Tag: desolation

Weekly words of encouragement

God Lifts You Up – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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The LORD upholds all who falland lifts up all who are bowed down. Psalms 145:14 (NIV) God’s goodwill toward all who are needy or broken is one of his key attributes. When you fall, when you are bent down under a load of problems or pain he is compassionate. He sees you and his heart is tender; he wants to help. God’s attitude did not change with the New Covenant. Mary the mother of Jesus proclaimed: He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. Luke 1:52 (NIV) Jesus said: Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 (NIV) Sometimes God removes the hardship and sometimes “he will provide a way out so you can endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13). In any case, he will comfort your heart if you look to him. We are a light to Continue Reading →

Why Do Christians Have Dry Times or Dark Nights?

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The last two posts looked at stages of growth, both repeating and non-repeating. One of the stages we mentioned was dark nights, which is the topic of this post. This may apply to you or it might help you guide someone else through a dark time, so this should equip you to be a better servant for the Body of Christ. Most Christians go through one or more periods in their life when God seems absent. We use different terms for this such as dryness, dark night, desolation, desert time, or wilderness time. Even great Christians in history we admire go through such times. For example, Martin Luther, C.S. Lewis, Mother Teresa, and Oswald Chambers. Bruce Demarest mentions the last three in his book Seasons of the Soul, which I highly recommend, beginning on p. 84. He also discusses desolation in general which is very helpful. (There is a link to Continue Reading →