“Every single day of my life, I come to the place where I realize I can’t do it…Every day of my life, I come to the place where I fall on my face and say, ‘God, I can’t do it. I give up.’ And God says, ‘Finally, I’ve been waiting for that. Now I can get involved and give you My power and My strength’…When we give ourselves to God as the Source of all the power in our lives, then we see results we could never attain on our own.”
Recently I’ve been reading this 30 day challenge called “One Month to Live.” It is all about encouraging us to live the life that God has called us to live and making the most of every day. I included the above excerpt, because it was such a good reminder for me that I cannot do anything on our own, without God’s help. I cannot show unconditional love, practice patience, experience surpassing peace, or show mercy toward others without help from the Lord.
Psalm 121 – “1 I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip— He who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm— He will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”
1 Peter 5:7 – “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
Since every day is a gift from the Lord, let us not waste it! I pray that today we will remember this and allow God to work in our lives and stop working so hard to control everything. Life is so much better and peaceful when we give our burdens to Him.
God Bless!
<3 Shannon
I’d Need A Savior – Among The Thirsty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj0vdV-Q2I0
About Me
- shannonlynn
- I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!
Our Value to God = PRICELESS!
"Allow God to place His own values." - A.W. Tozer
Monday, June 7, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Finding The Good
How can God create something positive out of something negative?
A man was shipwrecked on an island. Fortunately for him, there were lots of fruit available so he did not go hungry. What did get to him, though, was the fact that it rained a lot and he frequently had to spend long period of time being cold, wet and miserable. He started building a hut to protect himself from the elements using wood and vines that he gathered from the woods.
Finally, after weeks of struggle, he managed to complete his 'dream' house. A few days later, a violent thunderstorm broke out. e took shelter inside his hut, safe from the rain. Lightning cracked at regular intervals and the rain poured down but he was content - his shelter was holding up. Then, unexpectedly, his hut was struck by a lightning bolt. This set his hut on fire. Huge black columns of smoke rose into the air.
Naturally the man was downcast. Not only was he wet again but his hut, that he had worked on for so long, was burning to the ground. He pondered his fate - how could God allow this to happen to him? Why did he have to loose the most important thing in his life?
Then, suddenly, a ship appeared on the horison. Soon a small boat landed on the beach and a man approached him. "Hi there", he said, "I saw the smoke in the sky and I wondered where it was coming from, so I decided to investigate". The man was duly saved and returned to his home.
So often, things goes well in our lifes, only for bad luck to strike. We then also question God as to why it happened. But, as with this man, the bad situation (smoke) is sometimes required so that someone else can come to our aid. And often we end up being better off due to the experience. God can and will come to our aid in times of distress when He gets our signal (prayer) that all is not well.
Trust in Him, talk to Him, He IS faithful.
I wanted to send out this analogy that I found, because it is such a great reminder to look for the good things in every situation and to trust that God is in control! The other morning on my way to work I was listening to a sermon by James MacDonald and he said something very cool – “God never says, ‘Where was I when that decision was made?’” This is so true! He is not surprised by our circumstances! We just need to keep trusting in His goodness and faithfulness!
Romans 8:28 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
God bless!
<3 Shannon
“Apologize” – 33 Miles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teQol9LwgnA
A man was shipwrecked on an island. Fortunately for him, there were lots of fruit available so he did not go hungry. What did get to him, though, was the fact that it rained a lot and he frequently had to spend long period of time being cold, wet and miserable. He started building a hut to protect himself from the elements using wood and vines that he gathered from the woods.
Finally, after weeks of struggle, he managed to complete his 'dream' house. A few days later, a violent thunderstorm broke out. e took shelter inside his hut, safe from the rain. Lightning cracked at regular intervals and the rain poured down but he was content - his shelter was holding up. Then, unexpectedly, his hut was struck by a lightning bolt. This set his hut on fire. Huge black columns of smoke rose into the air.
Naturally the man was downcast. Not only was he wet again but his hut, that he had worked on for so long, was burning to the ground. He pondered his fate - how could God allow this to happen to him? Why did he have to loose the most important thing in his life?
Then, suddenly, a ship appeared on the horison. Soon a small boat landed on the beach and a man approached him. "Hi there", he said, "I saw the smoke in the sky and I wondered where it was coming from, so I decided to investigate". The man was duly saved and returned to his home.
