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Encouragement

Father Says: “Don’t Cry. I’ve Got You.”

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Father Says: "Don't Cry. I've Got You." | by Jamie Rohrbaugh | FromHisPresence.comMy son wouldn’t stop crying this morning. He’s just over three months old, and he’s going through a developmental leap right now. Leaps make babies extra-fussy, and he was sure demonstrating that today.

At first, I wore him in my baby wrap; usually the closeness of being snuggled up to my chest calms him down after a few minutes. But today, it didn’t work. Then I changed his diaper, just in case. Didn’t help. I tried feeding him, but he wouldn’t eat. He still cried and fussed.

So I walked him around the house; that usually helps too, because he can feel the movement and (I’m told) it reminds him of the womb.

No go, though. Still crying and crying and fussing.

So finally, I sat down with him in my rocking chair and just rocked him.

He kept crying, sometimes at the top of his lungs. All the while, I was holding him tight to my chest and nuzzling his head. He was swaddled and warm and all of his needs were met. He was safe as can be.

But he kept crying.

Finally, after a long time of crying, I grabbed my phone and turned on my favorite song: “Good, Good Father” by Housefires. This song means the world to me, and I played it a lot while I carried Elijah in the womb. So he heard it a lot.

The guitar intro came on, and he didn’t stop crying. The vocals began, and I sang along, and at first he still cried.

But gradually, as the words “You’re a good, good Father … It’s who You are … It’s who You are … It’s who You are … and I’m loved by You … It’s who I am … It’s who I am … It’s who I am … You’re a good, good Father …” sounded in the room, a miracle happened.

Suddenly the strength of his crying began to ease.

Within a few moments, it stopped together.

Within a minute or two after that, Elijah was sound asleep.

And I got a revelation.

The whole time my son was crying, he was in my arms. all his needs were met in spades. I love him with all my heart and was making sure he wasn’t cold, hungry, wet, or anything else.

But he didn’t receive my comfort at first. Not until I played him the song about his good, good Father–a song about how Daddy’s got him, and how He’s perfect in all of His ways, and he’s loved by his Father–was he comforted.

And I think you and I are exactly like that.

At least, I know I am, so often.

When I get sad or upset about something, I’m fussy. Sometimes I cry. Sometimes I won’t stop crying. And all the while, Father’s got me. He has already made sure I’m warm, fed, dry, and in need of nothing.

But still I fuss. I fuss even while my good, good Father holds me tight to His chest with both arms, face nuzzling mine, taking care of me with His big, strong love.

But not until I get a revelation that He’s a good, good Father, and that’s who He is; and I’m loved by Him, and that’s who I am, am I comforted.

Not until I truly understand, yet again, that He’s got me and He’s perfect in all of His ways–so He’s got this, and it will be okay–do I stop fussing.

Not until I receive His love for me do I stop crying.

I’m just like my son in that respect.

Aren’t you?

We’re all our Father’s babies. And just like He’s holding me, He’s holding you right up against His chest right now too.

He’s got both of His big, strong arms wrapped around you. He’s already wrapped you in a blanket and keeping you so you can’t get out. He knows that the safety and security of His arms is what you need. He’s fed you; even though you’ll be hungry again in the future–at which time He’ll provide again–RIGHT NOW you have everything you need.

And your good, good Father is holding you in His arms, rocking you back and forth, and saying: “Don’t cry. I’ve got you.”

He’s got you.

You’re safe.

And you’re loved.

You have nothing to fear. Nothing to worry about. Just like I could see my son’s needs and I made sure they were all met, Father sees all of YOUR needs–even more than we mothers ever could–and He’s got them all taken care of.

All that’s left for you is to receive His love, trust Him, and rest on His chest.

He’s a good, good Father. He’s perfect in all of His ways. Anything He has allowed, He’s working out for your good. Anything you need, He has already provided. All of your cries are heard–

–but not heard from far away.

Your cries are heard in His ears that are right above yours, because you’re nestled right under His chin and He’s kissing your head right now.

“Don’t cry. I’ve got you,” Father says.

“Don’t cry. Shhhhhhh. Shh shh shh shh shh. I’ve got you. Muah muah muah muah (insert Father’s kisses on your soft, downy hair here). Shhh. Everything is all right.”

“I’ve got you.”

And He does!

Will you rest in Him today? Will you receive His love?

Your good, good Father loves you with an everlasting love. With great mercies He has borne you. He has carried you all the days of your life. He’s carrying you in His arms right now, and He’ll continue to do so. He’s never going to set you down, not ever.

Father’s got you. His big, strong arms are wrapped around you and He’s holding you tight to His chest …

… And you are loved.

