Rayni Risher

Choosing Encouragement

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Life can be hard, messy, draining, and even devastating, can’t it? Some issues aren’t temporary trials…they can take months or years to resolve, even when you’re actively trying. Ongoing problems with physical health, relationships, emotional health, parenting, work, life purpose…

Have you ever been dealing with so much for so long that you’re desperate for an ounce of joy, peace and encouragement?

Lately I’m reminded again of the power of praise.

How utterly essential it is for our own spiritual and emotional health to daily focus on God. To praise Him, thank Him, worship Him, connect with Him, read His words, listen for His voice and wisdom.

When I’m in a pit of discouragement, it really never fails that when I choose to look to God and worship Him, burdens lift off of my shoulders and peace invades.

Worship is powerful.

Worship is also a choice.

It’s an act of faith; choosing to declare and believe in Goodness, Kindness, Love. God is all of those things, and more.

I’d love to share a word of encouragement with you today that I shared several years ago but it still encourages me today.  It encourages me to keep praising and seeking God; to willingly exchange my discouragement for His encouragement.

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I was feeling discouraged so I decided to go straight to Psalm 93 because it talks about how God is reigning no matter what. God is reigning and He is ruling with strength.

 “God is King, robed and ruling,
God is robed and surging with strength.

And yes, the world is firm, immovable,
Your throne ever firm—you’re Eternal!

Sea storms are up, God,
Sea storms wild and roaring,
Sea storms with thunderous breakers.

Stronger than wild sea storms,
Mightier than sea-storm breakers,
Mighty God rules from High Heaven.

What you say goes—it always has.
“Beauty” and “Holy” mark your palace rule,
God, to the very end of time.”

I love this psalm because it talks about God being in charge. He’s the one ruling and reigning, no matter what. And whether you like the person who’s in charge of your company or country or whatever else, God is ultimately the one reigning and ruling, and He’s stronger than any storm you face.

So, after I read through Psalm 93, I read through psalms 92-99. I kept reading and rereading them. I love them because a lot of them talk about God being sovereign and ruling and reining.

But they also call us to worship!

So, I started worshiping God. I started praising God. I started singing. I started thanking Him for every big and small thing I could think of. Suddenly, I was so filled with joy and encouragement and peace.

It was amazing because just half an hour earlier I had been filled with so much discouragement. But as I worshiped God and thanked Him and meditated on His words, He exchanged my discouragement for encouragement.

As a result, I wanted to jump and dance and shout! All day long I wanted to tell everyone about this joy that God had given me…and I did, and some people thought I was a little weird but that’s ok.

In John 14: 27, Jesus says: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So, don’t be troubled or afraid.” (NLT)

So…

What’s your storm? What’s the storm you’re walking through right now in your life? I want to encourage you that God is bigger than that storm.

Jesus offers us peace, and even though it seems too good to be true, it’s real and it’s there for us to receive.

And just like we read in Psalm 93, even as big and powerful and overwhelming as the sea storm is—with the breakers that are sweeping over the psalmist in his heart—God’s bigger! And God reigns.

This week I encourage you to read Psalm 93. Think about it, meditate on it. And then worship God; thank Him. Sing praises to Him. Receive His offer of joy and peace.

 

 

 

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God is a Refuge

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Reading through Psalm 9 recently, these verses stood out to me:

“God’s a safe-house for the battered, a sanctuary during bad times. The moment you arrive, you relax; you’re never sorry you knocked.” (Psalm 9: 9-12, The Message)

You’re never sorry you knocked.

Isn’t that beautiful?

I can imagine walking up to God’s door, like walking up to the home of a best friend where you’re fully accepted and always welcome just as you are. Weighed down with problems, the moment you enter His presence you feel utter relief.

Have you ever felt utter relief? I have.

The world can be exhausting, can’t it? Health problems, relationship drama, political divisiveness, disappointment.

What is the mountain you’re facing?

What is the disappointment weighing on you?

What is the grief that’s spilling out of you?

You know, God is always with us. His presence is already here, with you in your day-to-day moments.

Take a moment right now to rest and relax with Him; to leave what is burdening you at His feet.

“You’re never sorry you knocked.”

 

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Breaking Every Chain

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Chains“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.” Acts 16:25-26 MSG

Paul and Silas both lay shackled in a jail cell after being severely beaten and wrongfully imprisoned. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, they made a decision to worship God by singing and praying.

