Have Faith, Receive Encouragement

The encouragement given by God.

MY TESTIMONY
My name is Jacob Hayes and most of my life has been a failure. Eleven years of my life were wasted because of drugs and alcohol. I've been homeless, in an out of jail, and just a year ago was released from the prison system (11/08/08). On July 2ND 2006 I was arrested and picked up 3 Felony's and 9 probation violations. July second was the last day of ever doing drugs, drinking, fornication, and breaking the law, it was also the first day of truly giving my life to Jesus. I lost everything, friends and family support, my job, my girl friend, and all personal possessions. On the bottom of the jail cell floor I cried out to Jesus to forgive me, take away my addictions and heal my body from kicking. All of a sudden his presence filled the room and I knew I was not alone. I felt the love that Jesus had for me and the peace from accepting him blotted out all transgressions and worry. I asked Jesus what his will for me was and all I heard was two words "Serve Me".

Since November 8Th I've stayed sober and responsible. I read and pray to the best of my ability and attend church regularly. I avoid the wrong crowd. I keep in touch with my parents and spend time with my daughter. But life is still not easy, two things that Ive been struggling with is my walk with God and seeking employment. But what is impossible with man is not impossible for God, nothing is impossible with God. We must remember that everything has a time and purpose. We always tend to naturally want the answer here and now and if we don't get it right away we throw a big temper tantrum, and even I get like this so I know I'm not the only one. Patience is learned, it just doesn't happen over night. We humans get in the habit of making God Identical to man. We sometimes get so set on thinking that God is some type of cruel little kid roasting ants under a magnifying glass. Or that God is just playing a game with us. God is not a puppet master pulling all the strings, we pull the strings by the decisions we make. What the Bible says about God is this: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways."Is.55:8 Also we have a promise from God: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Jer. 29:11. But read on after 29:11 "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for me with all your heart." Jer.29:12-13. To day I have sought God and God is what I found. Everything I'm telling you is what God has told me. God is always there even when you feel alone. If we draw near to God, He draws near to us. READ Is.59:1-2 and James 4:7-10. God allows us to go throuth trials to humble us and mold us into his likeness.

The Bible says to rejoice when going through various trials. Js. 2:1-4. We glory through trials Rom. 5:3-5. But this is easy er said than done right? Of course it is, but we fail to recognize that it's the going through these trials that should bring us closer to God. Look at Jesus on the night of His betrayal when he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. He prayed that not His will would be done but that the Fathers will would be done. Jesus was not delivered from His trial that awaited Him, but was delivered into it. He was righteous and sinless, He died for not just those that hated Him but for the sins of the whole world..............But that night he went off not his strength as that of his human nature but off the strength of God. Even in His weakness he was made strong, and even in our weakness we will be made strong...........through the strength that God supplies. 1Cor.1:26-27; 2Cor.12:10; Rom.8:26; Heb.4:15; Heb.5:2; Heb.11:34.

The one thing I learned as a Christian is that if you pray, God not my will be done but your will only...........you just picked the hard way. Remember, we're on the narrow road and broad is the way that leads to destruction. Mt. 7:13-14. Without God we would just take the wide road because it's in our nature. The difference between the wide road and narrow road is that one offers a way out and the other doesn't. Jesus is our way out of sin. The wide road is the wages of sin. Rom.6:23. Picture yourself on a balance beam 6ft off the ground, this balance beam is only 5inches in width so it's easy to fall off and if you fall it will hurt. But the way I'm learning to stay balance is by prayer and by reading the Word. Here are some promise scriptures from God that I cling to through my hard times.

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."Rom.8:28

"Who shall seperate us from the love Christ? As it is written: "For your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God wich is in Christ Jesus our Lord."