How To Be Joyful During a Bad Season

Are there times in your life when you felt like giving up? You gave your best but still failed? Waited and waited but things did not seem to get better? I know I have fallen into these situation many times in my life. As much as we would love life to always go the way we want to, life is simply a roller coaster. We will never have a perfect happy life 247, but the good news is, we can be joyful during the bad seasons in our life. 

We should be joyful during the bad seasons of our life because we have a mighty God who we can put our trust and hope on. We have a God who never fails and never gives up on us. A God who always gives us his best when we give him our best. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." During the bad storm, be joyful and use that time to praise God for his goodness and faithfulness to us. God has many promises in the bible that are meant to blossom in your life. It is a matter of claiming his living word and believing it with no doubts. Preserve and endure yourself in God during your troubled times and in God's time he will bless you. No one will know why you experience the obstacles you face in life, but trust God because he knows what is best for you. He knows what you need to become a better and stronger person in Christ. Despite what your common sense says, trust God in any situation that he puts you in. John 15:2 says, "He cuts off every branch that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." We might ask why would God take away something that is good for us? Sometimes the good things in our life are taken away because God wants to mold us into something better. But even during our pruning times, we should be joyful because God is preparing us for something even better. 

Continue your journey with joy even during the bad season. Faith will take you farther than what your eyes can see. God will bring you the opportunities and blessings that you need when you work hard, honor God, and have full trust in him. Don't stop when the walking gets tough. The painful journey will not be forever, and you will see the blessings if you just take the next steps to keep moving forward. Galations 6:9 says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."After night the morning always comes. Focus on the morning and stay strong during the night. With God, the morning will always shine upon your life, we just need to wait. 

Trust God with your life and know that he will take care of you. When you start putting your trust to God and surrendering everything to him, he does take care of you. When you surrender everything, that is when God takes in everything. Give God all your worries and problems because in his hands, everything will be ok. Walk through the bad season with joy because God will be by your side through it all; and that is all you need to know. So remember, after every bad season is a good season.

-Share and comment how God has touched your life through your bad season- 

How to Build Confidence the Right Way

We all know what confidence is, but sometimes its simply hard to be confident in ourselves. I struggle with confidence in certain areas of my life and I am sure many of you have different areas in your life that could use more confidence. As I walk my journey in Christ, I learn that only Christ can build a strong foundation of confidence for you. It is so easy to depend on the things of this world because we are consumed with it every single day. But depending your confidence on the things of this world will never be stable and will never build your confidence. It only brings temporary confidence that can be crashed in any moment. However, confidence with God can never be broken and it will only grow stronger if we abide in him. Jeremiah 17:7 says, "But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."It may be easy to base our confidence off of our friends, family, partner, or anything in this word, but despite their great love for us, God is greater than all and only in him can we depend on. He is the one who contains the mighty powerful hand that will never fail you. Let the root of your confidence start from God. 

So now that we know the importance of having confidence in God, how do we build our confidence in him? It doesn't take one day to have full confidence in ourselves through God. It takes time, but if we take a step at a time closer to God each and every day, we will find our confidence growing stronger. Confidence in God all starts from obeying and trusting in him. Despite how bad our thoughts can blind us, by simply doing what God says is the first step to building our confidence in him. It takes obedience and trust to build a strong wall of confidence. The story of Moses is a great example of how obeying God builds your confidence in him and in yourself. Moses is one of the great leaders used by God, but he didn't start off that way. In the beginning, he doubted God many times in his own ability to save the Israelities. He doubted God in his ability to lead the israelities to safety, to persuade pharaoh to let the Israelities go, and to be the chosen one that God wanted him to be. But despite all of Moses's worries, he still obeyed God and did everything God asked him to do. 

Moses's confidence in God grew as each day went by in his obedience to God, and he became the leader we all know today. Moses's story can be yours as well. Throughout the challenges you face in life, you will see more and more of God's miraculous powers and capable mighty hand that he has for you. Psalm 136:12 says, "With a mighty hand and outstretched arm; his love endures forever." Only God can give the best for you. Trust and depend only in him. God will go out of his way for you when you love him and obey him. The more you follow him, the more he reveals himself to you. So remember, God is the right way to build your confidence.

-How has God built your confidence?- 

Bright Exposure

Are there times when you wished you could go back in time and erase all the regrets, missed opportunities, and mistakes you have made in the past? I know I go through this in my head all the time. But the good news is, you don't have to live with the burdens of your pasts and let it hold you down. God's grace, mercy, and love is there for you to set you free from all the chains of your bad pasts. He died on the cross to cleanse us from any sin that exists in our life, and to give us the freedom to live in peace with him. No sin is greater than God's grace. Now that we know God's grace exists, how do we receive it and live a life truly for him? How do we let go of our past and allow God to break our chains? The answer is: Expose your darkness into God's light of glory and truth. 

Ephesians 5:13-14 says,"But everything exposed by the light becomes visible-and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. That is why it is said: "Wake up sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." The only way to let go of the darkness in your life, whether it is from the present or past, is to expose it into bright light; into God's truth. Allow God's light to shine upon every part of your life. When you expose your sin to God and live in truth, he will take away your sin and turn it into light. There is no darkness that is too dark for God's light to shine over. God is the only solution to turning the darkness in your life apart. Don't be afraid to expose your sins because any bad thing in your life can turn to good through God. There is no sin that is too much for God to take care of. God's light and glory is for you so use it! 

It may be hard to exposure your bad mistakes and sins, but if you truly love God you will put him first above what you flesh desires. I struggled in the past of holding a sin in my life and making the mistake of not exposing it. But after confessing my sins, I received a peace and freedom that can come from no other. John 8:32 says, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."That truth is God's word, and if you know God's word, it will set you free from all bondages of sin. Follow and live according to God's word and his holy spirit will give you the strength to release your sins and set you free. Satan is a deceiver, be careful and do not listen to his lies. Satan is good at putting worries in our mind and he certainly does not want you to exposure your sins to God. He wants you to stay broken with chains and away from the truth. But put Gods truth above the lies that satan tells you. Trust God and his truth because only God's truth can set you free. 

Any darkness can turn into light through Jesus Christ. There is no knot that is too complicated for God to untangle and fix. No matter how bad your situation is, God's truth and light will slowly untangle your mess into something beautiful. Do not be afraid because one thing will always remain, and that is God's love for you. Don't let the temporary pleasures of this world fool you. For the things of God are eternal. Focus on God and don't wait another second to confess your sins to God. Change your life, never go back, and walk in his truth. So remember, allow God's light to shine onto your life. 

-How has God changed your life?-