Encouragement

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On this particular day, over a year ago, I was going throughout the house cleaning. All the regular routine things such as washing clothes, sweeping and mopping floors, etc. You know, real spiritual stuff. But as I go about my chores, I use the time to pray and fellowship with the Lord. Believe me, as you go about your work, the Holy Spirit can teach you some mighty profound things about ants and toilets. (I’ll save that until another time)

Oh yeah! You see, the Holy Spirit is not limited. He can come anywhere we’re willing for Him to make Himself known to us. We would see so much more manifestations of His power in our lives if we would take off the limits and let our faith spring forth without restraints to just BELIEVE and take God at His Word!

It had been a wonderful day for me as I’d been in the presence of the Lord. He had been so close and the fellowship was sweet and fulfilling. Then, I was at the washing machine removing clothes to put in the dryer when I burst out and said, “Lord, You’re such a joy to be with!” My heart was so filled with the joy of the Lord.

He responded back to me and said, “You’re a joy to Me too. You’re the delight of My heart.” This blessed me so much to hear my heavenly Father tell me that I’m a joy to Him. To tell me personally that I’m the delight of His heart.
“Oh, Jesus,” I said, through happy tears. “Thank You.”

“All My children are a joy to Me. They are the delight of My heart also," He said.
“Lord, that's so wonderful and so many of your children needs to know this because maybe, nobody has ever told them that they‘re a joy.”
He replied, “Tell them.”
To which I answered, “I will.”
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I have told many people what the Lord said to tell them of His heart and I’ve seen many different expressions from painful tears to happy years, to “I needed to hear that in the worst way.” Many of God’s children haven’t learned to love themselves yet because of damaged emotions that haven’t received healing. Feelings being defective, of shame and fear and the fear of rejection still operates through a lot of Christian’s today but many aren’t aware of it. They just know that something on the inside is not quite right. That there is a big empty hole in the core of your being that cries out to be filled with the only thing that can fill and satisfy that yearning. It’s the life flow of God. It’s the flow of living water. “He that believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).

You may be one of those who have asked, “What's wrong with me?” but as of yet, you still don’t have the answer. People from a person’s past, from parents to siblings to friends, other family and peers, have told the person that they’re of very little value (you‘ll never amount to anything, you‘re just a headache to me, etc.). They grew up believing that they don’t measure up, something's wrong with them, they‘re defective. They’re not good enough.

These people believe they have no worth, no value and no destiny in God. They believe that they’re just here on this earth trying to survive until the day they die. This could turn into a very long article so I’ll conclude this by saying that if you’re one of these people I’ve described and you’ve come out of this type of background, you’ve developed a wrong belief system along the way. It’s the same old story from way back in the Garden of Eden, “Has God said...?

Wrong belief systems are based on lies, otherwise known as deception---that is, it means to believe a wrong (a lie) as though it is the truth. The voice of the enemy, speaking through someone else to you or in your ear has told you that you’re defective and no good, but go back to Genesis 1:31 and read, “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was VERY GOOD, and the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

Everything that God had created, including man was very good. This is the only Word to believe because it is eternally true and will stand forever throughout the ages. God didn’t create anything that wasn’t good---including YOU. So, stop repeating the lie to yourself over and over again that you’re worthless and no good and began telling yourself the truth. The truth that God said, everything He created was “good.” And He wants you to know that as His son or daughter, you’re the delight of His heart.

In Matthew 3:16-17, “And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto Him; and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and lighting upon Him:
17-And lo, a voice from heaven saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.”

If you look up the word pleased/pleasing, you’ll find that it also means “delight.” Father God was saying that Jesus is a “delight” to Him. He was delighted in His Son. As His sons and daughters through the new birth, and because God loves you the same as He loves Jesus, is it any wonder that He says the same thing about you? He wants you and I to be secure in His love, therefore, He will tell you and I over and over again in so many little and big ways how much He loves us. Praise the name of the Lord.

