May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.(Romans 15:13)
Amidst the chaos of a world that is filled with darkness, it is challenging to focus on the promises of God. In your painful trials, problems can appear insurmountable with the victory through them seemingly unreachable.
The Apostle Paul warned us in 2 Timothy 3 that there will be terrible times in the last days as people become lovers of themselves and not interested in the ways of God. The nightly news is filled with death, destruction and evil as people are turning to their own way of doing things. The enemy is dividing people against each other to cause confusion and doubt and in far too many cases it is working. The hearts of most have abandoned the fear of God. The ways of truth are being blurred by the evil desire of the flesh that is being called “choice”. And as Scripture tells us, lawlessness is on the increase as the hearts of most grow cold.
While that is a sad commentary, we are not without hope. There is a place of rest where you can have the peace of Christ despite your struggle. That promise was given by Christ as he said in John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Do you trust that Jesus is true to his word?
Your faith is being tested in every trial you face, but the reward is great to those who do not grow weary and give up. In 2 Kings, the prophet Elisha was surrounded by a great army who wanted to kill him. When Elisha’s servant saw the massive army, he grew greatly alarmed. Elisha addressed his fears saying in verse 6, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” With that, Elisha prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened and he was amazed to see the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire from God surrounding their enemy. That is the power of God in action. Even now, there is no battle in your life that is stronger than God’s ability to take you through it.
Jesus left us the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness. The same immense power that raised Christ from the dead lives in the heart of every believer. There is nothing that is able to destroy a child of Christ. All that we face is the driving force bringing us closer to God.
Troubles of this world don’t define us. They are the necessary tools to mold us into the image of Christ and perfect us in the plan he has for our life The evangelist A.W. Tozer once wrote: “It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has wounded him deeply”. Tozer understood that the trials allowed by God are meant to bless and equip the soldier of Christ for victory against the adversary of this perishing world.The believer must die to self in order to have the fullness of God’s power. Whatever weakness you hold onto in your life will become the foothold that Satan uses to take you down.
The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:17″For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison”.
No matter how bad your situation seems. you must never lose hope. You have no idea what greatness God has planned for your life. You don’t have to feel Christ to know that he is with you. While it is difficult enduring the trials that bring brokenness, God knows the work he must do in your life. He who began a good work in you knows how to complete it. His ways are higher than ours. He knows the length of your days and has your next step prepared for you.
My friends, you need to understand that heaven’s royal army is standing by you right now to protect and defend you. God’s plan for you cannot be hindered by your heartache, struggle, sickness, addiction, divorce or financial problems. You can’t fail. He knew what you would face and the answer to it all is being set into motion even now. His love for you will not stop. Just stand in faith and see what God can do.
31 comments
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March 12, 2016 at 12:30 am
Viviana
Darling sister Marianne, what a powerful message you give us, so needed
God bless you for the great strength that you show in this moment of great sorrow in yours and your family’s life. I’m with you in prayer, I’m asking our Heavenly Father to cover you with his feathers and put you in a high rock that you can withstand all that is happening in your life right now.
I love you very much and know that our Lord and savior is with you.
He will walk you through and hold you in this huge trial .
God bless you and protect you and family.
Lots of love.
Viviana
March 12, 2016 at 12:51 am
Faith
Thank you so much for this…i was just reading all of your older posts today…needing your words of hope and encouragement, and wondering if you had stopped writing. What a blessing to receive this new post just now! I am sorry for the sad news of your family member…they are blessed to be loved so much. Please don’t stop writing…I am struggling so. Thank you for this💝
March 12, 2016 at 10:36 am
Marianne Bernard
Viviana,
Thank you for your kind words and prayers. You are a special friend and I truly value you. We both know that even in the darkness of our life, God is still the light that we need to continue on the path he prepared for us. In my time of sadness, I am keeping my eyes on the only Source of my strength, Jesus Christ. God bless you, dear sister.
