James 5:17-18

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours; yet he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain in the land. Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its fruit. 

Elijah was a prophet who saw what should be and spoke against what was wrong. He rebuked Ahab, and Ahab sought to destroy him. Through prayer, Elijah heard from God and challenged the prophets of Baal. God responded to Elijah’s sacrifice alone, proving He was the God of Israel, and Elijah slaughtered the ungodly prophets after proving them fools. Angered, Jezebel threatened him and sought to destroy him, forcing Elijah to hide in caves for survival.

Elijah was not popular with the establishment, but he was powerful. He was not wealthy and at one time had to depend upon a poor widow for a meal. He was isolated and depressed and thought he was the only one who had not fallen prey to Baal worship. God, Himself, assured him otherwise.  He was silenced and suppressed by those in power, yet he had an anointing so great that Elisha wanted a double portion of it. The strength of Elijah’s anointing was found in prayer. He was a man who heard from God because he prayed to God. 

Through prayer, we have direct access to the Father. If you are a child of God through the blood of Jesus Christ, you are an heir to His promises. Never underestimate the power of prayer in overcoming anything this world or the Devil may throw at you. Your strength is in your ability to pray and ask the Father for anything. Don’t hold back! Take every heartache, every need, every concern, every fear, every praise before the throne of grace and ask your Father for what your heart craves. He longs to fill it because He put the longing there.

Don’t let the news upset you. Pray. Don’t allow politics to steal your joy. Pray. Don’t give up. Pray. Prayer is the most powerful weapon you have against the enemy, and he will do all he can to discourage you from using it. He wants you to think God doesn’t care and is not listening to you. The Devil is a liar! Use your weapon and destroy his work in your life!

At times I feel as if I am powerless. In fact, I’ve cried out to God MANY times lately because all I know how to do is pray. My strength, however, is in prayer. If that is all I know to do, then I will pray. I may be powerless, but my God isn’t! 

Psalm 68:35

God, You are awe-inspiring in Your sanctuaries. The God of Israel gives power and strength to His people. May God be praised.

Have a blessed day!

Nehemiah 2:4-5

Then the king asked me, “What is your request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I may rebuild it.” 

As I read this passage, I was reminded of Esther’s requests to King Xerxes. They began with the phrase, “If it pleases the king.” Both Esther and Nehemiah had tremendous favor with their pagan kings due to their submission, loyalty, and reliability. When we are faced with troubling circumstances that threaten our very existence and feel a need to respond, we would do well to seek the face of God with the same request, “If it pleases the king…” 

In Nehemiah’s case, he desired to be sent to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. The city lay in ruins and was vulnerable to further attack as long as there was no wall for protection. The wall needed to be re-built to protect the people and to advance the kingdom. The wall in itself was not important; God’s people were. 

Any time we set out to do what God is calling us to do, we will face opposition. Nehemiah’s opposition came from surrounding kings who did not want to see Jerusalem succeed as a nation because a strong Jerusalem was a threat to their own interests. These kings set out to mock and intimidate those who had gathered to build. 

Nehemiah did two very strategic and critical things before attempting to rebuild the wall. First, he surveyed the area in secret to see the reality of what he was facing. This was important in creating a strategy for the rebuilding. Any time you are attempting to build or rebuild something, you need a clear strategy for building. Secondly, Nehemiah cast his vision, and the people jumped on board to help him build. His vision resonated with the people, and they wanted to be a part of the building. Each had their own part of the wall to build and/or repair, meaning everyone had ownership in the re-building of this great city. They didn’t recruit people from outside to draw a crowd or exclude people from building their portion of the wall. They were a united people, and the threats of the enemy did not stop them. Nehemiah 4:6 states, “So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had the will to keep working.” 

To build God’s kingdom, we need His favor and His provision. We need unity to withstand outside opposition. We need a vision that resonates with everyone included, and we need to include everyone. People are more important than property, but when the people are valued, they will help build the needed property. 

If it pleases the king, move forward and build. You are valued and highly favored in God’s eyes.  I encourage you to find your portion of the wall, and don’t listen to anyone who mocks or threatens you. If you have a will to keep working, there is no telling what God will do with you! Amen!

Have a blessed day!

Nehemiah 6:15-16

The wall was completed in 52 days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.

