II Timothy 1:7; Jeremiah 29:11 - "Your Name Is Power"

This picture is one I will always treasure. The smiles on our faces showed God working in and through us through radiation treatments for the cancer found in my breast. It shows His strength during 'hard' times. God is so good! He desires to be everything we need. During the night He woke me once to pray for pastors who are going through circumstances that are pulling on their faith greatly. He had me pray they would not give up but instead would press into Him more than ever before.

• Pastors who have lost a spouse and doing ministry on their own.
• Spouses of pastors who have lost their spouse and trying to find their place in the church since they are no longer the pastor's wife or husband.
• Pastors who are taking care of spouses with illnesses or are dealing with illness themselves.
• Pastors who are being ridiculed for the decisions being made during COVID19.

There is so much stress in our world today even among believers. It saddens my heart. We should be digging deeper into His Word, praying more genuinely, sharing His love more, etc. Instead we are arguing over masks and statistics; verbally abusing one another; have a nasty disposition; etc. I cannot begin to imagine the hurt our Heavenly Daddy is feeling through all of this. We need to get to the point in life where we realize He knows what is happening and He knows the ending. We need to call upon His name when we feel like doing or saying something not of Him so He can empower us to live as He desires. II Timothy 1:7 tells us not to fear but instead to stand in His love and empowerment. That does not mean we aren't to use the brain He gave us when making decisions. We need to allow Him to make the decisions for us. We need to listen to His voice and walk in obedience to Him. We should not be going off making decisions out of our flesh. He woke me to the song Your Name Is Power this morning...

You're the only answer to the darkness
You're the only right among the wrong
You're the only hope among the chaos
You are the voice that calls me on
Louder than every lie
Our sword in every fight
The truth will chase away the night

Your name is power over darkness
Freedom for the captives
Mercy for the broken and the hopeless
Your name is faithful in the battle
Glory in the struggle
Mighty it won't let us down or fail us
Your name is power
Your name is power

Yes! There is such freedom in a life sold-out to Him! He is ready to give us exactly what we need even before we realize the need. He is ready to love on us with His love when the world is trying to tear us apart. He is ready to catch us when we feel like we are falling. Plain and simple. He is ready for us no matter what the circumstances.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for my time of praying for pastors during the night! I was so tired when I went to bed I wasn't sure if You would get me awake or not. I am so thankful You did. Father, I pray for my pastor/husband who continues to deal with extreme pain from the chemo. May You give Doc healing in his body. Father, we continue to pray for complete healing on this earth, sooner than later but most of all we pray healing is in Your will. Lord, You had me pray during the night for pastors in specific circumstances. May You be so real to those: who have lost their spouse; spouses who have lost their pastor/husband or wife; pastors with illnesses themselves or spouse; and all pastors as decisions are made during COVID19. You also had me pray specifically for Mike Dennis, Mark Koch, Brad Stacy, Libby Newman, James Pomerich, and David Johnson. I pray these pastors will be abundantly blessed by You today. Lord, I also ask blessings over the sermon You gave me for today. I pray You will engage my mouth and brain to work together. It's been a tough few days and my cognitive skills have suffered. Lord, be greater than MS in me today as I am Your obedient servant. Cleanse me of anything not of You so You can empower me. Thank You Jesus for being My Empowerment! Amen.