March 12, 2016 at 10:40 am
Marianne Bernard
Hi Faith,
Thank you for taking the time to comment. I have been going through some struggles of my own but it is only making me grow stronger in my resolve to serve my God. I will be writing more. We all need to hear the messages God gives me to write. I am praying for you, dear sister. Whatever your struggles are, I know more than ever that the same God who is allowing you to face them, is the same one who is going to take you through them and making you stronger and blessed for having endured them. As I say in almost all of my articles, God has the plan! It is a good plan and it is worked out to give us the victory over all that comes against us. So no matter what your face, my friend, remember to focus on your God and not your problem for he will always be bigger and more powerful than anything that comes against you. Stay in peace!
March 12, 2016 at 4:53 pm
agnes nick
Hello there,
God bless you and your family. You and your family are in my prayer.
In Christ,
Agnes Nick
March 12, 2016 at 6:13 pm
Marianne Bernard
Hi Agnes, Thank you so very much for your prayers! That was so kind of you to take the time to tell me. I appreciate you, my friend. That brightened my day.
March 12, 2016 at 11:56 pm
babyybabyy
Right now I stand in the name of Jesus and pray in agreement for complete healing of lung cancer. It’s hard to know if someone is really praying with you when they say they will. I have to pray in agreement if I want the same for me, so believe me when I say I am praying.
Love, yours in Christ Pinky
Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2016 04:39:32 +0000 To: pinky_baby36@hotmail.com
March 13, 2016 at 10:21 am
Marianne Bernard
Hi Pinky,
You have lifted me today with your kind words. I am so grateful to you for your prayers. I do believe you are praying. It is the greatest gift we can give someone. God hears us. God bless you for your compassion to help me with prayers for my brother.
March 14, 2016 at 3:03 pm
Jennifer Bernard
Hi Marianne,
My name is Jennifer and I have been on your blog two times now and have deeply enjoyed it and been encouraged. I pray for your loved one with Lung Cancer and know with all my heart that GOD IS IN CONTROL, and NOTHING is impossible for him. He is acquainted with all our ways. I pray for GOD to strengthen you and keep you. I also ask for you to pray for my brother Robert who very much needs prayer. We lost our Dad 7 months ago from Aortic Stenosis and my Brother has really been down. GOD BLESS YOU. I will keep in touch with you if that’s okay. We have the same last name.
In CHRIST,
Jennifer Bernard
March 14, 2016 at 3:19 pm
Marianne Bernard
Hi Jennifer, (love that we have the same last name!)
I am so glad that God brought you to my site. You have just blessed me today! My loved one in need of prayer is also my brother. He is my heart and I love him so much. I am trusting that God will be with us and I must trust his ways. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for him.
I will be praying for your brother Robert. Sometimes the death of a loved one shakes our world and it may be hard to recover. I pray that your brother knows Christ and his love. Once you understand the mercy of Christ, you know that in all things, he has a plan. None of us will live forever on this earth. We keep our eyes on the Kingdom of God which shall never end! That is why we stay focused on the truth in God’s word and hold fast in our faith that there is nothing our God cannot take us through! I will be praying each day that your brother will know this. I pray that he will take peace in knowing that he is not going through this pain alone.
Jennifer, I am also praying for you and your needs. I lift up everyone who comes to this site because I know that God hears the prayers of those who belong to him. I trust him to help you in any struggle you may be facing. I hope you know that God never intends for any of us to carry our burdens alone. He is with us and he will put others in our lives to help us also. I am here for you if you ever need to talk. Simply email me and we can talk privately.
God bless you, my sister. I will be praying for your family. Thank you for taking the time to encourage me. Marianne
March 16, 2016 at 3:02 pm
patrizia
Dear Marianne, thank you for your encouraging words. You wrote that we should never lose hope as we have no idea what greatness the Lord has planned for our lives. How encouraging is that? It is wonderful.
I am also going through a long season of pain and I would like to share with you how the Lord has been encouraging me. A couple of years ago, the Lord impressed in my heart Isaiah 45:3 “And I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, which calls you by name, am the God of Israel”.
These words have carried me through my personal suffering and have been a source of great comfort on many occasions. God will produce gold from the trial of our suffering as there are “treasures” hidden in the trial which the Lord has allowed us to go through.
What are we to do when we walk in darkness(pain/depression/despair/sickness/rejection/loss)? Isaiah 50:10 can help us with that. “Who is among you that fears the LORD, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God”. I am determined to trust and rely on God more in the coming days/months/years even when darkness surrounds me and I see no light knowing that there are some hidden treasures to be found there. I am now busy looking for the treasures.
