Greetings,

I feel impressed to share with you what God has shown me regarding this time in our nation, and His thoughts on how we should handle this. I pray you may be strengthened and encouraged as I was! See below:

We are receiving constant new information through the media, cell phone recordings, and Facebook. We then are being asked to make judgments on what we SEE and what we HEAR. 

We must remember as Christians what God says. He says we are not to be moved by what we see and what we hear, but we are to be moved only by the Word of God. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
 
I ask you, Is what you are seeing and hearing – reading and watching – making you afraid and discouraged, or building up your faith & confidence in the Lord?
 
We need to purpose to spend as much or more time reading the Word and talking with God as we do on media. When those feelings of fear or outrage surface, turn it off and renew your mind with His Word.
 
Now is the time to take up the weapons of our warfare that are not carnal but spiritual to the pulling down of strongholds.
Luke 18:1, “and He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not faint.”
Are you seeing things from God’s perspective or from the news/videos/reports?
 
Think about the Disciples:
 – Jesus dies, the man they gave up their lives and careers for.
 – Fellow disciple Judas commits suicide.
 – Disciples are scattered, back to their old jobs, leaving the ministry for a time.
 

They were discouraged and dismayed, exactly what God tells us not to be:

“Be strong and of a good courage…Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right or to the left, that thou may prosper (be successful) whithersoever thou goest… have not I commanded thee?  Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid (terrified), neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest… only be strong and of a good courage.” (Joshua 1:6,7,9,18)

Remember David: He returned home to find his town burned and all the families taken prisoners. His men wept and were ready to stone him, but David ENCOURAGED HIMSELF IN THE LORD (1 Samuel 30:1-8).

Victor Rockhill Ministries is a great resource to access messages and Bible Studies concerning issues and wisdom for handling them. Listen to these for more Bible-wisdom:

The Lord brought this wisdom to mind and it has strengthened me.  My prayer is it will lift you up and strengthen you too!

Love in Jesus,

Joan Shallenberger