
- Inspiration
- Devotions
- Powerful Quotes That Will Change You
- Desires Of The Heart God Always Approves
- Inspirational Resources
- Inspirational Videos For Young People
- Inspirational Videos For Everyone
- Christian Classics Every Teenager Should Watch
- Family Friendly Movies
- Words Of Inspirational Wisdom
- The Full Armor Of God
- Encouragement
- Music, Word, And Testimonies Of Encouragement
- When You Seek To Find God’s Purpose For Your Life
- When You Thirst To Know God
- When You Are Hurting Physically, Mentally, and Emotionally
- When You Are Tired And Weary
- When You Do Not Seem To Have Enough Time In Your Day
- When You Are Tired And Discouraged And Feel Like Quitting
- When You Are Confused, Persecuted, And Rejected
- When You Feel Beaten Down And Defeated
- When You Feel Used And Unappreciated
- When It Is Hard To Forgive Someone Who Has Hurt You
- When A Trusted Friend Becomes An Enemy
- When You Feel Thrown Aside And Rejected
- When You Are Mistreated After Doing What Was Right
- When You Are Bored, Dissatisfied, And Thoroughly Unhappy With Life?
- When You Are Having A Tough Day
- When You Are Afraid Of Dying
- When You Are Lost And Do Not Know it
- When You Know Who Jesus Is But You Do Not Know Him Personally
- When You Need Peace In Troubled Times
- When You Are Despondent And In Despair
- When You Are Fighting The Despair Of Hope
- When Your Heart Becomes Darkened And Divided
- When You Feel Disappointed And Angry With God
- When Life Is Not Logical And Fair
- When You Need To Let God Be God
- When Someone Thinks You Do Not Care
- When Those You Love Need To Know It
- When You Have Wronged Someone
- When Someone Has Wronged You
- When You Are Unable To Forgive And Forget
- When You Need To Let Go Of The Past
- When You Are Too Bitter To Forgive
- When You Think You Have Forgiven But Have Yet To Forget
- When Your Mind Will Not Allow You To Forget
- When You Need To Prepare For Hard Times
- When You Need Emotional Healing
- When Your Anger Is Out Of Control
- When Life Has Dealt You A Bad Hand And You Are Bitter
- When You Feel Life Is Not Fair
- When You Do What Is Right And Suffer For It
- When You Must Suffer Physical And Emotional Pain
- When You Suffer The Consequences Of Serving God
- When You Want To Have A Baby But Can’t
- When You Are Alone And Have No One Else
- When You Are Afraid, Tired, And Discouraged
- When You Feel Too Weak And Unequipped To Fight The Enemy
- When You Feel Too Flawed For God To Use
- When You Are In Trouble And Do Not Know What To Do
- When You Are In Despair And Need Something To Hold On To
- When Your Heart Is Troubled
- When You Hear That Most Christians Are Hypocrites
- When You Think Being A Servant Is A Sign Of Weakness
- When You Think Being A Gentle And Humble Christian Like Jesus Means Having To Be Weak And Submissive
- When You Have The After-Christmas Blues
- When You’ve Cried Out To God But He Hasn’t Answered Yet
- When You Are In A Hurry But God Is Not
- When It’s Your Way Or The Highway
- When You Do Not Know When To Keep Silent
- When You Feel You Are In The Valley Alone
- When You Just Don’t Understand Why
- When You Are Not Sure How To Pray
- When You Are Focused On The Pain But Should Be Focused On God
- When You Think You Are Not Good Enough For God
- When You Wonder If You Are Really Making A Difference
- When You Wonder If God Even Cares
- When You Wonder If God Exists
- When You Wonder If God Is Still In Control
- When You Are Looking For Reasons To Believe In Hell
- When You Don’t Know What To Believe What You Hear About Hell
- When You Wonder If Heaven Is Real
- When You Are Not Sure How To Get To Heaven
- When You Wonder If You Will Get To Go To Heaven
- When You Need Strength To Face The Future
- When You Have Not Because You Ask Not
- When You Feel Persecuted For Your Faith
- When Your Faith Is Kind Of Shaky
- When There Are Giants To Fight In Your Life
- When You Feel Guilty About Taking Time To Relax
- When You Doubt The Purpose And Promise Of God
- When You Doubt Your Salvation
- When You Doubt The Existence Of Angels In Your Life
- When You Deny The Existence Of Evil In This World
