Tag: anxiety

No Words Necessary

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96653AF5-CF3C-43A3-9686-2B3FA4A6768BOne of my favorite lines in a song is “though she spoke no words, everything she said was heard, as she poured her love on the Master, from her box of alabaster.” This beautiful song, by artist CeCe Winans, depicts the story of the woman with the alabaster box who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. This beautiful account is found in Luke 7:36-50.

When the woman began to wash Jesus’ feet, the Pharisees who invited Him to his home began to question, within himself, whether Jesus was truly a prophet. These unspoken words were addressed by our Savior. Jesus, through a parable, explained the gratitude and love shown by this woman.

This woman said nothing, but there were shouts of praise. She uttered no words, but thankfulness flowed from her heart. Maybe she didn’t know what to say, or maybe the words just wouldn’t come out right. Either way, no words were needed! Our beautiful Savior heard the cries of her heart. This reminds me of a beautiful scripture found in Psalm 56:8. It says, “You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?” (NKJV).

God is not unaware of the struggles we face. Every tear that falls is accounted for. More beautiful than that is an ancient custom that when friends visited a person who was suffering, that friend would collect the tears of the sufferer in a tiny bottle as a memory of the event. God, our faithful friend, visits us during our suffering. He doesn’t leave us all alone. Yes, He is there all the time, but when we are hurt, in distress, and in pain we become more acutely aware of His nearness. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

Our loving Father sees our tears and hears the silent prayers that we pray. He truly knows the whole content of our hearts. He visits us in our suffering and comforts us with His precious presence.

Every prayer will not be only tears, we need to employ strategic warfare through praying God’s Word, praying in the Spirit, and supplicating before Him. But there will be times when we don’t know what to say, or the words escape us, or they just won’t come out. In these times, posture your heart in prayer, fall down at the feet of Jesus, and cry out to Him.

 

Declare the Word (The Word W.O.R.K.S.)

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I read this very inspirational post entitled “We Believe What We Tell Ourselves”. It was all about positive internal messages we give ourselves, and how they alter our view of ourselves. This was good stuff, but it fell short of being God stuff. Words, indeed, are powerful. They can change your mind and shape your future. But God’s Word is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12). It’s more than just words on a page. God’s Words are life-giving and life-changing.

It is so important that we immerse ourselves in the Word of God. We do this in many ways. Reading, listening, studying, and writing the Word are all methods to engage deeply into the scriptures. We should also practice declaring God’s Word!

Declaring God’s Word is to speak the Word aloud. Yes, aloud. Why? When we speak the Word, we bring to mind what God’s Word says about our circumstances. This helps to banish fear and doubt.
We proclaim victory over the enemy, we declare that he is a defeated foe. We also develop a habit that can help shape our words and our responses. When we are faced with challenges, we instinctively respond with the Truth, rather than with worry, fear, and apprehension. As we speak the Truth, it will become more and more real to us.

I know many will say, “But what about how I feel?” Or “This seems fake to me.” Declaring God’s Word is not a magic formula that ignores the facts. However, when you Declare God’s Word, you choose God’s Truth over facts.

So join me this month as I declare God’s Word. During the month of July we will be declaring God’s Word, over ourselves, our children, our spouses, our churches, our jobs, and so much more. Each day we will be posting our daily declarations. However, on Fridays we will post audio of the week’s declaration.

How many of you will step out on your faith and join the challenge? Declare the Word!

I hope you decide to join us in this challenge! Invite your friends, too.

It’s simple to follow along. Just like our Facebook page and follow us at http://sparrowssongministries.com. We can’t wait to declare God’s Word with you!

 

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Write The Word-July

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Hello Everyone!

     We are finally in July! We are midway through the summer, children are out of school, schedules are changing but God’s Word still remains! Things are shifting and changing all around us, but we can still be confident that the Word W.O.R.K.S!  I’m still hearing great things from you all and hope to continue hearing stories of renewed faith, hope, and joy as you Write the Word.  God is so good.

Look out for our new challenge coming in July 7th!  We are going to Declare the Word for 31 days.  Join us as we speak life into our situations and circumstances and exercise the power of our tongues.  

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21

Don’t forget to join us on Facebook for encouragement and giveaways and other fun!  

Your friend in the journey,

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Keep Walking on to Your Miracle

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I have heard that a miracle happens instantaneously, and healing over time but that doesn’t explain the miraculous healing that happened for the ten lepers in the Bible. Read the story here Luke 17:11-19.

As He traveled, Jesus met ten men who were plagued with leprosy. These men asked Jesus to have mercy on them (vs. 13), and He did but, it didn’t appear right away. The lepers “stood at a distance” (vs. 12). There was no laying on of hands. There was no crowd, no music, no lights, no camera and, seemingly no action! But there was a Word! A word spoken by the giver of life—‘Go, show yourselves to the priests’ (vs. 14). Without hesitation, the lepers went.

Some would say, ‘Your blessings are tied to your obedience.’ And that is true. Having free will, the lepers could have scoffed at Jesus’ direction and continued to be lepers. However, faith was essential to the lepers receiving their healing. As Jesus explained, “your faith has made you well” (vs. 19). These lepers had faith in Jesus. As they called to Him from their place of desperation, they believed He had the power to heal them. Their faith, coupled with obedience led to their miracle.

Some of you may be in a place of desperation. You may be in a desire situation and need answers. Maybe you’ve been dealing with a condition that has troubled you for some time. Think back to this story and see the steps the lepers took:

1. The ten lepers knew who to call. The lepers were fully convinced of the power Jesus had to heal. He is both able and willing to meet our needs. Some times we forget, or even forsake to do the simplest thing—ask. James 4:2b says “You do not have because you do not ask God”. Have you truly asked God in faith for what you need? Don’t think you are worrying God. It is His good pleasure to give you what you need (Luke 12:32).
2. The lepers received Jesus’ words in faith. Jesus said “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” According to the levitical law, only the priest could declare these men healed. Why else would they go to the priest except to receive a declaration of healing? Jesus Words were like a promise of healing to these men. What had Jesus promised you through His Word? He promises healing, miracles, and deliverance from all kinds of circumstances.
3. The lepers walked in obedient faith. The priest could indeed declare these men healed, but at the time the Word was spoken, they still had the physical appearance of leprosy. Nothing happened immediately in the physical. But they received their healing when they believed. Then they obeyed until healing manifested—“And as they went, they were cleansed” (vs. 14). I can imagine them checking their skin, to see if the sores were still there, but continuing to walk. I imagine them checking each other over, looking for signs of restored health, yet journeying on to see the priest.

“As they went,” all ten were healed. Are you continuing to walk? Are you journeying on? Waiting can be the hardest part (for me it is). But we’ve been graced to wait on the manifestation of God’s promises. But we must keep walking in obedience and keep believing what He has promised.

I can’t leave out the last part of the story. Only one leper came back to say thank you. One of ten. How sad. Jesus refers to this one as a foreigner, a Samaritan. Presumably, the others only believed they had one need, to be healed. But this one Samaritan came and threw himself, in gratitude, at the feet of the Master. He needed more than just healing—he needed Jesus. And when he entered the presence of Jesus, even being a foreigner, he knew the appropriate response—gratitude and worship.

Dear ones, don’t allow your situations and circumstances to stop you. Ask God for the things you need. Believe the Word of the Lord in faith. Move forward in faithful obedience. When you enter the presence of the Lord, respond to His goodness with a grateful heart of worship. And don’t stop. Keep walking on to your miracle.

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