Tag: Philippians 1:6

Three Powerful Ways God Carries Us Through Every Season of Life

Posted in @jimmiekepler, Bible, Bible Memes, Blog, Caregiver, Caregiving, Christian Living, Christian Writers, Jim Kepler, Jimmie A. Kepler, Jimmie Aaron Kepler, Jimmie Kepler, jimmiekepler.com, Poet, Poet's Life, Poets, US Military History, Writer's Life, Writing1 Comment

Carried Through Every Season

 
Aging is a privilege. It is a journey marked by wisdom, experiences, and stories that shape who we are.
 
But through every step—from youth to old age—one thing remains unchanged: God’s promise to carry us.
 
Isaiah 46:4-5 reminds us of this powerful truth:
 
“Even until your old age, I am the One, and I’ll carry you even until your gray hairs come. It is I who have created, and I who will carry, and it is I who will bear and save.”
 
In a world where we often feel the pressure to carry everything on our own, what a comfort to know that we don’t have to.
 
God’s hands are strong enough to sustain us, His heart is big enough to love us, and His promise is sure enough to trust.
 

Three powerful ways God carries us through every season of life.

 

1. God Carries Us in Our Weakness

Explanation

Life brings challenges—physical, emotional, and spiritual. There are moments when we feel too weak to keep going.
 
Whether it’s due to illness, loss, disappointment, or simply exhaustion, our strength has limits.
 
But God’s strength is limitless.
 
He doesn’t just walk beside us; He carries us.
 

Illustration

Consider a child who falls asleep in the backseat of the car. They don’t worry about how they’ll get inside the house. Their loving parent picks them up, carries them, and tucks them safely into bed.
 
That’s what God does for us—He carries us when we can’t move forward on our own.
 

Application

If you feel weak today, lean into God’s strength. Pray for His help, rest in His presence, and trust that He is carrying you even when you don’t feel it.
 
Let go of the need to have everything figured out—He’s already making a way.
 
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” — 2 Corinthians 12:9
 

2. God Carries Us Through Life’s Transitions

Explanation

Change is inevitable. From childhood to adulthood, from careers to retirement, from seasons of joy to seasons of loss—life is a constant transition.
 
Yet, God remains the same. He is the steady hand guiding us when everything around us shifts.
 

Illustration

Think about a tightrope walker crossing a canyon. If they try to balance on their own, fear and instability take over. But when harnessed to a strong support system, they move forward with confidence.
 
God is our harness in the tightrope of life—He secures us in every transition.
 

Application

When facing a transition, whether it’s a new job, an empty nest, or a major life decision, trust that God is already ahead of you.
 
Instead of fearing the unknown, embrace His promise to lead you safely forward.
 
“For I am the Lord, I do not change.” — Malachi 3:6
 

3. God Carries Us to the Finish Line

Explanation

Aging isn’t something to fear—it’s a testimony of God’s faithfulness. Every gray hair, every wrinkle, and every story is proof that He has carried us this far.
 
And He promises to carry us all the way home.
 

Illustration

Imagine a marathon runner who, near the finish line, is exhausted. Suddenly, a fellow runner comes alongside, encouraging them, even holding them up. With help, they finish the race.
 
That’s what God does for us—He never lets us collapse under the weight of life. He lifts us up and brings us home.
 

Application

Instead of worrying about the future, focus on the One who holds it.
 
Whether you’re entering a new stage of life or facing an unknown tomorrow, take heart—He’s not finished carrying you yet.
 
“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 1:6
 

Conclusion 

 
Isaiah 46:4-5 is a reminder that God doesn’t just help us in certain moments—He carries us through every season of life.
 
From our youth to our old age, from our successes to our struggles, He is faithful.
 
You are not alone. You are not forgotten. And you are not carrying the weight of life by yourself.
 
Whatever season you’re in today, rest in this truth: God has carried you this far, and He will continue to carry you all the way home.
 

Key Takeaways 


  1. God’s strength sustains us when we feel weak—lean into His grace and trust His power.


  2. Life’s transitions are easier when we hold onto God’s unchanging hand—He never changes.


  3. Aging is a testimony of God’s faithfulness—we can walk with confidence, knowing He will carry us to the finish line.

 
What season of life are you in right now? How has God carried you? Share in the comments—I’d love to hear your story!
 
Would you like any refinements to better fit your audience?

 

Five Steps To Finishing Strong

Posted in Blog, Jim Kepler, Jimmie A. Kepler, Jimmie Aaron Kepler, Jimmie Kepler2 Comments

Five Steps To Finishing Strong

Maybe like me, you’re old enough to remember the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. I’ll never forget watching a British runner named Derek Redmond run the 400 meters. Redmond had a history of injuries that kept him from being the best in the world. 