Listen to Housefires sing “Good, Good Father” today (video below), and meditate on your Papa’s love. He’s got you. Don’t cry. You’re safe, and you’re going to be all right.

Does this word minister to your heart today? If so, please leave a comment below. I love to hear from you!

Ask And You Will Receive, That Your Joy May Be Full

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Here's why you should ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full. An encouraging word by Jamie Rohrbaugh | FromHisPresence.comDo you really, really, really want something from God–but you feel like maybe you shouldn’t ask? If so, the Lord gave me an encouraging word for you today.

Here’s what He told me:

I was spending time with Daddy God this morning and just telling Him how much I love Him. All of a sudden, I saw a picture in my mind’s eye of Him giving me a big bear hug and kissing my forehead. I felt Him squeeze me tight to His chest. Then I heard Him say, “What do you want?”

I was taken aback by this question. I kind of shook my head and said, “Father, I just want You.”

And He said, “No, no, no. That’s not what I mean. I want to give you something. I want to do something for you. What would you like Me to do?”

And suddenly I could feel His passion and the intensity of His love.

I could feel the burning love in His heart that was looking for a way to express itself. He wanted to do something for me because He loves me so much, and He just wanted to demonstrate that today. He is, after all, a Giver. He loves to give.

In total awe of our amazing Father, I asked Him for something specific that has really been on my heart lately. And He said He would give it to me. He just wanted to bring me joy today, because He loves me.

Related: A Big Hug From Daddy God For YOU!

Then He told me to share this with you, and that He wants to do the same thing for you.

[Read more…] about Ask And You Will Receive, That Your Joy May Be Full

How To Get Rid Of Your Desire To Sin

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You can be free from your desire to sin! Here's how. Jesus paid the price. By Jamie Rohrbaugh | FromHisPresence.comDid you know that Jesus paid the price for you to be free of the desire to sin? That means you can get rid of the desire to sin. Easily.

True story.

I’ve been talking to some folks lately who have been struggling with sin of various kinds. They earnestly desire to walk in purity before the Lord. They don’t want to sin, at all, ever. They love Jesus and desire to seek Him.

But sometimes actually walking in holiness doesn’t happen. Sometimes people want to get rid of the desire to sin, but they struggle to actually do it.

Does this sound familiar? It should. I think we all struggle with this to some degree, and we’re not alone if we do. This is what the Apostle Paul wrote about from his personal experience. He described his conundrum by saying:

Start-quoteFor we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do” (Romans 7:14-15).

But you know what? The good news is:

Jesus Christ paid the price for you to be free from sin AND from even the desire to sin. Here’s how:

Isaiah 53:5 tells us that Jesus was bruised–He bled on the inside of His body–for our inner tendency to sin. This passage says:

Start-quoteBut He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

“Iniquity” is not the same as sin. Sin is the evil actually committed. Iniquity is the inner tendency to sin. It’s the root, the perverseness, the evil tendency on the inside that produces sin on the outside. Iniquity is the thing on the inside that gives you the desire to sin:

  • It’s the rage on the inside that you feel before lashing out in anger on the outside.
  • It’s the lust on the inside that you give in to before you sin by watching pornography.
  • It’s the desire, the inclination, the bent toward sin that nobody might even sees … but God sees. And that iniquity is wrecking your life.

[Read more…] about How To Get Rid Of Your Desire To Sin

How To Plead The Suffering Of Jesus Over Broken Relationships

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You can plead the suffering of Jesus over broken relationships! Here's how. By Jamie Rohrbaugh | FromHisPresence.com

Do you have any broken relationships? If so, they can be healed… and all because of what Jesus suffered.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ hung on a Roman cross.

Putting Jesus on the cross was not an arbitrary execution method. It was the method chosen by God to inflict the utmost suffering on Jesus, by which He could purchase complete and total wholeness for you and for me.

Including wholeness of relationships.

We live in a world of imperfect people. And too often, friends, family members, acquaintances, ministry partners, and even people that we don’t know might say or do something that offends us. Then…

  • Anger and hurt creep in.
  • Unforgiveness and bitterness creep in.
  • And people that God intended to dwell in unity together become separated from each other by sin.

Yet we know that God desires us to live in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Check out these Scriptures: [Read more…] about How To Plead The Suffering Of Jesus Over Broken Relationships

How To Plead The Suffering Of Jesus Over Your Sorrow

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How to plead the suffering of Jesus over your sorrow. Post 2 of 6 in the Suffering of Jesus series. By Jamie Rohrbaugh | FromHisPresence.comAre you sad, grieving, or discouraged today?

