OF YOUR YOKE!

PUT YOUR ANGELS TO WORK FOR YOU. 

Command Your Angels: Can you do this? In short, yes. Keep in mind that you aren’t commanding them in the same way you are commanding and rebuking the devil. You are releasing them to do the work they’ve been assigned to perform on your behalf. 

You have been given the authority of Jesus Christ, as an heir, and you can command your angels to move on your behalf to carry out the Word (Psalm 103:20)

Pray for angels: When you ask God to deploy your angels, He will do so. Jesus said God would have sent 12 legions of angels to His resuce had He asked for them. Prayer will release angels on your behalf. (Matthew 26:51-53. Every time you leave your house, ask that angels protect you in every vehicle you ride in, every building you walk in, and every situation.

Call on the Name of Jesus: The Name of Jesus catches the attention of God’s angels. They will respond to the Name above all names and come to your rescue (Hebrews 1:6). The Name of Jesus is powerful! When you’re in a situation where you need help, call His Name. He’ll send help your way!

Thank God for His help: When you trust and believe that God will send His angels to help you (Psalm 91:11), you are receiving their intervention by faith. Thank Him and praise Him because He has given His angels charge over you. Thank Him for providing you with an entire army to enforce what is rightfully yours.

Isn’t it good to know you don’t have to depend on your abilities for protection and deliverance? Get your angels involved in your life. God’s will is for you to enjoy everything He provided through Jesus on the cross, and He’s provided all the help you’ll ever need!

Blessings

J.P. Olson

www.journeyintotheword.com

Join Journey Into The Word each Sunday evening at 6:00 PM CST & 7:00 PM EST on the NOW Network  http://www.theNOWnetwork.org

ROKU, Cable & Online: https://www.thenownetwork.org/sunday

No Matter What You Are Going Through, REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION! Who Knew That GRACE Is The GAS We Need To REFUEL! All We Need To Attain It Is Honesty “Lord, I’m Exhausted, Empty, Please Fill Me Again! There Is Nothing That You Can't Bring To God.

No Matter What You Are Going Through, God’s Grace, Loving-kindness and Mercy are Sufficient…More Than Enough…and Always Available…REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION! Who Knew That GRACE Is The GAS We Need To REFUEL?! And All We Need To Attain It Is Honesty… “Lord, I’m Exhausted And Empty, Please Fill Me Again! Help Me To Slow Down And Rediscover Your Reserve Tank Of Strength, Just For Me!” There is nothing you can bring to God that He can’t handle in your life! Nothing that weakens you can weaken Him! In fact, His power is more evident and effective IN YOUR WEAKNESS! That’s why we can boast, because no matter what weakens us, God will always be our reserve of strength! Whether it’s finances, divorce, debt, family, friends, job, death or diabetes…God can handle any situation that’s draining you!

Isaiah 40:28-31, “Have you never heard? Have you ever understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (NLT)

Well, Here's What God Promises To The Totally Overwhelmed And Depleted Person: "But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] will gain new strength and renew their power; they will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun]; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not grow tired." (vs. 31).

It's possible that God's been trying to say some very important things to us, things that would bring sense to our swirling world, but we can't hear Him because we're running so fast, in so many directions, with so many people, to so many places, on so many projects, to do far too much! Whatever the reason for our non-stop pace, I know there must be someone listening right now to whom God is saying, "It's time to take a break…it’s time to hit 'pause.' It’s time for Time Off, Time Out and Time Away!" Don't ignore His call to "be still and know that He is God."

Shut Everything Down. Like Our Computer Our Life Gets Fragmented: One situation tugs on our emotions while trying to concentrate on something else. We want to accomplish everything that needs to be done, but our mind won't stop, and our body won't start. Sometimes we are scattered, restless and half here.  We need to pause from time to time and reflect on the condition of our hearts and lives.

I often defrag my computer; it needs a tune up every now and then. Then I had a thought: Prayer can help to defragment our lives. When we cast our cares on the Lord, He will show us what we need to do and what only He can do.  Many of us need some defragmentation going on right now.  We need prayer the most when we have the least time to pray. Take time to defragment your life today. Shut everything down and go to God in prayer. Is it time for your checkup?

