https://www.guidelines.org/encouragingwords/

Encouraging Words, PO Box 2035, Mission Viejo, CA (2026)

09/14/2026

God Listens When No One Else Will
By: Darlene Sala
September 14, 2026

Have you ever gone to a party when you had a serious problem on your mind? You tried to chitchat in a friendly way with the people who were there. But all the time you were talking, your heart was aching.

The people at the party all seemed to have their lives under control—pretty carefree, no pressing problems, at least none that you could tell. Maybe you started to share your heart just a little with someone, but the person quickly changed the subject before you had a chance to divulge what was really bothering you. She wanted to talk about herself and her interests. So, you clammed up and pretended that nothing was wrong. Though you would never have done it, you wanted to cry out, “Stop! I’m hurting! Can anyone help? Or does anyone even care?” Surrounded by people, you felt all alone because no one was interested in listening. If you are a man, you probably just stuffed the problem deeper inside and acted as if it didn’t exist. If you are a woman, you may have cried yourself to sleep that night.

Man or woman, what you needed is exactly what God will do for you. The Psalmist wrote, “You hear [me], O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry” (Psalm 10:17).

God listens! He doesn’t interrupt when you pour out your heart to Him. He doesn’t pay attention half-heartedly because He has other things on His mind. In fact, He has all the time of eternity to listen to you.

And He will encourage you! As you pour out your heart to Him, He will say to you, as He did to His disciples when He was here on earth, “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).

Why don’t you bow your heart in prayer to Him right now? The God who cares for you will listen. He promised!

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/god-listens-when-no-one-else-will/

09/07/2026

Through the Fire, Through the Flood: God is With You
By: Darlene Sala
September 7, 2026

When God gives me a job to do, I fight two enemies: fear and discouragement. I’m afraid to start because I might fail. When I do attempt it, I sometimes get discouraged because the job is harder—or takes longer—than I think it should.

God’s answer to fear and discouragement is the assurance of His never-failing presence. “Be strong and courageous,” God told Joshua. “Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).

When God spoke these words, Moses was dead, and Joshua had taken his place as leader of the Children of Israel. God knew that as the new leader, Joshua would experience both fear and depression. But God told him, “No matter where you go, no matter what you experience, I will be with you. I will never leave you.”

God gave a similar promise to the nation of Judah:

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned (Isaiah 43:2).

Remember, God doesn’t say, “If you pass through the waters,” or “If you pass through the fire.” It’s a given that we will have these experiences. But God does say that you will not go through these experiences alone. He will be with you. They will not be disastrous, for He knows how much we can bear, and He will not let the water drown us, or the fire burn us up.

When you are fearful or discouraged, what a comfort it is to have a friend who spends time with you and has words of encouragement for you! How much more reassuring is it for you to know that not merely a human friend, but the almighty God Himself who loves you so dearly, is with you in those experiences.

That makes all the difference in the world!

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/through-the-fire-through-the-flood-god-is-with-you/

08/31/2026

God Forgave You So He Could Be Close to You
By: Darlene Sala
August 31, 2026

God blots out my sins and forgets them forever! That’s what the Bible says in Isaiah 43:25: “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake,” says God, “and remembers your sins no more.” I’m so thankful He removes my sins with His divine eraser, and I’m even more thankful that He never remembers them again.

But only recently did I notice the part of that verse that says God blots out my sins for His own sake. I always thought God wiped out my sins for my sake—so I could have eternal life. But this verse says He did it for His sake.

Incredible! God paid that unbelievably high price to do away with our sins because He wants a relationship with us that was not possible except at great cost!

It follows, then, that communication with God must be very important to this great One who wants a close relationship with us—it’s what we call “prayer,” and that changes the whole concept.

As a mother tucked her little boy in bed one night, she asked him if he had said his prayers. “No, Mom,” he replied, “I don’t need anything tonight.”

But prayer is so much more than bringing our grocery list of needs to God. He wants fellowship with us, to walk and talk with us all of the time. To make this relationship possible, He wipes out our sins—for His own sake! What a marvelous reality!

Take a moment—bow your head right now and thank Him for the privilege of knowing Him, talking with Him, and sharing with Him the innermost thoughts of your heart. Don’t wait to pray until you need something. God doesn’t need anything either, but He wants to talk with you and have companionship with you.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/god-forgave-you-so-he-could-be-close-to-you/

08/24/2026

Start Your Morning by Focusing on God
By: Darlene Sala
August 24, 2026

George Mueller used to say, “It is my first business every morning to make sure that my heart is happy in God.” That thought fascinates me, because my first thought when I wake up is usually not about God, but “What do I have to do today?” Or else I’m squinting at the clock to see if it’s really time to get up.

