Psalm 143:11-12

Because of Your name, Yahweh, let me live. In Your righteousness deliver me from trouble, and in Your faithful love destroy my enemies. Wipe out all those who attack me, for I am Your servant.

Satan comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy, and His plan is to stop God’s plan for you. If God is about to bless you, the Devil will be launching every fiery dart and missile he can against you to try to prevent your blessing and the advancement of God’s kingdom. Your testimony of blessing or victory is a mighty weapon. As Revelation 12:11 tells us, God’s people overcome the evil one by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. The last thing the Devil wants is for you to be able to declare the great and mighty works of the LORD in your life because it will draw others to Him.

The term, “faithful love,” in verse 12 is the Hebrew word, “hesed.” While there is no one word in the English language to properly depict the meaning of hesed, it is often translated as “loving kindness, love, or loyal love.” Hesed is a quality that moves someone to act for the benefit of someone else without considering, “What’s in it for me?” It is an unselfish love that goes beyond the requirement of duty, and it often describes the love God has for mankind and His special relationship with the Children of Israel. Hesed is the kind of love for which our hearts truly long and are unable to find in another person or thing.

Out of His faithful love – hesed – God destroys our enemies. We are His servants, and He protects His own. He is more vicious than any Mama Bear and always a champion in battle. Instead of cowering in fear, we need only to cry out to our faithful God, who always has our best interest in mind and is willing to act on our behalf. Never forget that He fights for you!

Have a blessed day!

Nehemiah 8:10

Then he (Nehemiah) said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve because the joy of the Lord is your stronghold.”

God wants us to have fun and enjoy fellowship with one another. The Jews who had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city had faced many battles, struggles, and hardships. They had worked hard alongside their families to rebuild the walls and faced enemy threats in the process. If all they ever experienced as a result of their hard work was toil, disappointment, and discouragement, their strength would soon fail. Why bother continuing in a work that has no hope and only brings pain?

As Nehemiah instructed, the joy of the Lord is your strength. Relying upon His power for the ultimate outcome will keep you going when everything in you screams to quit. Sometimes life can just hurt too much to continue on our own, but finding joy in our relationship with God will strengthen us to continue one more day. Spending time daily with Him in prayer and Bible study is a source of strength as we find joy in the One who died for us.

Has your road been hard and full of pain? Don’t give up. Find joy in Christ to continue. Spend some time in fellowship with friends, family, and other believers who strengthen and encourage you. Create some fun time. The joy of the Lord is your strength to continue until your victory is complete.

Have a blessed day!

Haggai 2:9

“The final glory of this house will be greater than the first,” says the LORD of Hosts. “I will provide peace in this place” – the declaration of the LORD of Hosts.

Haggai was a post-exilic prophet after the Bablyonian invasion of Jerusalem. He and Zechariah had the task of restoring proper worship to Judah after they returned to Jerusalem from Babylon. Haggai encouraged the people to build a house for God to restore proper worship in the temple and to be obedient to His word. Once their priorities were realigned with God’s purpose, He would bless them again.

The verse reminds me of God’s work in the life of Job. Job 42:12a tells us that the LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the earlier. Once we have been through a season of hardship or captivity, it can be difficult to believe God for blessing. Can life be good again? Can I ever overcome my failure? Can my dreams really come true? In Christ, the answer is, “Yes,” but it may require a realignment of priorities.

We must worship God on His terms, not our own. He must take priority. We are here to serve His purpose and not the reverse. Like Job, we must acknowledge God for who He really is – sovereign and Almighty God. No plan of His can ever be thwarted, and we must submit to His sovereignty. As Haggai instructed, we must not neglect God’s house and make Him our first priority. Obedience brings blessing. When we realign our will to submit to His purpose, we will find His blessings flowing in our life once again, and the days ahead of us can actually be greater than our former days.

Do you need to experience God’s blessing once again in your life? Are you ready to realign your plans with His purpose and make Him your greatest priority? If so, there is no limit to the ways in which He may bless you. Better days can be ahead if you dare to believe and realign yourself.

Have a blessed day!

John 3:30

He must become greater; I must become less.

For God’s anointing to flow through us, we must get out of the way. Our own agendas, ambitions, and even needs can block what God is trying to do for us and through us. What He wants must become a higher priority than what we want.

We tend to prioritize by what we value most. To put this in perspective, I’m reminded of how I watched two fine young men navigate their high school years. One scheduled his very limited social life around his studies while the other limited his study time around his social life. The former desired to excel academically, and the latter preferred strong relationships. What we prioritize will grow. For Christ to become greater in our life, we must value Him above all else, which means we may have to put personal wants and needs aside so we can do what He has called us to do.

Make Christ a priority in your life today, and other things will fall where they need to fall. When He becomes greater and we become less, we open the door to reveal His glory, which will meet every need within us. To this, we are called.

