Every single human has experienced grief and trauma of some sort. Even innocent babies have it rough during childbirth. Imagine what it's like for them having enjoyed the cocoon of their mother's womb only to be forced out and rough handled during delivery? Why do you think they cry so hard when they're born? Be rest assured, those aren't tears of joy.
Now, think of yourself and the rough moments you've been through. The months and possibly years of not having enough money to pay bills or even eat well? What about that thing you needed and trusted for but it didn't show up? These sorts of disappointments have happened, likely multiple times, in your life, and it's hard to see how they were a form of God's mercy, grace or even blessings.
Let me speak for myself and an upsetting experience. Someone close to me died some time ago despite my pleas and intercessions. I prayed with zeal for this person and yet they passed away. I'll never forget crying in public like an infant when I heard the news.
However, God helped me understand that there was no need to cry for that person. They'd given their life to Christ not long before their passing and no longer endured the pain they'd dealt with because of disease. All I could do was worship the Lord for the person's life and rejoice that God had welcomed them to heaven. It hurt to not have them around anymore but I understood it would be selfish of me to prefer they live with disease than enjoy the pleasures of eternity with their Maker. It took a while but over time, I got to a point where I now smile when I see their picture and remember some of their antics. I thank God for bringing them into my life as well as the other people who entered my life because of them.
Perspective matters when dealing with disappointment and we can't afford to apply our human lenses. We wont get good enough insight. This is why we are told in Proverbs 3:5 that we must not rely upon our own understanding. We need God to reveal His perspective on things because our understanding is grossly limited while His is infinite (Psalm 147:5).
As you consider the experiences in your life that have brought you grief and pain, call on the Lord to help you understand not only the why but the what of the incident. The why provides insight into how the incident came to be (i.e. the contributing factors) and the what focuses on the points God wanted you to learn.
You need to allow God to take you through the process of understanding and receiving the insight that will not only heal you in the now but also protect you in the future. If you let God show you, you'll also be well-equipped to help others going through a similar situation. And when that happens, the words of Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:13 will be fulfilled - And because of the proof which this service of yours brings, many will give glory to God for your loyalty to the gospel of Christ, which you profess, and for your generosity in sharing with them and everyone else (GNT).
None of this is to suggest that visiting therapists is wrong. This is to say, however, that even with that approach, God must play the chief role in bringing about the healing needed to truly enjoy the fullness of life He has available for those of us who believe and live in Him.
May the Lord help us in our journeys toward a deeper and complete healing from the disappointments, the grief and pain we've experienced, IJMN, Amen. God bless you and see you at Noon EST for fellowship. While we wait, please feel free to share how God has given you perspective on things from your past that hurt. You can share as little or as much as you want. Was there scripture you found helpful? Did someone speak a word of godly wisdom to you? Let us share and learn from each other before we gather to praise the Lord, pray for others, then pray for ourselves to receive God's loving guidance out of the pain from our past or even our present.
FINAL MESSAGE
Back in April of 2022, I remember the Lord clearly telling me to mention to all of us that there was a need to pray for our mothers. I would regularly put our mothers in prayer and call on God for His mercy and grace.
I got a similar message on Tuesday this week but with everything going on, I neglected to share it. Lord, please forgive me because a couple of things have happened this week to Peppers that reminded me of the need to not just share this message to individuals but with the entire group.
Ladies and gents, the Lord wants us to seat ourselves by the well of living water so that when the dry season arrives we are already well-positioned to draw and drink. What does this mean? If you are already in right-relationship with Jesus, then when the challenges of life come, you are well-positioned to lean on Him for the solutions.
If, however, our walk with the Lord is lax, then when the problems arrive, we start scrambling to get right with God and His Son, Jesus Christ. We start listening to the devil's lie that 'it's been so long since you took the Lord seriously so He won't take you seriously.'
Such lies are immediately eradicated and powerless if we are already walking with God and going to Him daily, doing the things He wants us to do. If we are spending time in His word and being intentional to create time to hear Him speak to us. Not just talking at Him all the time. I mean think about it? Who likes that person who's always talking at them but never slows down to ask and hear what you think or want to say?
Let's get into the habit of investing in a relationship with God so we're not scrambling when the storms of life hit us.
That said, I praise God that He is happy that you come to Him period. Be it before or after the issues arise. He will help you. Nevertheless, it is always best to be prepared than to have to react to things. God is happy to give us that opportunity so let's take advantage of it.
God bless you!!! If you've got questions on how to achieve this, please don't hesitate to ask. No inquiry is stupid - we are all at different stages in our walk with the Lord and we need one another to grow.
From BH - Thank you God for your Goodness it is your Grace and Mercy that has brought me through I am reminded of your goodness Each and Everyday
From sis OD -
Regarding the message of the day. I have had a traumatic childhood and marriage but with it all. I love my God and he provides clarity to me and wisdom through scripture, friends that love God and through Gods own actions. I have peace, I have forgiven others and my self and try to be a better child of God daily. It’s a joining but grateful for my relationship with him
From sis OD - Praying for my friend- Marisa’s family who lost her battle to lung cancer. May God grant them peace, love and grace during this difficult time
LAST 10 MINUTES
Today, we've had to think a little bit about the things that brought us grief and left us brokenhearted. If you haven't done so, I recommend you think of one such incident, no matter how far back it happened or how insignificant it might seem. The reason for this is that in these last 10 minutes, we'll submit that incident to the Lord and ask Him to walk us through to a place of complete healing.