While building the wall, Nehemiah and the people of Israel faced outside opposition who tried to discourage them and intimidate them. How could such few people accomplish such a daunting task? With the help of their God and persistence to the work, they succeeded in their mission. God gave Nehemiah wisdom and discernment to recognize the work from the schemes of the enemy, and he simply rejected the enemy’s request and continued in his work. 

In accomplishing anything, we must be able to recognize our calling from the threats and schemes of the enemy. Pray for spiritual discernment and a willingness to complete what God has called you to do. Turn your enemies over to God, and let Him deal with them and finish His work through you. God’s accomplishment through you will intimidate your enemy and send him running the other way.

Have a blessed day!

I Kings 19:11-13

Then He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the LORD’s presence.” At that moment the LORD passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

When God showed up for Elijah, every natural disaster accompanied Him to bring damage. Can we not relate? In our ventures to seek God, do we not also encounter all variations of storms and personal catastrophes? God, however, was not with the wind as it tore at the mountains around Elijah. Nor was God with the earthquake or the fire that threatened to consume him. When all of the life-threatening elements had passed, Elijah found that God was with him and not with that which tried to destroy him.

God is not trying to punish you, judge you, or destroy you. He is with you in the midst of your chaos. It will all pass, and His voice will remain. Wait for it – be still – and know that He is God. He is with you and not with that which tries to destroy you.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 51:17

The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled spirit.

In all of our pursuits to please God and do great things for Him by advancing His kingdom, our self-efforts and sacrifices will get us nowhere if we are trying to gain His approval. What God wants to do is heal the wounds that cause us to seek His approval in the first place. As a child of God, we already have His approval. His desire is for us to believe in His love for us. Therefore, He may break us before He can bless us.

If you have ever hit a brick wall in your walk with God and felt completely helpless to move forward, take notice. What is God revealing to you? What hurt arises in you as a result of not being able to advance? What need faces you that you absolutely cannot meet on your own? What inside you is broken that you cannot fix? Chances are, that is where God is working in your life. 

Submit that broken place fully to God, and ask Him to heal you. Refuse to hold on to that hurt or hide it any longer. Such a sacrifice is pleasing to God. He will not despise a broken and humbled spirit, and He will heal whatever needs to be healed in order for you to move forward.

Verse 18 continues with yet more promise. “In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build the walls of Jerusalem.” A broken spirit fully submitted to God has the power to prosper you in the area you need it most. 

Have a blessed day!

John 5:5-9:

One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?”

“Sir,” the sick man answered, “I don’t have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.” 

“Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your bedroll and walk!” Instantly the man got well, picked up his bedroll, and started to walk.

The paralyzed man’s faith for his healing was in the magic of the angel-stirred water of the pool at Bethesda. The first person in the pool after the stirring received the healing. Because of his limitation he could not get to the waters in time by himself. He had no access to that which he thought would heal him, thus he was a victim of circumstances. No one would give him a chance to be first, so he waited for 38 years to be healed by a means he could not access.

Things changed for this man when he encountered Jesus. Jesus met the man where he was – paralyzed and lying on his mat, waiting for a miracle to happen in a certain way. Jesus simply asked him if he wanted to be healed. While the man gave an excuse, Jesus gave a command. “Get up, pick up your bedroll, and walk!”

The man’s healing was not in the pool but in Jesus. Our healing – restoration – is in Jesus, as well. He meets us right where we are – broken and paralyzed, waiting for a miracle. Our miracle, however, is in Him alone. Our healing will come when we encounter the living Christ and place our faith in Him when others fail us.

Don’t worry about that which you cannot access. You have direct access to Jesus through prayer, and your healing is in Him. He has given us His word, which speaks to us daily if we will only read it. Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be given to us. How can you pick up your bedroll and walk today? Your healing awaits you.

Have a blessed day!

2 Chronicles 15:7

But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.

The temptation to quit can be strong when we don’t see progress or an end to our struggle. We never know, however, what lies just around the corner. Quite often, the desire to quit becomes strongest just before the breakthrough or miracle we need occurs.

When our strength fails us, we need to look to Christ for His strength. If our mission is from God, the Holy Spirit will compel us to continue. A little word of encouragement may be all we need to catch that second wind we so desperately need to complete our mission. God sees our hard work and will most certainly reward us if we allow Him to finish what He has started in us.

