Psalm 34:1-3

I will praise the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. I will boast in the LORD; the humble will hear and be glad. Proclaim with me the LORD’s greatness; let us exalt His name together.

Regardless of how bad things become, may we praise the LORD at all times. He is always good, always loving, and always fighting for us. Our victories are found in Him, and those who see them will be drawn to Him.

God is greater than anything the enemy can throw at us, and we should proclaim His greatness. When storms rage around us, God is greater than the storm. When people hurt or betray us, God is greater than our hurt or our feelings. When fears torment us, God is greater than the threats of the enemy. When our finances take a tumble, God is never short of resources and is greater than our lack. Whatever problem you face, God is greater than the problem. We need to always acknowledge His greatness and minimize the circumstance. When we do, we exercise our faith and please Him. Proclaiming His greatness and exalting His name in unity with others signals true spiritual warfare against our enemy.

Psalm 22:3 tells us that God is enthroned on the praises of Israel. When we praise Him, we acknowledge Him as King and worship Him as a sovereign God. Give Jesus the throne of your life today, and praise His name. The Devil will sap you of energy by beating you with the rod of worry and paralyzing you with the chains of doubt. Make God higher than your problems, and praise His name. His is with you and for you, and He has already determined your victory.

Have a blessed day

Genesis 16:7-9

The Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.” Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, submit to her mistreatment.”

God cared even for the slave girl who was being mistreated. He sent an angel to speak His word directly to her to let her know He was in control of the situation. This slave woman who had disrespected her mistress must now go and submit herself to the mistreatment of her mistress. Why would God require such a thing?

In Hagar we see a rebellious servant. God demands submission in order for her to trust Him. If He sent her to Sarai, He would honor Hagar’s submission. She would have to endure the mistreatment, trusting God for the outcome.

Sometimes, obedience can lead us straight into unfair situations where we feel mistreated or abused. Yet, we must accept these times as God’s will for us. God can use us in ways we don’t understand, and we just have to endure until that hard season is over. God gave Hagar the promise that she would have many descendants to give her hope to withstand the trial. When He sends us into difficult situations, He will give us a promise of hope, as well. Our seasons of burden are never without gain.

If you find yourself in a hard season, submit and trust God. He will bring you through this with something to gain from it. He will use you in ways you never expect or may even be unaware if you will just trust that He is in control. While you can’t trust people, you can always trust God. Ultimately, He will have the last word.

Have a blessed day!

Luke 1:21-23

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them. Then they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept making signs to them and remained speechless. When the days of his ministry were completed, he went back home.

The people knew something had happened to Zechariah that had changed him, although he could not properly communicate it to them. The fact that he had experienced something in the temple was obvious. They must have watched him in the days following to see what would happen since they suspected he had seen a vision. Just what did Zechariah see?

When God speaks to us, our lives change. We begin to live out of new hope and promise, and others are able to see it. We may not be able to properly communicate what God has placed inside us, but people notice the difference. In fact, it is often a good thing not to reveal the promise God has placed inside us. Simply believing God to fulfill it and working toward that goal is all that He requires. Zechariah did not need to tell anyone what God had told him in secret. God would do the work, and everyone would know it was from Him.

God did not require anything more from Zechariah. When his days of ministry were complete, he simply went back home. God was at work. He would bring about His promise to Zechariah throughout the course of his ordinary life and bring forth something extraordinary. Zechariah was silent, people were watching, and God was performing a miracle in front of their eyes. There would be no doubt that Zechariah’s son was both a miracle and a child of great purpose. John the Baptist would lead many to repentance and point the way to Jesus, the Messiah, as He began His earthly ministry.

People see the hand of God in our lives from the change they see in us. Changing our course means nothing unless it comes from a heart that has been changed. Otherwise, a change in course is nothing more than an attempt at a new formula for success. Zechariah went back home to his ordinary life a changed individual, and from that change came a son. Don’t ask God for a change in your situation; ask for a change in your heart. Ask Him to reveal the plans He has for you, and follow that plan, even if you can’t properly communicate it to others. Hold on to God’s promises, knowing He is at work in you.

Have a blessed day!

Genesis 21:1-2

The LORD came to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him.

God gave the promise, and God fulfilled the promise. He did the work in His appointed time. Abraham and Sarah were merely tools He used to accomplish His purpose. God brought life from something as good as dead so He might be glorified and recognized among the people.

Satan has a way of trying to make us think we have to accomplish God’s promises for ourselves. We aren’t trying hard enough, or we’ve blown it too many times and are now disqualified. He tries to convince us there is something inherently wrong with us that prevents God from blessing us. If we believe His lie, we will try to manufacture the blessing ourselves and produce a counterfeit that will never carry God’s favor or promise. God will fulfill what He has promised in His timing so that everyone around us will know He is at work in us.

