by Tracy | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
Traffic. It is a word none of us like, and if you happen to live in a big city, such as, Atlanta, LA or NYC, the very word “traffic” alone can raise your blood pressure and bring frustration to the surface within seconds.
Traffic is noisy, chaotic and out of our control. Yet, we all have “traffic” in our lives, and I am not just talking about cars blocking our way, I am talking about mental and emotional traffic that gridlock us from getting to our desired destination of peace and joy.
For many of us “mental traffic” is worry, fear, anxiety, control, stress, depression or busyness and while these mental horns are blowing….our peace slips away. But, today we can make a U-turn today by soaking in Psalm 46:10 (Message translation) where God tells us to:
“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
Loving look at me, your High God,
above politics, above everything.”
First David tells us to “step out” of the emotional traffic. We do this by opening God’s Word. The traffic will still be there, but the noise will lessen and eventually leave as we look into God’s Word concerning our life. I am continually amazed at how just a few minutes in God’s Word can supernaturally open a lane of peace to our hearts and minds.
Once we take the time to look up at our ALL-POWERFUL, MOST-HIGH, LOVING, CONSISTENT, FAITHFUL God, we are able to breathe again (go ahead and take a deep breathe now – just breathe in Jesus and breathe out all your cares and worries). For, as we breathe in God’s Word, our mind will begin to rest in His promises. We can rest in the truth that God is above everything, everyone, and that He knows how to get us where we need to go. For He holds all provision, healing, breakthrough, hope, restoration, and promise needed to get us through the traffic of life.
And let us remember that our High God is above POLITICS. He is above the Presidential Election, the media, a doctor’s report, favoritism at our workplace, disagreements within our family, trouble within our marriage or any “political” issue we may be facing. He is above everything. Period.
Prayer:
“Father, help me step out of the traffic and take a long, loving gaze at You today. I lay down every concern and issue on my heart and I thank you that You are above it all. I pray for President Obama, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump today and ask that Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. You are above every person, every position, and You are Ruler of all. I chose to step out of worry and fear and I place my life in your capable hands. Thank you for being above everything in my life and in this world. Amen.”
by Tracy | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy, Warfare
“And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he (Elisha) answered, “Do not fear for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:16-17
Let’s just imagine that one morning you wake up only to see your greatest enemy and his army ready to take you down. What would you do? How would you respond? Most of us would do exactly as Elisha’s servant did above – respond in sheer panic and run to someone, anyone, who could help us. We would probably also scream out, “ What should we do?” Our eyes would be so overwhelmed with the fact that this enemy army is just outside our door and ready to strike that fear would more than likely paralyze us.
Ok, maybe your home is not literally surrounded by an enemy but I bet there is something the devil is surrounding you with fear – maybe its your health, your finances or your children’s future – and you maybe asking today “what should I do?”
Elisha’s response to “what should we do?” in 2 Kings 6:16-17 was in faith. Faith requires seeing into another dimension – the invisible. Fear paralyzes us, but faith propels us to see things from God’s perspective. Notice that Elisha did not ask God to simply show his servant another miracle; he asked for his servant to see another dimension. Elisha prayed. God revealed. The Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw horses and chariots of fire all around him.
Seeing into the invisible is a key to victorious praying – discerning spiritual issues from God’s perspective rather than man’s. Instead of focusing on the the enemy’s intentions, it’s time that we focus on God’s angelic strike-force! I am praying for you right now, “Lord, open her eyes that she may see.” May God show you His perspective and may you see that there are more for you than against you. And remember that you fight FROM victory not FOR victory.
Prayer: “Lord, open my eyes to see You in every situation. I will no longer allow fear to paralyze me but allow faith in Who You are propel me forward. While fear causes me to pull back – faith pushes me forward into Your plans for my life. Your plans are always to prosper me and to do me good in the end. I may feel as if I am surrounded by the enemy today, but I declare that if You are for me, who can be against me. Open the eyes of my heart that I may see You. Send Your angels concerning me today. May You go before me today and make every crooked place straight. Amen.”
by Tracy | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
“Mommy, I’m scared,” cried my daughter from the back seat of our van after I announced that we were headed to a swimming lesson. With her reaction, you would have thought I was taking her to get a set of shots at the doctor’s office! But I quickly realized that my daughter was struggling with fear. With each tear that fell from her face, I was overwhelmed with compassion and I almost cried myself – LOL! I tried to console her by telling her that Jesus would be right there with her and I immediately began quoting Psalm 91. I prayed for God to remove her fear and to replace it with His power, love and a sound mind.
