Trusting God when His Plan Doesn’t Make Sense!

But the Lord said to Joshua, “Jericho and its king and all its mighty warriors are already defeated, for I have given them to you! Your entire army is to walk around the city once a day for six days, followed by seven priests walking ahead of the Ark, each carrying a trumpet made from a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to walk around the city seven times, with the priests blowing their trumpets. Then, when they give one long, loud blast, all the people are to give a mighty shout and the walls of the city will fall down; then move in upon the city from every direction.” Joshua 6:1-5

Imagine God taking Joshua aside and telling him that all they need to do is march around the city one time for six days. Then on the seventh day march around seven times and shout. It made no sense. Naturally speaking, it was ridiculous!

All of us will face our Jerichos, and sometimes God’s plans won’t seem to make sense. Our part is to listen and obey—even when God’s instructions don’t make sense to our natural minds.  He has had a lot more experience winning battles than we have!

That is where Joshua found himself one day. Here is a man that loved God, who knew God intimately. Joshua was also a great warrior, he was a great war general of his day. Can you imagine what Joshua thought when God gave him the battle plan for taking the city of Jericho? Talk about trusting God! What kind of battle plan calls for walking around the walls of the city for 7 days, on the seventh day blowing trumpets, a ram’s horn, and shouting to make the walls of the city come down? Joshua must have been convinced it was not God speaking, but a bad pizza from the night before!

Here is the bottom line, my friends. God often calls us to do things that don’t seem to make sense so that only HE gets the glory! Let me repeat this, please listen carefully. GOD OFTEN CALLS US TO DO THINGS THAT DON’T SEEM TO MAKE SENSE SO THAT ONLY HE GETS THE GLORY!!! Amen!!! When Joshua and the children of Israel took the city of Jericho in such an unconventional fashion, it was obvious to everyone that it was GOD who did it. GOD OFTEN CALL US TO DO THINGS THAT DON’T SEEM TO MAKE SENSE SO THAT ONLY HE GETS THE GLORY!!!

I pray that in the course of your daily life, you will trust God. I pray that in the course of your daily life, you will not be afraid to follow God. The truth is, God’s way works! Our challenge is to trust Him and to be faithful. In the end, that is what God is asking each of us to do… BE FAITHFUL! God simply asks us to be faithful each day, and to trust Him. I want to encourage you today to be like Joshua, and TRUST GOD!

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Declare God’s Promises!

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.~~ Romans 12:2

Living in victory means that sometimes you have to develop new habits. If you’ve been negative for a long time, you’ve got to re-train your thinking from “I can’t” to “I can;” from “It won’t happen” to “It will happen;” from “I’ll never get well” to “God is restoring health unto me;” from “I never get any good breaks” to “God’s favor surrounds me like a shield;” from “I’ve made too many mistakes. I’m all washed up” to “I’m redeemed and forgiven. My best days are still out in front of me.” It’s like reprogramming a computer. Sometimes you have to wipe off the old, outdated, dysfunctional software and load in something new.

If you’ve spent your days focused on how things won’t work, it’s time to focus on how things will work out! It doesn’t matter how bad it looks, how many people have told you no, or how long it’s been that way, God has the final say. It’s not over till God says it’s over. Shake off the self-pity. Shake off the disappointment. Let go of the old and choose to believe Him. Declare His promises over your life and see His blessing and victory as you align yourself with Him!

 

God Will Not Walk Away From Us!

“Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.” ~~ Isaiah 61:7 

Maybe you have turned and walked away from God in anger and disappointment and tossed away the calling God had on your life. Maybe you felt the the Lord had hurt your feelings, so you left your faith to find a fresh path.

Where you were physically exhausted. Emotional turmoil began to disintegrate your life. Your immature faith lacked the stamina to hold to God tightly. So, maybe for years you wandered through sin, divorce, and miserable meanderings of your own making, whatever it may have been. It was a time of spiritual drought—the years of shame.

Although you may have walked away from God, He did not walk away from you. The Lord will allow you to experience life in the wilderness of doubt, but He will be right there watching over you and waiting for you to return to the call He placed on your life.