If so, I have such beautiful, precious good news for you: the day of your comfort and healing is here.

We’re remembering the suffering of Jesus in this blog series. Jesus Christ, very God of very God, the Word of God Who became flesh and dwelt among us.

And this Jesus–this God Who is equal with the Father and the Son–humbled Himself and became the Man of Sorrows, so that you and I could be comforted in our distress.

How do we know this?

Look at Isaiah 53:

Start-quoteHe is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:3-4).

Check out these interesting points about the original meanings of the words in this passage:

  • The word “sorrows” means literally “anguish, grief, pain, to be sad, to be sorrowful.”
  • The word “grief” here means “malady, anxiety, calamity, disease, grief.”
  • “Grief” here is related to the concept of being worn down with something bad.
  • It also refers to physical pain, malady, sickness, and infirmity.

Now, I talked more about how Jesus paid the price for your healing from physical sickness and pain here, in To Hell With Redemptive Suffering. Today, I specifically want to focus on how Jesus paid the price for your healing from sadness, discouragement, sorrow, and anxiety. [Read more…] about How To Plead The Suffering Of Jesus Over Your Sorrow

Grace To Bloom In the Worst of Times

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Grace-to-Bloom-in-the-Worst-of-TimesDear, beloved reader, have you been going through one of the hardest, worst of times of your life lately? If so, I have an encouraging word for you today:

Papa is giving you grace to bloom in the worst of times.

I felt like our Precious Holy Spirit wanted you to know today that He knows how hard it has been. He knows every tear that you’ve cried and every time your heart cried out in agony in response to the injustice, the senselessness, the pain.

But I also feel like He wants you to know that He has seen your efforts to walk before Him in white. He has seen your tears as you have clung to Him. Even though it hurts, you’re still clinging.

And our dear Heavenly Papa wants you to know today:

“My child, that’s an attitude that I can bless.”

See, God’s Word says that He resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). And humility is a tangible, noticeable attitude. It’s a posture before God. It looks like:

  • submission to God’s Word in all respects;
  • saying what Jesus said and doing what Jesus did–acting the way Jesus would act; and
  • trusting that our Papa God is a good, good Father who will always take care of us, no matter how hard things seem during these worst of times.

Sometimes that last thing is the hardest.

[Read more…] about Grace To Bloom In the Worst of Times

Oops, You Missed a Generation

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generation xI hear Christian leaders talk all the time about “the next generation.” Almost every time they do, though, there’s a slight problem: they aren’t actually talking about the next generation. They are referring to current students in grade school, high school, college, and folks in their early 20s.

But that’s not the next generation.

The next generation is actually made up of the folks in their 30s and 40s. An entire generation—20+ years’ worth of sons and daughters—that most people have forgotten exists.

This used to really bug me. It hurt, and hurt bad, to always be left out. I felt like shouting out: “We’re here! Don’t forget us! Don’t you see us? Don’t you care?” [Read more…] about Oops, You Missed a Generation

Don’t Give Up! A Harvest Is Coming!

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Don't give up! A harvest is coming! Encouraging word from Jamie Rohrbaugh | FromHisPresence.com blogHave you gotten tired from working so hard? Do you ever feel like your labor has no reward? Are you tempted to quit RIGHT NOW? If so, I have an encouraging word for you today.

How it all started:

Once upon a time, I was feeling a bit tired and discouraged. I had been working very hard, and sometimes you don’t see the reward of your labor right away, you know? I was definitely in the mood for some reward; something to renew my level of inspiration and re-energize me to keep on working.

So I prayed Psalm 91:15 and asked God to honor me, like He loves to do. (God will honor you too, if you ask; read all about that radical prayer here.) It’s been awhile since I’ve really dug into that promise, but I want my life to always be clothed in honor AND reward. So I asked.

And you know what God did? It was amazing.

[Read more…] about Don’t Give Up! A Harvest Is Coming!

But Leaders Aren’t Supposed To Have Problems

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If you're a leader, you don't have to hide your problems lest people think you unspiritual. Click here for an encouraging word! By Jamie Rohrbaugh | FromHisPresence.com

If you’re a Christian leader, you’re not allowed to have problems. At least, that’s what some people will tell you.

Have you ever noticed that? We Christians seem to have certain expectations of leaders. Whether you’re a leader of:

  • a volunteer group…
  • a Sunday School class…
  • a church ministry…
  • or even an entire church…

… there is a stigma that people who are in leadership, or have reached any level of spiritual maturity at all, are not supposed to have problems. Or, if they do, we seem to believe that their battles should be against big things of organizational, community, or nationwide importance.