So often, things goes well in our lifes, only for bad luck to strike. We then also question God as to why it happened. But, as with this man, the bad situation (smoke) is sometimes required so that someone else can come to our aid. And often we end up being better off due to the experience. God can and will come to our aid in times of distress when He gets our signal (prayer) that all is not well.
Trust in Him, talk to Him, He IS faithful.
I wanted to send out this analogy that I found, because it is such a great reminder to look for the good things in every situation and to trust that God is in control! The other morning on my way to work I was listening to a sermon by James MacDonald and he said something very cool – “God never says, ‘Where was I when that decision was made?’” This is so true! He is not surprised by our circumstances! We just need to keep trusting in His goodness and faithfulness!
Romans 8:28 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
God bless!
<3 Shannon
“Apologize” – 33 Miles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teQol9LwgnA
Friday, May 14, 2010
Forgetting the God of Things
Forgetting the God of Things
Recently I have been feeling God tell me that I am doing too much “stuff,” rather than just spending time with Him. Just like any relationship, we can do nice things for each other, but often it means the most to others when we just sit and spend some quality time with them. Today I came across a neat analogy that explains this well, so I have included it below:
Did you give God enough building material?
A woman died and went to heaven. As she was walking the streets with God, she pointed at a beautiful house and asked: 'Whose house is that?". God replied that it was the house of a woman who had attended church with her. She again pointed at another, even bigger, more beautiful house and asked whose house that was. God replied that it belonged to their servant who had passed away a couple of years before. A little later they came across a beautiful, but very small house. "Whose house is that?", the woman asked. "It is yours", God replied. The woman then said that there must be a mistake. She had served on various church bodies, belonged to various charities, gave to the poor, read Bible, went to church, basically being a "good" Christian. How come then was her house so small compared to the servant's house. God said that, while the woman was so busy to work in the world, doing the right things, her servant was busy praising God, talking to Him constantly - whether she was on her knees scrubbing the floor, or making food or cleaning the toilet - she would never stop talking to God. "So", God said, "She gave me a lot of building material to work with."
Are we so busy in this world doing the right things that we forget the Person for Whom we are doing these things? Are we so busy with the things of God that we forget about the God of things?
These questions really challenged me!! I have been finding a lot new Christian books, movies, and music to check out lately and I have had a number of conversations ABOUT God, but I have failed to spend much quality time with Him. I pray this devotional encourages you to examine your heart and spur you to meet with your Heavenly Father today as this analogy has done for me!
Blessings to all!
<3 Shannon
“Moving Forward” – Free Chapel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PilfgFt-S4
Recently I have been feeling God tell me that I am doing too much “stuff,” rather than just spending time with Him. Just like any relationship, we can do nice things for each other, but often it means the most to others when we just sit and spend some quality time with them. Today I came across a neat analogy that explains this well, so I have included it below:
Did you give God enough building material?
A woman died and went to heaven. As she was walking the streets with God, she pointed at a beautiful house and asked: 'Whose house is that?". God replied that it was the house of a woman who had attended church with her. She again pointed at another, even bigger, more beautiful house and asked whose house that was. God replied that it belonged to their servant who had passed away a couple of years before. A little later they came across a beautiful, but very small house. "Whose house is that?", the woman asked. "It is yours", God replied. The woman then said that there must be a mistake. She had served on various church bodies, belonged to various charities, gave to the poor, read Bible, went to church, basically being a "good" Christian. How come then was her house so small compared to the servant's house. God said that, while the woman was so busy to work in the world, doing the right things, her servant was busy praising God, talking to Him constantly - whether she was on her knees scrubbing the floor, or making food or cleaning the toilet - she would never stop talking to God. "So", God said, "She gave me a lot of building material to work with."
Are we so busy in this world doing the right things that we forget the Person for Whom we are doing these things? Are we so busy with the things of God that we forget about the God of things?
These questions really challenged me!! I have been finding a lot new Christian books, movies, and music to check out lately and I have had a number of conversations ABOUT God, but I have failed to spend much quality time with Him. I pray this devotional encourages you to examine your heart and spur you to meet with your Heavenly Father today as this analogy has done for me!
Blessings to all!
