We are in a season of perseverance and now is not to time to give up! After the disciples had been out fishing all day and night their net kept coming up empty!

Most avid fishermen know that if you are fishing in a spot that is dry, the next step to take is to move to another spot!

Noticed that Jesus didn’t tell the disciples to move locations or to bring the boat in. In fact, He wasn’t even sympathetic to the fact they were drained, tired, frustrated, and most likely hungry and thirsty!

In John 21:6-8, Jesus responded to their fishing dilemma empathetically and prophetically by simply instructed them to persevere and by testing their faith to cast their net to the right of their boat.

In short, the disciples obeyed Jesus’ command and their catch was so big and so plentiful they couldn’t even haul it all back to shore.

I know I am speaking to myself, but I don’t know who is else I am speaking to today. If that’s you I say to you in my Jesus voice; to cast your net on the right side of your boat because what you need is closer than you think and BTW, God has already provided the fish………

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#SeasonOfPerseverance

#TimeToCastOnTheRight

Psalm 34:8-10 says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Fear the LORD, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who seek [trust] in the LORD will lack no good thing.”

We can certainly trust in these words spoken by David because Jesus backed them up in Matthew 6:33 by says, “Seek [trust in] the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.”

I don’t know about you, but as for me and my house we will serve [seek] the Lord (Joshua 24:15) because I know that, “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow (James 1:17).”

The theme or emphasis in this word of encouragement is for you to, “Seek the LORD while you can find Him. Call on him now while He is near (Isaiah 55:6).”

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#SeekTheLord

Faith is not about operating in the spirit of delusion. Biblical faith operates in the spirit of assurance. Hebrews 11:1 clearly says, “Now faith is the substance of things hope for, the evidence (assurance) of things not yet seen.”

With that said, I don’t fake my lifestyle! I’ve had good days, bad days, broke days, paid days, down days, and up days! But everyday I keep going! I refuse to give up because when I appraise all the days of my life; [PRAISE GOD] all of my good days outweighed my bad days and I won’t complain!!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#IWontComplain

The reality is God speaks to us and He wants us to be able to clearly hear His voice. God gave us His Son so that we can have fellowship with Him. When we see the cross, we see just how desperately He wants to communicate with us. So why do so many struggle with deciphering God’s voice?

There are several reasons and quite frankly; too many to list in this short devotional. However, I believe distraction is one of the top 3. Too many of us miss the voice of God because we’re simply not paying attention or we are too busy speaking to ourselves on His behalf. These two factors are honestly the most ubiquitous barriers to hearing the voice of God.

Unfortunately, we have tendency to tune out the voice of God by constantly chasing stimulation, focusing on our own issues, and refusing to actually set our mind on the things of Heaven for more than a minute.

The majority of the time we spend meditating on the word of God is on Sunday, and the rest of the week, we have other things to fill our minds. Meanwhile, God is speaking and we simply cannot hear Him through all the noise. We must tend to our inner lives. If we spend the day meditating on the things of the Lord, we will be more sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit when He speaks to us. Ecclesiastes 3:7b reminds us there is, “…a time to be silent and a time to speak…”

Think about it….

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#HearingGodsVoice

God is able to heal every place you’ve been hurting and I just wanted to encourage you today to bring those hurts be it spiritual, physical, emotional, psychological, medical, or mental and lay them at the foot of the cross! David reminded us of this hope in Psalm 30:2 when he cried out saying, “Lord my God, I called to You for help, and you healed me.”

If this short and simple messages speaks to your pain today never forget there is beauty in brokenness! God-through-Jesus Christ personally invites us to bring every hurt to God because He already knows about them. He knows when we are dismissive and try to avoid dealing with our hurts. However, God is patient and He is willing to wait until we grow to accept His unmerited grace to deliver us from the various states of brokenness. God’s knowledge of our hurts will always encourage and lift us out of the sinking pit of discouragement and depression because we grow in confidence that God will always be there for us no matter what happens (Hebrews 13:5).

Whenever the hurt collides with the Healer, healing is inevitable because God knows how to heal you even when no one else does and that includes you!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#GodCanHealYourHurt

I John 5:14-15 says, “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”

My beloved brothers and sisters, God listens and He speaks to us, but we must open our mouths to pray and our ears to listen to Him.

When we truly believe God will do what He says He will do our faith will be stronger than our fears and unprecedented miracles happen….every time! When we believe that He hears our prayers, the unimaginable happens and doors open that we didn’t know existed!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#ThePowerOfPrayer

#GodListens

#GodSpeaks

#MiraclesFallLikeRain

#OpenDoors