May God bless you and strengthen you as you wait on Him. Patrizia
March 16, 2016 at 3:12 pm
Marianne Bernard
Hi Patrizia,
I am so glad you stopped to share your thoughts with me. What you have said is so very true. All that we have from God is good. Sometimes those good things come in the form of struggles. How better for us to know the power of our God than for him to take us from one impossible situation to the next. Nothing holds him back. But the best part of his gifts it that he does it all in the right timing and the right circumstance. He know what if he were to simply unleash all his gifts on us at once that the first thing we would forget would be him! He longs for a relationship with us. Our suffering is used to magnify our God and his power. It is hard to seek after an invisible God. For that reason, he shows us through his works and power that he is with us and that he has the best plan ever. To those who belong to Christ, we are a pleasing aroma to God. We are his people and we belong to a royal heritage. The wonder of it all is not going to be fully understood on this earth but it will be known once we come face to face with the King! Is not our momentary struggles worth the cost of eternal glory ruling with Christ?
As believers, we have come too far to let go of what we know to be true. Christ laid down his life in order to make us friends with God and give us a eternity in a kingdom that will never end. Stay in the race, my friend. Remember the truth and keep your focus on Christ. I will be praying for you!
March 24, 2016 at 5:59 pm
Jeremy B. Strang
Marianne,
Hello there sister! Hope you are well. Due to various things over the last year, I have been out of sorts in reading the posts.
May the Lord do an incredible work in the lives of your family members, even if we can not fathom and understand it all or not. This passage you quoted is so good and one I will ponder and think on tonight.
I thought I would share these couple of links with you for the purposes of encouraging you. Lord willing, maybe we can catch up soon!
Video interview 3 weeks after my accident: https://youtu.be/EK9L1JlpU5g
You Can Trust God: http://jeremybstrang.com/2016/03/04/you-can-trust-god-know-him/
Blessings and talk with you more soon.
Your brother in Christ,
Jeremy
March 24, 2016 at 8:46 pm
Marianne Bernard
Bless you, Jeremy! How amazing what God has done through you and for you! You are truly a man of faith whom I look up to. I am so sorry for the pain you endured in your accident but as we both know, God never wastes our struggles. All of them are being worked out for his purpose in our life. While I don’t claim to understand his ways, I have come too far to start doubting now. I am going through many trials of my own. Each of them is drawing me closer to Christ. Believers who are on this earth now have an important end time job. We must stay focused on the calling of Christ and his Kingdom.
Please keep in touch, Jeremy. I send my love and prayer to you and your family.
March 24, 2016 at 8:58 pm
Jeremy B. Strang
Amen dear sister! By the way, I believe you would love this study, it is truly one like no other – http://www.beholdyourgod.org. I am leading it a second time now. I will do you best to remember to pray for you. With my very busy schedule and some post memory issues from my fall, it has been a struggle to really wake early and get alone with God. May the Lord bless you, for it is because of the “Captain of our Faith” that He bore our curse on our behalf that we would be blessed – true grace! Talk more soon, Lord willing. Bro jeremy
March 29, 2016 at 6:07 pm
Michael
Hello dear sister!
I know it’s been a while since we have spoken to each other. But, you are constantly on my mind and in my heart.
I am sorry to hear about your family member. It’s hard I know, but it is good to see that you will not let the enemy steal your faith. Our Father has brought you a long, long way.
Remember, Jesus defeated Satan on the cross!
March 29, 2016 at 7:35 pm
Marianne Bernard
Hi Michael,
Thank you so much for your encouragement. You and your family are on my heart always also. I value you as a friend and brother. I was blindsided by the lung cancer diagnosis for my brother. He is always there for me from our childhood. He’s the one I turn to when I need help and guidance in a matter. My heart is breaking for him. I am praying for the mercy of God to heal him. Please keep him in prayer, Michael. God knows my heart and my brother is part of my heart.
Thanks, my friend. I appreciate you taking the time to write.
March 30, 2016 at 9:04 pm
Minister Aiken
Hi Marianne.
Great to see that you are still on the battlefield for the Lord.
Your kind words of encouragements are still ringing true in hearts on today. God is truly using you to bless His people in ways you could never imagine.