<3 Shannon
“Moving Forward” – Free Chapel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PilfgFt-S4
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
A Time of Silence
The other day I read a neat devotional that talked about how when we find God silent, it is a great opportunity for us to learn discipline. But before I expand on this idea, I want to encourage you to think about how much faith you have in God to fulfill His promises in your life. For me, personally, I know I sometimes find myself saying I trust God to come through for me in tough situations, but my anxious heart tells me something different.
Yesterday when I was pondering this thought I came to the conclusion that I believe greater miracles happened in Biblical times, because they had greater faith! The people in Jesus’ time waited for years before any visible signs of God answering their prayers, yet they stood firm and had confidence that He would come through for them. They used their time of silence as a time for discipline as they waited in anticipation. Isn’t that humbling, yet also encouraging for us?! I often feel that a week of silence (or no signs of God answering my prayers) is a long time! Can you imagine a year? 10 years?
To give you a better idea, here are just a few examples from the Bible:
-Abraham persevered through 13 years of silence before God fulfilled His promise to him. (Genesis 15)
Abraham trusted God to do what seemed the impossible: make Abraham’s descendants into a great nation. God fulfilled this promise in the birth of Isaac and then later Jacob, through whom the twelve tribes of Israel were born. Abraham’s descendants did indeed become great nations. More importantly, however, God promised Abraham that “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Through the birth of Christ—direct descendant of Abraham through Isaac, Jacob, and Judah—God fulfilled this promise as well. In this way Abraham’s “seed” has indeed blessed all the nations of the earth!
-Abraham’s son, Isaac, waited 23 years for Rebecca to have children. (Genesis 25:21)
-Moses stood 40 years of silence before his vision of delivering his people from Egypt was carried out. (Exodus 3:7-10)
Today I pray that we will re-assess our trust in the Lord and I encourage us all to take a leap of faith so that God can work some great miracles in our lives! And I also pray that we will learn to turn our season of waiting into a time of discipline where we learn perseverance and, as a result, increase our faith!
God bless!
<3 Shannon
“Our God” – Chris Tomlin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_t_87NyHx0
I just recently heard this song and can’t stop listening to it. It’s pretty powerful!! :)
Yesterday when I was pondering this thought I came to the conclusion that I believe greater miracles happened in Biblical times, because they had greater faith! The people in Jesus’ time waited for years before any visible signs of God answering their prayers, yet they stood firm and had confidence that He would come through for them. They used their time of silence as a time for discipline as they waited in anticipation. Isn’t that humbling, yet also encouraging for us?! I often feel that a week of silence (or no signs of God answering my prayers) is a long time! Can you imagine a year? 10 years?
To give you a better idea, here are just a few examples from the Bible:
-Abraham persevered through 13 years of silence before God fulfilled His promise to him. (Genesis 15)
Abraham trusted God to do what seemed the impossible: make Abraham’s descendants into a great nation. God fulfilled this promise in the birth of Isaac and then later Jacob, through whom the twelve tribes of Israel were born. Abraham’s descendants did indeed become great nations. More importantly, however, God promised Abraham that “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Through the birth of Christ—direct descendant of Abraham through Isaac, Jacob, and Judah—God fulfilled this promise as well. In this way Abraham’s “seed” has indeed blessed all the nations of the earth!
-Abraham’s son, Isaac, waited 23 years for Rebecca to have children. (Genesis 25:21)
-Moses stood 40 years of silence before his vision of delivering his people from Egypt was carried out. (Exodus 3:7-10)
Today I pray that we will re-assess our trust in the Lord and I encourage us all to take a leap of faith so that God can work some great miracles in our lives! And I also pray that we will learn to turn our season of waiting into a time of discipline where we learn perseverance and, as a result, increase our faith!
God bless!
<3 Shannon
“Our God” – Chris Tomlin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_t_87NyHx0
I just recently heard this song and can’t stop listening to it. It’s pretty powerful!! :)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Looking Straight Ahead
Proverbs 4:25-27
“Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. Don’t get sidetracked.”
This week I learned a valuable lesson that reminded me of this verse. I learned that we cannot reach the next season in our life if we do not accomplish our tasks in the here and now. If we become so focused on future opportunities, we will never reach them because we have become too distracted.