Eventually, if you allow yourself to feel His presence in your life. Little by little, the Lord Jesus  will woo you back to Him. And you will feel Him whisper to your spirit, “Let’s start over and do it right this time.” At times like this begin dray close to Him and to study the Bible and allow it to change your damaged spiritual heart. This time don’t let it be head knowledge, but heart knowledge.   

And your faith will get back on track, and even though you do not think God’s calling for you could ever be restored. Thinking you traveled too far off the godly path? Surely, God didn’t want me anymore in service to His Kingdom. Surely, He had more qualified people that could  fulfill His calling.

However, that is not how God thinks at all. The Bible says, “For God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). The Lord desires for us to move beyond the shame of past mistakes and into His calling for our lives. He will restore us to useful service in the Kingdom. It takes time and it is a process, but the Almighty God still has a plan for each of our lives. He intends to replace disgrace with rejoicing, so that we may show our world that we are living miracles.

Do I hear an “Amen”?

It’s Not Supposed to be This Way!

“We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” ~~Hebrews 10:39

“I can’t do this. Things will never change. My life isn’t going to get better. I’ll never have the confidence I need.” Those are some depressing thoughts, aren’t they? But oh how quickly they slip into our minds and convince our hearts that they are true. There have probably been times when you felt almost paralyzed by thoughts like these that were laced with uncertainty. Times when we let self-doubt convince you that feelings of inadequacy and discouragement were normal.Times when you’ve shrunk back from changes and challenges, as well as opportunities and open doors.

Are there days when doubt convinces you that feeling inadequate and discouraged is normal? Or that having confident assurance isn’t possible for someone like you? I think we sometimes forget we have an enemy who uses self-doubt against us – who shouts from the sidelines: “It’s too hard. You might as well quit. Go ahead and give up.You don’t have what it takes.” It’s time for us to take a stand and stop listening to these lies. God wants us to know and believe that with Christ all things are possible – even a confident heart. Otherwise doubt, and the enemy, will win every time and our hearts will be eroded by attitudes and emotions of defeat.

But it’s not supposed to be this way. So how do we stop listening to our doubts and start living in the power of God’s promises? By choosing to believe God’s truths more than our feelings and fears. By moving beyond believing in God to really believing God as we rely on the power of His Words and live like they are true – no matter what our feelings tell us. It is a moment-by-moment, day-by-day, doubt-by-doubt decision where we process our thoughts and emotions with God, positioning our hearts and minds to let His perspective redefine ours with each uncertainty we face. Some days you may do better than others. But I have found that it’s possible to have lasting Christ-confidence by choosing to remember to believe.

Hearing from God

I took this picture yesterday standing on the back porch as I was looking up into the sky and praying… then boom it’s like the tree just spoke this message to me, but we both know it was God.

God has set us free to stand tall and strong. This is not so people will be impressed with us, but that they might know the Lord who has planted us. God gets all the glory. Like my tree, as we grow strong in the Lord, others will take notice of the change. God has set you free; now grow tall and straight for all to see and find a cool place to rest in the favor of the Lord.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we love you. Thank You for knowing us so intimately that we cannot hide anything from You. But even more so thank You for knowing us so well that You know exactly what we need when we need it. I know there are many struggling out there with really tough obstacles and You know exactly what needs to be orchestrated for things to go according to Your plan. You will miraculously take that situation – turn it for their good, refine them, bless others, teach them, and show them perseverance all in one swoop.

Thank You, Lord for loving us so much that You’ve decided to live within us and even forgive us when we’re not perfect. Thank You for being perfect in every way which will never change and we can stand on that truth for all eternity. I pray that we can draw from Your strength, endurance, love, peace, joy, mercy, grace, and forgiveness when this world brings us down. I pray that You continue to protect us against the enemy’s plans to distract us from being focused on You. I pray these things in Jesus’ sweet name, AMEN!

