I have often seen those TV shows where people have unknown illnesses. They try everything, go to different doctors and are diagnosed with different things. Then, finally they go to someone that figures out what is wrong with them and they are then cured. This is how we are when we try other solutions before going to God with our problems. I am sure you are all familiar with the story of the woman with the flow of blood in Mark 5:25-29. This woman had had this illness for thirty years. Verse 26 says “and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse–” This means she had tried everything and spent all of her money only for the problem to persist and become worse. I am sure she was her wits end. Jesus was her last resort. Verse 28 says “For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.””  With faith in only touching Jesus’ clothing, she was made well.

Another example of trying everything else before God can be found in Daniel chapter 2. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. He wanted that dream to be interpreted. Daniel 2:2 says “Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.”  Nebuchadnezzar got upset and gave orders to kill all of the wise men in Babylon because no one could tell him the dream. Then, Arioch the captain bodyguard, brought Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel sought God for the interpretation and God told him what the dream meant.

When we try everything else before going to God, it shows a lack of faith. We are putting more faith in the things we are trying than we are putting in God. Did you know that when we are being tested by God and fail, we go through the test over and over again? My husband says that doing something repeatedly and expecting different results is insanity. So, why continue to try things that we know are not going to work in the first place? I also believe it is prideful. We are trusting in ourselves more than God. As harsh as it sounds, it is like we are saying “I can handle the situation better than God can”

God tells us in Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” He knows what is best for us. Let’s stop trying Him when all else fails. Let’s try Him first and be done with the problem.

Why When All Else Fails? is a post from: Mrs. BliSs for WomantoAnother.com

After getting into the boat, and sailing for some time, the winds started to blow hard, making it hard for them to row. Verse 48 says that Jesus saw them in the water and saw that the winds were against them. Just as Jesus saw the disciples in the water struggling to row the boat against the winds, God sees us when the winds of life begin to make it hard for us to steer. Sometimes, it seems as though we are going at our troubles all alone but we’re not alone. God is watching us the entire time.

Jesus begins to walk toward them on the water. When the disciples first see Jesus, they think He’s a ghost and are afraid.  So often, we don’t recognize the fact that God is there to help us. We may even try to fix the problem ourselves only to make it worse. In verse 50, Jesus identifies Himself and tell them to not be afraid. When He gets into the boat, the winds stop.

Ladies, don’t ever forget that when life becomes hard and it seems as though we can’t steer, God sees us and never leaves our side. Our best days without God will never be better than our worse days with Him. When we let Him into our boats, the winds stop and things get easier.

Letting God In is a post from: Mrs. BliSs for WomantoAnother.com

In Mark 6:7, Jesus sent out twelve disciples two by two. I think this is because it is easier for you to hold each other accountable for your actions when there are more than one. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.”

Whether we are striving to live a godly lifestyle or even start a business, it’s important that we surround ourselves with people of the same mind set as we have. This not only motivates us to continue to press on and move forward in what we are trying to accomplish, it can help to encourage us when things aren’t so easy as well.

Birds of a Feather Part 2 of 2 is a post from: Mrs. BliSs for WomantoAnother.com

In Matthew 9:23-26, Jesus went to a rulers house because the rulers daughter had died. When He got there, there were people crying and playing music. Basically, they were grieving for this little girl. When Jesus told them the little girl wasn’t dead she was just sleeping, they ridiculed Him. So, Jesus put them out. Why did He put them out? I believe it was because they didn’t have any faith.  Mark 5:37 says that Jesus didn’t want anyone but the disciples and the girls father the follow Him to their house. When He put everyone out, the only ones permitted to remain in the room were the ones with the faith. Or, the ones with the same mindset as Jesus. Jesus was getting ready to get something done. He didn’t need anyone there that was going to add negativity.

Reaching a goal is not the only time we should strive to be around people with the same mind set as you. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”This is why it is important to link up with other Christians when you are striving to live a Godly lifestyle. Psalms 1:1 also gives us instructions on not walking with non-believers.

Birds of a Feather Part 1 of 2 is a post from: Mrs. BliSs for WomantoAnother.com

We often call our trials and tribulations “storms”. Storms often start out subtle. They gradually progress until there’s full on wind, and rain. Then it begin to dissipate. More often than not, like a natural storm, our situations will get worst before they get better. That’s when it’s time to buckle down, press into God even more and stand (see Ephesians 6:13). An example of this can be seen in Exodus 5. When Moses first approached Pharaoh asking him to free the Israelites, the situation got worse. Pharaoh figured since Moses was seeking freedom for his people, they had too much time on their hands. He increased their work load by not supplying them with materials needed to make bricks. They had to go and gather the materials and STILL meet the set quota. I’m sure Moses wanted to throw in the towel. But instead, he pressed in and remain obedient to God.

