Category Archives: Chronic Illness

Fighting Temptation while Fasting

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Have you just started your fast? You can catch up on our 31 Days of Fasting in January here!

I’m giving a little encouragement to those who are fasting today. Let’s get out our sword, the Bible, and fight some temptation!  Any time you decide to draw closer to Jesus, long to be more like Him or desire to hear His voice in your life, the enemy is going to be right there taunting and doing everything in his power to cause you to fail.

eeyoreEven Jesus was tempted! But He didn’t walk around like Eeyore with his head hanging to the ground and mumbling, “Woe is me…nobody likes me, everybody hates me…” You get the picture.

So, how did Jesus fight temptation when He was fasting?

With the Word of God! 

You have the best weapon in your arsenal to fight temptation and that is your SWORD, the Word of God. Let’s look at some powerful scriptures today that you can pray as your own.

“It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4 KJV.

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIRV.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 NIV.

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 NIV.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-9 KJV.

“And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:13.

It doesn’t matter what type of resistance you are up against, what kind of temptations are coming your way. Maybe it is your favorite food or your morning coffee, sure, it is difficult to drive past your most loved coffee shop on the way to work; but that is what makes it a sacrifice. When the temptations come, quote the Word out loud and the enemy has to go because the Bible declares it.

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16.

There is so much power and authority in the Word of God; He has left it with us as a weapon against the enemy of our souls. Greater is HE that is in YOU than he that is in the world! So, whether your temptations are physical or spiritual, God is able to give you strength to overcome.

I’m sharing a recipe that is a win-win! Go to my post here on Overnight Oatmeal in a Jar! It is the best breakfast with so many variations and it is Daniel Fast friendly. Enjoy!

The Daniel Fast DevotionalIt’s never too late to purchase The Daniel Fast Devotional! It is such a help to you during ANY FAST. Twenty one devotions and three days of preparation devotions, you will be encouraged and learn about nearly every fast that took place in the Bible. The good and the bad! Yes, there were those whose fasting was NOT unto the Lord. You can click on any of these links and order from Amazon on the Kindle or paperback.

When God doesn’t give the answers

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The #FiveMinuteFriday word prompt is HEAL. Be encouraged and share your own stories whether you have been healed or not, others will be blessed!

I cough. Continually. Annoyingly and embarrassingly. For the last 4 1/2 years, ever since I landed back on U.S. soil from living in the Baltics, I have coughed. The first couple of years it was here a few months then it would go away a while. This past year and a half or so it has been non-stop and, unfortunately, confounds my rheumatologist, pulmonologist, and gastroenterologist. One just sends me back to the other for endless tests and more experimental medicine.

It is maddening.

Of course I have been prayed for, endlessly and yet, still with faith. Do I believe God can heal? Of course I do! You can read my other posts about times He has healed and times He has not here and here. We all know Paul talked about something in his life that God had decided he didn’t need healed of at that time, or maybe never. I have prayed, I have studied and I have heard a lifetime of sermons on healing. I don’t believe we have to jump through hoops. Naturally, I think we need to believe but the healing isn’t in our hands, it is in His.

When Jesus walked this earth and performed countless miracles, it was for the people to see so that they might believe. I think it is the same today! When HE chooses it will benefit the Kingdom, bring glory to His name and increase the faith of others to believe that Jesus is God, He will do so, all in His good time.

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Maybe many reading this today are struggling with something much more serious than a relentless cough. God knows right where you are, He has not forgotten you nor forsaken you. Maybe your healing is for “such a time as this” to bring glory to Him and many souls to salvation. And then again, maybe your testimony is bringing glory to Him every single day that you continue to walk with Him in spite of your illness or prognosis.

God is faithful no matter how you feel or what the future holds.

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He is still God! We trust Him, as the song says,

When You don’t move the mountains, I’m needing You to move

When You don’t part the waters, I wish I could walk through

When You don’t give the answers, when I cry out to You

I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You!

No matter what we face, no matter what the outcome might be, He is in control and if He decides our testimony is bigger than our healing? He will give us the strength and the grace for every single day and walk through the trial right beside us.

 

Help is a blanket

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Help is a blanket.

It’s FiveMinuteFriday and I still do not have Internet. We have been in our new apartment for one month and installation is no where in sight. Usually, if I want to write, I hop in the car at six a.m. and head to Starbucks. I grab my coffee and then sit in he parking lot because I am usually not presentable to go inside. Today? I typed the entire post on my phone with my chubby little thumbs…even made my image with an app and it wasn’t easy. Most importantly, I hope this post about HELP will help you or someone you know who needs the encouragement. Happy Friday!

The year was 1983 and I had a busy life with a toddler, a husband, a house to care for and a job.

Then, I became sick. We were young, didn’t have insurance and I just thought it would go away as before. But a diseased gallbladder rarely stays too quiet. I laid on the couch in our living room slowly turning yellow, my mother had come to take care of me because the pain was so bad.

Finally, when I could stand it no longer, The Sweetheart insists I go to the doctor and I was immediately admitted to the hospital with severe jaundice and gallbladder disease. My doctor walks into the hospital room and mentions surgery.

Surgery? I was only 21 years old! He said it was the worst case he had ever seen and I was his youngest patient to operate on for gallbladder removal. Worrying about our lack of insurance, I asked if it could be put off and I just take medication. His words have forever stayed with me,

“I operate today or you die tomorrow.”

That will pretty much put things in perspective for you! I was petrified, letting the seriousness of the situation sink in, and fretting over my little one at home. Things happened so fast but someone thought to call our pastor and he was there to pray over me before they wheeled me away.

Can I say that this was truly the first time I had felt that supernatural peace of God? Before prayer, I was anxious, extremely sick and scared to death. Remember, this was before laparoscopic gallbladder surgeries. But as soon as he prayed for God to guide the surgeon’s hands and to give me peace and a quick recovery, it was as if peace was a blanket and they had just pulled it up over me.

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Help. Jesus came to help me as a young mother almost 34 years ago to remind me down through my life that all I have to do is call His name and He will be there to help me. He didn’t miraculously heal me so I would not have to go through the surgery but He HELPED me have peace that He was with me and everything would be alright one way or another.

Are you facing a mountain or something that seems impossible today? Let Jesus help you by relinquishing control and that peace of God, that truly does pass understanding, will cover you like a blanket.