The very fact that you have the freedom to believe about God, just what you will is a gift from Him, but He wants you to choose life and not death. Did you know Scripture refers to hope as an anchor for our soul?^[1] Is that what you need today?

I plead with you to listen to that part of you that really doesn’t want to die. I plead with you to do your own deep search for the Lord. You may have been raised being told you came from slime, that evolution is true and there is no after life nor consequences to the choices that you make today, as well as many other confusing lies, all as an attempt to destroy you. Our culture and world has gotten so far away from God and the truth! It’s the devil who wants to confuse us, even about something as simple about if you’re a boy or a girl! Even children are wise enough to know what is true about that!

Were you aware that schools were created in America so people could read their own Bible? And our military used to be issued Bibles from our own government before they went out to battle? Whether you lived then or now, the truth is still the truth. Our God is still on the thrown!

Hear Jeremiah 29:11-13, “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you. Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Maybe your pain has caused you to look up, like it did me for the vital necessity I was missing. If so I hope you at least try to be glad. Because when you find Him, He will be worth it! Not finding God or even rejecting Christ, your Creator, is really the worst that can happen! Not knowing what He has done and can do for you now is really the greatest of pain. God knows what we need more than we do! And I know it takes faith to believe that. He knows you want the pain to be over. So does He. But there is another way than quitting and giving up! Please do not waste the life that He gave you!

Just take a look at the following list of the names of the Lord as told us in Scripture and see which you might just need most today:

Sweet Comforter, Encourager, Servant, Mercy Seat, Sheppard, Gift, Kinsman, Living Bread, My Joy, Rewarder, Weaver of My Life, The True Light, Healer, Counselor, Good, Provider, Breath of Life, My Help, Finisher of My Faith, The Source of All Peace, Pearl of Great Price, Pruner (ouch!), Judge, Physician (who makes house calls), Perfecter, Lover of My Soul, Comforter, Sure Foundation, Manna in the Wilderness, A Fountain of Life, Our Justification, Resurrection, Conqueror, Intercessor, Discerner of All, and Our Betrothal, Prince of Glory, Gift of Love, Our Majesty, Purifying Water, Guaranteer, Chief Cornerstone, Builder, My Life, Well Beloved, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Promiser, Revelator, First Place and The Great I Am! And a Friend who sticks closer than a brother!!

Philippians 4:13 is a favorite verse of many… “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” The key, for me anyway, is learning how to depend on God’s strength, not mine. And the times that have helped me learn this dear truth the most, are the times when I had no strength of my own.

2 Corinthians 12:9 reveals how God’s ways can seem so backwards to ours! Instead of telling us to just get over it, or pull ourselves up by our boot straps, God says, “But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!”

Boasting in our weakness is not our natural man’s tendency but I find it quite a helpful lesson to have learned as now I am more prone to remember it and I often tell the Lord, “You KNOW I can’t do this without You!” This is sort of a silly example but if you have ever water skied, you may know how you have to let the boat pull you up because if you try to do it yourself, you are sunk. The key to learning how to walk with the Lord is learning how to draw your strength from Him.

Do you know what faith is? I’d invite you to stop and think about that for a minute. How would you describe it? And what is the difference between faith and hope?? Romans 10:17 and Hebrews 11:6 are great verses to help us understand that. Nancy Missler’s book, Hope Against Hope, is another great resource for anyone hurting as she’s done a deep study on that and shares several lifesaving truths.

Oh, how much we need Jesus! No Wonder They Call Him the Savior! I can’t think of better words to end this chapter with right now. What if it is true that you are important to God? That your life has a purpose and every decision you make has eternal consequences of both blessing and curse, and your life really matters?