Psalm 66:20

May God be praised! He has not turned away my prayer or turned His faithful love from me.

I know we all experience times when it feels like our prayers aren’t getting past the ceiling. We can go lengthy periods of time without seeing a prayer answered. Not seeing an answer, however, does not mean God is not listening or that He has denied you. It simply means you haven’t seen an answer yet.

In times when we don’t have an answer, our best response is to praise God. Trust He is working for you, and eventually, you will see the answer you need. Unless God has given you a definite, “No,” continue to petition Him with thanksgiving and full assurance in His love for you.

Keeping a journal will help you look back and recognize all the places where God has been faithful. Whenever God has denied me, He has usually quickly shown me just why He denied that request. In most cases, He was protecting me from things I was completely unaware, and I had to thank Him for enlightening my ignorance. He has not turned away your prayer, nor has He turned His faithful love from you. By the blood of Jesus, you have full access to His throne room, and He welcomes you to make your requests known to Him. Trust His love for you, and praise Him. Your prayers are precious to Him!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 61:4

I will live in Your tent forever and take refuge under the shelter of Your wings.

Psalm 63:7

…because You are my help; I will rejoice in the shadow of Your wings.

We find God portrayed as our Protector throughout Scripture. The protection of God’s wings is depicted here as a place of refuge and rejoicing.  We should see ourselves as small, vulnerable, and in need of the trusted protection that our great Defender gives us through our relationship with Him.

As I read these two references to God as a mighty protective bird, I can’t help but think of the stately eagle. He is the most envious of birds, flying higher than all others. Eagles kill snakes, but they don’t fight on the snake’s territory. On the contrary, the eagle lifts the snake into the air, taking him away from his familiar surroundings and into his own place of vulnerability where he cannot fight.

The best way to avoid falling into enemy traps is to stay out of his territory and in the protective shield of the Father’s wings. While our enemy often invades our lives without our wandering, he is no match for God’s protective instinct. Regardless of how frightening or threatening he may be, God has power to render him defenseless and destroy his hold on you.

We are all vulnerable prey for the enemy, which is exactly why we should take refuge in the shadow of the Almighty every day. He is our refuge, and we can rejoice in the security of our relationship with Him. When we see ourselves as weak and Him as strong, we learn to depend upon His strength and trust in His love for us. Rejoice in the shelter of His wings today. There is no telling how many snakes He has killed for you already!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 25:14

The secret counsel of the LORD is for those who fear Him, and He reveals His covenant to them.

At times we need wise counselors. In fact, that industry is booming because we have so very many hurting people in this world. God will personally counsel those who fear Him and reveal secrets never before understood. Sometimes, He might reveal things to you about yourself you didn’t realize. At other times, He may choose to reveal His plan to you in a vision.

Expect God to speak to you when you truly submit yourself to Him and seek His presence. In every trial, hardship, or place of difficulty you encounter, He waits for your cry, and He always reveals His covenant to you – the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. Because He took our guilt, our shame, and our infirmities upon Himself at the cross, we can walk free from the bondage of shame and condemnation and receive healing.

None of us share secrets with casual acquaintances. We share our deepest, most personal secrets with those of whom we have cultivated a personal, intimate relationship. We trust them, and they trust us. As we cultivate that same intimacy with God, He will reveal His secrets with us, too. He will also counsel us with the secrecy of a professional counselor and bring us to the place where we look to Christ to deliver us from our personal places of bondage.

In whatever you may be facing today, know that your answer is found in the person of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made on the cross. You may stand boldly before the Father and ask Him anything. You can be healed of your wounds, forgiven of your sins, and cleansed from your shame. He is the covenant God has made with us, and He will never leave us. Listen for the invitation to sit in His presence and hear from Him. He has plenty to tell you!

Have a blessed day!

2 Chronicles 20:25-26

Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to gather the plunder. They found them an abundance of goods on the bodies and valuable items. So they stripped them until nobody could carry any more. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much. They assembled in the Valley of Berucah on the fourth day, for there they praised the LORD. Therefore, that place is still called the Valley of Berucah today.