God brought this to my attention the other day when I was thinking about all the things I am excited about that will be happening in the next few weeks – graduating, starting a new job, spending time with my mom, etc. But as stated above, these things cannot happen if I do not continue fixing my eyes on what lies before me. If I only think of the future and become so distracted with that, I will lose my concentration with school and get behind. Being a student in this season of my life, God has called me to work hard on my homework, study, and pay attention during my classes. So this is what I need to fix my eyes on at this time.
I am not sure what God has called each of you to fix your eyes on during this season of your life, but I encourage you to seek Him out and ask Him to reveal this to you. Once you know what it is, I pray that God will give you the strength and undistracted devotion to stick to that path.
Ecclesiastes 7:13 – “Notice the way God does things; then fall into line. Don’t fight the ways of God, for who can straighten out what He has made crooked?”
Ecclesiastes 11:4 – “If you want for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.”
And lastly…
Ecclesiastes 3:1 – “There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under Heaven.”
With love and prayers,
Many blessings!
<3 Shannon
“Captivate Us” – Watermark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcezx5Rl7sA
“Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. Don’t get sidetracked.”
This week I learned a valuable lesson that reminded me of this verse. I learned that we cannot reach the next season in our life if we do not accomplish our tasks in the here and now. If we become so focused on future opportunities, we will never reach them because we have become too distracted.
God brought this to my attention the other day when I was thinking about all the things I am excited about that will be happening in the next few weeks – graduating, starting a new job, spending time with my mom, etc. But as stated above, these things cannot happen if I do not continue fixing my eyes on what lies before me. If I only think of the future and become so distracted with that, I will lose my concentration with school and get behind. Being a student in this season of my life, God has called me to work hard on my homework, study, and pay attention during my classes. So this is what I need to fix my eyes on at this time.
I am not sure what God has called each of you to fix your eyes on during this season of your life, but I encourage you to seek Him out and ask Him to reveal this to you. Once you know what it is, I pray that God will give you the strength and undistracted devotion to stick to that path.
Ecclesiastes 7:13 – “Notice the way God does things; then fall into line. Don’t fight the ways of God, for who can straighten out what He has made crooked?”
Ecclesiastes 11:4 – “If you want for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.”
And lastly…
Ecclesiastes 3:1 – “There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under Heaven.”
With love and prayers,
Many blessings!
<3 Shannon
“Captivate Us” – Watermark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcezx5Rl7sA
Monday, April 12, 2010
Let’s Stop Playing It Safe
This weekend I went with my friends to their church and the man who was filling in for their Pastor gave a wonderful message on faith! He was discussing the difference between taking “safe jumps” and leaps of faith when following God. The man told us a story of a time he went rock climbing to demonstrate this idea.
He said he was about halfway up and he came to a spot where he could not reach the next ledge to grab onto. He yelled down to his friends that he was stuck. They suggested he jump up to reach it. He was a bit apprehensive of jumping, afraid he would fall, so he took a “safe jump” and completely missed the ledge and fell. The second time around, he took a “leap of faith” and grabbed onto the ledge. After a few more steps, he reached the top!
In Hebrews 11, we see a number of Biblical examples of people who took leaps of faith for God:
•Noah (verse 7) - believed that God would send rain even though he had never seen it before.
•Abraham (verses 8-19) - willingly left for an unknown land and trusted that God would keep his promise to make him father of a great nation even though his wife had no children.
•Moses (verses 23-29) - led the people even against difficult odds.
•Gideon (verse 32) - that God would use him to defeat his enemies even though he felt insignificant.
•Samson (verse 32) - that God could still use him despite his mistakes.
•David (verse 32) - God can use even young and small people!
•Samuel (verse 32) - listened to God's instructions and obeyed them.
“All of these people, we have mentioned received God’s approval because of their faith” (vs.39).Because they had faith, “their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight” (vs. 34).
The story above does a great job at portraying the Truth that in life we must take leaps of faith when following God. We must demonstrate our faith and trust in the Lord by completely abandoning ourselves to His plans. Safe jumps will always miss the mark.
"Everything is possible for him who believes.” – Mark 9:23
“That’s what faith is. It’s putting your belief and trust in something or somebody outside of yourself, and then acting on that belief. “ – Joe Stowell, RBC Ministries
Today I challenge us to be “Faith Leapers!” Let us trust that the Lord is in control and has our best interest in mind. I pray that the Lord will give us the courage to stop playing it safe and make that leap of faith. After all, we can’t get anywhere if we aren’t moving.