God May Be Trying To Get Us To Slow Down Or To Stop Right Now So He Can Show Each Of Us Some Things That We Are Never Going To See If We're Constantly On The Run From One Project To The Next, One Fight To The Next, One Battle To The Next. But how can God show us anything, when our focus is always on everything else?

It could be that you've been running ahead of the Lord's timing, or you've been pursuing what you want instead of what He wants.  Many of us are still Driving along not realizing that we're Directionally Challenged and Heading For a Crash!

Maybe you've been neglecting the regular timeout that God calls a "Sabbath"; you're all Accelerator and no Brakes, you're violating God's created order of taking regular rest! You’re daily bypassing all the signs that are God’s messages to you for your safety: ‘Stop, Do Not Enter, Yield, Dead End, One-Way, Wrong Way, U-Turn, Speed Limit, Caution, Bump, Bend, No Passing Zone, Bridge, Slippery Road, Falling Rocks, Road Work Ahead, Detour, Under Construction, Don’t Walk, Slow Down, Hazard, and even Hospital, just in case you decide to ignore all the other signs!”

Because truth is, if we don't choose to slow down, He will as the 23rd Psalm says, "…MAKE us lie down in green pastures..." And truth is, many times the only way I took my Time Off, Time Out and Time Away was by God's Force! It wasn’t until I was flat on my back sick that I received the much-needed rest I should’ve been getting all along. And I had to learn how to even force myself to take better care of myself!  I didn’t want God to ‘MAKE me lie down flat’ anymore. So, I had to start taking a hard look at all the things I was involved in and see where I needed to make some better arrangements and adjustments for my life.

God asks us to pause, or ultimately makes us pause, not to punish us, but to refit us. He wants to slow you down for work that needs to be done, for refueling that you desperately need, for retooling, or for redirecting you back into the center of His will. And He's wired us to do what His Son did at the beginning of His unbelievably busy days here on earth - to spend quiet time with Him. To hit 'pause' each new day so we can hear our Master's voice before we hear any other, appropriate our Master's resources, experience our Master's healing touch, and receive our Master's orders for the day. This is why it’s so vital that you take Time Off, Time Out and Time Away! He is our reserve, but we are running so many times on empty, we don’t realize that God is our Reserve.

A good friend of mine named Earl recently picked up a used pickup truck for a friend of ours. However, it’s when Earl started up the truck that the trouble began. You see, Earl (everybody’s friendly neighborhood mechanic) was taking the truck out for a test drive for Jim who had just bought it. And as he backed it out of the new owner's garage, it suddenly started sputtering and stalling. He couldn't keep it running no matter what he tried. He got to the phone and called the old owner and said, "What's the deal with this truck you just sold?" Well, the man who sold it is an honorable man, and he was really distressed about this suddenly dysfunctional truck. Then suddenly he asked Earl, "Did you happen to mess with the radio at all?" Yes, he had. The previous owner told Earl to go check these two switches that are right next to the radio. You see, this truck has a wonderful feature, especially for the country roads that it travels so much. It has what they call a reserve gas tank. Earl had unknowingly turned off Tank 2, which was full of gas, and turned-on Tank 1, which was totally empty. But the good news is that as soon as he switched from the empty tank to the reserve tank, Mr. Pickup Truck ran and ran and ran.

I'm assuming that your life runs fast, and hard much like mine. You have family, work, church, friends, schedules, children, business, school, leadership, health and financial check lists and the like. And because of it, there are times when your tank is basically empty. You're totally exhausted; you have nothing left to give. But there is good news that gets delivered Right when your tank has nothing Left!

Isaiah 40:28 says, "Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn’t grow tired or weary. His understanding is beyond human reach.” (CEB) Now, in case you didn’t know, the God you belong to, the God who lives in you is inexhaustible! And that wonderful word “inexhaustible” is defined as: “of a never-ending supply; incapable of being used up because of its continual abundance; tireless; incapable of being wearied or worn out. This is talking about the God who holds you together when you’re ready to fall apart!