- When You Want To Know The Will Of God
- When You Want To Discover God’s Will
- When You Have Questions Regarding The Will Of God
- When You Know You Are To Be A Light Unto The World But Do Not Know How
- When You Feel Entitled
- When You Feel Like God Is Punishing You
- When You Think God Is A Stern Old Man In Heaven
- When You Do Not Know Where Your Life Is Going Or What God Wants You To Do
- When You Wonder Why God Chose You For Tribulation
- When You Need To Trust God With Your Pain
- When You Need To Tell Someone The Painful Truth
- When You Need Closure
- When You Doubt God’s Love For You
- When You Can’t Believe Your Salvation Is A Free Gift From God
- When You Need To Make Peace With God
- When God Wants To Get Your Attention He will Get Your Attention
- When You Are Bound By Sin And Can’t Get Loose
- When You Feel Guilt
- When You Take For Granted What You Have
- When You Do Not Feel Good About Yourself
- When You Feel Worthless
- When You Are All Alone At Christmas
- When You Do Not Think Your Offering Makes A Difference
- When You Are Old And Think You Have Nothing Left To Offer
- When You Are Worried Or Anxious
- When You Are Thinking About Ending Your Life
- When You Are Tempted
- When You Have Sinned
- When You Need To Give Or Receive Forgiveness
- When Forgiveness Is Not Enough
- When You Don’t Understand God
- When You Doubt That The Word Of God Is True
- When You Don’t Know Why You Should Evangelize
- When Your Soul Feels Depleted
- When Your Heart Is Broken
- When You Feel All Alone And That No One Cares
- When You Are In A Panic To Make A Decision
- When You Feel All Is Lost And Suicidal
- When You Are Broken In Spirit Or Body
- When You Just Need To Slow Down And Take A Break
- When You Need Revival In Your Church
- When You Are Fighting Lust
- When You Are Grieving
- When You Are Depressed
- When You Need Courage To Start Another Day
- When You Have Suffered The Loss Of Someone You Love
- When You Are In Doubt
- When You Are Struggling With Debt
- When You Are Anxious, Worried, Or Afraid
- When You Do Not Know How To Cope With The Circumstances That Confront You
- When You Are Criticised And Want To Give Up
- When You Are Afraid Of Death
- When You Are Persecuted
- When You Are Shamed Whether Rightly Or Wrongly
- When You Are In A Mess And Don’t Know How To Get Out
- When You Are Thinking About Getting Married
- When Your Home Life Suffers Because Of Your Church Life
- When You Have An Imperfect Spouse
- When Parenting Is Tough
- When You Question Yourself As A Good Mother
- When Your Child Is Rebellious
- When Your Child’s Behavior Becomes A Problem
- Coping With Life’s Upsets
- Songs Of Encouragement
- Scripture For Encouragement
- 10 Great Ways To Give People Hope
- Music, Word, And Testimonies Of Encouragement
- Scripture For Comfort
- Guidelines To Lift Your Spirit
- Guidelines To Find Meaning For Your Life
- What God Wants Me To Do
You may have the spiritual gift of exhortation that will help you be an encouragement to others
The Greek word “parakaleo” means to admonish, to encourage, to beseech. You are a “how to” person. You have the Spirit-given capacity and desire to serve God by motivating others to action by urging them to pursue a course of conduct. In a teaching position, you are able to explain how to apply God’s Word. Your goal is to present material that enables the Holy Spirit to promote change in the student’s life. You reach out and help Christians become more mature.
As an exhorter you are a very practical person, a good counselor, tolerant of others, serious-minded, orderly, and usually impulsive. You are expressive in a group setting; the group listens when you speak. You are comfortable working one-on-one or in groups. You are enthusiastic and talkative and enjoy encouraging others.
You are burdened to show how Scripture relates to conduct and have a desire to unify people by using practical rather than doctrinal issues. You likely place great importance on God’s will and believe that His Word has the answer for every problem. You tend to make decisions logically rather than on feelings and are very orderly.
