“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4 ESV)

Come to God who is gentle and lowly of heart

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt. 28:11-30 ESV)

God comforts you in all your afflictions so that you may comfort others

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Cor. 1:3-4 ESV)

Therefore…

“Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant.” (Psalm 119:76 ESV)

“This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.” (Psalm 119:50 ESV)

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.” (2 Thess. 2:16-17 ESV)

Quote:

“In the midst of the awesomeness, a touch comes, and you know it is the right hand of Jesus Christ. You know it is not the hand of restraint, correction, nor chastisement, but the right hand of the Everlasting Father. Whenever His hand is laid upon you, it gives inexpressible peace and comfort, and the sense that "underneath are the everlasting arms," (Deuteronomy 33:27) full of support, provision, comfort and strength.” - Oswald Chambers

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)

Jesus was sent to bind up the broken hearted

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release from darkness to the prisoners…” (Isa. 61:1)

The Lord is close to the broken hearted

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18 NIV)

 God will not despise a broken and a contrite heart

 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)

 Quote:

 “You don't have to be alone in your hurt! Comfort is yours. Joy is an option. And it's all been made possible by your Savior. He went without comfort so you might have it. He postponed joy so you might share in it. He willingly chose isolation so you might never be alone in your hurt and sorrow.” - Joni Eareckson Tada

“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13)

One of the ways the devil attacks us is through regret

 Everyone makes mistakes and the devil will bring them up to accuse and discourage. It is very easy to go back and relive memories about what we aren’t proud of. Regret can be devastating if not kept in check. If you do have regrets, give them to God in prayer. Ask Him to help you as you move through your regrets and, if you have not repented from something, do so now. If you don’t get things taken care of, the devil will have a foothold. “…and do not give the devil a foothold.” (Eph. 4:27 NIV)

 Watch and recognize where the attack is coming from

 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

 Remember that God completely forgives when you ask Him to

 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

 Therefore…

 “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.” (Psalms 34:4-5)

 “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2 Cor. 7:10)

 Quote:

 “Never be a prisoner of your past. It was just a lesson, not a life sentence .” – Anonymous 

“Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.” (Psalm 25:12 ESV)

What to do when you need to make an important decision:

• Don’t lean on your own understanding 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Prov. 3:5-6 ESV)

• Take them to God in prayer

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” (Jer. 33:3 ESV)

• Ask God to give you wisdom 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5 ESV)

• Seek good counsel

“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” (Prov. 11:14 ESV)

• Listen for God’s promptings

“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” (Isa. 30:21 ESV)

• Be led by God’s peace

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7 ESV)

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17 ESV)

Quote:

“We are the creative force of our life, and through our own decisions rather than our conditions, if we carefully learn to do things, we can accomplish those goals.” - Stephen Covey

“For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Heb. 2:18 ESV) 

God will provide a way for you to escape temptation

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Cor. 10:13 ESV)

Therefore..  

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Eph. 6:11 ESV)

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.” (James 1:12-16 ESV)

Quote:

“A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is... A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.” - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

“And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Tim. 2:2 ESV)

The Holy Spirit will teach you

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26 ESV)

 Teach others according to your gifting

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;” (Rom. 12:6-7 ESV)

 Teach others to observe all God’s commands

 “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20 ESV)

In all your teaching show integrity 

“Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” (Titus 2:7-8 ESV)

 Therefore…

 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Prov. 22:6 ESV)

“May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb.” (Deut. 32:2 ESV)

Quote:

“I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession.” - John Wooden

“The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Gen. 3:12-13 ESV)

Casting blame is nothing new

You can read about blame casting in Genesis 3:12-13. When confronted by their sin, Eve blamed the serpent and Adam blamed both Eve and God, “The woman you gave to be with me…gave me fruit…”  Since then, nothing has changed. There is still a lot of blame-casting these days! You see it everywhere, especially in the news, everybody is blaming everybody else about this and that and no one is willing to take responsibility for their own actions. Using politics as just one example, the left blames the right and the right blames the left for everything! I saw a quote (it didn’t have who had written it), and I thought it was insightful. It said, “Never blame anyone in your life. Good people give you happiness. Bad people give you experience. Worst people give you a lesson and best people give you memories.” There is a lot of wisdom here. In other words, instead of blaming, look for the good. 

Be kind, tender-hearted and forgiving of one another 

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Eph. 4:31)

Therefore…

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” (Matt. 7:3-5 ESV)

Quote:

“You are not a failure until you start blaming others for your mistakes.” – John Wooden

“But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.” (Psalm 52:8)

Be optimistic 

When problems come along, people view them from opposite perspectives. Sir Winston Churchill, said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” The beautiful thing about being children of God is that we can expect God to work out every situation that comes along. That means we should always be optimistic, because God is good and faithful. 

God is a stronghold in the day of trouble

“The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him.” (Nahum 1:7)

Make God your confidence

“For You are my hope; O Lord GOD, You are my confidence from my youth.” (Psalm 71:5)

Trust in God’s Word and don’t be afraid

“In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid What can mere man do to me?” (Psalm 56:4)

Watch and wait expectantly 

“But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation My God will hear me.” 

Therefore…

“I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” (Psalm 91:2)

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.” (Psalms 27:1-3)

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 15:13)

Quote:

“If I regarded my life from the point of view of the pessimist, I should be undone. I should seek in vain for the light that does not visit my eyes and the music that does not ring in my ears. I should beg night and day and never be satisfied. I should sit apart in awful solitude, a prey to fear and despair. But since I consider it a duty to myself and to others to be happy, I escape a misery worse than any physical deprivation." -  Helen Keller

“Don’t just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ’s servants doing what God wants you to do” (Eph. 6:6 The Message).

Work heartily as for the Lord

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Col. 3:23-24 ESV)

To everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Gal. 6:9 ESV)

Therefore…

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col. 3:17 ESV)

“For whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother." (Mark 3:35)

Quote:

“What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow.” -  Martin Luther