His resources and wisdom just never, ever run out, but yours do, and don’t feel bad because mine does as well. But as for God; He is never tired or weary! He's the One who created the ends of the earth (and still He is never tired or weary). And no matter what the problem or struggle is, His understanding of it is still beyond human reach. There is nothing we can bring to Him, that so perplexes us, will ever stress Him! He can handle anything and everything…now if only we’d stop thinking we can as well! God never runs low, or runs out, but we do. The good news is that when we do, we still have our connection to Him!

And here's where the reserve tank kicks in. The passage continues, “He gives power to the tired and worn out, and strength to the weak. Even the youths shall be exhausted, and the young men will all give up.” (Vss. 29-30 TLB). Any words here that sound like you? "Weary, weak, tired, worn out, exhausted, feeble, faint, no might, stumble, fall?"

And furthermore, what’s so interesting about this text is that even the “young” and the “selected” will not be exempt! You’d think the young would have nothing to complain about, but truth be told, life hits hard and it doesn’t care about your age! Even the youth will be exhausted, and young men will all give up. And we can’t judge them either. Because you never know what someone’s struggle is. You may be 60 and battling with diabetes, but believe it or not, there’s a 6-year-old battling cancer, and a 16-year-old battling addiction. No one is exempt from running on empty! Not even the “select”!

Even those who are physically strong, in good health, young, at their best possible level of quality, in excellent condition, are still tired, weary, need rest, stumble and fall, get weak and trip! So then why are you being so hard on yourself? Don’t attempt to ‘fake it till you make it.’ Be honest with yourself, if no one else, and admit that you’re exhausted…However....don’t get stuck there…remember you still serve an Inexhaustible God!

You see, much like Earl, who got inside the pickup truck and immediately went to pressing buttons…by the way, we do the same thing. Pressing an unnecessary button (the radio) caused a necessary button (the reserve tank) to be switched off. Sometimes in life we think we know what we’re doing, but we don’t. And like Earl, who had to contact the person who owned the truck first and therefore knew it best, we need to go to God who created us first and knows us best to ask Him, “God what’s wrong with this?” Meaning our life, our family, our finances and health, our choices, our decisions, our marriages, churches, ministries and businesses. “God why is this not working?” And as silly as it sounds, I’m certain we’ll get a response much like Earl did, “did you mess with the wrong button?” And if we’re honest and humble enough, we’ll admit that we did. Then we can have God tell us what to do next to fix it. And like Earl, it will be the same answer, switch to your reserve tank. And what’s your reserve tank?

When Earl’s Tank 1 on that truck was empty, the fuel in Tank 2 made all the difference! I can't tell you how many times I have reached empty in my tank and God's never-empty tank has kicked in and it has, likewise, made all the difference. After an exhausting week, I wake up and say, "God, I'm so tired." He says, "I'm not." I say, "I'm empty, Lord." He says, "I know, but switch on My power. I'm not empty."

Now, I know we are “supposed” to be strong and able to handle anything and everything. But can I tell you how untrue that is. You are to be God-like, but you are never to attempt to be God. You will get tired and weary and worn out and exhausted. And none of that makes you a “weak person.” What makes you a “weak person” is when you think your source of strength and power comes from you!

Whatever you are going through, you must contact Him, like Earl had to contact the previous owner of the pickup truck. God is waiting for you to stop trying to be strong and hold it all together. He’s waiting for you to slow down and come to Him for Help!

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I go to someone for advice and help, I like to know that they’ve already sat where I’m sitting. And who better to talk to about our weaknesses than one who has experienced weakness and overcame it?! This is our God who so desperately wants us to bring our failures, hurts, discouragement, disappointments, stress and struggles to Him. He wants us to bring Him our weaknesses and emptiness to Him. He desires that we cast every care on Him!

Remember, You Have To Slow Down, Even When you’re Exhausted, Never Forget Your God is Inexhaustible! When You Need to Refuel, He is Your Reserve. Today, Don’t Complain About Being Empty, Just Switch Tanks! Take Your Empty Tank to God in Prayer and Watch Him Pour in Fresh Power to Keep You Pressing Onward, Going the Full Distance to Destiny!

Blessings

J.P. Olson

www.journeyintotheword.com

Join Journey Into The Word each Sunday evening at 6:00 PM CST & 7:00 PM EST on the NOW Network  http://www.theNOWnetwork.org

ROKU, Cable & Online: https://www.thenownetwork.org/sunday