-Strength for Today- "Turn Your Stumbling Block into a Stepping Stone." - James 1:12-14.

  Hellen Keller said, “The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to travel through.”  

 So, at some point, in life “doubt” will creep into your “mind,” with its “trap of worry, and plague your thoughts relentlessly on "Satan's platform of uncertainty.” But knowing Jesus Christ as your “personal Savior,” that platform becomes a “stepping stone for your faith and hope.” 

  In this world “no one’s faith is perfect on this side of heaven.” But because of Jesus Christ you do have the “assurance of God’s “unending love.” God doesn't want you living under a cloud of regret or shame in any area of your life. Because your life is defined by honor, not shame, because you’re experiencing what Jesus earned for you and me on the cross.  

The cross is the place where “all the wounds of sin are healed.” So, if you’re suffering from the guilt of “doubt,” Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” - Matthew 11:28.  Jesus gave this “invitation,” and we’re encouraged to “grasp” this powerful statement in the midst of any “doubting situation” we face, and prayerfully declare: 

• I ‘m an overcomer! 
• Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I will overcome all uncertainties in my life, because 
• God is turning every circumstance around and using it to empower my destiny, and I will see restoration not only in my life, but also the in the lives of others around me. 

  First Peter 2:24-25 emphasizes that “through Jesus’ death on the cross, those who turn to Him are delivered from both the penalty and the power of sin.” So, through Jesus Christ, you can declare that you have access to “powerful revelation” and breakthrough that’ll bring “spiritual confidence,” to your “troubled doubting mind.” 

   Ralf Waldo Emerson said, “What lies behind us, and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Therefore, it’s expedient that you remember that “you’re a child of God,” with “spiritual benefits.”  So, invite “His Spirit to fill,” your “heart and mind with His love and truth.”  

   Invite Him to turn “any situation” around that it may be used for “your good,” for the “glorify of God.” God is faithful, and even with the “stumbling block of doubt,” in your life, He’s still “sovereign” and the “Controller of everything in the universe.” “Because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” - 1 John 4:4. 

Author: Plez Lovelady, Jr., Jr., PhD