Inspiring Stories to help you beyond your circumstances DIRECT MY STEPS LORD
When any of us are stricken with some crushing pain, crisis, hardship, or trial and we don’t know what to do, it is paramount to remember the words of Jeremiah: “I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23).
The absolute worst thing we can do in times of trouble is to make hasty decisions and to take whatever course of action seems easiest at the time. Remember, God has promised to lead us.
In 1 Samuel 30, David was in extreme duress and had wept till he had no strength left. All those with him did the same. You can read the story. Even those around him wanted to stone him, but David encouraged himself in the Lord, chose to worship, inquired of God and God gave David specific instructions. David obeyed and recovered all. (*Note: … those with him wanted to stone him and out of all of those men, David was the only one mentioned that turned to the Lord). Time doesn’t heal our wounds; it is in turning to the LORD where we find strength and help in times of trouble.
We must remember that our life is not our own, and that God has promised to lead us. I don’t know what you are facing, but God does. Turn to Him and He will give you direction. He will direct your steps. If you sense a small unsettling nudge in your heart, don’t ignore it. It may save your life and future.
You may be seeing injustice all around you and sense God nudging you to step out into a new career to be the change. You may be facing a business decision and need help from God and clarity. You may be deciding which job to take, where to move, or what church to connect with in a new city. One thing I know for sure, God will lead you. He will also connect you will people to help you succeed as a team.
HIS love and mine,
Deborah
BOOKS BY DR. DEBORAH STARCZEWSKI
GOD’S PRICELESS TREASURE (How To Overcome Challenges, Be Transformed and Know Your Purpose)
A LEAP OF FAITH (25 Days At The Mercy Seat)…the miraculous account of God raising my husband from death, healing him from two strokes, and two open-heart surgeries. The story will keep you turning the pages, give you encouragement, and increase your faith to believe God for whatever you are facing.
THE MIDNIGHT HOUR (Will America Turn Back To God?)…a must read for all. A great devotional type read…the perfect gift for family, friends, and co-workers.
Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.starministriesinc.com and other distributors.
Contact Deborah at www.starministriesinc.com for speaking and ministry engagements.
OPEN YOUR EYES TO SEE…..HELP FOR ALL
(Excerpt)…”You may find yourself in a place of extreme pain and derision. Perhaps, you don’t have the natural strength to move forward due to all the stress from a situation. Maybe you’re contemplating all the months ahead and wondering how on earth you are going to make it. Perhaps, you don’t have the physical strength to even move forward from all the stress you are experiencing. Do you find yourself in a desert wondering how you are going to provide for your small kids, make the house payments, go to work and function with excellence, to just getting out of bed? You are the very one God wants to speak to right now and take you to the place of totally depending upon Him and trusting Him with your every need.
God wants to open your eyes to His well of provision just like Hagar saw in the middle of her desert. God not only wants you to have provision but He wants you to be in peace. He tells us in His Word, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trust in you” (Isaiah 26:3 NIV).
As we trust the Lord, pray, and renew our minds, we find that our emotions do not run wild but rather, we have a calm assurance that God will provide in every area as we wait upon Him. That is the most amazing way to live.
Not only does God keep us in peace as we keep our mind stayed on Him, but He also provides food. The psalmist tells us, “I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread” (Psalm 37:25). The LORD can move on someone’s heart to bring you a meal to providing for you in some manner you least likely expect. Several months ago, I remember I was at an appointment and the doctor was running late. I had a lunch appointment and knew I was not going to have time so I called and cancelled lunch. I also knew if I didn’t get a little something to eat that I would have a headache.
I remember thinking I would just drive over to the bagel shop and get a toasted bagel for a snack. Just in front of the door, a lady dressed in a warm-up suit asked me if I had some change. I told her I would get some inside. I walked inside and the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart to ask her to join me and buy her lunch. I walked back outside and asked her so we both proceeded through the door together. We began to have casual conversation in line and I asked her what she would like, so we ordered and I paid for it. We sat down and I prayed over our meal and then she began to tell me that she was homeless due to several bad choices. She expressed that she had a good job but lost it due to falling back into some sin and not getting to work on time. I asked her if she had a relationship with Jesus and she said she had heard about him. We ended up praying again and I shared how God had rearranged my day to meet her. I gave her money for a bus, for food, and for a hotel for the night. She told me she stayed off Sugar Creek Road somewhere. I felt compassion for her and her situation.
On my drive home, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart to go and get a pedicure. Now I can guess that some of you might be thinking, “Why would God tell her to get a pedicure?” God sometimes gives us strange instructions, interrupts our days, and positions us to hear from Him specifically. God knows I rarely watch TV news. So listen to this.
While getting the pedicure, I heard a man on the news that was on in the nail salon and tentatively listened to every word. He shared how he had been homeless himself, how the churches in the area were coming together, God had given him a ministry, and that a shelter to house the homeless was opening off Sugar Creek the next day. This was the area the lady stayed near.