One morning, though, was an exception. As I was still lying in bed, the thought popped into my mind, “What do I know to be true about God today?”

Well, I know a lot of things that are true about God—He can do anything, He never changes, He loves me, He will never leave me …. Once I got started, the list just seemed to go on forever.

Then it hit me. “Here I am, thinking about all the things I have to do today, especially the things I don’t want to deal with. Yet when I shift my focus to how big God is, my little 'To-Do' list looks pretty puny.” I felt joy begin to bubble up inside. And my attitude was different for the rest of the day.

What do you know to be true about God today? That just might be a good question to put on a sticky note where you’ll see it first thing every morning—maybe on your bathroom mirror or on your computer monitor.

Will you take the challenge? If you do, I don’t think you’ll have any problem following George Mueller’s example of making it your first business of the day to be sure that your heart is happy in God, for the greatness of God will flood your heart.

By the way, if you think George Mueller had no problems, keep in mind he was responsible every day for feeding 10,000 orphans who lived in the homes he established!

Focusing on God puts life back into perspective! Try it tomorrow morning—and see how it changes your day.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/start-your-morning-by-focusing-on-god/

08/20/2026

God Didn’t Design You to Carry That Alone
By: Darlene Sala
August 17, 2026

“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you,” says Psalm 55:22.

Those words always challenge me. Why do I carry my cares when God says to cast them on Him? There are a number of reasons. I think, “This problem is my responsibility.” Maybe I can't fix this myself, but maybe I can—and faster than God would do it. Maybe He won’t do anything about my concern anyway. Besides that, it’s scary to let go. Does that reasoning sound familiar to you?

There’s a verse in Hebrews, however, that says, “Do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward” (Hebrews 10:35 NKJV). God says, “Instead, cast your cares on Me.” But what do we do? We get it backwards. We cast away our confidence and carry away our cares!

One pastor tells about a lady who was coming to him for counseling but not making any progress. One day he said to her, “You’ve come here week after week and told me your problems. Today you’re going to sit there and listen to my problems: church problems, personal problems, financial problems.

Then he said, “Now, how do you think I cope with my problems?”

“Why,” she said, “you just roll them off on the Lord.”

“Exactly!” he exclaimed. “That’s what I’ve been trying to get you to do. Now get out of here and go do it!”

Sometimes we need to be told that we’re taking too much responsibility on ourselves—more than God intended. He knows that we’re not strong enough to carry our cares and carry out our tasks at the same time. So, He gives us the solution. Our part: cast our cares on Him. His part: He will sustain us.

I think that sometimes we just need to hear those words, “Now get out of here and go do it!”

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/god-didnt-design-you-to-carry-that-alone/

08/10/2026

You Can Rest in God—Even When Life Is a Mess
By: Darlene Sala
August 10, 2026

When my life is going well, I find it easy to rest in God. But that kind of resting is really resting in circumstances, not resting in God. The hard thing is to rest when life is anything but the way I’d like it to be. It’s like trying to sleep in the middle of a typhoon.

Come to think about it, Jesus slept in the middle of a storm. He was on the Sea of Galilee do you remember? Matthew says that Jesus “got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping” (Matthew 8:23-24). I’ve often wondered, “How could He?” Yes, I know He was exhausted from speaking to the crowds. But sleep in a storm?

I think the only reason Jesus could sleep was that He knew without a doubt that they were not going to sink. The disciples were afraid because they didn’t yet understand that the God who created the very water their boat sailed in was in the boat with them. They were just beginning to understand His full power.

One of the disciples in the boat that day was Peter. And I think he learned a lesson. For years later when Peter was arrested by King Herod and put in prison, the night before his trial, Peter slept. Here’s Peter chained between two soldiers in a prison cell, knowing that the next day Herod intends to put him to death—and Peter is sleeping (Acts 12:1-6).

The only way you can sleep in a storm is by realizing that God is with you. The Psalmist wrote, “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8). “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone,” says Psalm 62, “my hope comes from him” (Psalm 62:5).

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/you-can-rest-in-god-even-when-life-is-a-mess/

08/03/2026

Endurance Is Not Weakness—It’s God’s Strength at Work
By: Darlene Sala
August 3, 2026

Sometimes when reading the Bible I come on a verse that just doesn’t say what I expect it to say. Here’s one like that: Colossians 1:11. In the first part of the verse Paul prays that God’s people will be, “strengthened with all power according to his glorious might.” Wow, that’s a great prayer—I need strength, don’t you? So far so good.