Blessings,
Shannon
“Dare You To Move” by Switchfoot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOTcr9wKC-o&a=0l0T6_mJ2JA&playnext_from=ML
He said he was about halfway up and he came to a spot where he could not reach the next ledge to grab onto. He yelled down to his friends that he was stuck. They suggested he jump up to reach it. He was a bit apprehensive of jumping, afraid he would fall, so he took a “safe jump” and completely missed the ledge and fell. The second time around, he took a “leap of faith” and grabbed onto the ledge. After a few more steps, he reached the top!
In Hebrews 11, we see a number of Biblical examples of people who took leaps of faith for God:
•Noah (verse 7) - believed that God would send rain even though he had never seen it before.
•Abraham (verses 8-19) - willingly left for an unknown land and trusted that God would keep his promise to make him father of a great nation even though his wife had no children.
•Moses (verses 23-29) - led the people even against difficult odds.
•Gideon (verse 32) - that God would use him to defeat his enemies even though he felt insignificant.
•Samson (verse 32) - that God could still use him despite his mistakes.
•David (verse 32) - God can use even young and small people!
•Samuel (verse 32) - listened to God's instructions and obeyed them.
“All of these people, we have mentioned received God’s approval because of their faith” (vs.39).Because they had faith, “their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight” (vs. 34).
The story above does a great job at portraying the Truth that in life we must take leaps of faith when following God. We must demonstrate our faith and trust in the Lord by completely abandoning ourselves to His plans. Safe jumps will always miss the mark.
"Everything is possible for him who believes.” – Mark 9:23
“That’s what faith is. It’s putting your belief and trust in something or somebody outside of yourself, and then acting on that belief. “ – Joe Stowell, RBC Ministries
Today I challenge us to be “Faith Leapers!” Let us trust that the Lord is in control and has our best interest in mind. I pray that the Lord will give us the courage to stop playing it safe and make that leap of faith. After all, we can’t get anywhere if we aren’t moving.
Blessings,
Shannon
“Dare You To Move” by Switchfoot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOTcr9wKC-o&a=0l0T6_mJ2JA&playnext_from=ML
Friday, April 9, 2010
Letters to God
Tonight I went to an AMAZING Christian movie called “Letters to God.” Some of you may have heard of it, but if you haven’t, here’s the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBDK2LGn4p0
There are so many lessons that I learned (or was reminded of) through this movie! I know a few devotionals back, I mentioned that I was struggling a bit to keep my focus on God and remember His goodness and faithfulness…Well today, through a number of experiences (Bingo at the senior center, praying with a friend at Bible study, and this movie) I was reminded just how great our God truly is! :)
One thing I was reminded of was how our prayers are like letters to God. Even more so, the Bible is ultimately God’s love letter to us. How encouraging!? This definitely gives me a desire to read it more!! Who doesn’t like getting letters explaining how much someone cares about you and how much they value you?! :-D Since prayers are like letters to God, and some of us (including me) may struggle with prayer at times, I recommend writing down your prayers if you’re struggling to find the words. I definitely find it a lot easier to write things down than say them aloud…helps me think through what I want to say. :)
The song that I chose to include today (that is from the movie) brings up another lesson: Even the weak can be used by God! (Actually, it may be better to be weak so that we are humbled before the Lord and not too prideful in our strength to allow Him to work in our lives.) The main character, Tyler, is an 8 year old boy who has cancer yet, rather than blaming God for his circumstance, he uses it to draw closer to Him. This was so encouraging to me, because if I am going through a hard time, this may result in me feeling spiritually weak. Whereas, Tyler, who is fighting for his life, continues to write to God and share with Him the pain and trials He is going through. The main thing is that Tyler does not let his cancer get in the way of his faith and he allows the Lord to work in His life, and therefore, impacting many. I think we could take a lesson from Tyler in that, throughout the whole movie, he was the one person whose faith remained strong and he inspired so many others to turn to God in prayer (through letters).