Pray all is well with you my sister.
God bless you.
Debra
March 30, 2016 at 9:48 pm
Marianne Bernard
Thank you for stopping and commenting, Debra. I have missed you. Please keep my brother in prayer as he was diagnosed with lung cancer. I am standing in faith trusting that God will be with me no matter what but I am scared.
April 4, 2016 at 4:28 am
Andrew
Amen to all you wrote. God will intervene in the situations as He did when raising His only Son from the dead. In my own life, how and when He intervenes is sometimes a bit of a mystery…Some of the greatest miracles in my life were instantaneous… while others took ‘wrestling with the angel’…all undeserved. After my last very recent miracle which had been 32 years in the making after many untold prayers, I am literally LIMPING like dear ol’ brother Jacob! Limping into a new sunrise after passing this Jabbok! The goodness and mercy of the LORD in the land of the living! Thank you dear Marianne for sharing your personal experiences as well as struggles with us, it means a lot as many have similar battles and the life of a believer never always over roses…but yep worth it all! Until we reach that happy finish line!
April 4, 2016 at 8:50 am
Marianne Bernard
Hi Andrew,
Your words were not only comforting for me but for all who come to read them here. Thank you for taking the time to encourage me. Our battles are actually God’s tool to bring us closer to him. Our struggles are burning off the dross making us shine as the new creations he has made us to be. As difficult as it is to endure suffering, knowing that God’s hand is in it and that he is directing it all according to his will gives us hope. We are not left helpless. The Spirit of God is with us in power and might to take us through all of our difficulties.
I thank you, Andrew, for taking the time to stop and comment and for being a friend. God bless you.
April 9, 2016 at 5:44 am
Igbaofo Linus
Thanks Marianne 4 all your great post. Ur posts have been blessings 2 me & my family in Nigeria. Remain lifted in all areas of life! On Mar 12, 2016 5:39 AM, “Gods Promises Are Real” wrote:
> Marianne Bernard posted: ” Note: As I got ready to publish this message, > once again I am being tested on my own words. A very close member of my > family has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer and it is tearing my > heart out. I am truly broken. But am I going to trust God ” >
April 9, 2016 at 10:34 am
Marianne Bernard
Hi Linus, Thank you for taking the time to stop and share your thoughts. I am so glad that the messages that God gives me to share are blessing you and your family. Whatever you are going through in this life, my friend, please remember that Christ is with you and that he is watching every step you take. He has a plan of victory for you if you belong to Him. I pray you do. I will be lifting up you and your family in prayer as I do all of those who come to this site. I pray that God will provide for all of your needs and that he will strengthen your faith in these dark days. We serve a God who knows how to help those who belong to him. You are never alone in your battles. And I will be keeping you in prayer.
May 29, 2016 at 7:20 pm
Anonymous
Dankie vir die Woord van God . Thank you for bringing God’s word.
May 29, 2016 at 9:37 pm
Marianne Bernard
You are welcome. Be in peace, my friend. Marianne
June 11, 2016 at 7:33 pm
Kristi Ann
Amen Sister in Christ Jesus-Yeshua Marianne!!
Love Always and Shalom, YSIC \o/
Kristi Ann
June 11, 2016 at 10:26 pm
Marianne Bernard
Hi KristiAn , thanks for your comment. Keep up the good work for Christ. You are indeed a blessing to me.
July 6, 2016 at 2:05 pm
Pat
Hello Marianne it’s been awhile thanks for the encouragement even as you’re suffering yourself God is still using you to bless others. May God give you have the strength to stay focused on Him as you take care of your loved one. We don’t know God’s plan but we can trust Him 🙌🙌
July 6, 2016 at 2:32 pm
Marianne Bernard
Hi Pat, thank you for that encouragement. I am struggling with all that is happening in my family but I do trust God. I don’t know his plan but I know it is good. Suffering is not easy. I take comfort in knowing that Christ will be returning soon to make all things new. With all that is happening in this world and the descent into evil, I really need to focus on the truth more now than ever. I appreciate you, dear friend!
July 12, 2016 at 4:58 am
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July 21, 2016 at 12:13 am
Melissa Hyatt
Incredible and well said, this is such great encouragement for such a time as this. Thanks so much. Blessings forever!