Like I said, it’s been over a year ago that that happened. Yes, I’ve continued attending church and leading in the youth ministry because I knew deep down inside that I was under attack by the enemy. I knew God didn’t leave me; I left Him in a sense. He was always there, just waiting for me to approach him.

And I did and have been and He is always faithful to respond. I had to get back into the Word on a DAILY basis and I had to start seeking Him diligently in prayer. God will never force himself on us; he is always a gentleman. But, if we seek Him, we will find Him. (Matt. 7:7-12)

So, if you’ve found yourself lacking faith for whatever reason, take a look at yourself – are you spending time alone with God? Are you seeking Him out by reading his Word? If not, then start today and continue to do so. He is faithful and He will answer.

Just like a relationship with a human, a relationship can only exist if there is communication and by knowing the other person. We come to know God and His will for our lives by communicating with him daily through prayer and reading his Word.

So, I want to encourage each of you who reads this: seek God, seek Him out and you will find Him. If you don’t have a bible or would like to read online, Christianity.com is a great on-line resource. They have bible studies, devotions and even the entire bible, right online. I receive daily devotions in my email from them which has greatly helped me to get back in the Word and prayer.

Of course there are times when you just need to get away from the Internet, away from the distractions of this world and just get alone with God. Whether it’s in your “prayer closet” or in your living room or bedroom, don’t forsake getting alone with your Creator-the One who knows you better than any human being on this earth.

God Loves YOU!

Overcoming Lack of Faith is a post from: Christian Women Blogging - Women By Grace

Ministry is a position that has both a public commitment and a private commitment. Publicly, you are committed to those that you minister to, as well as the “tasks” of ministry. These tasks are found in many other positions, even those in the secular world. Tasks including bookkeeping, filing, and the like. One can learn the skills that it takes to accomplish these tasks and do so in a way that is pleasing to everyone involved.

The private commitment is much greater. This commitment includes the practices of spending time in prayer, reading and studying God’s Word and becoming spiritually disciplined. These private acts are truly more important to God, more than any of the things that you do publicly. These are disciplines/habits that the people you minister to, will never know if you keep or not.  Far too often, even those of us in ministry, will put these things last in our lives; and though you might think that it will not make a huge difference, it will.

Prayer is an essential. Prayer is our communication with God, our Father. How can someone in ministry effectively minister to others without first communicating with their Heavenly Father? We should learn from the perfect example of Jesus, who often retreated to be alone to pray. He made spending time with the Father His priority. If the only perfect man who ever lived, spent time with God daily in prayer; why should we think that we as human imperfect ministers, should be able to do it all on our own?

Reading God’s Word is equally as important. God’s Word gives us direction, pierces our hearts and shows us where we need to add to or take away from our lives. It is the ultimate decision maker when we need to find answers, and will inspire us when we need encouragement. If you’ve been in ministry any length of time, you know you’ll need one or all of those things.

Becoming spiritually disciplined takes time. Spiritual disciplines may not be shared by everyone and can vary depending on your “belief system”. We’ve already mentioned, prayer and Bible study. Others include: tithing, fellowship, worship, evangelism, all things that we know we should be doing, but often struggle to do. That is why these things must be developed over time. We shall never cease “striving”. After all, Christians are on a journey to become more like Christ. We will never get there this side of heaven, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be disciplined in the practice of doing so.

Photo credit: DrGBB

Alyssa  Avant is a Christian writer, speaker, and business owner whose mission is to turn the hearts of girls towards God.  Alyssa recently felt the calling to help those who felt called into ministry but were fearful of taking the “leap of faith”, to help them she created FaithLeaps, a membership training program for those looking to “take the leap of faith into speaking, writing and / or ministry.

Three Essentials for Those in Ministry is a post from: Christian Women Blogging - Women By Grace

How do most of us gauge our image? We look through the lenses of others. What they see shapes who we are. There is something wrong with that picture for sure.

Remember that we were created in the deepest places; everything we need is already there just waiting to be unleashed. It is the way that God designed us. Let’s think about this for a moment. Everything that we are originates inside of us.

Our brain stores memories from our past. It also stores our learned behaviors like riding a bike or walking. An emotional tag is attached to each of these events. There is no possible way that another human being could have access to those brain imprints.

With that being the case, how can they look at us from the outside and tell us what we should be all about? It’s impossible. What we project comes from who we perceive ourselves to be inside.  If someone doesn’t like that then they are rejecting us.

Rejection is painful, but it is not our pain to bear. The pain belongs to the other person. If they have a problem with what they see in us, there is a problem with their lens. We tend to criticize in others the very traits that we wish we had ourselves or the very thing that we issues with as well. That’s how the green-eyed monster works.

It is true that sometimes we can have character traits that rub people the wrong way. If you are too blunt or too indecisive, people may tend to shy away from you. Someone pointing this out  in a proactive way will do so from a place of love not criticism. They want the best for you so they take the time to help. That is in sharp contrast to someone whose words cut deep when they are supposed to be “doing it for your own good.”

As humans, we were created to grow and evolve. Part of growth is realizing characteristics that we don’t need anymore and getting rid of them. It is okay to reinvent yourself as long as you are doing it for the benefit of you and not someone else.

In life we meet very few authentically genuine people. We are usually suspicious of them because of the masks that we often hide behind ourselves. It is refreshing to know people who are not afraid to be accepting of themselves, flaws and all. They could teach us a thing or two about painting our own self-portrait.

How Have You Painted Your Self-Portrait? is a post from: Christian Women Blogging - Women By Grace