But Paul doesn’t stop there. He prays that God’s people may be strengthened with all power, “so that you may have great endurance and patience." Strengthened with all power so that you may—what, Paul? Have great endurance and patience? That’s not what I expected. I would have expected you to pray that God’s people would be strengthened with all power so that they might accomplish great things for God. Something grand and glorious!

True, I know I should endure and be patient, but that’s not usually my goal. I want victory, not endurance. And patience? I’m like the writer of Psalm 6, who asks, “How long, O LORD, how long?”

You’ve probably heard about the person who prayed, “Lord, I want patience—and I want it right now!” But God doesn’t give us patience like a vitamin pill that we swallow once a day. We get it by being tested and tried. Paul says, however, that in those times of testing and trials, we can be fortified, built up, and toughened with all power according to his magnificent, wonderful, superb might.

Strong words, aren’t they. And they’re very encouraging. They tell us that God is the source of patience and endurance. In fact, His supply is infinite. In answer to prayer, He can strengthen us so that we may have great endurance and, yes, “patience.”

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/endurance-is-not-weakness-its-gods-strength-at-work/

07/27/2026

Start Your Worship with Reconciliation
By: Darlene Sala
July 27, 2026

Worshipping God is a very significant event that nothing should interrupt, right? Not the phone nor the doorbell or anything else. Yet, the Bible says, “If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you … First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).

You’ve just started praying, “Dear Father, thank You for Your greatness. I love You so much. I worship You ….” “Wait just a minute,” God says, “Stop right there, we have a problem.” And then He speaks to your heart about that obnoxious person you had an argument with yesterday. “First, make peace with him,” said God, “then we’ll talk.”

Now, I’ve seen a lot of people walk out of church services for various reasons. But as far as I remember, I’ve never seen anyone leave in the middle of a worship service to go make things right with someone who was angry with him. Yet, when you think how much it cost God to die on the cross to restore our relationship with Him, is it any surprise that He expects us to keep relationships right with one another? I’m sure you agree theoretically, but it’s being obedient that’s the problem.

Most of us rather do anything than confront. It’s easier to send a letter—or a gift—or ask a mutual friend to talk to that person. Nevertheless, God doesn’t say to wait until it’s comfortable to confront. He says, “Do it—even before you pray or worship.”

So, the next time you’re in church—or on your knees, and you remember that someone is angry with you over an unresolved issue, “first go and be reconciled,” said Jesus. “Then come back and talk to Me.”

I don’t think we have the luxury of ignoring God’s command. If you don’t agree, try explaining your reasons to God.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/start-your-worship-with-reconciliation/

07/20/2026

Trust God—Even When the Answer Is No
By: Darlene Sala
July 20, 2026

“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask,” said James and John to Jesus. Now, I can relate to that! I always want Jesus to do whatever I ask Him to do.

Their request, however, was rather presumptuous: to sit on the right and left of Jesus on His throne in Heaven. But the Lord responded gently, “You don’t know what you are asking” (see Mark 10:35-38). And I’m sure there are times when I don’t comprehend what I’m asking either.

Most of us understand that God answers our prayers one of three ways: yes, no, or wait awhile. Sometimes we say, “I received an answer to prayer today!” Of course, we almost always mean that God said, “Yes” to our request. But “No” is an answer too. And thank God that as the good parent that He is, God loves me enough to sometimes say, “No.”

Of course, I admit I don’t always know what is best. I sometimes ask for things that aren’t best for my spiritual growth. But if I ask for something that is not for my good, I can be assured that God will not say “Yes,” when He should say “No.”

Did you ever notice that God the Father answered Jesus’s prayer with a “No” answer? On the night when Jesus was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, three times He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me” (Matthew 26). Because the Father said, “No,” to Jesus’s request, you and I can have forgiveness for our sins and spend eternity with Him instead of receiving the punishment we deserve.

When you’re praying for something specific, be encouraged. Today God may say, “Yes.” Then again, He may say, “Wait awhile.” But if He says “No,” be assured that truly our Heavenly Father knows best!

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/trust-god-even-when-the-answer-is-no/

07/14/2026

God's Word has a way of meeting us exactly where we are. ❤️ Thank you to this listener for sharing how Encouraging Words has been a source of hope during a difficult season.

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