God told Jehoshaphat he would see the enemy armies coming up the slopes of Ziz. He was to meet them as they reached the Wilderness of Jeruel. Jehoshaphat never had to fight. He appointed a choir to praise and give thanks to the LORD. When he did, it sent the enemy armies into confusion, and they turned on each other. Jehoshaphat and his army simply gathered the plunder – and what a tremendous plunder they found! They spent three days taking all the valuables the enemy had acquired.

To fully understand the victory which took place, we must consider the meaning of the names given to the places where this battle occurred. Ziz means, “oppression.” The enemy armies came from a place of oppression to threaten Judah, which means, “praise.” This oppression also carries the intent to defraud, violate, and deceive. Without doubt, our enemy tries to steal from us by feeding us lies intended to defraud, violate, and deceive what we know to be true about God. If he can convince us and steal our praise, we will be defeated and a slave to his power.

The battle of oppression, however, is God’s battle to fight. Only He can turn back the enemies that seek to destroy the work He is doing in us. We need only to believe His Word, regardless of what our feelings and circumstances may indicate. When we boldly declare His Word with praise and thanksgiving, He sends the enemy into confusion because we aren’t acting according to our emotions but according to the truth of God’s Word.

When Jehoshaphat and his army gathered the plunder from the Valley of Ziz (oppression), they renamed the place, “Valley of Berucah.” How fitting a name because Berucah means, “blessing.” The place of oppression became the very place of incredibly huge blessing when God fought for Judah!

If you are facing oppression today, begin to thank God and praise His name. Boldly declare promises from His Word over your situation, and watch Him set an ambush for your enemy. The very place which causes you pain from oppression holds extreme blessing if you will simply believe in His everlasting love for you and thank Him for it. Your Ziz can become Berucah when you trust Him to fight for you.

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 55:9-11

“For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For just as rain and snow fall from heaven, and do not return there without saturating the earth, and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and will prosper in what I send it to do.”

We can stand firmly on the promises of God’s word. Just as He spoke the earth into being, His word is powerful enough to bring into being whatever His will decides. As believers, we must come to not only trust His word but speak His word into our situations. When we believe His word more than the fears the enemy plants in our heads and stirs in our circumstances, we will see change and begin to walk in the promises of His word.

God’s thoughts are not at all like our thoughts. The Devil constantly bombards our minds and emotions with fear, doubt, and anxiety to distract us from God’s promises. God, however, knows the end from the beginning, as well as the very motives and tactics of the enemy. Satan cannot penetrate His thoughts. Therefore, God’s word is true and will accomplish exactly what He intends for it to accomplish. Our emotions will lie to us, but God’s word never does. We must come to trust His word over the screaming lies the enemy throws at us through our mind and emotions.

The best way to make God’s word stronger in our minds and emotions than the lies of the enemy is to pray His promises every day. Write down specific promises God shows you in Scripture that pertain to your situation. Pray these every day until His word is greater than your fears. As your faith grows, the enemy will have to flee. Resist feeding your fears by speaking them or complaining about your situation. God dwells in the praises of His people and not in our complaints. Just as rain and snow fall and saturate the earth, giving it nourishment to grow before returning to the air again, so God’s word is sent to nourish our souls and returns to Him through our voice to accomplish exactly what it came to do – to help us grow.

Speak God’s word into your situation today. When doubt and fear sneak back into your thoughts and emotions, repeat those promises until your mind is steady. God’s thoughts are higher than ours, and His words are greater. Speak His word into your situation, and watch them do exactly what they were sent to do.

Have a blessed day!

2 Chronicles 18:4

He (Jehoshaphat) replied to him, “I am as you are, my people as your people; we will be with you in the battle.” But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “First, please ask what the LORD’s will is.”

