"Faith For Dark Days"

 When dark days come-and they come to us all-we feel so helpless and lost and small.
We cannot fathom the reason why, and it is futile for us try. To find the answer, the reason or cause,
For the master plan is without any flaws. And when the darkness shuts out the light, We must lean on Faith, to restore our sight. For there is nothing we need to know, if we have faith wherever we go God will be there to help us bear our disappointments, pain and care. For He is our Shepard, our Father, our guide, and your never alone with the Lord at your side. So may the great physician attend you, And may his healing completely mend you.

                                                "Fix Your Heart" 

  Your past can cause you to look at life in a bad way. A little girl that was abused learns to defend herself  by not trusting men. You'll have that defensive attitude accompany you into adulthood. If you've successfully protected yourself in certain ways in the past, it's natural to keep that pattern throughout life. 

  Many people live in co-dependent relationships. Others are anesthetized to their problems because they've had them so long.

Maybe you've become so accustomed to your problems that even when you have the chance to be delivered from it, you find it hard to let go. Problems can become like a security blanket. 

  Just like the infirm woman in Luke 13 was completely healed by Jesus' touch. She couldn't help herself no matter how hard she tried. He set her free and took away her excuse. Hearing him say, " Woman,thou art loosed from thine infirmity," required something of her that she hadn't had to deal with before. For eighteen years she had excused herself because she was handicapped. But at the moment He told her the problem was gone, she had no excuse.

  Before you get out of trouble, you need to straighten out your attitude. Until your attitude is corrected, you can't be corrected. One woman I pastured was rather obnoxious. When I prayed about the matter, God allowed me to meet her husband. Seeing his nasty attitude towards her, I understood why, when she reached down into her reservoir, all she had stored was hostility. That's all she had taken in, so that's all she could give.

  You want everyone to make allowance for your problem, but the truth is that your problem needs to make allowance for God. As the Bible says in 1 Chronicles 29:18, you've got to fix your thoughts, your attitude,
your whole heart on the living God. You can't expect the whole human race to move over because you had a bad childhood. They won't do it. And you'll just end up depressed frustrated, and confused.

  Jesus wants to separate you from the source of your bitterness until it no longer makes you a carrier of pain.
Your attitude is what affects your situation-not other peoples attitudes towards you. Let go your old attitudes, fix your heart on God, and let him make you whole.
                                                                                                     Pastor TD Jakes