A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. (Deu 11:12)

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Pe 5:7)

I searched for the word “careth” in the King James Bible and found it is used six times. Only twice is it used in reference to God. In Deuteronomy, God tells Israel that He cares for their land and that His eyes are always upon it – every day throughout the year. The Word says in 1 Peter 5 that we are to cast all our cares upon the Lord because He cares for us!

The God of yesterday is the God of today and the God who holds tomorrow! What greater comfort can a believer have then to know that this same God who told Israel He had His eye on them 24/7 cares for our needs today? What greater comfort can a believer have than to know that this same God is aware of every detail of our future. His eyes are on us 24/7 and He never sleeps! In fact, while we sleep, He is taking care of us! I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety. (Psa 4:8 )

What encouragement and comfort we are privileged to have when we are born-again children of the King! Worry should not even be in our vocabulary! Rejoice, oh Christian! Your Father never sleeps and is looking out for you, ready to guide you and protect you! Thank You Lord!

Come With Rejoicing
Fanny Crosby

Come with rejoicing, come with delight,
Nature in waking, glad and bright;
Hearts overflowing gather today,
Fill us with rapture, Lord we pray.

Refrain

Praise our Redeemer, tell of His love,
Praise our Redeemer, God above;
Tell of His mercy, boundless and free,
None can protect us, Lord, like Thee;
Tell of His mercy, boundless and free,
None can protect us, Lord, like Thee.

Guarded from danger, sheltered and blest,
Under His banner, calm, we rest,
Come we before Him, come with a song,
Tell how He leads us all day long.

Refrain

Oh! what a Savior, gracious to all,
Oh! how His blessings round us fall,
Gently to comfort, kindly to cheer,
Sleeping or waking, God is near.

Refrain

Still may His mercy tenderly flow,
Still may He guide us here below;
Then when our journey safely is past,
May we be gathered home at last.

Lamentations 3:19-23, “Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. (19) My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. (20) This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. (21) It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. (22) They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. (23)”

Oh Christian, as we near the end of our 30-day series on discouragement and encouragement, I want to emphasize where our encouragement comes from – our Source is the one and only Word of God! Happiness is achieved from tangible things or circumstances in our lives. But true joy comes from the Lord Himself.

Meditate on the trials of your past as Jeremiah did. This weeping prophet said in verse 20 that these afflictions were still in his memory. He did not forget because in those memories, he had hope! He had hope that his God would not leave him alone through the trials. Jeremiah had hope because he knew that the Lord’s compassions did not fail (verse 22). He had hope because the Lord’s compassions were new to him every morning (verse 23). Jeremiah had hope because he praised the One who was faithful! He did not forget to praise and thank the One who showered him with mercy!

My friend, have you praised God today? Is thankfulness and gratitude at the bottom of your list in your prayer life? The Creator of heaven and earth and Redeemer of your soul deserves to hear from your lips how grateful you are. This same faithful God filled with compassion is there daily providing us with new mercies! Oh, thank You Lord!! My heart is overflowing with gratitude today! A heart filled with gratitude does not have room for discouragement!

Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Thomas O. Chisholm

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Refrain

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Refrain

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Refrain

1 Thess. 4:13-18, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. (13) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (14) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (15) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (16) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (17) Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (18 )
My heart needed encouragement this morning. Ever since the first day I was saved, over 26 years ago, not one day has gone by that I haven’t thought about the Rapture. This great and blessed hope that we born-again believers have was placed in the Word of God so that we could encourage ourselves and we could encourage one another! That is the purpose of my blog today.

We do not have any reason to be discouraged, my friends. A tragic event is about to take place upon this earth which will last not just for a day, or a week, but for seven long years. It’s been a year since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and they are still cleaning up. That “storm” lasted less than 24 hours! The events that will will take place during the Tribulation will make the Holocaust seem like child’s play.

Paul didn’t want us to be ignorant – God left us His Word so that we would not go uninformed. What a merciful and gracious Father we have! He knows we need to encourage ourselves.