I can tell you from experience that even though choosing to stand firm and deny our flesh hurts, it is so worth it. We don’t need the Holy Spirit to give up. It’s easy to quit (I can say that from experience too). So, after the music stops, the message has come to a close and the benediction is done, let’s make the decision to stand firm. Let’s not be afraid to endure a little pain for God. Let’s keep that zeal when it matters the most.

When It Matters The Most is a post from: Mrs. BliSs for WomantoAnother.com

When something is still bothering me after I’ve given it to God, I replace that thought with a promise from God’s word or give Him praise for coming through for me. For example: I have a large spot on my head where my hair has fallen out as a result of a skin condition.  I am believing God to restore my hair in that area. When I put my hand up there and feel my scalp where my hair is gone, I often feel discouraged as if my hair will never grow back. But, when those thoughts of discouragement come to my mind I replace those thoughts with what God’s word says about healing. I even praise Him out loud for restoring my hair. We can fight those fiery darts the enemy throws at our minds with God’s word and with praise!

God tells us in 1 Peter 5:7 to cast our cares to Him. One definition Dictionary.com gives for the word cast is ”to throw off or away.” If we throw something away, we don’t go back and pick it up. In fact, if we throw it hard enough and far enough, going to find it is out of the question. So, when we “cast our cares” upon God, we can’t go back and pick them up. God loves us and He will never get tired of us coming to Him with our problems. What do we have to lose by giving our problems to God and leaving them with Him? Absolutely nothing! We only have to gain. Let’s give God our problems an throw out the doubt. I once heard someone say that we should “glance at our problems but stare at God.” I’d rather stare at God instead of my problems any day…wouldn’t you?

Throwing it Out Part 3 of 3 is a post from: Mrs. BliSs for WomantoAnother.com

After we’ve sought God about our problem, we believe by speaking about it as if it’s done (see Romans 4:17) and by not worrying, or thinking about it. In a post titled “What Are You Thinking About“, I talk about how we can control what we think about. We can choose to let a thought stay in our minds, or we can replace it with something else. This means we have be active in our thinking.

…to be continued

Throwing it Out Part 2 of 3 is a post from: Mrs. BliSs for WomantoAnother.com

When we ask God for something, our responsibility is not to continue to worry about it. Our responsibility is to simply believe. Hebrews 11:6 says “ But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” The part I’d like to focus on is the part that says ” …for he who comes to God must believe that He is…” If we come to God we must believe that He is able to bring us out of the trial we are facing or He is able to do what we’ve asked Him to do for us.

James 1:6-8 tells us about the dangers of asking God for something and then not believing. Verse 6 gives us an example of what we’re like when we ask God for something but don’t apply faith to it. It says “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind…” When we look at waves being tossed by the wind, they’re unstable, and even scary at times. When we  ask God for something but don’t apply faith to it, we are like those waves…unstable.

…to be continued

Throwing it Out Part 1 of 3 is a post from: Mrs. BliSs for WomantoAnother.com

God didn’t  equip us to run away from things. If you study the armor of God in Ephesians 6:14-18, you will notice all of the armor God has given us covers the front of our bodies…not the back. Our armor isn’t designed to protect us from running away, it’s designed to help us confront. Know that when we run away from things, just like failed tests, we will have to go back and face that things eventually. I believe it makes more sense to simply deal with it and get it over with,  than to waste a bunch of time going into the wilderness. We will only end up having to go back to the thing in the end.

Ladies, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens  us (Philippians 4:13). This includes dealing with problems and facing challenges. When God says to “fear not”, He’s not telling us to not feel the emotion of fear. He is telling us not to run away from what’s making us feel that fear. When confrontations, problems and challenges arise, simply seek God for the solutions. Then, trust and believe that He will come through as promised in His word.

Running Away Part 3 of 3 is a post from: Mrs. BliSs for WomantoAnother.com

Why are we running? I believe the main reason is fear. For me, I didn’t like to cause strife, “drama”, or hurt someone’s feelings. I believe my main reasons were fear of man. Whatever the reasons were, they were all rooted in fear. We know that fear is the opposite of faith. Hagar didn’t show her faith that God would help with with the issues between her and Sarah. Elijah wasn’t showing faith that God would save his life when Jezebel sought to take it. When we run away from something, we are not showing our faith that God will help us deal with the problem

Running Away Part 2 of 3 is a post from: Mrs. BliSs for WomantoAnother.com