Have you ever felt discouraged? Have you ever felt unsure of what to do? Are there times you just feel like giving up? Like you’re being thrown into the fire with nowhere to run and no escape?

One of the great stories of scripture talks about three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who were thrown into a fire for refusing to worship the King’s idols. These three men had been honored and promoted as wise sages throughout Babylonia. Learning of their refusal to bow to his idols, the king offered them a second chance. Again they refused, this time saying, “even if we are thrown into your blazing furnace, oh King, the God we serve will deliver us from your Majesty’s hand.”

Infuriated by their response, the king had the execution fire built 7 times hotter—so hot that as the soldiers approached the furnace to throw in the three bound men, they themselves were burned to death. As the King stared into the furnace, he suddenly shouted, “there are four men in the fire, not three—and the fourth looks like an angel of God!” At that moment, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego walked from the fire unharmed and without even the smell of smoke on their clothing!

I believe HOPE is a supernatural God-given empowerment. Hope is not just a good feeling; it is a force that produces strength for the journey. You are possibly facing your own fiery challenge or affliction. Hope allows you to turn your trials into smiles.

For nearly a year, Magda Herzberger struggled to survive the daily terrors and psychological torture in three of Adolph Hitler’s concentration camps. According to the Grand Canyon University interview, though forced to “gather corpses,” she resisted the draw of suicide and instead relied on God for the hope to outlive the Nazi death machine.

Growing up in the home of a respected international businessman, Magda was exposed to music, sports and languages, learning German, French, and Latin. She was cultivating her dream to go to medical school when the Nazis swept across Romania.

She vividly recalls the day the Hungarian Secret Police knocked at the door and began collecting families at gunpoint. As her family was being trucked away, her father arrived home and willingly joined them. She remembers her father’s warm tears falling on her head, as they were being transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. She can still hear the dreadful cries and hopeless whispers of strangers packed into train cars without food or even a toilet for the terrifying journey.

Magda said, “Regardless of what I experienced in those camps, and all those terrible things, I’m still a loving and forgiving person.” I would ask, how can it be possible to remain a loving and forgiving person after being kidnapped, tormented, imprisoned and forced to watch mass murder?  As she prayed in her silent moments in the camp, Magda knew in her heart that God could help her make it out alive. She said, “I think my great trust in God was my source of survival.”

What is hope? Hope is the picture of the future or the thing desired. The dictionary says, “it is a wish or desire accompanied by confident expectation of its fulfillment.” Robert H. Schuller, said, “Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.”

For Magda, her hope in God—her confidence that He would help her stay strong through the storm—gave her strength for her journey. I want to encourage someone today, do not allow anyone or anything to steal your hope! Magda Herzberger went on to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor, and today at age 90 she is still sharing her story of hope in the midst of tragedy. You can experience that same hope today!

Did you know that the majority of sickness plaguing the world today results from chronic illness and not infectious disease? Chronic Disease is defined as a long-lasting condition that can be controlled but not cured. Chronic illness is a worldwide problem. As described by the Centers for Disease Control, chronic disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the United States.

Lee Jong-Wook, former Director General of the World Health Organization, stated in a 2005 report that of a projected 58 million deaths in 2005, approximately 35 million or 60% would be the result of chronic disease. He also projected those staggering figures to increase by another 17% by the year 2015.

Come to Jesus today and give Him your weaknesses, fears, cares and sicknesses. The scriptures say, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.”  Wherever you are today, I want you to know that God is with you—and He hears you right now!

Scriptures: Acts 10:38

A woman from Congo-Brazzaville was plagued by severe migraines. On the day she attended one of our public meetings, a rain storm suddenly rolled in. While most of the crowd fled for cover, this woman pushed closer to the platform, refusing to leave.

My husband, who was speaking at the time, made the decision to continue solely because of her. After the meeting this woman couldn’t wait to talk to us. She said, ”With each rain drop that fell tonight the pain lessened in my head. I was desperate! I could not go on living this way any longer. When the rain came down it was like a cool, healing balm from heaven. The pain, fear and depression all vanished. I was going to take my life tonight if the pain did not leave!”

Though plagued by a chronic condition, this woman instantly found new life! What did she do? She brought her problem to Jesus. She was determined to get her healing. Like the woman in scripture with the chronic blood disease, she said to herself she was going to get what she needed! Jesus said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Scripture: Matt 11:28 (NIV)

The scriptures tell us of a woman who was stigmatized by a chronic illness for 12 years. Spending all of her money seeking medical solutions, she only grew worse.

Evidently she heard about Jesus’ miracles and made a bold decision—despite public opinion. She repeated to herself, If I only touch His garment, I will get well. Though crowded on all sides, Jesus knew someone had touched Him expecting to be healed. Turning immediately to the woman, He said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.”