Ahab was determined to take Ramoth-gilead, but he was afraid to go alone since his death had been prophesied for not destroying Ben-Hadad, King of Aram (1Kings 20). When Ben-Hadad threatened to take everything from Ahab, God gave Ahab victory in battle to destroy the entire Aramean army. Ben-Hadad escaped on foot but later surrendered and asked for mercy. Ahab foolishly not only spared his life but gave him land to grow and flourish! God sent word to Ahab that because he had not carried out the death sentence on Ben-Hadad that Ben-Hadad would eventually destroy him.

We must be willing to completely destroy sin in our lives! Instead of giving ourselves excuses and making friends with the enemy, we must have no mercy over that which seeks to destroy us and be willing to kill every trace of it. Otherwise, it will go back, gather a larger army, and come after us with full force.

Ahab now wanted his land back from the king of Aram, but he was afraid to go into battle alone. Instead, he sought Jehoshaphat’s assistance because he had favor with God. You cannot ride someone else’s coattail of God’s favor and survive. Each of us must have our own relationship with God through Jesus Christ and answer to Him for our deeds. We cannot depend upon someone else’s faith to see us through our battles or to cover our sin. We have to deal with God ourselves on His terms.

Jehoshaphat used wisdom in asking Ahab to inquire of the LORD. While he had established peace with the northern kingdom through the marriage of his son to Ahab’s daughter, he didn’t immediately take up Ahab’s offense and set off to battle with him. He desired to seek God’s will over Ahab’s persuasion.

It can be easy to take up someone’s offense, but we are wise to follow Jehoshaphat’s lead and inquire of the LORD first. Going into battle requires God’s presence to be victorious. What seems unfair or unjust to us may not be the complete story, or it may be a time of testing that requires godly counsel. Either way, inquiring of the LORD is always the right thing to do.

Take some time today to inquire of the LORD regarding any offenses you currently face or that you know others are facing. Not all offenses can be rectified easily, and some might actually require battle or confrontation. Sometimes, inquiring of the LORD will settle the matter in your own spirit so nothing else is required. If confrontation is needed, however, you need the presence of God with you to succeed. A little wisdom and time with God can go a very long way in keeping your peace and protecting you from harm.

Have a blessed day

Matthew 7:12

Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them – this is the Law and the Prophets.

Jesus gave this instruction along with His teaching to ask, seek, and knock. We can’t just sit idly by wishing our life were different. We cannot expect change to just come to us; we must create it. Jesus told us to ask, seek, and knock for the things we need, and to do for others what we want them to do for us. He explained this as a summary of the Law and the Prophets, and it bears striking resemblance to Leviticus 19:18 – You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

The Message Bible says to “grab the initiative and do it for them.” In other words, however you want others to treat you, take the first step and treat them that way. If you want people to respect you, respect them first. If you want friends, then first show yourself to be friendly. If you want people to help you, then serve them in some way. If you want people to be loyal to you, be loyal to them first.

If we ask, seek, and knock and treat others the way we want them to treat us first, eventually we will find our lives being full of the very things we desire. What a simple thing to do to multiply joy and influence in our lives! There will always be some instances where people do not respond appropriately, but that only reflects maturity they still need to reach. Be patient with them, and you will probably find they are being patient with you in some way, too.

Have a blessed day!

Proverbs 29:18

Without revelation people run wild, but one who keeps the law will be happy.

Without God’s revelation, people flounder. True happiness is discovered within the boundaries of revelation. As the Message Bible states, if people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves. We all desperately need to see where God is working in our lives, or we will begin to question ourselves and listen to the lies of the enemy.

God gave us the gift of encouragement to lift each other out of doubt and confirm what God is doing. We need encouragement to continue in the faith. God has promised to always be with us until the end of the age, but at times we just need to see, sense, or feel His presence and verify the work He is doing in us.

Romans 1:11-12

For I want very much to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

Paul needed to be strengthened by encouragement, and he knew the need the Romans had to be encouraged in their faith. If the Devil can isolate us and discourage us, he will steal our vision. Without this vision, we perish – cast off restraint; stumble over ourselves; run wild. We need encouragement from other members of the body of Christ and from our leaders to know that we are making a difference and that God is at work in us to stay on track with what God has called us to do.