You are God’s Temple

God is the eternal I am. He always have been, and He always will be. In His Presence we experience Love and Light, Peace and Joy. He is intimately involved in all our moments, and He is training us to be aware of Him at all times. Our assignment is to collaborate with Him in this training process. “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” 1 Corinthians 3:16

He has taken up residence within you; He is central in your innermost being. His mind goes off in tangents from its holy Center, time after time. Do not be alarmed by your inability to remain focused on Him. Simply bring your thoughts gently back to Him each time they wander. The quickest way to redirect your mind to Him is to whisper His Name.I hope this encourages you this morning! Maybe you are feeling a bit down lately with things going on and you feel like God is so far and isn’t hearing you. But that is when you need to pray for encouragement to continue to do His work – He knows your heart and knows exactly what we need to hear when we need it. You must remember that the Lord is within you – we are His temple – so you must know that every single thought, dream, desire, and emotion are already known by Him. He knows your struggles, He knows your pitfalls, He knows what you truly want, and He knows what you need. He even knows your inability to remain focused on Him which is so comforting when we’re Christian and we’re supposed to be ‘Christ-like’.

Be an Overcomer

Love this – just had to share !

S.P.I.R.I.T Ministries

Many Christians believe that when trouble enters their life God is punishing them. As a Christian believer we have to maintain a positive attitude, we must be happy as we face difficulties and temptations. Some may think this is not a natural reaction to a painful situation. I encourage you to see your trials as building blocks to God’s great plan in your life. Allow it to be an opportunity to change a negative attitude to confident assurance. You will see that we can have joy during the storm because it teaches us patience, and patience is necessary to be successful. This is faith and endurance.

James 1:2-8 says; Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you…

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Peace in the midst of the storm

 

Mark 4:37-38, “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master carest thou not that we perish?”

READ MATTHEW 12:46-50; 8:23-27; MARK 3:31-35; 4:35-41; LUKE 8:19-26

Considering the fact that the boat was filled with water, it is amazing that the disciples had to awaken Jesus. This was not a large ship with cabins below deck but rather a small, open boat and Jesus was, no doubt, “soaked to the bone.” This reflects Jesus’ humanity and how tired He must have been. It also shows that Jesus must have been in a very deep sleep. Medical science has discovered that the deeper we sleep, the more rest our bodies get. This is a clue as to how Jesus could maintain the grueling pace He kept, along only with an occasional all-night prayer time. He was receiving the maximum benefit from His sleep.

Jesus did not say “Let us go out into the midst of the sea and drown in a storm.” He was going to the other side. This shows that the disciples still didn’t understand Jesus’ authority. They were committed to Him as their Messiah, but they hadn’t yet realized that Jesus was Lord even over the physical elements. Many Christians still do this today. They receive the spiritual benefits of salvation but have not reaped the physical benefits of health and prosperity, which are also part of our salvation.

Whichever we focus upon – the storm, or the Lord in the midst of our storm – will determine how we manage the storms we face in life. He is not asleep concerning the things you face in this life, He’s right there in your “ship,” resting, because He knows you’ll both get to the “other side.” His peace is yours. Believe His Word. Rest in His love.

Healing For a Broken Heart

 

God gives hope to all those who suffer from a broken heart by promising both His abiding presence and His overflowing peace. Psalm 34:18 says that the Lord “is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” In John 14:27 Jesus states, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you . . . Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

Right now God can use you even in your heartache. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Paul writes, “Praise be to God . . . the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” Sometimes the very reason pain has been allowed into our lives is so that we can be more effective in our ministry to others.

God’s purposes in allowing pain in our lives are multi-faceted. Not only does He teach us about His love and faithfulness amidst our times of sorrow, but after our grieving has ended, He gives us strength to offer words of edification to others who are experiencing similar trials. I Peter 5:9 says, ” . . . Your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” Thus, we serve as both a support base and a hope for those who are walking through difficult situations proving that with God’s help even seemingly insurmountable obstacles can be overcome.

If you are struggling with emotional pain, take comfort in the fact that God has your situation as well as you in the palm of His hands. He will not let you go, and He will not let you down. A final word of hope can be found in I Peter 5:10, “And the God of all grace, who called you . . . , after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, form, and steadfast.” Take heart, the pain you experience today may be your platform for ministry tomorrow.