Times have never been so “ready” for the tribulation. All we have to do is watch the news. My Google main page has the Earthquake Watch and already there have been 13 earthquakes around the world today – it’s only 9:40 a.m. Eastern time! (Matt. 24:7) Kingdom against kingdom is more prevalent today than when I was growing up. The news is filled with Muslim terrorists, Korea’s nuclear arms, etc. Pestilences are not just once in a while but many are of concern today – West Nile, mad cow, cancers of every kind, E. coli outbreaks, AIDS, deadly TB strain, bird flu, mumps are coming back, etc.

Yes, all these happened all through history. But those were the beginning of sorrows (Matt. 24:8 ). Ωδινων is the Greek word used here, referencing a woman in labor – birth pains. Anyone who has witnessed the birth of a child knows that labor starts easy – I actually thought if that is all it was, it would be a breeze! Yeh, RIGHT! But as the labor progressed, the pains became stronger and more frequent. Each stage of labor grew worse than the previous until the blessed event of birth occurred. U.S. history is a perfect example of these birth pains. The wars and internal uprisings have increased as our beautiful nation has turned away from God. Each year seems to be worse than the previous one. The Lord wants His children to be aware and alert.

The judgments from Revelation will have a cataclysmic effect on the people who are left here! No wonder Paul called the Rapture our blessed hope! What does the mid-trib or post-trib believer have? There isn’t a blessed hope in any of the judgments which will be let loose upon this world, my friend. Paul would not have used these terms. Rev. 3:10 says that we will be spared from the hour of temptation which will come upon all the earth. No event since the Great Flood of Noah’s days has ever affected the entire earth. Revelation is clear in its depiction that the Tribulation times will affect the entire earth and we, born-again Christians, will be spared from this! Praise His Holy Name! Thank You Lord Jesus for this great gift! Thank You for giving us a Blessed Hope to look forward to!

We believers don’t need to be afraid. We need to be busy doing the Lord’s work. Our time is short! The end is near and we must make use of what little time we have left for the Lord. Praise God that we won’t be here to witness the tragedies which will be let loose upon this earth! I am so thankful that we have been spared from this! Now THAT, my friend, is a blessed hope!

That Great Reunion Day!

Just thinking about that day to come
When we all will be set free
Makes me simply want to burst with joy
And get on bended knee

How thankful we should be for this
That Jesus had to die
So we could sing and praise His Name
On that blessed day in the sky

Yes, that day is foremost in our minds
We Christians, one and all
It’s our payment for our work for Him
No more will we ever fall

Thank you dear Father for this great gift
The price Christ had to pay
We all look forward to our meeting
On that Great Reunion Day!

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (Joh 14:26)

How wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father knew we would need Someone after Christ ascended into Heaven! Not only did our Father send the Holy Spirit to reside with us until we get to Heaven (Eph. 4:30), but He sent us Someone who would comfort us and teach us!

Noah Webster defines comforter as:

1. One who administers comfort or consolation; one who strengthens and supports the mind in distress or danger.

Don’t you just love that definition? Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He gives us the Holy Spirit to console and comfort us when we need strengthening. This same Comforter supports our minds when we are in distres or in danger! No wonder God used the word Comforter to describe the Holy Spirit! This comforts my heart, doesn’t it comfort yours as well?

God also describes the Holy Spirit as our Teacher. John 14:26 says that He was sent by the Father in Jesus’ name and will teach us in all things. This is a wonderful depiction of the blessed Trinity. Our Teacher will reveal to us exactly what we need, when we need it. The Lord’s prayer encourages us to ask the Father for our “daily bread” but I do not believe it is for food for the body. Why? Because Matthew 6:31 states that we should not worry about what we are to eat because our Heavenly Father knows we have those needs… so why should Christ teach us to ask for our daily bread then? To me, this would be Scripture contradicting Scripture and we know that this cannot be so. I believe that the Lord’s prayer is teaching us to ask God for our spiritual bread – our daily spiritual nourishment – what HE wants us to learn that day in the Word.