Many times in my own life, God has fulfilled His promise to me after I had given up. Ceasing my own efforts gave Him a chance to work. While I kept trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, He moved me to a new place where my square peg fit perfectly. Gaining His promises really is about dying to ourselves, ceasing our own efforts, and just allowing God to be God in our lives. Sarah’s barrenness served a purpose, just as her son would serve a greater purpose than she could imagine.

In whatever season of life you find yourself right now, you can glean from Sarah’s example. You cannot force God’s promises to come to pass, and you are not disqualified if God has promised you something. Trying to manufacture His promise from your own self efforts will produce a counterfeit that God will not bless with His best. Finally, God can give you joy and delight in your old age. You are never too old to receive God’s blessing and favor or to be productive for Him. Barrenness serves a purpose to produce greater fruit.

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 60:1-2

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD shines over you. For look, darkness covers the earth, and total darkness the peoples; but the LORD will shine over you, and His glory will appear over you.

The instruction in these verses is to arise. Stand up from your rest. Indeed, we live in a day when darkness covers the earth, and my own path has seemed blinded by darkness. Just what should I do? Where should I go? I’ve felt like I’ve been living in a fog with no clear direction for the vision God has given me. I can see where He has gifted me and have an inkling about where He wants to take me, but I have no idea how to get there. I can see where my experiences can testify to His glory, but how do I put all of it in context to where I am and where I’m to go with it? His first instruction to me is to arise.

Merriam Webster’s definition of “arise” is as follows: 1. to get up, as from sleeping 2. to ascend 3. to come into being 4. to result (from).  I can rise up because my light – Jesus Christ – has come.  His glory shining over me lights my way so I can see to take the next step. His glory over me will also attract others to that same light.

In darkness, we all will sleep. If we try to move forward, we may fall, stumble, or run into one another along the way. We may become aggravated, frustrated, and most certainly tired. Now, however, is the time to arise and be willing to walk in the light He provides. His glory shining over us is no small exhibit! We all are being changed from glory to glory, and we are here to magnify and give testimony to His glory. We have to trust that we have His word and be willing to arise and walk forth in it.

I challenge you all to arise this morning, for your light has come. The glory of the LORD wants to shine over you so those living in darkness can see and be drawn to His light. Before anything can happen, we must arise. Trust the word God has given you and move forward in it. Get busy doing what He has called you to do, and watch as His glory shines over you. He will dispel the darkness of this world through His people, and He has chosen you. Arise and shine, for your light – Jesus Christ – has come.

Have a blessed day!

Genesis 30:7-9

Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Rachel said, “In my wrestlings with God, I have wrestled with my sister and won,” and she named him Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

Anything Rachel could do, Leah could do better. While Rachel claimed Bilhah’s sons as her own, Leah could do the same thing with her slave and have even more sons for Jacob. Rachel needed a son of her own to truly eliminate the void inside.

We must realize that if we can do something in our own strength, someone else can do it, too. To realize God’s true blessing upon our lives, we must allow Him to do the work. As hard as it seemed at the time, Rachel’s best move would have been to just accept her barrenness as God’s will for her at the time and trust Him to provide her heart’s desire. We can see these things only in retrospect at times for ourselves. Thankfully, God gave us examples in Scripture so we could learn from their mistakes.

Do you find yourself with an aching desire or need that you cannot fill? Submit to that void as God’s will for the time being. Trust Him to fill that desire in His timing, and don’t try to create a counterfeit substitution. God has a purpose for your “barrenness” or lack, and He will only bless what He produces from it. Give it to Him. In due time, He will move in your life in a way that clearly demonstrates His favor, and no one can deny His glory in the matter. He is for you and not against you, and He has a better idea.

Have a blessed day!

1 Samuel 1:9-11

Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh. Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD’s tabernacle. Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept with many tears. Making a vow she pleaded, “LORD of Hosts, if You will take notice of Your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give Your servant a son, I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.”

Elkanah had taken his family to the most important place on earth – the place of worship. As they went to worship, Peninnah taunted Hannah of her childlessness. God had not blessed her, so there must be something wrong with her. If Hannah believed Peninnah’s taunting, she would have a hard time worshiping God. They ate the worship meal in Shiloh just outside the doorpost of the tabernacle. Inside this doorpost was the place of worship, where Eli sat to hear judicial rulings. If ever there was a place to present your case to God, this was it. If Hannah could still worship God through all of her pain, she was in the right place to do so.

Hannah was deeply hurt. Her barrenness had brought her so much shame she could hardly bear it. While she had been told God’s hand was against her, she did a very hard thing by choosing to worship God and taking her hurt directly to Him. When we pour out our pain to Him in an act of worship, He hears.

