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Category Archives: leadership
A Sword For The Battle: Failure
Failure.
We’ve all failed at something but that does not make us a failure. Failures are things, not people. When we experience failure, we grow from it. Failure is a part of our success journey. We won’t be successful without some failures along our path.
So, how do we separate our failed actions apart from ourselves? We have to see these failures as teachers. We learn things like what not to do and who not to be in the future. And our failures will also be warnings for those coming behind us. People will learn from us and then those failures will not be wasted. They’ll be redeemed.
Here are some verses to help you battle through the feelings of failure that we’ve all faced.
I may trip seven times, but I will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked. Proverbs 24:16
I am pressed on every side by troubles, but I am not crushed. I am perplexed, but not driven to despair. I am hunted down, but never abandoned by God. I get knocked down, but I am not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
The Lord directs my steps. He delights in every detail of my life. Though I stumble, I will never fall, for the Lord holds me by the hand. Psalm 37:23-24
The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. Psalm 145:14
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:13-14
But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what God is going to do. For He is about to do something new. See, He has already begun! Do you not see it? He will make a pathway through the wilderness. He will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19
I should not be surprised at the fiery trials I am going through, as if something strange were happening to me. Instead, I will be very glad—for these trials make me partners with Christ in His suffering, so that I will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world. 1 Peter 4:12-13
A Sword For The Battle: Depression
Depression.
That sinking, I can’t seem to shake this feeling. You feel defeat before you close your eyes at night and it’s your companion the moment they focus in on your surroundings the next morning. No matter how many well-meaning friends give you the “snap out of it” or “pray it away” talk, it’s still looming over you. You know God’s joy returns in the morning after a night of weeping, but you wake up and still feel like crying your eyes out. This feeling, this dreaded, overwhelming, suffocating feeling will not go away no matter how much you read the Bible, how many worship songs you sing, how many preachers you listen to and how many books you read. You just feel stuck and quite frankly, you feel hopeless.
Many of us have been in your shoes. Many of you don’t recognize those shoes at all. Regardless, there is a battle raging. The battle is in our minds, and we must use the Word of God, which is the Sword of the Spirit, and engage in the battle.
Here are some verses to use when you are in a pit of despair and can’t seem to climb out. Allow God’s power to soothe your weary soul and help you find freedom.
I will fix my thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. I will think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8
The Lord hears me when I call to Him for help. He rescues me from all their troubles. Psalm 34:17
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. Psalm 3:3
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate me from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate me from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate me from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8:38-39
Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God! Psalm 42:11
I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:1-3
A Sword For The Battle: Insecurity
Insecurity.
You don’t feel good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, or popular enough. You think your voice sounds funny. You don’t feel like you know enough about the Bible. You definitely don’t think you have what it takes to make a difference. You are completely uncertain and anxious about your contribution to anything and everything. You second guess your every move and doubt your insight and wisdom. In fact, you wonder if you even have any at all.
We’ve all been here. When you are in this place, this abyss of uncertainty, you are open to attack and the battle rages on. We allow the loudness of our insecurity to trump any quiet confidence we may have. After all, insecurity is boisterous and confidence is humble.
Here are some verses to help you battle through the insecure days. We pray you will see yourself the way God sees you for He created you in His image.
I will not worry about anything; instead, I will pray about everything. I will tell God what I need, and thank Him for all he has done. Then I will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything I can understand. His peace will guard my heart and mind as I live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
I will humble myself under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift me up in honor. I will give all my worries and cares to God, for He cares about me. 1 Peter 5:6-7
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. Psalm 139:13-14
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. My old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17
It is God who enables me to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned me, and He has identified me as His own by placing the Holy Spirit in my heart as the first installment that guarantees everything He has promised me. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds me securely, and the evil one cannot touch me. 1 John 5:18
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within me, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6
Re:treat Week Is Here!
Our team looks forward to this week ALL YEAR LONG.
No Joke!
So, we are taking the week off from blogging to focus on this amazing event. We will be back next week and there will be two giveaways!
I know!
Also, if you were not able to make it to re:treat this year in 2016, please make plans to come next year from October 24-26 in Las Vegas, Nevada! You seriously won’t regret it. #promise