This stigma says leaders shouldn’t struggle with personal battles like doubt, or discouragement, or fear. It says that that leaders shouldn’t feel disheartened or want to walk away.

And if you’re a leader who’s struggling, it can feel like there’s no help for you.

  • You might feel like there’s no way out.
  • You might feel like you have no one to talk to.
  • The enemy may even be plaguing you with a fear mindset that says: “If I admit I’m struggling, people will think I’m unspiritual.”

You might feel you will lose favor or influence. You might even be concerned you will be removed from leadership. And if you’re in full-time vocational ministry, you might even be concerned you could lose your job–your livelihood, your ability to provide for your family–if you admit you are anything less than perfect.  [Read more…] about But Leaders Aren’t Supposed To Have Problems

How To Regain the Will To Live

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You can regain your hope, even if all seems lost. Click here for how to regain the will to live based on my own personal story. By Jamie Rohrbaugh | FromHisPresence.com

There have been times when I have lost my will to live.

That doesn’t mean I was suicidal, although I have dealt with that too. I’m talking about something different here. I’m talking about losing my will to live–my will to go on–my will to carry out God’s purpose for my life. You can lose your will to live without actually wanting to die, but both things are equally destructive.

Have you lost your will to live also? If you have, I want to share with you today how you can get it back, based on my own personal experience.

How to regain the will to live:

… based on my own personal story.

1. Tell God where you are.

He already knows, so this is not going to be a shocker for Him. God’s not sitting in Heaven gasping in disbelief when you confess your deepest struggles to Him. He knows all about it before you do, so you can be open and honest with Him. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.

In my situation, I felt pretty battered and beat up because of some things I’d been through. I felt so bruised, and I couldn’t just snap out of it. I didn’t even realize I had lost my will to live. But I started talking to Papa about it, and my prayer went something like this:

“Papa, I just feel like I can’t go on. I’m hurting. I’ve been through the wringer. I know You’ve called me so I can’t walk away, and I want to be right with You… but I don’t have it in me to keep taking this.”

I was open and transparent with God. Honestly, even by confessing that much, I felt some sense of relief. It was like I wasn’t alone anymore; God was on my team and He was listening to me. It really helped.

In the same way, you can and should be open and transparent with God. Transparency is the only way to find freedom. When we are transparent, God can reveal the truth to us about ourselves, our situations, and His solutions. John 8:32 gives us God’s promise about this:

Start-quoteAnd you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Related: What I Got For Being Transparent

2. Ask God to give you the will to live.

In my situation, the prayer above just naturally led to my asking the Father: “Papa, I need the will to live.”

When I was praying, that thing about “the will to live” seemed to come out of nowhere. I had not been able to put a label on my feelings before, but that was it exactly. I am convinced that that particular prayer/phrase came up because the Holy Spirit was helping me pray. [Romans 8:26 states: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (NIV).]

After I asked the Lord to give me the will to live again, I felt a change immediately. I felt a fresh impetus–a drive–a spark come alive in my spirit that hadn’t been there for a few days.

Related: When Loving Your Sheep Hurts: How I Found Healing After Betrayal

3. Take whatever is bothering you to the Father and ask Him to fix it all, and give you favor.

We generally lose our will to live because of outward circumstances:

  • things we’ve hoped for that haven’t happened yet;
  • the way people treat us;
  • feeling lonely, etc.

Only Father can truly fix these issues. But He wants to do more than fix them. He wants to turn all of your situations around IN YOUR FAVOR.

When I was going through my situation, I took the things that were bothering me to the Father and asked Him to defend me, protect me, guide me.

However, I didn’t stop there. I also asked Him to work things out to bless me hugely. I asked Him to surprise me with good things and to give me favor. I also asked Him to develop my character and help me to walk righteously, no matter what.

I want to be right with God, and I want everything He has for me. Since the Holy Spirit is our Advocate (John 14:16 AMP), advocating for me is His job. It’s also His job to do great and mighty things that I don’t even know to ask for when I call upon Him (Jeremiah 33:3). He’s better at His job than anybody else, so I’m asking Him to do it–and I know He will.

Have you lost your will to live?

Papa sees and knows. Whatever you’ve been through that has left you battered and bloody, He can and will help you.

  • So tell Him where you are.
  • Ask Him to give you the will to live again.
  • Then pour out your heart to Him and ask Him to do great, HUGE things on your behalf in every area. Ask for all the specific things you can think of, and also ask Him to do the things you don’t even know to ask for.

If you will, then not only will He give you your will to live back, but He will also astound you at the way He turns your circumstances around.

Does this message minister to your heart today? If so, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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