When we don’t see results, we often slack off or give up, which is exactly why I have so much trouble staying on a diet! I need to see some progress toward the goal. Don’t lose heart in your mission today. God has called you, and He is with you. He is working in your life, and you are making a difference. Widows need to know there is hope after the loss of a spouse, and you are giving that hope every day. They also need to know they can find identity and purpose again by serving Christ, and you portray that picture well. Keep looking to Christ, the author and finisher of your faith. Whether you see it or not, He is shining through each of you! Find someone to encourage today. Your words are greatly needed.

Have a blessed day!

Luke 5:3-5

He (Jesus) got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then He sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat. When He (Jesus) had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

“Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing! But at Your word, I’ll let down the nets.”

Simon had worked hard all night and had caught nothing. He and his buddies had given up and were cleaning their nets when Jesus got in his boat. Although he had ceased from his efforts, he took the boat out from the shore as Jesus asked. After Jesus taught from the boat, He gave Simon an instruction to put out into deep water and let his nets out. Upon following Jesus’s command, Simon caught a mess of fish like he had never caught before, even though his previous experience and efforts had gained him nothing.

Things change when Jesus gets in your boat. For Simon, Jesus taught the truth of God’s word, and many around heard it. Simon’s catch was an illustration of the obedience of His teaching. When Simon put into action the faith He had in Christ upon His word, his experience changed.

I’ve found myself many times in a place where my experiences didn’t quite match my faith. I can put forth effort all day and all night long with no results and am often very good at it! Jesus urged Simon to go a little deeper – a little farther – in his faith and act upon instruction. When we’ve exhausted all our efforts and are at the point of giving up, Jesus just might be calling us into a little deeper waters with Him. If we will obey, we will find blessings beyond our imagination and ability to handle, regardless of how unsuccessful our previous efforts have been. Jesus just needs to be in the boat with us and guiding us to do it.

Are you at the point of giving up? I certainly am, and I’ve been here before. I suspect you have, too. In all likelihood, we will come to the point of giving up again. At this all too familiar point, we must ask Jesus into our boat, rather than becoming angry, bitter, resentful, or discouraged. We can do nothing without Him, but we can do all things through Him! Dare to venture out a little further with Jesus, and listen to what He has to say. He will speak the truth to you and give you instruction on exactly what to do. Miracles can happen if Jesus is in your boat, so do whatever He tells you, regardless of how many times you’ve already failed. Once you hear a clear word from Him and follow through in faith, your experience will change.

Simon was changed from his encounter with Christ that day. In fact, his huge blessing of fish changed his perspective of Jesus so much he and the others were willing to drop everything and follow Christ. They saw and experienced His power first hand. Dare to go deeper with Christ. If you’ve caught nothing, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Instead of asking God to change your circumstances, ask Him to change you, and get ready for more than you can handle!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 121:1

I raise my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

This psalm is one of the psalms of ascent that describe the annual journey to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains, and God’s people were scattered into surrounding areas. They would make the pilgrimage each year to Jerusalem, and the mountains could prove to be rough terrain. The psalmist looked toward the mountains and wondered how he would ever get across them to worship. While the mountains seemed huge, his God was bigger and worthy of the journey to worship Him!

This psalmist acknowledged the mountains, but he recognized the Maker of the mountains as greater. When we face our own mountains, we must also acknowledge their difficulty, but God is greater. If our hearts are set on worship and finding Him, He will certainly help us overcome whatever stands in our way to worship. As verses 3-8 explain, He will not allow our foot to slip. He is a shelter right by our side. He will protect us from all harm, and He will protect our coming and going now and forever. When we are more determined to worship than to be inconvenienced, God will do amazing things in us, for us, and through us.

Our strength does not come from the mountains. Our help does not come from the mountains. Our strength and help to overcome our mountains comes from God, and He will help us overcome anything that hinders our worship as long as we have a desire to overcome. The question we must ask ourselves when facing great mountains is, “How badly do we want this?” If our hearts are set on worship, our help is assured.

Have a blessed day!