I don’t know about you, but I am encouraged knowing that my Heavenly Father not only sent Christ to die for my sin and take my punishment, but He sent a Comforter and a Teacher to be with me, to comfort me and to teach me. What a compassionate God we serve! Thank You Lord!

Oh Father, You thought of everything
That this frail soul would surely need
As I walk on this pilgrim’s pathway
I will follow You as You lead!

Psalm 100:1-5 [A Psalm of praise.] Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. (1) Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. (2) Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. (3) Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. (4) For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. (5)

Each moment that we dwell on our circumstances and trials, we lose focus of all the good that Lord has done for us. Like a muscle, we must exercise that part of us which God has provided to encourage ourselves. If the Lord commands us to encourage ourselves, which He does in Psalm 100, then not only is it do-able, but He provides us with the way to do it.

As I read Psalm 100, the Psalmist clearly outlines in progression what we are to do:

1. Make a joyful noise (sing)
2. Serve with gladness
3. Sing some more
4. Remember that God made us and we are His sheep – He knows us because He is our Creator and our Shepherd
5. Be thankful
6. Praise Him
7. Be thankful some more
8. Bless His Name – praise Him some more
9. Acknowledge that God is Good, His mercy is forever and His truth endures – again, praise Him some more

I noticed that singing, being thankful and praising God are key as they are mentioned more than once in these five verses. Certain music puts us in a right heart and mind to focus in the right direction. A mind that is thankful and full of praise to the Father is not a mind that is focused on discouragement and circumstances. There have been times where singing a song has changed my whole spirit. The Lord gave us music to lift our spirits – especially the Psalms.

Is it any wonder that Fanny Crosby penned the words to Praise Him, Praise Him? Won’t you read these wonderful words with me today and exercise your heart and fill it with song, thankfulness and praise to your Heavenly Father Who provides for us everything we need?

Praise Him, Praise Him
Fanny Crosby

Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessèd Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! hail Him! highest archangels in glory;
Strength and honor give to His holy Name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long:Chorus:
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Tell of His excellent greatness.
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Ever in joyful song!

Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessèd Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.

Chorus

Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessèd Redeemer!
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever.
Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong.

Chorus

Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. (2Th 2:17)

What comfort we believers have in the knowledge of our place in the Body of Christ! We are eternally saved – nothing can separate us from the love of God. Rom. 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (38 ) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (39) Our hearts should be rejoicing and giving praise, honor and glory to the One who died for us so that we can say this with boldness and be comforted! Thank You, blessed Father in Heaven!

Paul tells the Thessalonians to “stablish themselves in every good word and work.” Everyone can say that they have set out on a mission to be a blessing to someone and, in turn, have ended up being blessed by that person instead. Every good word and work we do each day is fulfilling the will of God. The good word we have is sharing the Gospel – encouraging a saint when a heart is heavy – exhorting a spiritually weaker brother to righteousness. A good work for Christ comes forth when we purge ourselves of the wood and stubble found in our spiritual lives and striving toward being a vessel unto honour – fit for the Master’s use. There is nothing more rewarding in the Christian’s life than to know that the Father is working through us for someone else’s benefit!

If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. (2Ti 2:21)

Christian, encourage yourself today to be a vessel that God can use. You are a child of the King! Represent Him with a life that is yielding to His Spirit’s convictions. It may not be easy, but a yielded life is always God’s will.

Yielded to Your Spirit I wish to be
Ever growing in grace each day
Remove from me the fleshly desires
Which hinder me along the way

Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. (Joh 16:32)These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (Joh 16:33)

Jesus, our Example, shows us that we are not alone. Just like He had the Father with Him, we do also. No matter how alone we feel in life’s trials, the Father is right there by our side. I remember when my children were little and they would get hurt. The first thing they did was to look around to find Mommy or Daddy and they would run to us for comfort. They did not look around for their sibling or a friend or other adult … they looked around for Mommy or Daddy. What a lovely picture of the Christian running to His Father when he is hurt and in need. Oh that we should be as little children and run to the Father’s side when we have needs instead of running to others.