This woman faced significant stress in life. She had spent all of her money, was ostracized by the public, and was critically ill. Yet, her thoughts led her toward healing! Her thinking gave her the strength to break out of her normal routine and find what she needed!  She determined to press through the negative obstacles and reach out to Jesus for her miracle. I want you to know that you can do the same today!

Scripture: Matthew 9:20-22 (paraphrased)

Let’s continue looking at two more ideas to cultivate your environment for a creative miracle:

#3 Cultivate your faith! Faith often defies logic and requires that we trust like a child. Faith is not foolish or arrogant, nor does it tempt God. Faith believes that God is not a man that He should lie. Therefore, faith takes God at His word.

The Holy Scriptures say that without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.

#4 Cultivate an awareness of Christ’s presence. Multitudes of people live in environments where they lack work, proper health care and money. In this environment the creative compassion of Christ shines!

Jesus was not just an ordinary man with healing power, He was God in human flesh. He was our model for life! He showed us how we can do the works that He does. Just like the little lad, bring what you have to Jesus and let HIM multiply it! 

Scripture:  Hebrews 11:6

On December 7, 1988, an earthquake devastated the northwestern section of Armenia, killing an estimated 25,000 – 50,000 people. After the earthquake, a father rushed to his son’s school only to discover that the school had been flattened. The father remembered dropping off his son earlier that day, and as he did every day he told his son, “No matter what, I’ll always be here for you!”

When the father saw the school he feverishly began removing rubble from where he believed his son’s classroom had been. The other parents were wailing, “My son!” “My daughter!” Some even told the father to go home, that there was no chance any of the students were alive. But the father replied, “I made my son a promise that I’d be there for him anytime he needed me. I must continue to dig.”

Courageously, he proceeded alone. He simply had to know—is my boy alive or is he dead? With seemingly supernatural strength, this father continued to dig…for 8 hours…12 hours…24 hours…36 hours.

Then, in the 38th hour, he heaved away a heavy piece of rubble and heard voices. “Armand!” he screamed. “Dad! It’s me—Armand! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you’d save us! Dad, take them out first, I know you’ll be here for me!”

Moments later the father was helping his son Armand and 13 other frightened, hungry, thirsty boys and girls climb out of the debris. How could this happen? When the building collapsed, these children had been spared in a tent-like pocket. When the townspeople praised Armand’s dad, his explanation was, “I promised my son, ‘No matter what, I’ll be there for you!'”

The ancient scriptures say, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Scripture: Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

As a small town prepared to be flooded before the building of a large dam, an interesting thing happened. In the months before the flooding, all improvements and repairs in the town stopped! Why paint a house if it will be destroyed in a few months? As time passed and the town deteriorated, the man offered this conclusion, “Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.”

Hope is the picture of the future. Without that picture there is no confidence to move forward and certainly no power by which to live!

If you need hope today, you’ll find inspiring resources at www.lesliemcnulty.com. There you will find stories of people just like you discovering hope for everyday life! http://bit.ly/1L0XAFK

What is hope? Is it a feeling? A force? Or could it be something as simple as the picture of a bright future?  From Parade magazine comes the story of self-made millionaire, Eugene Land, who greatly changed the lives of a 6^th grade class in East Harlem. Though located near the more affluent areas of New York City, East Harlem is notorious for its violent crime rates and poor education.

Mr. Lang was asked to speak to 59 sixth-graders. What could he say to inspire these students, most of whom would surely drop out of school? He wondered how he could get these predominantly black and Puerto Rican children to even look at him!

Scrapping his notes, he decided to speak to them from his heart. “Stay in school, and I’ll help pay the college tuition for every one of you.” In that moment, their lives changed. For the first time they had hope. One student said, “I had something to look forward to. It was a golden feeling.” Nearly 90 percent of that class went on to graduate from high school!

For these young students, the promise of an education provided a picture of a new outcome for their lives! Instead of facing the harsh reality that they would spend their lives on the streets struggling like most of their friends, they now had opportunity to break their financial and educational barriers and to rise to a new future! http://bit.ly/1cufu9O

Today we look at the last of our three Power-Phrases that will help you overcome the obstacles and hindrances you will encounter on the way to realizing your dream.

Power-Phrase #3:  The difference between great and small people is that while all may fall, small people just fall, but great people get up again.

You see, positive thinking is the power to look at your situation and find just one positive aspect, one positive thought that you can hold on to in order to transform your negative situation into an opportunity!

Regardless of what you may face today remember this, never give up! You may be at the end of your rope but remember—one positive thought has the power to loosen the grip of impossibility and propel you forward into possibility!