Be careful not to interrupt other people; your enthusiasm sometimes makes you guilty of this. Others may think you don’t use enough Scripture in teaching because you tend to use Scripture to support what you are teaching rather than starting with Scripture.
Unlike teachers, you have the willingness to teach the same material again and again, updating and perfecting it as you do. As a counselor you usually have the ability to leave other people’s problems “in the office” rather than letting them drag you down.
Beware of Satan’s attack on your gift. He may cause pride in your motivational abilities. He may influence you to lose sight of people because of program emphasis. Don’t become discouraged when results are not evident. Be careful not to encourage others to do the wrong things through your persuasive abilities.
Cast Your Cares on the One Who Cares for You
First Peter 5:6-7 says, Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. If Jesus invites us to cast all of our care and worry on Him, why do so many of us refuse to let go? Apparently, we’re not yet fed up with being miserable.
The only way to have victory in our lives is to play by God’s rules, and He says we must quit worrying if we want to have peace. So, when things come our way that cause us to be concerned, we need God’s help. But how do we get it? First Peter 5:6-7 lists two important steps: 1) humble yourselves, and 2) cast your anxieties—or cares—on Him.
All of us would be better off if we’d learn to lean on God and ask for His help. But as long as we try to do everything ourselves, God will let us. He won’t take care of our problems and worries—our anxieties—until we turn loose of them and give them to Him. Either we’re going to do it or God’s going to do it, but both of us aren’t going to.
Now, casting your care doesn’t mean you can be irresponsible. God won’t do for you what you can do yourself. You must do what you can do, and then trust God to do what you can’t. When we humble ourselves and ask for His help, then He will release His power in our situations. It’s only then that we can really enjoy life.
So the cure for worry is humbling ourselves before God, casting our cares on Him, and trusting Him. When we are able to believe and say, “God, I trust You,” it will literally change our lives.
Develop an Attitude of Faith and Prayer
I’ve learned that my attitude has a lot to do with living a worry-free life. There will always be situations that cause us concern, but with God’s help, we can live above all of it and enjoy life. However, when you give your problems to God, you must also decide to be satisfied with His answers.
See, trusting God to do what’s best for us also involves dying to self. Paul said, …It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20). You can trust God to do what’s best for you, so you don’t have to worry about it. When you have a positive attitude and keep your faith in God, you can’t be defeated.
Together, faith and the Word of God will help you overcome worry. Worrying involves negative thoughts, but speaking positive things out of your mouth will interrupt those negative thought patterns. When we are full of the Word of God, we can speak it out of our mouths in faith. Faith is stronger than doubt, negativism and unbelief. It has a positive attitude that can overcome our past and lead us into a great future.
Faith is a powerful force that cannot be conquered.
Another powerful force is prayer. When you’re under pressure, it’s always best to pray about it instead of talk about it. Prayer is the blueprint for a successful life. During His time on earth, Jesus prayed. He entrusted everything to God—even His reputation and life. And we can do the same. We don’t have to explain all the problems to Him; we can just give them to Him and ask Him to take care of everything. Don’t complicate prayer. Just have confidence in simple, believing prayer.
Look at Paul’s instructions in Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
If you’re a Christian who goes around burdened or weighed down all the time, something is wrong. You may have had faith in Christ for salvation, but you haven’t moved into walking in faith daily for the life that God has given you. The Bible tells us that God is faithful—that’s one of His major characteristics. He can be counted on to come through for us, so we should trust Him totally and completely. When we do, we’ll be ready for anything that may come our way.
Allow God to Give You Peace and Rest
In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Jesus wants to ease our burdens and give us rest.
That sounds good, doesn’t it? I’ve had enough heavy stuff in my life, and I want to be free.
When we’re overloaded with the cares of this life—struggling, laboring and worrying—we need some help. Our minds need to rest from worrying about how to take care of problems; our emotions need to rest from being upset all the time; and our wills need a rest from stubbornness and rebellion. So we need to be humble enough to call out to God and say, “I need help!”
Your beginning doesn’t have to dictate your ending. Get God involved in every area of your life and allow Him to lead you into rest.