We can all grumble and complain – even in prayer. Can we truly worship God when we feel He is punishing us or being unfair? All Hannah had to give was pain, so she poured it out before God and made a vow to honor God with her son’s life if He would only give her a son and take away her shame. In this vow, she was acknowledging the power of God and the grace of a merciful God at the same time. She would give Him what she most desired if He would take away her barrenness.

If you feel hurt or shame, the best thing you can do is to pour it out to God. Give Him what you have, even if it is only pain. He has not rejected you, and He has the power to take away the hurt and the shame forever! While the Devil may taunt you to think God is against you, know for certain that He is for you. Worship Him by giving those feelings of rejection to Him and receiving His unconditional love and acceptance for you. When you think God is being unfair, worship Him anyway. When you feel as if He has rejected you, worship God despite your feelings. By doing this, the Devil loses his ability to harass you in that area, and He is defeated forevermore!

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 60:2

For look, darkness covers the earth, and total darkness the peoples; but the LORD will shine over you, and His glory will appear over you.

We certainly live in dark times. If you watch the news very much at all, you will become depressed from all the bad things that are happening right now. People are living in anxiety because of the uncertainty. While this darkness covers the earth and its people, we are assured that God shines over us.

God’s glory over us shines a path to give us direction. Those who do not seek God blindly fumble through life trying to find their way, but God will direct our steps by shining over us and revealing Himself to us. When others see His glory over us, they will be drawn to Him in order to find direction for their own lives.

When Jesus came into this world, a bright star shone over Him. That star led wise men to Him. Jesus was the answer then, and He is the answer now. When those lost in darkness need to find answers, God will shine over His people so those who are seeking will find Jesus.

Darkness may cover our earth today, but God’s light shines over you. Continue looking to Jesus in the midst of uncertainty, and know that His glory will appear over you. Those who are desperately seeking God need Jesus, and you can direct them to Him. The very path He lights for you will lead others to Him.

Have a blessed day!

Mark 10:51-52

Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” “Rabbouni,” the blind man told Him, “I want to see!” “Go your way,” Jesus told him. “Your faith has healed you.” Immediately he could see and began to follow Him on the road.

The answer to the blind man’s prayer rested in the way he addressed Jesus. “Rabbouni” means Master Teacher in the context of personal ownership as in “My Master Teacher.” While we all know God heals and answers prayer, do we really think He will do it for us? We know God can work miracles, but will He do it in our situation?

Faith is knowing God has the ability and belief that He will do it for us. It must be applied personally, or it is not really faith at all. By addressing Jesus as “Rabbouni,” the blind man confessed that he knew Jesus had the power to heal, and he believed He would do it for him. He expressed personal faith, and Jesus told him that his faith had healed him. His result was immediate. He could see and began to follow Jesus.

What answers do you need today? You know God can do it, so appeal to your “Rabbouni.” He will do it for you; you just have to believe Him for it. What would you have Jesus do for you? Tell Him, knowing that He loves you with an everlasting love, and He will do it for you. Put your faith in action by applying it to yourself. God’s desire is for you to follow Jesus, and He will grant whatever is necessary for you to continue to follow Him. Yes, He will do it for you!

Have a blessed day!

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

We cannot transform ourselves. Transformation is a work of the Holy Spirit in us. We experience transformation by the renewing of our minds. In other words, we have to think different thoughts than the world and believe the truth of God’s word, instead of the facts screaming at us from our circumstances. If God says we are loved, valuable, and accepted, we must believe His truth over the lies of rejection we receive from the enemy and possibly from those around us.

Renewing the mind begins with thinking God’s thoughts toward us. He has recorded His thoughts toward us in His word, and He will speak them to us anew every time we read it. The key to renewing our minds and living a transformed life comes from seeking Him first daily. By giving Him the first part of our day and finding what He says in Scripture, we can meditate on that word throughout the day and let it take precedence over the lies the enemy plants in our heads.

Our words have power, and we will speak whatever is embedded in our hearts. When we find ourselves speaking out our feelings, we need to follow that statement up with the words, “…and that is the way I want it.” If your statement is true, your thinking is positive. If your statement is not true, you are in a negative mindset and need to renew your mind. For example, if you find yourself saying, “I’ll never lose weight,” follow that up with “…and that is the way I want it.” If that is not what you want, you have surrendered your desire to lose weight to a negative mindset, and you won’t lose weight. You need to change your thinking pattern. Philippians 4:13 instructs us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Therefore, with the help of Christ and the renewing of your mind, you can lose weight. You can change your statement to “I will lose this extra weight,…and that is just the way I want it.”

Do you want your health, your finances, or your relationships to change for the better? If so, renew your mind on those things with the word of God and begin to speak out His word. By renewing your mind, you will find the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God for you. So, think before you speak, and learn to change those negative thought patterns to positive, godly thought patterns. He loves you and wants the best for you…and that is just the way you should want it!

Have a blessed day!