Lara Love's Blog, page 10

3 Blessings in Grieving

How could there possibly be any blessings when it comes to grieving?

After all, if you have ever been in an or are now in an unfathomably challenging season of grieving during which the pain and the tears seemed like they would never end, you may never have imagined there could be three indescribably wonderful blessings in the midst of it all.

Blessings? Please consider these.

First, when we grieve, we have an amazing opportunity to draw closer and closer to the Lord Jesus Christ, to go deeper a...

I Had a Good Idea BUT –

I had what I believed was a really good idea. Even sounded like a great idea to two friends who are also devoted followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. We all agreed it was a good idea. Seemed my idea would glorify God. Seemed to involve showing His love to others. The idea seemed to be all about love, in fact. Most importantly seemed biblically sound. Nothing about my idea went against the Bible. My idea seemed godly. BUT –

But when I prayed and sought God and opened my heart to the voice of the H...

God, I Am Busy!

“God, I am busy – ” I started to tell the Lord.

But truth is I could not even finish the word “busy” before the Holy Spirit of God moved strongly on my heart.

Conviction. Chastening. I needed to repent. Which does not always mean a formal “I am sorry, God.” But always should mean true sorrow over our sin – such that we are willing to change direction. And turn back to God and His will and His ways.

Confession. God had made clear He wanted me to do something. But I already had my own agenda. I wa...

So Tired of Problems

Call me foolish, but so many times in my life even as a totally devoted follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, I have believed that I will be okay as soon as such-and-such a problem is resolved. As such-and-such trial is over. As such-and-such issue is addressed. As such-and-such a challenge no longer exists. I have figured that if only such-and-such a problem is over and done, I will be fine. I will feel good. I will be better. Life will be good. Or improved anyway. And that is what early one morni...

God Will Answer

I am dealing with a really hard really yucky situation as I write this message caused by some extreme wrongdoing of several people, and it has taken a big toll on me thus far and is not at all over. Praise God I have long since learned the number one person to go to in all matters in life. The Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh, how I cried out to the Lord early in the morning when I woke after a challenging night’s sleep waking over and again with turmoil and the sinking, uncomfortable feeling of how not ov...

Even If You Don’t Want to –

So here comes a confession. This is a real-life testimony. Not one to be proud of, mind you. It begins with God telling me to do something.

My response?

“Even if I don’t want to?” I asked Him.

Yes, I asked Him this! Unbelievable, huh?

Of course we are supposed to do what the Lord Jesus Christ tells us to do – even when we don’t want to.

Trouble is we are so self-centered by nature, and live in such a self-centered world, in such a self-centered day and age, that we can try to convince ourselves ...

Holding On When God Told You Let Go?

I knew very clearly in my heart God wanted me to let go of something important, but truth is I hesitated to let go. To be fully transparent, I delayed letting go. But why?

I did not have a backup plan. If I let go without knowing who and what would take the place of what God wanted me to let go, I could end up without what I needed. And what I needed was not really for me. It was for many others. This related to my ministry work.

Know what God showed me? My lack of trust in Him! I wanted a backu...

Instead of Worrying . . .

What if every single time you are about to WORRY or find yourself already WORRYING  you decide to PRAY instead?

What if every time WORRY comes your way, you see it as an ALARM GOING OFF to let you know that it is TIME TO PRAY?

REPLACE WORRY with PRAYER!

Instead of worrying, LET US PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, and PRAY!

AMEN!

“pray without ceasing,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and ...

Shhh, Not Your Job

I was thinking of doing something. I really felt I should. Someone needed to do something. Seems nobody was. So surely I must. This was an important matter. Anybody would agree. Well, anyone with a heart and compassion. So thinking of the matter for the umpteenth time, I began to think of a little plan. That is when God stepped in.

“Shhh,” the Holy Spirit of God spoke quietly to my heart as I mulled over the matter. “Not your job.”

Enough said.

See, the Lord Jesus Christ did not want me to get i...

Take My Plans GOD!

“Take my plans and give me your plans,” I essentially prayed to God.

Can you imagine praying that prayer? Can you imagine living this way?

Can you fathom living each and every day with an indescribable passion to give up every plan you have and exchange it for God’s perfect plans for you?

Can you conceive of being so in love with the Lord Jesus Christ, and so devoted to Him, and so surrendered to Him that every single day you are willing AND wanting to forsake and sacrifice and give up every sin...