Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

Throughout the Word of God we see His people being defeated.  But not for long!   And even when it seemed "permanent," it wasn't.  Why?  Because as Christians, even when we lose our lives, we win!  So if we take it to that extreme - the seemingly worse "loss" of all - there simply is no way we can lose as Christians! If we die, we are with the Lord!  This is THE biggest win of our lives! If we lose the occasional spiritual battle, it teaches us to know better the next time around. If we lose all of our possessions, we still have Christ!  And He provides better. If we lose our reputation, man's opinion matters not anyway because we belong to Christ and our true character is known by Him alone. So many seeming "failures" in my life were ordained by my loving Heavenly Father.  A good parent doesn't want their child to succeed before they are ready to handle it.  And the Lord is our perfect Parent.  Only He knows when we need to learn from failure,

In what area or areas do you need a breakthrough?  Where have you been hurting or struggling lately?  Or even for a while? You've prayed. You've waited on the Lord. You are trusting Him as best you can. But you've been through the wringer and it has taken its toll. You are in a vulnerable position, but it's not over! Did you know that God can give you a breakthrough right here and now while you are still in your dificult season?  He doesn't always change our circumstances (though He easily could) in order to bless us with breakthrough. I have found that He comes to me, heals my heart, reveals a needed Scripture to me, right here and now - in the midst of my struggle, pain, and heartache.  What a God! Then I thought of the riches we are privy to through the trials and sufferings of others in the words they left behind.  One thing is for sure, the following people had no idea while they were going through their trial  that God would use them in huge ways much later .

"Jesus has a great plan for your life!" How many of you have heard this statement before?  I believe it is a uniquely American perspective.  However, I do not believe that it is God's perspective. Am I saying that God has a miserable plan for your life?  No. I am saying that following Jesus is hard.  His "great plans," if we are truly willing to obey Him fully, include our pruning, refining, the wilderness (at times), and many more trials and tribulations than we bargained for. I have experienced that the "great life" is more an inner job than outer blessings.  The life of Christ, via His Holy Spirit, comes to live inside our hearts when we receive Christ as our personal Savior.  Now, if we pay attention to Him, our interests have changed.   The accomplishments of this world don't matter as much to us, and if they still do, the Lord has ways of changing the course of our lives so that we are not anywhere near accomplishing what the world deems as a

God's plans for us are good.  He promises us this. Christians love to quote this verse from Jeremiah.  We all want to know that our future is a good one. But what does God deem "good?"   I have had so many trials and tribulations in my life.  If I were to freeze-frame each one, they would hardly look like they were part of a "good" plan. We have been mislead to think that the American Dream is God's good plan for our lives.  If that were all there was to it, then how would the world discern between those who belong to Christ from those who are in the world?  If God is there only to "make all our dreams come true," then we're under a false belief.  That is not what God means when He talks about His good plan for our lives. Sometimes, the truly "good life" looks worse than what others have.  For example, did Paul believe in God's "good plan" for him when he was beaten, shipwrecked, going hungry, left for dead, beaten, thro