Be determined to continue in faith today. When the urge to quit hits you, smack it with this verse of assurance that God has a reward waiting for you. If desire is not met with action, it will linger in regret. Add faith to your fire, and push through to see the victory God has waiting for you. You were created, called, and destined to win!

Have a blessed day

Matthew 16:18

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it.

Jesus gave this response to Peter after He asked Peter who he said He was. When Peter identified Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus then told Peter who he was. Peter means, “rock.” Jesus would begin His church through Peter, and the gates of hell would not prevail against it! Hallelujah! Jesus had mighty plans for Peter, and He revealed them when Peter recognized Jesus for who He really is – the Messiah, the Son of God.

We find our identity in Christ. He has a purpose for every one of us in His kingdom, and He will continue to build His church through us. Regardless of the attacks the Devil sends our way, God’s purpose will prevail!

Who do you say Jesus is? Answer that question today, and listen for Him to tell you who you are and what He intends to do through you. Rest assured that His purpose for you will prevail over the attacks of the enemy. He has already given us the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever we bind on earth is already bound in heaven. Whatever we loose on earth is already loosed in heaven. Begin to walk in the authority of the believer, and hell will eventually have to submit to you as God’s purpose unfurls. Hallelujah!

Have a blessed day!

Job 42:2

I know that You can do anything and no plan of Yours can be thwarted.

Job could not understand the trial of suffering he encountered, and he asked God for an answer. God’s response described His sovereignty. As Job’s Maker, God owed him no explanation and no recompense. Yet, He chose to answer Job anyway. Once Job submitted fully to God’s sovereignty, God restored Job and gave him double the possessions he had before his great loss.

Job’s friends had accused him of sin and failed to comfort him in his misery. Instead of helping him, they believed he deserved his suffering. Their insensitivity angered God because they were dead wrong in their perceptions of God and Job’s situation. Their haughty and quick judgments only caused harm and misrepresented God.

When going through great suffering, those closest to us may be the very ones who disappoint us, hurt us, and misrepresent God to us. In these times, we must trust in God’s sovereignty and submit fully to His plan. Regardless of what others do to you, they cannot thwart the plan of God in your life! His plan is to prosper you and to give you a hope and a future, according to Jeremiah 29:11. He knows your trial and your suffering, and He is working all things together for your good and His glory, just as He promised in Romans 8:28. Submit to His sovereignty and be assured that no plan of His can be thwarted. The victory is yours!

Have a blessed day!

John 21:6

“Cast the net on the right side of the boat,” He told them, “and you’ll find some (fish).” So they did, and they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish.

After Jesus died and rose again, the disciples were left in a quandary on what to do next. They had been faithfully following their Lord, but now His presence was a mystery. Peter, who had denied Jesus three times while He was on trial, decided to go back to doing what he did before he met Jesus – fishing. Not knowing what else to do, some of the other disciples went with him. Although they were previously expert professional fishermen, they fished all night and caught nothing. Oddly enough, this was the same situation where Jesus originally found them when He first called them to follow Him. Their old way of life and making a living did not work for them anymore, and without Jesus, they could do nothing.

Jesus saw His disciples out fishing and knew they were trying to find their way now that He was no longer physically with them every day. Once again, He told them where to cast their nets, and there they caught a huge haul of fish. He told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. In the Hebrew culture, the right side is representative of the place of blessing, strength, and favor. It also represents the spiritual side of things, whereas the left side is considered worldly. In essence, Jesus was instructing His disciples to cast their nets to the spiritual side of things and to remember everything He had taught them. When they did, they caught a huge haul of fish, but the nets did not break.

When we look to the spiritual rather than the worldly, we gain huge blessings that we can retain. What Jesus had taught them would feed them from that point, and it would be more than enough to meet their need. Jesus restored Peter to ministry after this by asking three times, “Do you love me?” If Peter truly loved Jesus as he said, then Jesus instructed him to “Feed my lambs,” “Shepherd my sheep,” and “Feed my sheep.” Instead of using the huge haul of fish to feed himself, Peter was to feed His sheep with the spiritual food of discipleship. Peter and the other disciples were now ready to begin the work of ministry.

What is on the right side of your boat today? Use whatever Jesus has taught you to feed others. To this, we are called.

Have a blessed day!