But the [a]Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you. (John 14:26)

Hello and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Welcome to 2022! I pray that the Spirit of the Lord helped usher you into this new year with His Grace and Mercy. It’s been a minute since we’ve caught up and I have sincerely missed you. Life has been…well…you know…. life. There has been a lot going on for and with me since we last caught up. But hey, let’s not make this about me. I want us to spend this time with a focus on encouraging you.

A lot of the time life can bring difficulty after difficulty, and you may not understand why. You may even start to become disillusioned by the everyday trials you face. It may become hard to pray. You may be in a stormy season while you have others relying on you for blessing and encouragement, but you are SUFFERING.

The dictionary defines disillusioned (dis·il·lu·sioned) as follows – Disappointed in someone or something that one discovers to be less good than one had believed.

Ok so maybe you aren’t or haven’t felt like you’ve been suffering so maybe this lesson isn’t for you, but I encourage you to read on.

Have you ever heard of Job in the Bible? Whether you have or have not heard of Job, track with me.

So, Job was a blessed man who lived a blameless life for the glory of the Lord. Job was so awesome that even God bragged on him. Then the Lord said to the Adversary, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8) One day Satan asked God if he could test Job. Once the enemy began testing Job, as we continue to read on we find that Job remained faithful. Throughout multiple crisis with his health, family, wealth, and even friends – Job remained faithful. The tests just got more difficult as time passed. There was even a point where Job’s wife told him to curse God and die! (Job 2:9) However, Job maintained his integrity. Job tried to talk to his friends and some of them blamed him for his conditions by pointing to his perceived sin. But let’s remember Job was blameless to the point where God bragged on him. As we continue in the story of Job, we see that Job got to a point where he figured out that God allowed the testing but decided that he would still hope in God.

The book of Job has about 42 chapters of fascinating literature. I encourage you to read the whole book asking God open your mind to greater understanding. The most interesting part of that book, in my opinion, is in the last chapter. After Job repents, God restored him. Even better, the Lord blessed Job’s latter days greater than his former. (Job 42:12)

I wonder how many of us are experiencing turmoil and ready to lash out at God like its his fault. The really funny thing about that is that none of us are blameless. Not you or you or even you! As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. (Romans 3:10) Don’t even think about looking in my direction, I KNOW that I am not. I repent and try to turn around daily. I hope you do as well.

To cut to the chase as they say, I know that this has been a difficult time for many. The scriptures also say that the rain falls on the just as well as the unjust. (Matthew 5:45) No matter where you fall on that spectrum, I am hoping that you can regain your strength and allow the Lord to refresh you in this season. Many of us have suffered loss whether it be by death, financially or even just being in a really long fight for our faith.

It may be difficult, but can you hold on? When your loved ones mean well but give you bad advice can you follow the Holy Spirit? When the enemy uses your flesh to tempt you to curse God and die, will you CALL ON JESUS?!

Even if you are crawling to the finish line, PLEASE, keep fighting for your faith. Keep believing that God is GOOD despite your circumstances. The best thing about all of this is that the battle doesn’t belong to you. The battle is the Lord’s and the Lord sent us help. Jesus let us know that we have a Helper, the Holy Spirit.

But the [a]Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you. (John 14:26)

Will you listen to the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit? Will you allow the Holy Spirit to minister to you? God has some blessings in store for you. I know you may have a hard time believing that but if God hasn’t called you home there is still work for you to do. I know we have spent most of our time talking about the battles but please make sure to remember God during your time of blessing. We must learn to navigate through both battles and blessings. Living life for God always leads to a life worth living.

Before I let you go, I would like to share a prayer for anyone who wants the Lord to lead them through battles and blessings –

Prayer – Thank you Jesus for making the ultimate sacrifice so that we may be saved. We repent of our sins and want to turn ourselves around so that we may live a life that is pleasing to you. We have heavy hearts and need you the ultimate Comforter to carry us through both the battles and the blessings of life. Lord, please help us to rely on you. We know that you have good plans for us Heavenly Father, but sometimes, through tear-stained eyes those good plans are hard to see. Yet we trust you. Sometimes we don’t know what to say or even how to pray but Lord may the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our strength, and our Redeemer. We want to feel your comfort as we experience the battles that proceed the blessings you have for us.

Worship: Please enjoy this song by Yolonda Adams – The Battle Is Not Yours. I believe it will help you remember whose you are and who you are.

Resources: Don’t know where to start? Start with His Word. Check out this Scripture Writing Plan for February 2022 by Sincerely Sapphire.

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