Accentuate The Positive

A Biblical cure from discouragement...

I recollect an one-time Bing Crosby vocal my mom used to sing called "Accentuate the Positive." 

Its lyrics encouraged a positive perspective on life, in addition to they remind me of an fifty-fifty amend lyric from Philippians:

Rejoice inwards the Lord always ... inwards every situation, past times prayer in addition to petition, with thanksgiving, acquaint your requests to God...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is splendid or praiseworthy—think close such things ... And the God of peace volition live on amongst you..." Philippians 4:4-9 

Christ promises a perfect eternity filled amongst joy beyond our imagination.

This allows us to "accentuate" the positive no affair how difficult our circumstances.

Bible Love Notes

Feeling Forgotten - Psalm 13

Trusting God when yous experience lonely as well as forgotten...

Like the psalmist inwards Psalm 13, I went through an peculiarly black fourth dimension inwards my life when I felt God had forgotten me. 

I wrestled alongside my thoughts twenty-four hr catamenia as well as nighttime as well as lived alongside a sorrow that woke me inwards the black of nighttime as well as haunted me all twenty-four hr catamenia through.

It took many months earlier I realized that I could trust God's unfailing dear as well as rejoice inwards my salvation fifty-fifty though my province of affairs remained the same. 

In fact, I learned I could rejoice if my province of affairs never changed.

One of the purposes of the Psalms is to demo us how to honestly hollo out inwards our pain, fifty-fifty when nosotros experience forgotten as well as helpless. 

The cardinal to finding peace inwards difficulty is remembering the grapheme of God as well as basing our organized faith on His character, non our circumstances. 

Like the troubled psalmist nosotros tin move ever say: "I trust inwards your unfailing love; my view rejoices inwards your salvation. I volition sing the LORD’s praise, for he has been practiced to me." Psalm 13:5-6

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5 Ways To Bargain Alongside Discouragement

5 Ways to Deal With Discouragement:
1. Don’t believe your comfort depends on resolution of your problems. God gives comfort inwards the midst of problems. John 16:33

2. Confide inwards a friend who volition lovingly only firmly handle y'all alter your perspective, reminding y'all of God's faithfulness. Galatians 6:2

3. Try to accept your focus off of your problems together with intend of ways y'all mightiness encourage others. Philippians 2:3-4

4. Remember y'all tin facial expression upwards anything alongside the Lord’s help. Philippians 4:13

5. Deliberately accept fourth dimension to retrieve all that God has done for you. Count your blessings, write them down, repeat them aloud several times a day, together with hang a listing of them where y'all run across it often. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Feeling rejected together with unloved, equally good troubled to speak, amount of questions together with fears, the Psalmist wrote:
“I volition retrieve the deeds of the LORD; yes, I volition retrieve your miracles of long ago. I volition meditate on all your plant together with reckon all your mighty deeds.” Psalm 77:11-12

It's ever helpful to dwell on God's faithfulness. 

6 Ways To Struggle Our Enemies - Psalm 143

Sometimes nosotros notice ourselves inwards a province of affairs where enemies get got the upper hand. 

At other times, nosotros are our ain worst enemy, letting our thoughts spiral into hopelessness.

Whichever "enemy" we're facing, Psalm 143 gives us advice:

1. The Psalmist cries out to the Lord (1-6).

2. He acknowledges that he won't larn inwards without the Lord (7). 

3. He meets alongside God inwards the morn looking for aid (8).

4. He "hides" inwards the Lord, knowing God volition protect him (9).

5. He asks God's Spirit to guide him together with give him wisdom (10).

6. He affirms his trust together with commitment (8,12).

When we're troubled, discouraged, or nether attack, these steps are important.

While it's expert to larn godly advice, nosotros demand to attempt God outset together with foremost, admitting our need. 

When nosotros wake upward - earlier fearfulness or bitterness takes possession of our thoughts - nosotros should attempt the Lord together with "hide" inwards His wisdom together with comfort. 

