Tag: Change

How We Know God Will Never Forsake Us?

You can know God will never forsake you, though you may sometimes feel God has forsaken you because of unanswered prayers and sinful behavior. Psalm 9:9-10  states,

“The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

Those who know Your name trust in You,

for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You.”

We know because this promise is for those who seek Him. How do you seek God? You seek Him through continual prayer. This isn’t just on your knees praying, it is a conversation with God throughout the day wherever you may be. When you seek Him, you want to be close to Him and when you are close to Him, you won’t be afraid.

Why should we trust God? 

We live in uncertain times and we have a lot to be afraid of. If we do not trust God then we will give in to fear and anxiety. Deuteronomy 31:6&8 states, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them (enemy or the unknown), for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Verse 8 states, “It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”  This promise comes with the command to be strong and courageous and to not fear or be dismayed. I will be honest, not being afraid or dismayed is hard to do during times of uncertainty. I know I am not afraid when my focus is on God’s words of truth and not on my circumstances. When you seek God in prayer, you turn your focus on Him for help and comfort. Therefore, God’s Word says to pray without ceasing in 1Theselonians 5:17. Read through the Psalms and mark all the verses that encourage you to trust God’s promises for protection and help and turn them into a prayer.

To be honest, I did not trust God because of the painful memories of being forsaken by my parents. I had to heal those painful memories before I could trust God. You may have similar painful experiences, so I encourage you to read my short book on my website. 1–Healing Begins by Transforming Painful Memories

But I feel God forsook me when He did not answer my prayers.

When God does not give us what we pray for, we feel forsaken. Understand, God’s ways are higher than our ways and He knows the future. God did not answer my prayer to heal my first marriage. I felt forsaken, afraid, and despaired as I faced divorce. I don’t know why He did not answer my prayers, but I know that my first husband would not humbly submit to God, so how could God change our situation.

I was angry with God for many years and did not believe He loved me. When I felt abandoned by God, I poured my heart out to Him and told Him I wanted to walk away from my faith in Him. And God answered, “What is the alternative?” I thought about it and knew that Satan would love to destroy me. So, I stayed tight with God through prayer, praise, and pondering scripture, and I experienced many miracles, which I share in the post called, Trust God to Keep His Promises. I continued to seek God, and He was with me.

How can we not be afraid?

When you are close to God in prayer, then you are confident He is with you and will help you. Isaiah 41:10 states,

“fear not, for I am with you;

be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you,

I will help you,

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Memorize this verse, so when something bad happens, you can remind yourself of these promises, and not be afraid. Also, memorize Psalm 23, 103, and 139.  Hebrews 13:6 states, “So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Why do we sometimes feel God has forsaken us?

The Bible says our unconfessed sins block God from hearing our prayers. Isaiah 59:2 states, “but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” You may feel forsaken by God when you sin because sin separates you from Him.  Psalm 107:9-17 states,

9) For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

10) Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

12) So, he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.

13) Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

14) He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.

15) Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

16) For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17) Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;

What did you learn from this scripture passage?  I learned that God is merciful, but He requires obedience. God wants to help you, but first, you must confess your sins and seek the Lord for forgiveness.  1John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Conclusion:

We know God promises to not forsake those who seek and trust Him.  We know we don’t have to be afraid or dismayed during an uncertain future because God promises to go with us and help us. We know God may not answer our prayers the way we want, but we know He loves us and will be with us and be our refuge and stronghold in times of trouble. We know that sin separates us from God, but when we confess our sins He is faithful to forgive us and to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16). Seek God and trust Him to keep His promises.

If you find my posts and website helpful, then please share the link to my post and website with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name so I know you are a real person making the request.

P.S.: Experiencing lasting change in your life depends on having a right relationship with God the Father through believing in His Son Jesus Christ and obeying His command to love (1 John 3).

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How to Embrace the Challenge of Change with Grace

Do you look for opportunities when there is an unexpected change in your life?  Or do you become depressed? I have to admit; I dislike change. With all change comes the challenge to adapt, learn and apply new skills, and look for new opportunities.  But when you let your thoughts dwell on the uncertainties, what-ifs, and what you don’t like, you become depressed.  When I think of life-changing situations that were challenging, I think about Joseph and Daniel.

Joseph was from a very wealthy family and was 13-16 years old when His brothers sold him to Egyptian traders to be a slave.  That would make anyone depressed.  Read my post called Example of Suffering Well and God’s Response: Part 2 of Suffering Well to learn how Joseph adapted with grace to the challenges of change in his life and how God blessed him.

In this post, we will look at the major life changes Daniel faced and how he kept his focus on his faith and not the things he didn’t like going on around him. When he was between the ages of 12-15, the Babylonians took him and others captive.  But, because he was from a family of nobility, he was trained in the Chaldean culture and groomed to be an administrator over the other enslaved Jews.  How would you react to being taken to a foreign country as a captive? Would you adapt to the change with grace?

What held Daniel together was the principles he learned from his Jewish faith.  He kept his focus on pleasing God. He resolved, with the other Jewish boys, to avoid conforming to the habits of idolaters and “polluting” themselves by customs forbidden by their religion.  So, Daniel implored the chief Eunuch to only feed them vegetables and water.  God blessed them with better health and strength than the other captives in training who ate the King’s special food and wine.  Will you resolve not to defile your body with processed foods that cause weakness?  Read why in my post on being free from infirmity strongholds.

Daniel resolved to obey God and embraced the challenges of change with grace.  God blessed him with great wisdom, which caused four different Kings from four empire changes to keep Daniel as their advisor and head administrator. From the time they took him captive, he stayed focused on his mission to pray three times a day for his nation. He kept his thoughts on God’s deliverance and grace. When he was set-up by jealous men and thrown into a lion’s den, he trusted God, and an angel shut the lion’s mouths.  Will you trust God and keep your mind stayed on Him during the hardships and changes in your life?

Daniel lived according to the principles of God during adversity, and he succeeded. Do you have principles you have resolved to live by no matter what changes or hardships you might have to endure? Read my post on how to develop a mission statement for your life.

What principles guide your life and help you meet the challenges of change with grace?

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If you find my posts and website helpful, then please share the link to my post and website with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom. 

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name so I know you are a real person making the request.

P.S.: Experiencing lasting change in your life depends on having a right relationship with God the Father through believing in His Son Jesus Christ and obeying His command to love (1 John 3).