So, I encourage you, instead of telling yourself untruths that are lies from the enemy meant to destroy you (John 10:10), begin seeing from the Scriptures the truth of what God says about you. Before I close this on out, lets look at a few things God says about you and me.

Ephesians 1:4-6, “According as He has CHOSEN us in Him (Jesus) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and WITHOUT BLAME before Him in love.”

I have to stop here and say that God chose YOU before this world, as we know it, was ever created. This says that you’re no accident, you are wanted. God deliberately Chose YOU to be one of His own and He’s made YOU holy (now, not someday) through the blood of Jesus and you can stand before Him without blame (no condemnation Rom.8:1) because He’s covered you with His love. Hallelujah! That's good news!

Ephesians 1:5- “Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”

What does this mean to be an adopted child by Jesus Christ? First of all, it means that you were bought with a price. The cost was the precious blood of Jesus on the cross. So, through the finished work of Calvary, you’ve been adopted into the family of God when you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

John 1:12- But as many as received Him, to them (you and I) gave He power to become the sons (and daughters) of God, even to them that believe on His name.”
Before the foundation of the world, you were predestined to have purpose and a destiny to fulfill here on this earth for the Kingdom of God. You weren’t sent here to just survive and then die. God has put giftings and talents and abilities in you, creating you a unique person so that there is no one else like you in this whole world full of billions of people.

You have great value and worth to the heart of a loving Father, Who delights in you because you’re His own son or daughter. The devil and others may lie to you and try to get you to believe that you don’t belong anywhere. That you just don’t fit in any place. Go back and read the Scriptures we’ve looked at so far and see who’s telling the truth and who’s lying and what are you telling yourself? God says very plainly that you DO belong. You DO belong in His family and you have a place where you fit into God’s eternal plans that no one else can fill but you.

Ephesians 1:6- To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherewith He has made us accepted (acceptable) in the Beloved (Jesus).”

By His grace, you’ve been accepted into the family of God because of the blood of Jesus. Because of God’s grace, you’re a member of royalty. You’re a child of the most high God. You’re a child of God, and a heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ Jesus (Romans 8:17). That means, whatever the Father has given Jesus, He’s also given to you and me. As Jesus is, so are we in this world. Is Jesus accepted of God, the Father? Yes, and His blood covers the mercy seat so that you can come boldly (with confidence and assurity) to the throne of grace and receive grace and mercy in your time of need (Heb. 4:16). Praise God!
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Conclusion:
Well obviously, this subject is so in depth that I just can’t cover it all here in this short article. I pray that it will stir your heart and cause you to get into the Bible and search out the truth for yourself. Let God speak to you through His Word. Let Him tell you and show you just how valuable you are and what a delight you are to His heart. And as you do, begin changing what you say to yourself. Begin saying to yourself the truth of what God says about you and watch the changes and transformation take place in your mind and heart.

Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” In other words, you will become what you tell yourself and then spend time thinking about it and repeating it over and over out loud to yourself. Yes, we all talk to ourselves and it doesn’t mean that we’re crazy as we’ve been made to believe. See? That's one of those lies we’ve bought into so we’ve tried to hide the fact that we talk to ourselves. Actually, it’s a healthy thing if you’re telling yourself the right things based on God’s truth.

That's what David did in Psalm 103 when he said, “Bless the Lord, O my, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.” (paraphrase) “soul, why are you cast down? Why are you depressed within me? Bless the Lord, soul. Think about His benefits, soul and bless the Lord in thanksgiving.” This kind of talking to yourself is the right way. Self put-downs and condemnation talking to yourself is wrong because you’re speaking contrary to what God has said about you. You’re actually lying against the truth but you may not have realized that this is what you’ve actually been doing.

The truth is, none of us are immune to being deceived but I pray that God would sharpen our discernment to recognize the lies of the enemy and anoint our eyes to see His truth plain as day.
Plain As Day Ministries

Shirley Williams
9-25-02

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