The other lesson I took from this movie was a lesson of finding strength in the Lord. I’ve written a devotional on this before so I won’t say too much. But I do want to encourage us all to go back to God and find our courage and strength in Him alone. For me personally, I know I sometimes rely too much on my friends or family for assurance and encouragement, so this movie did a great job of convicting me to be filled with the Lord’s power. It’s crazy how we dismiss Him so often when we know He is the only One who can give us anything that’s worth Eternal value! I’m referring to the need for approval from others. So often we go to boyfriends/girlfriends or anyone else who will make us feel good about ourselves. But in reality, this is only temporary and the cycle will continue with us wanting more assurance. However, when we go to God in prayer and read His Word, we will find our worth in Him and see how much He values us. Knowing this Truth will give us more than the strength we need to face any obstacle!! :)
As you can probably tell, I absolutely loved this movie and it has some great insight into living a life for Christ and loving others! I highly recommend everyone checking it out!!
I pray that today we are reminded that we are like fine china to our Heavenly Father – we are treasured possessions! Let us find strength in knowing God created each and every one of us as He saw fit and not allow the enemy to feed us lies that cause us to believe anything different. And remember…
YOU ARE LOVED! :)
God bless!
<3 Shannon
“You Give Me Hope” – Between The Trees
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=103768007&searchid=509fa8c3-e3a6-4c3a-95ab-6889e7b6832c
Lastly, here is the movie’s website:
http://www.letterstogodthemovie.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBDK2LGn4p0
There are so many lessons that I learned (or was reminded of) through this movie! I know a few devotionals back, I mentioned that I was struggling a bit to keep my focus on God and remember His goodness and faithfulness…Well today, through a number of experiences (Bingo at the senior center, praying with a friend at Bible study, and this movie) I was reminded just how great our God truly is! :)
One thing I was reminded of was how our prayers are like letters to God. Even more so, the Bible is ultimately God’s love letter to us. How encouraging!? This definitely gives me a desire to read it more!! Who doesn’t like getting letters explaining how much someone cares about you and how much they value you?! :-D Since prayers are like letters to God, and some of us (including me) may struggle with prayer at times, I recommend writing down your prayers if you’re struggling to find the words. I definitely find it a lot easier to write things down than say them aloud…helps me think through what I want to say. :)
The song that I chose to include today (that is from the movie) brings up another lesson: Even the weak can be used by God! (Actually, it may be better to be weak so that we are humbled before the Lord and not too prideful in our strength to allow Him to work in our lives.) The main character, Tyler, is an 8 year old boy who has cancer yet, rather than blaming God for his circumstance, he uses it to draw closer to Him. This was so encouraging to me, because if I am going through a hard time, this may result in me feeling spiritually weak. Whereas, Tyler, who is fighting for his life, continues to write to God and share with Him the pain and trials He is going through. The main thing is that Tyler does not let his cancer get in the way of his faith and he allows the Lord to work in His life, and therefore, impacting many. I think we could take a lesson from Tyler in that, throughout the whole movie, he was the one person whose faith remained strong and he inspired so many others to turn to God in prayer (through letters).
The other lesson I took from this movie was a lesson of finding strength in the Lord. I’ve written a devotional on this before so I won’t say too much. But I do want to encourage us all to go back to God and find our courage and strength in Him alone. For me personally, I know I sometimes rely too much on my friends or family for assurance and encouragement, so this movie did a great job of convicting me to be filled with the Lord’s power. It’s crazy how we dismiss Him so often when we know He is the only One who can give us anything that’s worth Eternal value! I’m referring to the need for approval from others. So often we go to boyfriends/girlfriends or anyone else who will make us feel good about ourselves. But in reality, this is only temporary and the cycle will continue with us wanting more assurance. However, when we go to God in prayer and read His Word, we will find our worth in Him and see how much He values us. Knowing this Truth will give us more than the strength we need to face any obstacle!! :)
As you can probably tell, I absolutely loved this movie and it has some great insight into living a life for Christ and loving others! I highly recommend everyone checking it out!!
I pray that today we are reminded that we are like fine china to our Heavenly Father – we are treasured possessions! Let us find strength in knowing God created each and every one of us as He saw fit and not allow the enemy to feed us lies that cause us to believe anything different. And remember…
YOU ARE LOVED! :)
God bless!
<3 Shannon
“You Give Me Hope” – Between The Trees
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=103768007&searchid=509fa8c3-e3a6-4c3a-95ab-6889e7b6832c
Lastly, here is the movie’s website:
http://www.letterstogodthemovie.com/
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