Psalm 23 is such a great Psalm to read when one is in need of refreshing the soul and spirit! I went to visit my Shepherd there this morning in search of a spiritual refreshing. No one can provide this but Him in times like these. This Psalm is not just for funerals, my friend. It is a Psalm for the weary Christian on his journey.

Psa 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. My Shepherd and Guide is my own personal Shepherd – He is MY Shepherd and He will see to it that I lack nothing.

Psa 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. My Shepherd provides rest to my spirit and is always leading me to His Word where they are not turbulent and confusing but so still, I can see clearly. Turbulent waters are murky – but these waters are still and clear and I will find my answers there. The spiritual refreshment is not hidden or difficult to find. My Shepherd sees to it that I find exactly what I need for the moment.

Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. In times like these, our soul needs to be restored and encouraged. My Shepherd leads me to His Righteous Word for restoration. We all need refueling.

Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. I think of discouragement as being the dying of one’s countenance or spirit. My Shepherd says that I do not need to fear anything because He is with me. His guidance brings comfort. He will guide me away from this shadow. Thank You Lord!

Psa 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Ole slewfoot doesn’t stand a chance, although he will surely try to test my metal. Thank God for my Shepherd who is busy preparing a place for me in Heaven and will return to receive me unto Himself. I have a place secured for me in Heaven because of what my Shepherd did for me! Yes, my cup is overflowing, for sure. Meditating on that alone is enough to encourage my spirit.

Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. My Shepherd’s goodness and mercy are always there during my pilgrimage on this earth. Not only do we benefit from His goodness and mercy, but we have the wonderful knowledge of knowing that we will be dwelling with Him for ever!

Thank You Lord, for encouraging my heart today! I stand amazed at how personal a God You are and a Father to me!

How comforting to know that You are there
In the midst of my trial You are found
Not sitting idly by as I struggle with life
But your goodness and mercy abound

2 Cor. 1:3-4, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; (3) Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. (4)

Because of Jesus Christ, we believers have an incorruptible inheritance which places us in a position to be able to call God, our Father! The word incorruptible appears only four times in the Bible:

And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. (1Co 9:25)In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1Co 15:52)

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, (1Pe 1:4)

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (1Pe 1:23)

We see that our crown will be incorruptible, our raptured bodies will be incorruptible, our inheritance is incorruptible and our salvation is incorruptible! How encouraging is that?

When we are discouraged, we must remember that our trials are for a short time. 2 Cor. 1:3-4 show that our Heavenly Father will provide comfort during our tribulations so that we may in turn pass that comfort on to others going through trouble. I noticed this verse didn’t say to comfort those who are going through what you have experienced but that we are to comfort those who are going through any trouble. In other words, be there for those in need of comfort – period! Pass along to someone else the knowledge and assurance that the Father will comfort them in the same manner He comforted you.

We have encouraged ourselves and defeated ole slewfoot’s attempts to discourage us. We have assurance that our salvation and inheritance of Heaven is incorruptible. Now take those encouraging words to someone who needs to hear them and you will continue to keep yourself encouraged. Share the blessings the Father has given you with those in need of healing words.

They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word. (Psa 119:74)

Father, I thank You for Your grace
You have brought me through every trial
With mercy, peace and comfort sweet
You walked with me all the while

But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. (Mat 14:27)

What a blessing this statement must have been for the apostles to hear from their Saviour! Here they are in a storm and see Jesus walking toward them. They thought they were seeing a ghost! I don’t know about you, but as I place myself in their situation, I would have been afraid also. There are times in our own lives where we don’t “see” the Lord working. Our problems become insurmountable and we focus on the circumstances before us instead of focusing our eyes on the Lord.