God was letting me know that He positioned me to take care of the lady I met for the day, and He would provide the rest. God never ceases to amaze me.
Now, you may not be homeless, but in your heart, you may feel the same. All alone in this big world! Just as God provided for the lady’s day, He is providing for you. I don’t know all the details, but HE does.
God provides for our needs because He says so in His Word. The apostle Paul says, “My God will meet all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus.” I believe Him. Jesus told His followers not to worry about what they would eat or drink or wear, but to seek His kingdom first and His righteousness, and then all other things would fall into place (Matthew 6:33).
God provides comfort as we walk through the desert. He brings encouragement in detailed ways. He goes to extreme measures to encourage and provide for His Sons and Daughters. Our God is described as the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles.”
(Excerpt from GOD’S PRICELESS TREASURE…published 2011, Creation House Press)
God bless you!
Deborah Starczewski
BOOKS BY DEBORAH STARCZEWSKI
GOD’S PRICELESS TREASURE (How To Overcome Challenges, Be Transformed and Know Your Purpose)
THE MIDNIGHT HOUR (Will America Turn Back To God?)
A LEAP OF FAITH (25 Days At The Mercy Seat)…the miraculous account of God raising my husband from death, healing him from two strokes and two open-heart surgeries. This book will keep you turning the pages and give you faith to believe God for yourself.
Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.starministriesinc.com and other distributors
GOD IS DOING AWESOME THINGS…
God is doing AWESOME things in the earth. He wants to do greater things through you. Your bold confidence in God makes the enemy nervous.
You have the mind of Christ….if you are born again, and are renewing your mind. God wants to fill you with divine wisdom and revelation.
God is giving you wisdom to take uncharted territory. What are you afraid of? Your marriage falling apart? Your children straying? Are you afraid of accidents, being alone, death, failure, financial issues, the future, old age, sickness, to doing something new? Are you afraid your business will fail or you won’t have insurance after the next election? Perhaps you worry that you will never find that perfect mate. Or maybe you are afraid you have messed up too much and that God doesn’t love you, that He won’t forgive you, and that God finds you unacceptable to Him.
Wow….to be human is to be vulnerable, with all its feelings and emotions and times of weariness due to struggles in life. Satan plays negative tapes, and plays on these areas of weakness, accusing us day and night. He is relentless in his evil plots to destroy lives.
God goes to extreme measures to make Himself known to us. Satan goes to great lengths to deceive all mankind. Satan comes at a young age to cripple you so that you never step into your full destiny with God. Satan wants your thinking messed up so you have wrong perception and rejection issues. He wants you to have a root of bitterness in your heart so that every little thing sends you off the charts, firing off at the mouth, and spewing things you later regret.
When you have an unhealed heart and don’t know your worth and value in the sight of God, you may roll your eyes and assume wrong things about people that God has sent to help you, steer you back on track, or to totally bless you beyond your wildest imagination and dreams. The enemy of your soul wants you to live offended and to miss God’s best.
Choose today…to step into greater destiny by allowing God to heal your heart and to rule and reign where you have not allowed Him to be LORD. It may be your mouth, your emotions, or it may be your character….God wants you to be the same person…from home….in the car….to the office…to the church.
God wants you to be in health and to prosper. He wants you to live the abundant life through His Son Jesus Christ. He wants to connect you in divine alignment for divine assignments with other people.
It’s time to STOP worrying, stop believing the lies of Satan, and stop listening to his lies in the first place. In this life, we are all engaged in spiritual warfare. No matter if you believe it or not, there is a war going on around us all…between good and evil.
We must accept the clear evidence of God’s love for us, remembering always that the battle belongs to the LORD.
Take a look at the promises associated with God’s name in Scripture: THE LORD OF HOSTS: Yahweh Tsebaoth
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.”
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. (Psalm 46:10-11 NRSV)
O LORD of hosts,
happy is everyone who trusts in you. (Psalm 84:12)
Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. (Zechariah 1:3).
Remember that no one can thwart the plans of the Lord of HOSTS (Isaiah 14:24-27)
Then those who revered the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who revered the LORD and thought on his name. They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them as parents spare their children who serve them. (Malachi 3:16-17 NRSV).
The stop sign is a the one I saw every morning I left the hospital to go home and shower and change when my husband spent 25 days in Mercy Hospital…through two open heart surgeries. The full account is in my book: A LEAP OF FAITH (25 Days at the Mercy Seat). Look at the Father’s love
Don’t live through your emotions…live by faith. Don’t allow fear to stop you…..press through…and partner with God so He can reveal divine connections, divine alignment, and divine assignments for your future……YOU CAN DO IT!
RESOURCES FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH: www.starministriesinc.com
Books by Deborah Starczewski available on-line on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Xulon.com, etc.
GOD’S PRICELESS TREASURE (How To Overcome Challenges, Be Transformed and Know Your Purpose)
A LEAP OF FAITH (25 Days At The Mercy Seat)
THE MIDNIGHT HOUR (Will America Turn Back To God?)