The instructor had to literally pry my daughter from my arms that day. And as I sat and prayed in the waiting room, I thought about how many times in my own life I had to do it afraid. There was a time in my life when I had to overcome fear by digging into God’s Word. I had to continually meditate on index cards filled with scripture throughout my day. I had to do it afraid while holding onto God’s Word within my heart.
Maybe you are struggling with fear today and if so, I have good news for you. Romans 8:15 states, we do not have to live in bondage to fear but we can cry out, “Abba, Father.” You see, the moment you gave your life to Jesus, you had access to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy, grace and help in time of trouble (Hebrews 4:16). You do not have to live in the torment of fear any longer – you can cry out “Abba, Father” and receive mercy, grace and help in time of trouble. Just as I was moved to compassion on behalf of my daughter, God is moved into action on your behalf when you cry out to Him. God loves you. He longs to comfort, encourage and give you His power, love and a sound mind.
It does not matter what you are afraid of because God is greater. Jesus conquered fear on the Cross and His perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). You can rest in the fact that God loves you and is moved to compassion when you cry out to Him for help! I am thrilled to share with you that my daughter did it afraid! She not only swam beautifully in her lesson, but she did it with a smile. She left the pool that day with a sense of joy and fulfillment. And the truth is that we can ALL do it afraid as we hold onto God’s Word within our heart.
Prayer:
“Lord, I come boldly to Your throne today to obtain mercy, grace and help. I do not want to live in fear another day. I declare fear is no longer welcome in my mind, body or spirit and I ask that You fill me with your power, love and a sound mind. I will do it afraid while holding Your Word within my heart. Amen.”
Copyright, This entire site © 2006-2009, Tracy Hurst
This site is only for your personal use. You may not distribute, exchange, modify, sell or transmit anything you copy from this site, including but not limited to any text, images, audio and video, for any business, commercial or public purpose without permission.
by Tracy | Bad Day Blues, Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
“For His (God’s) anger is but for a moment, but His favor is for a lifetime and in His favor is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5, Amplified
For years, I placed my hope in my circumstances. When things were going well, I would experience happiness, but when difficulties arose, I would give myself over to anxiety and discouragement. All the while, JOY was waiting for me.
At that time, I did not know the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is temporal, fleshly and dependent on “things” in the natural world – how much money we have in our bank account, how many items of clothing we have in our closet, how we look, how well our children perform at school or how much acknowledgment we receive from our peers and the list goes on and on! Now, don’t get me wrong, all of these “things” can be wonderful and feel fabulous, but the happiness we receive from the things of this world are temporary, and can be taken away from us at any moment.
Joy on the other hand is stable, unmoving, and can stand solid in the most difficult of situations. While happiness is based on outward circumstances, joy is based upon our belief in God and the condition of our heart.
Nehemiah 8:10 states that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Another word for strength is endurance, which is the Greek word “hupomone.” “Hupo” literally means under and “mone” means to remain. Therefore, endurance can be defined as the capacity to bear up under difficult circumstances, not with a passive complacency, but with a hopeful (joyful) fortitude that actively resists weariness and defeat!
Joy is supernatural, it gives us the strength we need to actively resists weariness and defeat. Joy is always above what the world has to offer. You see, God’s joy is solely dependent on His Word and what He says about our situation. No matter what you are currently going through – you can experience joy as you wait expectantly for God to move on your behalf! I encourage you to take your eyes off of your situation and place them on the Solution – God. As you do this, God will fill you with His joy and you can rest assured that your victory is at hand.
Prayer:
“Lord, forgive me for allowing my circumstances to dictate how I feel. I ask for You to fill me with supernatural joy. I need endurance. I long to bear up under difficult circumstances with a hopeful fortitude. Help me to resist weariness and defeat and receive Your supernatural joy. I declare that as I fix my eyes on You, the Author and Finisher of my faith that you will perfect that which concerns me this day (Psalm 138:8). Amen.”
Copyright: This entire site © 2006-2009, Tracy Hurst
This Site is only for your personal use. You may not distribute, exchange, modify, sell or transmit anything you copy from this site, including but not limited to any text, images, audio and video, for any business, commercial or public purpose without permission
