WELCOME TO MY BLOG! Stay a while and let's get connected. As you read my blogs my hope is that you feel as if you are sitting across from me talking with you and of course drinking a cup of coffee. With God's help, I Provide hope and encouragement to women of faith through practical advice and tools. I blog about my personal experiences in overcoming trials, and I use my background in counseling to give tips and techniques to live a victorious life. Blessings, Stephanie
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Get Out of the Wilderness
Dictionary.com defines wilderness as:
A wild and uncultivated region, as of forest or desert, uninhabited or inhabited
by wild animals; a tract of wasteland.
So are you
in the wilderness? Is your mind in the wilderness, and not under control of the
Holy Spirit? Where have you been living, in the “wilderness” or in the
“Promised Land?”
Now is the
time to let go of former things and your wilderness living. You have dwelt in
the wilderness long enough. In the wilderness you held onto the past. You had
no peace, no joy, and no hope. You were burdened in the wilderness. You were
not free, but held in captivity. You were in bondage. In the wilderness, you
cared about what people thought about you. You pleased man rather than God. You
looked at your circumstances and complained. You threw yourself a little pity
party, and became a victim rather than a victor. You allowed negative emotions
to rule over you. You wandered aimlessly in the wilderness but could not find a
way out.
Are you sick
and tired of your life yet, your wilderness? Have you tried everything and it
is just not working? If so, you may be in the wilderness. Just as the
Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 long years, so can we remain in a
type of wilderness? God does not want you to stay in the wilderness, but you
may not know how to get out of the wilderness. You may have been in the
wilderness for so long that you do not know how to get out of the wilderness.
The good news is if you are tired of your ways enough, change is possible.
You know you
are in the wilderness if your life is full of negativity, burdens too heavy to
carry, a lack of joy and peace, confusion (lack of direction), oppression, and
fear (anxiety). If you are in the wilderness you are not living the abundant
life that God says that you can have.
Would you
dare to believe there can be change? Would you like to be in the Promised Land
instead of living in the wilderness? In the Promised Land your eyes are on
Jesus not your circumstances or the “giants” in your life. You have God’s eyes
and His ears. You are now His vessel that His spirit can flow through. Your
life is marked with peace and joy despite your circumstances. You have a hope
that is unshakeable.
Here are some practical steps to get
you out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land living:
1. Believe God is bigger than your
problems.
2. Speak faith-filled words. Watch what
you are speaking over yourself and others. Your words are powerful. They can
produce life or death. Choose your words carefully.
3. Don’t speak what you see but what God
can do. Speak to that “mountain” in your life. Don’t let that “mountain” speak
to you, or it will!
4. Enjoy right where you are at. Be
content with the season you are in. Knowing all seasons does eventually end.
Don’t “curse” your next season with your words.
5. Do not complain find-fault or judge
yourself or others.
6. Do not look at your
problems/circumstances and speak negatively or defeat over them. The enemy WILL
present things and situations to stir you up and get you to speak out what you
see.
7. Carry hope continually. Never, ever
let hope disappear. Even if you have failed, made mistakes, and have been
defeated. NEVER stop hoping. We will soon end up discouraged and eventually
defeated if we stop hoping. Always hope for better!
8. Pray before reacting to what the
enemy shows you or tells you. DO NOT react, the enemy sees and will use your
reaction against you.
9. Maintain peace with yourself and
others. Walk in peace, talk peace, be peace. Refrain from arguments,
contentions, strife, anger, and division. Live in peace.
10. Be easy on yourself. Be gentle and
loving with yourself. Stop belittling and beating yourself up. God does not do
this to you, so why should you do this to yourself.
11. Keep all sin out of your life.
Continually purge and confess sin. Be cleansed by the blood of Jesus not
condemnation.
12. CHOOSE to walk in faith and not fear.
Yes, I say choose because fear will try and come against you but CHOOSE to rise
in faith.
Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the
wilderness
And rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18-19, NKJV
Side note
from author: I believe so much in helping people understand being free from
wilderness living that I wrote an entire book called, Wilderness Mentality. You can find this book on amazon.com.
Copyright@2013,
HopeCounselingMinistry. All Rights Reserved.
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