Have a blessed day!

Luke 23:34

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided His clothes and cast lots.

Jesus spoke these words just after they crucified Him and just before he was personally shamed. He knew those who were acting unjustly and ungodly did not realize the seriousness of their acts against Him. In fact, many of them were acting out of religious zeal and believed they were doing a necessary and godly act by crucifying Him and shaming Him. In fact, however, it was the hatred and jealousy in their own hearts that drove them to commit such great sin. Their hearts had deceived them, and they committed actions of grave judgment. Jesus, however, recognized the deception and asked the Father to forgive them.

Has your heart ever deceived you? Have you ever acted out of anger or a passion for justice you mistakenly thought was valid? Have you ever misjudged a person or situation due to limited knowledge? Have you ever reaped consequences from something you never knew would hurt you? If so, take heart. Jesus has already asked the Father to forgive you.

Jesus died because of the deception of the enemy. When we believe his lies and act accordingly, we fall into a trap of sin that brings God’s judgment. Our sin allows the enemy access to places he was previously banned. Jesus, however, took the wrath of God upon Himself so the enemy would not be successful in his schemes. Once we realize the truth, we can repent – turn from that sin – and that truth sets us free from wrath and judgment in Christ.

Where have you been deceived? Submit that matter fully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and know that you are forgiven. There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain of bondage that has held you captive and to right every wrong you have done and that has been done to you. Hallelujah!

Have a blessed day!

Ezekiel 12:25

“But I, the LORD, will speak whatever message I will speak, and it will be done. It will no longer be delayed. For in your days, rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.

When God speaks a promise to us, we usually don’t see it transpire immediately. As with Abraham and Sarah, we often have to wait for the promise and may be tempted to lose faith in the process or try to make it happen by our own hands. Likewise, end time prophesies were told long, long ago which have yet to come to fulfillment. Just because God has delayed does not mean He will not accomplish what He said. For both promise and judgment, there is a reason God waits.

God develops our faith in the waiting for His promises. He reveals Himself and draws us to know Him in ways only those who are completely dependent upon Him can know Him. By breaking down every shred of independence or self-reliance, God does something only He could do in our life, and everyone sees the miracle and glory of God in the process. Those are the best kinds of blessings and the ones He promises to fulfill for His purpose.

In judgement, however, God delays so we will become repentant and turn back to Him. He is not willing that any should perish, and He gives ample time for people to see the error of their ways and cry out to Him. He gave this word to Ezekiel to combat a false proverb in Israel that said, “The days keep passing by, and every vision fails.” The idea is that the longer we wait, the less likely the vision is to come true – a lie the Devil wants us to believe. If God said it, however, He will bring it to pass in due time. Whether His word is for promise or judgment, we can count on a time when He will delay no longer and suddenly bring His word into fulfillment.

What are you waiting for today? Has a promise gone long unfulfilled? Do you need to turn to God before it is too late? In either case, rest assured that God will do exactly what He has promised. While the days may seem to pass by without evidence of God’s word, a day will soon come when we will see exactly what He promised. He who promised is faithful, and He will do it. Make your waiting count. Draw near to Him today, and He will draw near to you.

Have a blessed day!

Esther 9:2

In each of King Ahasuerus’ provinces the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who intended to harm them. Not a single person could withstand them; terror of them fell on every nationality.

The Jews in Persia were in danger of extinction. The evil Haman had convinced King Ahasuerus they were a people set upon rebellion and asked for a day when the men of Persia could rise up against them and execute them. Haman wanted a legal way to kill Mordecai, whom he hated for not submitting to him. Mordecai was a threat to his power and standing with the king, and Haman wanted to destroy Mordecai and all of his people. So, he cunningly persuaded the king to believe the worst of the Jews so he could carry out his personal agenda and solidify his political standing. Haman, however, was completely unaware of a very important fact unknown even to the king, himself: The king’s new and cherished queen was a Jew and Mordecai’s own niece. Haman’s deceivingly successful ploy had tremendous potential to explode fatally in his face, and it did. Esther begged the king to pardon her people in front of Haman at a dinner she had prepared for the king and Haman. There she exposed his evil intentions with a humble and desperate plea for her life, where the king drew outrage in his desire to protect her.

Exposed. Haman’s wicked attempt to illegitimately gain personal recognition and eliminate a godly people who had done him no harm suddenly identified him as a true enemy of the king, and he had absolutely no defense to help his case. He was as guilty as could be and would not escape the king’s wrath. Since the king could not reverse his edict, he quickly wrote another edict allowing the Jews to defend themselves if attacked. Haman, however, would hang on the very gallows he built to kill Mordecai.