Why is this necessary? Because all of us are carrying burdens from our past that we need to let go of and God is perfectly capable of taking the weight from our shoulders. We just have to give it to Him
Lord, I've been through a lot in this life and I don't quite understand it all. Today, I come before You knowing that I need healing and that I want You to take the lead role in healing me from disappointment, grief, trauma, and pain. I am willing to do the work with You and call on You to open my understanding so I receive knowledge as to why things happened the way they did and what You want me to learn. Please hold my hand, God and show me what I need to do to go through this process with You, IJMN, Amen.
Remember Tara? The fictional girl we recently learned about? If you don't, go read the lesson in that post because having said the prayer above, none of us want to make Tara's mistake of uprooting the prayers we've sown today. Leave the issue(s) you prayed about at the feet of the Master.
God bless you.
From BH - Good afternoon everyone I am blessed to be apart of this fellowship I am new to this forum and I look forward to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with you all. God bless
Our Great Defender, I thank you for all the recent testimonies of Your saving grace. Thank You for redeeming souls from prison, rescuing them from car accidents, and protecting Your children while out in public. I ask that this anointing, this saving grace, will be upon all Your children in P&P. I rebuke the enemy's persistent attacks against their lives.
It is written:
He let no man oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf: “Do not touch My anointed ones! Do no harm to My prophets! (Psalm 105:15)
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. (Luke 10:19)
Amen, in Jesus name!
Heavenly Father, thank You for being God of all. Thank You for Your word which You spoke and intended that it shall accomplish the purpose for which it was spoken.
Psalm 34:18 - The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed (NLT).
Today, Lord, I lift up all who have been disappointed and had their hearts broken in some way or another. God, I know that You have a purpose for everything and I ask good God, that Your purpose for these ones will include healing their hearts. Take Away the stain of disappointment and remember Your word in Proverbs 18:14 - The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit? (NKJV).
Nobody can bear a broken spirit, Lord. Have mercy on these ones. Restore their joy and help them understand what they went through. Make them vessels to Your glory who go on to serve You by helping people get out of similar situations IJMN Amen.
Abba, I pray for freedom to be released on those carrying burdens of grief. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Mt 11:28). Let the wind of Your Spirit push them closer to freedom and further from grief. Amen, in Jesus name!
From CX - Father God, I lift my friends, M., B., & E., who will be living through the 2nd anniversary of their loved one's passing on July 17th. I pray Your comfort and peace envelops them as they grieve his absence, Father God. He ran into Your arms with praise on his lips. He requested this song played over and over again as he neared Your presence. May his soul rest in Your eternal peace, Father, and may those he left behind find joy in his salvation.
From PBS - Thank you Lord for another day to open our eyes, both physical and spiritual. Thank you for waking us up and giving us another day with the honor to discover, trust, and know you. Thank you for the courage and strength to tell our physical eyes that what they see is not all there is—that walking by faith is alive and working for us—and we shall be rewarded for it. Thank you for our spiritual eyes to look inward, examining ourselves, to expose, repair, discard, heal, discover, surrender, and repent of everything we find, and put them all into Your trustworthy and capable Hands. Thank you Lord for another day of abiding and living abundantly in Your Love. :heart: You are the Vine, we are the branches, we are in You, and You are in us. In Jesus mighty name we pray, amen.
Almighty God. You are the El Gibbor and the great Protector. Thank You for protecting sis OD this week. What the enemy meant for evil You turned around. Thank You for making a mockery of the enemy's plans for her life.
You deserve and I give You all the glory for this, my Father.
In the mighty name of Jesus, I speak over her life that Your hand rest upon her for her good and Your glory. That no weapon formed against her shall ever prosper and every tongue that rises in judgment be condemned for that is the privilege afforded to those who are Your chosen ones. Her righteousness doesn't stem from any good works but from the grace You have so kindly granted to her.
I want to also thank You for Your word in 2 Thessalonians 1:6 - God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you. For all that thought she was easy pickings, I thank You for You will show them the zeal You have for Your children when they are consumed by the fire You reserve for Your enemies. All Glory belongs to You, my King, IJMN, Amen.
From sis OD -
How are my P & P family doing?
Pls join me in thanking God for his grace and mercy over my life. I had a couple of accidents between 8 days. 7/3 and 7/11. I got out of both accidents without a damage or scar on my body. I have some pain but God will grant me complete healing from the trauma and pain.
PRAYER TIME
For the familiar, you know this is the time we pray for other people and not ourselves.
It is easy to pray for ourselves - we do that all the time. But, during P&P, we make a concerted effort to put the needs of others before ours.
Please join me in lifting others up in prayer. The Lord will hear and answer our petitions on their behalf, IJN, Amen.