We should attempt His guidance together with confess our trust.

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Why non add together about to a greater extent than of God's Word to your schedule past times having a 1-minute devotion delivered to your electronic mail each weekday. Sign upward for a gratis subscription to Bible Love Notes together with larn a gratis e-booklet. Find out to a greater extent than HERE.

Beatin' The Blues

How practise yous rhythm out the blues? Some regime nation us to run on improving our self-esteem past times focusing on our needs.

While imprisoned as well as mistreated, Paul rhythm out the blues past times focusing on others, non himself.  He wrote to encourage the Philippians as well as remind them:

“Each of yous should await non solely to your ain interests, simply besides to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:1-4

This is a adept life regulation as well as a adept agency to rhythm out the blues.

Gretchen Rubin, writer of The Happiness Project,(1) agrees:
“One of the best ways to brand yourself happy is to brand other people happy; i of the best ways to brand other people happy is to hold upward happy yourself.”

When nosotros become our minds off ourselves as well as focus on the needs of others...we are a joy to hold upward around...which makes others to a greater extent than joyful...which makes us to a greater extent than joyful....Another Philippians argue to REJOICE!
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(1) The Happiness Project is non a Christian book, simply God's wisdom comes through inwards to a greater extent than or less of Rubin's discoveries. For a Christian review of the mass come across Hope is the Word.
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Why non add together to a greater extent than or less to a greater extent than of God's Word to your schedule past times having a 1-minute devotion delivered to your e-mail each weekday. Sign upward for a gratis subscription to Bible Love Notes as well as become a gratis e-booklet. Find out to a greater extent than HERE.

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When You Lot Can't Fifty-Fifty Pray

Have yous e'er felt in addition to hence discouraged that yous couldn’t pray? 

Chronic wellness problems, broken relationships, death, discouragement, or other hardships tin teach inwards difficult to concentrate inwards prayer.

So what should yous create if yous detect yourself inwards this situation?

1. Ask God for help.

Romans 8:26: And the Holy Spirit helps us inwards our weakness. For example, nosotros don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us amongst groanings that cannot hold upward expressed inwards words.

2. Ask a friend to pray amongst yous in addition to part encouraging Psalms (Ephesians 5:19).

3. Pray prayers constitute inwards Scripture.
See: 6 Good Prayers from the Epistles and 10 Good Prayers from the Psalms.

4. Listen to familiar hymns or praise songs in addition to sing along.
See: Music Appreciation.

5. Recite Scriptures you’ve memorized inwards the past times or read your favorite passages (Hebrews 4:12).

When you're struggling, these things tin help.

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Remembering The Bad Times

In Psalm 77, Asaph is confused together with frustrated. He feels God has rejected him. 

But he moves from discouragement to hope, together with it’s helpful to empathize how he does it.

In poetry v Asaph focuses on yesteryear blessings, but his frustration remains.

Sometimes it’s skilful to focus on all of our blessings (Philippians 4:8). But it doesn’t move when we’re comparison yesteryear blessings alongside acquaint difficulties.

So Asaph does something that powerfulness appear counter-intuitive: he remembers bad times inward the past. 

But he doesn’t but recollect bad times. He remembers God’s faithfulness inward the bad times.

He specifically mentions the fourth dimension the Israelites stood hopelessly betwixt Pharoah’s angry soil forces together with the Red Sea together with remembers:

“Your path led through the sea, your means through the mighty waters, though your footprints were non seen.”

Asaph needed to recollect God’s powerfulness to select His people through a bounding main of hard times together with “impossible” situations.

When nosotros experience discouraged together with abandoned, nosotros bespeak to produce the same.
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I desire to encourage you lot to last business office of a Bible written report grouping that discusses Scripture. I starting fourth dimension understood this truth from Psalm 77 during a give-and-take at a Bible study, together with I give thank you lot Kathy for pointing it out.  For to a greater extent than encouragement nearly this sort of fellowship, read The Blessings of a Peer Mentor.

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