God responded to their worship in a powerful way.

Not only were Paul and Silas literally freed from prison but all the other prisoners were loosed from their chains, too. Those who witnessed Paul’s and Silas’ worship – and God breaking the chains – were deeply affected. As a result the jailer and his entire family came to faith that night.

Reading this reminds me that no matter what is happening in my life, I am created to worship God. During good times and difficult times, God is worthy of my praise. Worship is an active response to God’s great love for us.

It also reminds me that worship breaks the chains that are binding us. And other people get to witness God’s powerful response in our life.

Worship establishes divine strongholds in your life and in your city.

I want to encourage you today to worship God even if you don’t feel like it. Just try it and see what happens.

 

 

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Burning the Fields

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Do you ever feel like you’re getting burned by God? Not in a literal sense but that He is letting you walk through the intense heat and flame of trial in order to refine you? I do! Times of refining build our character, make us more like Jesus and teach us how to depend on Him. Times of refining activate our faith because we have to trust God in the midst of painful circumstances. Often we need to spend more time seeking Him just in order to “survive” the refining.

The Refining Time
Every year after harvest farmers must clean away the left over debris from their fields to prepare them for planting. Many farmers set fire to their fields in order to burn the debris. One agriculture website says: “Fire is used to minimize pests and weeds, to remove residue after harvest, and to prepare the field for the next growing season. When used as a management tool for growing certain crops…it rejuvenates the plant and helps it grow healthy and strong.”

Makes me think of these verses on how God refines us:

“For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined…We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.” Psalm 66:10, 12

“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more.” John 15:1-3

When God is bringing the refining fires into our lives we can trust God to:

+Make the fire just hot enough to burn up the internal debris but not too hot that it will consume us.

+Bring us out on the other side into a stronger and healthier place, prepared for the next season.

Blog title comes from a song of the same name by musician Mitch McVicker.

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Are You Filling Up On Junk?

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Every now and then I buy a bag of real potato chips. Since it’s an occasional treat I find that it’s easy for me to overindulge. The other morning before breakfast I thought, Mmm there are potato chips in the pantry! I’ll just eat a few to begin the day. I ate way too many felt full; so much so that when I made my standard healthy oatmeal I didn’t even want it. I had to force myself to eat it because I knew it was healthy, but since I had already filled up on junk food there wasn’t as much room in my stomach for the healthy food.

If we’re not disciplined it’s easy to do the same thing when it comes to spiritual matters, isn’t it? When I get up in the morning the first thing I want to do is turn on the news. I love current events and like to keep up to date. I’ll just watch the headlines, I think to myself, then I’ll turn off the TV and read the Bible and pray. If I’m not careful, some days “the headlines” turns into several hours of mindless TV, then I have to run off to my commitments, then I get home late and need to make dinner and if I get around to it I’ll read a chapter in the Bible before I go to bed, thinking, tomorrow I’ll spend more time with God. Uh…not if I turn the TV on first thing…

Giving God Our Left Overs
There are lots of days that I spend lots of time with God and choose Him first before anything else; worshiping, praying, listening, reading, seeking Him. Time with God isn’t just a box to check off my ‘to do’ list. He refreshes and renews me; encourages me and gives me insight….LIFE….when I am in that focused time with Him. I need it to thrive. And it’s a choice. But there are also days when I make the decision to put other things first; things that aren’t nearly as important; things that can wait. I fill up on the “junk food” and if God’s “lucky” I give Him my little bit of left over time late in the day.

When I start my day with God, I find that I feel more at peace and full of joy throughout the day. Tasks are easier to complete with a good outlook. When I start my day with junk and give God the left overs, my outlook and attitude are often junk, too.

What Do You Meditate On?
What are we listening to, thinking about, talking about, watching, reading, and spending our time doing? Are they things that honor God and help us toward honoring others?

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

It matters what we are putting into our minds because it goes into us and ends up in our hearts. And then that comes back out of our mouths, for better or worse.

“What you say flows from what is in your heart.” Luke 6:45 NLT

 

So…
When we fill up on everything else but God why do we expect to be full of God? Do we assume the fruit of the Spirit will easily flow out of us when we are filling up on life-taking things rather than the Life-Giver? This week join me being intentional about filling up with God, not with junk. I think we’ll be surprised how much better we feel and how much more the intake of godly things produces a greater outflow of the Spirit through us!

 

 

 

 

 

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