From sis OD - Amen! Love this, thank you God for the wisdom shared through you. Funny enough I was just having this conversation with a friend, a few minutes ago.
Praise the lord… praise his holy name
Thank You for the lesson of walking with You into healing and peace from disappointments, grief, pain and trauma. Lord, I want to thank You in advance because I know that for all who will pray and trust in You, You will take the pain away. You will give them peace and rest about the situations they have experienced and that shall come from You. I believe You will take their burdens and set them free, filling them with Your Holy Spirit who guarantees liberty in accordance with Your word.
Thank You God. Thank You for being the prayer answering God. Thank You for being the God who sets every captive free. They just need to take that step and walk out to their freedom and I know Your hand is stretched out to guide them. Praise be to You, my King!
Dearest Daddy,
Thank You for:
protecting my loved ones from death
giving us refreshing new experiences
healing my skin
leading me with Your Spirit
showing me grace and redirecting me even after I make a bad decision
From CX - Psalms 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and HIS courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise HIS name."
Abba Father, I come before You with a heart filled with gratitude and praise. You have been gracious and merciful, providing for my needs and guiding me through every season of my life. Help me to never lose sight of these blessings. I surrender my worries, my burdens, and cares into Your loving hands today. I TRUST You are working ALL things together for my good, even in the midst of the challenges. I choose to praise You in all circumstances, knowing that You are with me and will never leave me. Thank you for it all, Father God. Thank you for it All.
God, I want to thank You for the testimonies in the Testimony Thread. I am grateful to see how You are moving for people and doing things others considered impossible. The word states in Jeremiah 32:27 - “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?
Father, continue to show Yourself to people. Continue to display Your splendor. Let the world see and know that You are God all by Yourself in all circumstances and in all dispensations.
Be Thou glorified, my Lord!
From BI - Thank You Heavenly Father for all You have done for me, all You are doing for me and all You are yet to do. Thank You for being the same yesterday, today and forever. Thank You Lord that nothing can ever separate me from Your love. You made me more than a conqueror and always provide for me. Thank You Abba!
Lord, I want to thank You for the favor I experienced this week. Something I'd been trying to do for months suddenly went through with ease. I appreciate Your hand in this Lord. Thank You for opening the way to make it happen.
PRAISE TIME
It is time for us to glorify God as a collective group. Each of us thanking Him for something. It could be what He's done for you or just because you recognize how mighty He is.
There are so many reasons to honor the Lord with praise and worship. If you're going through it and praising seems real hard, this is especially the time to give some praise. You've got to make a decision to honor God with your praise despite your reality. Personally, I think that kind of praise carries more weight because He's said to us that those who sow in tears will reap in joy (Psalm 126:5). He sees your pain and He can't ignore you when, despite all you are going through, you take a moment to glorify Him.
Please join me in praising the Lord God Almighty, will you?
From WG - Sis you nailed it …..it’s the process of allowing god to take us through the understanding and insight….that’s a very powerful statement.. because it is indeed the entry to the healing process…thank you
From LB - Just dropping in to say that I hope everyone has a beautiful and prosperous day today. God has breathed new life into us today and that is always a cause to rejoice and be glad. Peace and blessings to everyone and thank you guys for your prayers and testimonies.
I will be going on work travel this weekend so I just ask for prayers of protection during my travel journeys to and from home and then back home. I know God's hedge of protection will always be over me throughout my travels and he will lead me to where I need to go safe and sound. Amen!
From EC - Amen and good morning ladies!
From M22 - Thank you for today's word sis @FFJ it was hard not to cry while reading today's word and experience. I had a similar experience to yours and it broke my faith so much that I struggle till today. I remember just wondering where God was when I lost one of the most important person in my life. I cried and cried because I prayed every single day. I also didn't get to ask God if she was with him because I was naive at that stage in my life to even ask because I didn't want to even think she was any other place than with God. This single loss made me think everything was against because of the events that followed after it.
I believe it was prayers I prayed to avoid grief consuming me that kept my faith going as small as I thought it was.
I really don't know how to go on but I will continue to hold on to God's word because he knows our entirety according his word in Psalm 139 vs 13 - 16.
May God give us the grace to surrender every situation in our lives to him. IJMN amen
From IDQ - Good morning and God bless!
From BI - I give thanks to You Lord for You are good and Your faithful love endures forever. You turn the impossible into possible. Your light penetrates the darkest places and You open doors that no one can close. Thank You my Abba Father for this day that You have made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Thank You for answering me when I call to You in distress. Thank You for being my help and refuge. A million tongues will never suffice. I give You all glory, honour and adoration my heavenly King.
Thank you for today’s word sis @FFJ. God has given me perspective just from today’s word. Thank You Lord. A patient of mine died last week and my first thought was did I not pray enough and should I have prayed harder? He was in so much pain and has now been set free. I thank God for his life. He had no family but he had God and therefore had all he needed. I pray that whoever is waiting on the Lord for healing receive divine visitation right now. I pray they feel God’s warmth and receive His healing touch. I pray that the weary, oppressed, afflicted and broken-hearted receive divine strength, restoration and God’s transcending peace IJMN Amen.