Deut. 6:6-8, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.”

Have you ever worn a sweat band? I am always aware of that sweat band being around my forehead. It gets damp, it gets itchy and although it provides a purpose, I am always aware of its presence upon my forehead. A frontlet is similar to one of these bands. Can you imagine if God’s Word was as this sweat band between our eyes – constantly making us aware that It is there? If our eyes are focused on the Word, how can they also be focused on the circumstances surrounding us?

Praise the Lord that we have the precious Word of God to read and memorize! We can encourage ourselves daily and be of good cheer when those days come and we don’t see the Lord clearly there beside us. The Word comforts us and assures us that He is there right within view and we should not be afraid. Granted, we may not recognize the Lord in our situation, so we need to really “look” for Him. We find Him in the Word, we find Him in the brethren who encourage us, we find Him in a kind note, we find Him in the beauty of creation surrounding us, etc. Need I say more?

The Word should be constantly upon our foreheads, reminding us of God’s promises and of His presence. We are to be comforted by this and allow it to cheer us up and encourage us. When we do so, it removes all fear of those trials and circumstances.

Be of good cheer, the Lord commands
I’m Your Guide as well as Friend
Do not let your heart be troubled
I’ll be near you til the end.

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. (Psa 69:30)

No wonder David was the apple of God’s eye! He knew how to love His God… He knew how to thank His God! David was able to recognize when he was discouraged or depressed. The world recognizes in their 12-step programs the need to admit one’s addiction. However, their 12-step programs are only temporary. I speak from experience – I witnessed my father remain sober for almost 30 years, but the feeling of being alone drove him to drink again. The 12-step program did not have a lasting effect on my father. But this is not so with born-again believers! Praise God that we have One whose help can be eternal, if we allow Him to work in our lives.

We, as believers, need to recognize our state of discouragement and depression and go to the Source of healing and encouragement. We have the precious Word of God, in our King James Bible, which contains all the solutions on overcoming discouragement. Let’s learn from David.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. (Psa 42:11)

David knew that his discouraged soul would find health. But David had to take that first step – David had to hope in God and His solutions as well as praise God. What does a discouraged soul have to praise God about? Counting your blessings is a great place to start. Everyone has blessings in their lives – everyone! Are you a born-again child of the King? Have you been spared from an eternity of burning in hell? Do you have a roof over your head? Do you have food on your table (even if it is just peanut butter)? Do you have fairly good health where you can still get around? Do you have loved ones? Do you have a good church family? List these blessings on a post-it note and place it where you can see it several times a day. After reading these blessings over and over, you will be able to say with David that you can praise God.

Now that you are praising God, the next step is to magnify Him with thanksgiving. I love looking up words from King James’ era when our beloved King James Bible was translated. The words from that time period have so much more punch and meaning than if using modern-day English.

Noah Webster’s definition of magnify is:

2. To make great in representation; to extol; to exalt in description or praise. The embassador magnified the king and queen.
3. To extol; to exalt; to elevate; to raise in estimation. Thee that day Thy thunders
magnified. The Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly. 1 Chr 29.

So my brother and sister in Christ, extol and exalt the precious Name of Jesus to yourself and anyone who will listen! Share with others God’s blessings and compassion for you! Doing this is a sure-fire way of taking your eyes off your circumstances and discouragement and focusing on the “good” things that the Lord has blessed you with. Do you have the gift of writing? Let others know what God has done for you. Do you have the gift of speaking? Use your gift and magnify the Lord and His goodness toward you. Do you have a gift of ministering to others? Find yourself a dear Senior Saint and share God’s blessings with them. I dare say, these dear Saints are in desperate need of a kind and uplifting word. As you read the words to Mr. Oatman’s song, Count Your Blessings, you can surely appreciate the fact that he had been through a few bouts of discouragement. He learned from David what he had to do to be encouraged.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.Refrain
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

~Johnson Oatman, Jr.