In 1992 everything seemed to be coming together for Redmond at last. Derek was running well. In the first round of qualifying, he recorded the fastest time. He won his quarterfinal heat. 

As he settled into the starting blocks for the start of his semifinal race, Derek Redmond’s thoughts turned to his father, Jim. His dad had always supported Derek. 

In this race, Derek got off to a clean start. He was running smoothly. Suddenly, about 150 meters into the race, his right hamstring muscle tore. In pain, he fell to the ground.

The stretcher-bearers are running towards him. Derek wanted to finish the race. He somehow managed to get up and began moving awkwardly forward despite the pain he felt.

His father, Jim, ran out of the grandstands.  He joined his son on the track. Dad joined with son, hand in hand, arm in arm, and with Derek sobbing from disappointment and pain, they continued.

As they neared the finish, the father let his son go, and Derek Redmond completed the course on his own. The crowd of 65,000 roared their approval and gave him a standing ovation.

Our Heavenly Father is there for us as Believers. He will pick us up and move with us hand in hand, arm in arm, and even pick us up and carry us to the finish line. All we have to do is rely on Christ, and we can finish strong. 

This article has five steps to finishing the race known as life strong.

“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” – Acts 20:24 ESV

Five Steps to Finishing Strong

Step #1 – Remove All Distractions

“…let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” – Hebrews 12:1b ESV

“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14 ESV

Step #2 – Remember the Reason

“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.” – 2 Corinthians 4:1 ESV

“as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 ESV

Step #3 – Renew Myself Daily

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV

“When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” – Psalm 94:19 ESV

Step #4 – Resist Discouragement

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9 ESV

Two Basic Principles of Life

1. You Will Get Discouraged
2. You Will Get Over It

“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” – Hebrews 10:35-36 ESV

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;” – 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 ESV

Step #5 – Rely on Christ

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13 ESV

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” – Psalms 34:4 ESV

“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.” – Psalms 34:7 ESV

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 1:6 ESV

Remember, Our Heavenly Father is there for us as Believers. He will pick us up and move with us hand in hand, arm in arm, and even pick us up and carry us to the finish line. All we have to do is rely on Christ, and we can finish strong. 

Image Source: Image by LillyCantabile from Pixabay

Twenty Bible Verses to Help With Worry and Anxiety

Posted in Blog, Caregiver, Caregiving, Jim Kepler, Jimmie A. Kepler, Jimmie Aaron Kepler, Jimmie KeplerLeave a comment

Twenty Bible Verses to Help With Worry and Anxiety

“And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.”

Joshua 10:25 (KJV)

“Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;”

Ruth 1:12 (KJV)

“Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.”

Psalm 3:2-6 (KJV)

“The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.”

Psalm 147:11 (KJV)

“Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”

Proverbs 13:12 (KJV)

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV)

“By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.”

Romans 5:2-7 (KJV)

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Romans 5:5 (KJV)

“For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”

Romans 8:24-25 (KJV)

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

Romans 8:28-29 (KJV)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13 (KJV)

“So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 15:54-58 (KJV)

“For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

Galatians 6:8 (KJV)

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

Philippians 1:6 (KJV)

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV)

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

Colossians 1:27 (KJV)

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Colossians 3:1-2 (KJV)

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while*, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

1 Peter 5:10 (KJV)

“Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age*, because she judged him faithful who had promised.”

Hebrew 11:11 (KJV)

Tweetable

Twenty Bible Verses to Help With Worry and Anxiety https://wp.me/p1F1No-2NR #hope #caregiver [Click to Tweet]

Scripture: All Bible Verses are King James Version (KJV) by Public Domain
Photo Source: Pixabay

Twenty Bible Verses to Help With Worry and Anxiety

Posted in Blog, Caregiver, Caregiving, Jimmie Aaron Kepler, Jimmie KeplerLeave a comment

Joshua 10:25 (KJV), “And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.”

Ruth 1:12 (KJV), “Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;”

Psalm 3:2-6 (KJV), “Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.”

Psalm 147:11 (KJV), “The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.”

Proverbs 13:12 (KJV), “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”

Isaiah 40:31 (KJV), “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV), “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Romans 5:2-7 (KJV), “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.”

Romans 5:5 (KJV), “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Romans 8:24-25 (KJV), “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”

Romans 8:28-29 (KJV), “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

Romans 15:13 (KJV), “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 15:54-58 (KJV), “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Galatians 6:8 (KJV), “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

Philippians 1:6 (KJV), “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV), “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Colossians 1:27 (KJV), “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

Colossians 3:1-2 (KJV), “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

1 Peter 5:10 (KJV), “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while*, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

Hebrew 11:11 (KJV), “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age*, because she judged him faithful who had promised.”

Scripture Source: All Bible Verses are from the King James Version (KJV) by Public Domain
Photo Source: Pixabay