From The Crucible (by Assoc. Pastor Linda Pugsley)

Often, as we look around in this world, we find no good thing. The heart of man, without God, cannot do any more than be evil because the nature he is born with is broken…not by God who made it perfect, but by Adam’s disobedience. People sometimes forget that they are born with a broken "thinker", “wanter” and “feeler” and yet that is what they use to make all their decisions, about life, and even about God. When things don’t work well, based on that brokenness, they often shake their fists at God and get even further away from the only One who can stop this incessant cycle.

God is over and above all this world and all that is in it. We must encourage ourselves and others that God knows and we don’t! That’s why He calls to us and tells us to come to Him. He is the refuge, the safety, the quiet and the calm. He has all the answers. He knows how to fit your schedule and requirements smoothly and how to give you strength to do the tasks at hand.

Stop saying silently (and out loud) that, “I’m too tired”, “too busy”, “trying to get it all done”, “can’t pay the bills”, “can’t take it any more”, etc. Stop crying over spilled milk, stop mourning over what someone did to you, stop lamenting over what you’ve done. This is not the life God has for His saints. Pain and suffering are a part of the construction of a saint, but not the whole life! Complaints, doubts, despairs, angers, etc.—these are warning signs that you are not in the fruit of the Spirit of God, but rather in the spirit of man.

Keep praying, keep praising, hold your tongue, take every thought captive to Christ and you will come above all that was in your life or is in your life now. We are promised good success, a full life and abundance from out God. Keep going until you get it! Endure the fire: it’s producing pure gold!

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