When it seems the enemy has gained an advantage in bringing you harm, remember that God knows every detail of his evil schemes and has the power to expose him. He has also given you extremely effective weapons to use to destroy the enemy’s attacks against you – His word and prayer. Use them daily to defend yourself against whatever or whomever is trying to destroy, delay, or deny what God has rightfully given you. You are where you are now for such a time as this, and the Devil can’t stop what God has ordained for you. Get out your Bible, go to your War Room, and pray. Execute your defense with your spiritual weapons. The victory is yours!

Have a blessed day!

Luke 18:7-8:

Will not God grant justice to His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay to help them? I tell you that he will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find that faith on earth?

I seem to find something new every time I read this passage. Jesus told His disciples of a persistent widow who cried out time and time again to an unjust judge to grant her justice over an adversary. We know nothing about the injustice done to her or who her adversary was. The emphasis of the parable is that she persistently cried out to the judge for help, and he eventually granted her request just so she would leave him alone and stop nagging him. Jesus taught the parable so His disciples would understand the importance of consistent prayer.

At times, I have felt like my consistent prayers and pushing for answers were a lack of faith. If I really believed God would work in my situation, why couldn’t I just leave the issue with Him and trust Him to answer? I have had battles that caused me to cry out time and time again in need of a response, and I’m sure you have, as well. According to this passage, God sees this continual crying out to Him as great faith. We need never fear we are bothering Him or that He is not listening. Persistent cries to our heavenly Father are not nagging; they are an indicator we believe He exists and that He will answer.

Hebrews 11:6:

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.

Our continual cries to God for help please Him because they prove we believe He will answer. God is not bothered; He sees our faith. Expect Him to answer and to be just.

Have a blessed day!

Ephesians 6:13

This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.

The Devil cannot take away what God has rightfully given us, but he can make us give it up or even throw it away. God has ordained victory for us, but we lose many battles simply because we give up and lose faith. Granted, if the enemy can steal our faith, he can steal our blessing and prevent us from fulfilling our destiny in Christ.

For this reason, we must take up the full armor of God and resist the schemes of the Devil. When he hurls hurt and insults at us, we must continue to stand and not lose heart. If we give in to the pressure to seek vengeance, complain, look for comfort in another source, or to take a matter into our own hands, we give him a stronghold to continue to steal from us. Spiritual warfare is really more about “last woman standing,” rather than “attack and defeat.”

Pay close attention to The Message Bible’s translation of this verse:

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting, you’ll still be on your feet.

Satan’s attacks against us are much more than we can handle on our own, and we are foolish to think we can defeat him in our own strength. We are not, however, alone in our battles; on the contrary, such battles are the Lord’s. He fights for us. Our goal is to remain standing until He has finished defeating our enemies. If we leave our post or succumb to the Devil’s schemes to deceive us, we forfeit the victory God has already won for us. The last woman standing will reap the reward.

Stand firm in your fight today. God is fighting for you. Your goal is to remain standing and receive the victory.

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 41:9b-10

You are My servant; I have chosen you and not rejected you. Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.

Verse 13:

For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand and say to you: Do not fear, I will help you.

Regardless of what rejection you may face from others, God has chosen you as His servant, and He has not rejected you. Rejection creates disappointment and causes us to lose hope. These verses assure us that God is with us, and He will strengthen us to do exactly what He has purposed for us to do to fulfill the dreams He has inspired within us.

As I have read verses 9b-10 many times in the past, I’d always pictured God as being a strong force by our side to strengthen us and encourage us forward. His right hand is the hand of power and strength, and if He holds onto us with His righteous right hand, He holds on to us with power and favor. After reading verse 13 along with it, I now see a different picture. Notice from both verses that God holds onto our right hand with His right hand. His power and favor grabs hold to our power and favor and becomes the source for our strength. This stance requires a different position from what I originally pictured, however.

If God grabs hold of our right hand with His right hand, He is not standing beside us. That would require His left hand to grab our right hand. For Him to grab our right hand with His right hand requires He stand in front of us, facing us. He reaches out to grab our right hand, much like a handshake, but He doesn’t let go. His power and His favor grabs hold of us to pull us forward into His plan. Imagine someone rescuing you from a pit. As He reaches down to grab your right hand with His, He pulls you up and forward into His promise, where you were created to serve Him.

With a visual of a handshake, we can also relate with God’s right hand holding our right hand in partnership. God partners with us to perform His will upon the earth. If He is holding on to us and we are doing what He has called us to do, we can count on Him to work through our partnership to advance His kingdom on earth.

God’s right hand has you by your right hand today, and He is not letting go! You are His servant, and He has not rejected you; He is pulling you into His perfect plan as He partners with you to expand His kingdom. Trust Him today, and rest in the assurance that He will not let go of you. He will strengthen you, and He will help you just as He promised.

Have a blessed day!