Positive Christian Motivation
Navigating Life's Valleys with Faith - Powerful Christian Motivation
life will knock you down and laugh at you life will hit you when you're trying to live for Jesus life is no respecter of persons but that's when you say you know what I'm getting up I'm not gonna quit I'm not I may get knocked down nine times but I'm gonna get up ten times and I'm not gonna quit in the words of the great theologian Rocky Balboa here's what it is and I quote it's not how hard you can hit that makes you a winner but it's how hard you can get hit and get up and keep going the devil will hit you life will hit you I may get knocked down bless God I'm getting up I'm not gonna quit you fall down sometimes you mess up and God picks you up brushes you off if you belong to Jesus he will never leave you nor forsake you even when you mess up whatever comes my way I don't want you but I'm not afraid of you because I've got a God who's gonna pick me up and carry me home God said in Isaiah when you go through the waters I will be with you when you go through the rivers they will not overwhelm you when you walk through the fire you will not be burned it's interesting that God didn't say I'll keep you out of every fire you won't have to face any floods no he said the challenges will come there will be adversities and things we don't understand but the whole key to this verse is when he said I will be with you in the fire in the flood in the famine is it a greater testimony that God kept you out of the fire or that he came with you in the fire and brought you through it there are over 6,000 promises in the Bible let me just show you a few of them the first one is Isaiah chapter 43 verse 2 God says this when you go through deep waters I will be with you when you pass through rivers of difficulty you will not drown when you walk through the fire you will not be burned up it will not consume you God is with us and he loves us you're not in it by yourself you're not alone I would rather walk with God with none of my questions answered and to walk through life without him and know all the answers David said though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil why because you are with me when you know God is with you when you've invited him into your situation you'll have a smile in the middle of the difficulty you'll have a song of praise in the prison like Paul and Silas you won't be complaining about the trouble worried about when it's going to work out you'll be at peace in the midst of the storm you have to do like David Father thank you that you were with me right here in this valley I'm not going to live afraid worried I may not see away but I know you have a way even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death the dark times he says I will fear no evil for what thou what art with me it is the fact and the assurance that God is with us that makes all the difference he says I will never leave you nor forsake you when you and I are walking through dark times the first thing to remember is this God is with us friend God is always ahead of us he's got everything under control he's working everything in his absolute perfect timing he has a purpose for every single solitary thing Hebrews 13 5 I this is God talking I will never leave you and I will never abandon you he says this over and over and over again from Genesis to the end of the bible and all scriptures God says I will never abandon you now you may have been abandoned in life by a spouse or parent you maybe you've been rejected but God's never gonna abandon you God is never gonna reject you we are tempted to think that God has forgotten us it is impossible for God to forget you in fact here's what the Bible says Isaiah 49 verse 15 God says this can a mother forget the baby at her breast or a child that she has born the answers obviously no no woman could not be nursing a baby and forget the baby at the same time obviously not he said even if that were possible I will never forget you look I have engraved you on the palms of my hands God says I have engraved you on the palms of my hands so I can't forget you a lot of people get tattoos to remember somebody they love God has a tattoo of you I have engraved you on the palms of my hands where did he get that tattoo on the cross with nails pierced hands outstretched arms he said this is how much I love you I love you this much I love you so much it hurts I love you so much I'd rather die than live without you I love you so much this is how much we live in peace even when life doesn't make sense because we know that God is with us and God loves us and he'll never stop loving us and he'll never forget us when he's with you you cannot be defeated you and God or a majority he is a supernatural God he's not limited by the fire by the floods by the famines what should take you out cannot stop your destiny that obstacle may be too much for you but it is not too much for our God right now he is pushing back forces of darkness he's keeping the fire from burning you he's not letting those waters drown you he's your protector your deliverer your way maker your healer your provider you don't have to do this on your own you don't have to figure everything out you're not going to know all the details you have to walk by faith and not by sight knowing that he's right there with you that he's promised everything is going to be alright for you sure the waves may be big but you have an advantage the God who controls the universe is right there with you that Jesus is there in this difficult moment in your marriage in this trying moment in your finances in this struggle on your job in this difficulty in this relationship your rubbing corners with your boss or your spouse or this struggle you're having on your university campus or in your high school campus there's hard time that you are having he is there I'm talking about where you can look back over your circumstances and realize that his fingerprints were all throughout that thing I'm talking about where you can see footprints in the sand as you actually recognize that God was walking beside you the whole way I'm talking about what other people call coincidence encounters you see the sovereign hand of God that was aligning your footsteps and setting you in the right place at the exact right time the man of this presence of God he will never leave you nor forsake you you (gentle music) (dramatic music)