Lately God has placed a few loved ones in my path who are feeling low and defeated; their dread and anguish crushing my spirit and breaking my heart. The best and only thing I could do for each one of them was to say – “Give it to God” because I know with all my heart that He is the ONLY one who can help them where they are in their journey.

If you are also feeling this way, rest assured that our Lord is there for you too. Here are some things you can do to strengthen your faith and hope in tomorrow.

Pray and read His word daily

Start each day with a short Bible reading and meditation before you begin your day. Just dedicating 5 minutes to God each morning will radically change your day. (Do it every day and you will start to see a noticeable difference in your life within a very short time.) Pray more than once a day, as often as you can and everytime you feel down or sad, alone or defeated. Read not because you have to but because you long to know Him better, the King you serve, the Creator who crafted you, the perfect Father who loves you unconditionally. Even when He is correcting you He loves you because that is what perfect fathers do.  Do not say that you are being punished! Those are lies created to hurt you and keep you down. Instead, Rejoice! In the midst of your tears, in the core of your struggles, Rejoice that you are being lifted out of the valley and into the light.  

Love. Joy. Peace. Warmth. Grace. Mercy. Comfort. These are God.

Use and post these words in full plain site where you will see them often. Print them out and put them on your wall, near your computer, on your fridge, by your bed, where ever you can. Then anytime you look at them you can smile and rejoice because He is all of those things – and YOU dear one are his pride and joy, a son or daughter of the King in whom He is proud. The Bible says that you are "the apple of His eye" (I like that thought too . He is proud of you and only wants the best for you. He loves you. If you want out the valley and into the light then DO THESE THINGS. Trust me…. trust God… you may have lost the fight but the victory was won by God long before you and I were even born. The valleys can be dark and lonely but we all go thru them. There is no need to go through them alone when He is there, waiting for us to reach out to Him. We can sit and cry to no avail, or we can stretch out our arms and cry ‘abba, father” and surrender it to God, then allow Him to carry us through – but understand that He will do so only on His terms, or not at all.

It's not about being perfect.

Of course you’re not perfect. No matter how hard we try, no one can be perfect, that's why Jesus died for us. Mankind could not measure up to the rules of God. He had to die. He was the sacrifice that washed our sins away but in order to be cleansed we must first confess them with our mouth in total and complete honesty and in all humility, and then offer them up to Him.

Honesty is never easy.

It took me a year of being angry, hating my boss (and struggling with the feeling of such hatred) while I was enduring physical pain, suffering the loss of my father, battling a family court custody case, and resenting being squeezed out of a company I had devoted myself to, to realize the part I played in the bigger picture and my contribution to it all.  Not standing up for myself for fear of losing my job, the fear of losing my kids, my fear of this and my fear of that, I was choking and drowning in fear! I was crying out for God to help me but I was drowning in my own dread and emotion that I could not see Him standing right in front of me. I thought my prayers were going unanswered and I wondered about God..nearly doubting Him. The struggle seemed long and hopeless until one day I realized that it was me who was keeping myself locked up in my own fear.  Fear is NOT of God. Fear is the enemy's lie to knock us down and keep us off track. The Bible says that “the Devil is a thief and a liar”! Do not believe his words, he will do and say things to make you feel worthless, hopeless, sad and defeated. The longer he can keep you down in the darkness, the longer he can stifle the true light inside you that could be shining on others. Don't you see????? It's a trick. It's all a game to him.  “Fear not, for I am your Lord.” Says God.  God could not help me before because I was asking for His help but then I was going ahead and doing things my way, complaining and crying to others, my eyes were down in sadness and sorrow yet I wondered where He was and why He wasn't there to help. It was only after I was able to look up and beyond my own fears that I could see the Hand of God, waiting to lead me out of the valley and into the light of His love. My role was simply to follow and trust in Him.

"You ARE more valuable than gold or silver" says the Bible. Believe it.

If you want out, there is a way out, you just can't see it but it's not your job to see it. It's only your job to have faith and believe it to be true … to give it up to Jesus and allow Him to steer you out of it. The hopelessness I hear in others can only be mended by the true love of Christ, who is waiting for you to totally give it up to Him.

Keep eyes and ears open to Him.

 GGodGod speaks all the time, but our eyes, ears and hearts must be open to hearing Him and receiving His message. The Bible illustrates that God can speak to us in many different ways, thorough dreams like Joseph, visions like David or even thorough a burning bush like Moses. Other times he will place people in our lives, who have the words to encourage us when we are down. As Christians we are each a very important and special part of God's family. Spending time with other Christian brothers and sisters will strengthen you when you are down. But even if God was to shout out to you from the tallest building in your neighbourhood, the message will do you no good if you do not stop to listen for it and obey.  If you keep your focus on Him, He will take care of the rest – His promise, not mine.

Peace.