“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:7
“The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”  Proverbs 21:1

This morning there are those who are happy with the election results in their state and there are those who are sad. What I would say to you is these two verses I’ve listed above are still true in either case. If you trust in man you’ll be very disappointed, but trusting in the Lord regardless of what you see is the best place to be.

If you keep your eyes on Jesus and spend time with Him, you just can’t go wrong. We’ve seen it over and over and over again, people get so focused on what’s going on in the world that they loose sight of who is in control of everything. Everything! If He can direct and move a river, he can direct and move a mere man.

This is the season when harvest takes place, crops are brought in before the first snow fall. Vegetables and fruits are canned and stored for the long winter. Be thankful and bless His name for the abundance He’s given. Put your hope and trust in the God who is still in control. For those who do will never be disappointed.

Father, we trust you with our future. You always have our best interests in mind. Regardless of the outcome, we place our hope in the most stable and secure place; YOU. We thank You for our peace that passes understanding and guards our hearts and minds. We will focus on YOUR business and trust You with the plans YOU have for us. It’s in Jesus’ name and for Your glory, Amen.

David said to the Philistine, “You come to me using sword, spear, and javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel. You have said bad things about him.” I Samuel 17:45 ERV

Have you ever felt that way when you hear someone trashing the name of Jesus or using Gods name to damn things? I have! I’ve even said to them, “Hey! Stop already! That name means something special to me!” Well that’s exactly how David felt when he overheard Goliath doing the same thing.

David was just a young boy when he said these words to a giant, a man who had caused all of Israel to freak out for quite some time. But David knew the power of His God, mighty to save and deliver. I loved this translation where he called the Lord All-Powerful! How did he learn these things about God? In a valley while tending sheep. 

Perhaps you’re in a valley tending sheep right now. This is your time when you learn to lean into the mighty power of God to deliver, save and keep. This is the time when you learn who God is and what He’s capable of. There may be a battle you’re about to face that will test what you know about Him. When you face your giant, remember what you learned in the valley. He will never leave you, He’s always got your back.

He didn’t say you would never go through hard places, but He did say He’d be with you. He never said there would be no battles, but He did say He would fight them for you. This might be the day when you face your enemy and say with a loud voice, “You can mock me, but you cannot mock my God and get away with it. He is well able to deliver you into my hand!” Now, go choose your stone and when you throw it, it will not miss it’s mark.

Father, I’m so thankful to be Your child and to have deep intimate knowledge of who You are and what You’re capable of. There’s absolutely nothing impossible for You and the giant I’m facing right now must bow a knee to You. I will walk in victory today because You already won and have given my enemy into my hand. It’s in Your All-Powerful Name I pray, Amen.

Then Moses summoned Joshua. He said to him with all Israel watching, “Be strong. Take courage. You will enter the land with this people, this land that God promised their ancestors that he’d give them. You will make them the proud possessors of it. God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry.” Deuteronomy 31:7-8 Message

I just felt like someone needed to hear this today. Just as Moses said to Joshua, God is saying to you, be strong and courageous, stand your ground, don’t allow what you see with your natural eyes to influence the truth you know in your spirit. Whatever God has promised you, He is faithful to deliver on that promise.

He said, “I am the Lord your healer!” That’s His word and you can trust in what He said. It doesn’t mean the thief won’t try to steal it, but if you stand, don’t be weary and quit, hold on for dear life, you will see the manifestation of that promise.

He said, “I am Your Provider!” That’s His word and you can trust in what He said. It may look bad right now, your account may look empty, your cupboards may look empty, but the same God who takes care of the birds will take care of you. Get up, get dressed, spend time in the presence of the Lord and listen to what He directs you to do. As you go, He will show you what to do and where to go.

He said, “Go possess the land!” That’s His word and you can trust in what He said. Make the offer, trust God to provide what you need. Begin packing up your house. Prepare yourself for the move. God loves to see your faith and trust in Him. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all you ask or think according to the power that works in you. What power works in you? The power of the Holy Spirit.

Thank you Holy Spirit that You are in me, working on my behalf, bringing about the will of God concerning me. May I make the necessary steps to possess the promises given to me. I trust in You and know that You will cause me to enter in. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

With that, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, let loose: “Rulers and leaders of the people, if we have been brought to trial today for helping a sick man, put under investigation regarding this healing, I’ll be completely frank with you—we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of his name this man stands before you healthy and whole. Jesus is ‘the stone you masons threw out, which is now the cornerstone.’ Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one.” Acts 4:8-12

I think it’s time the church took on Peters attitude to speak the frank truth of the gospel to those around us. Instead of being intimidated and cowering in fear of offending someone. We should move in boldness, rise up and speak the truth, not be super agreeable with twisted thinkers just to keep the peace.

It’s time we allow the Holy Spirit to move us out of our comfort zone and into the spotlight. To take our lights out from under the baskets so that the light in us can shine the way to the truth and the freedom it brings. No more excuses! No more fear! No more intimidation to conform!

There’s a world of hurting people out there and we all know that hurting people hurt people. Stop being offended when they lash out at you. Smile and tell them Jesus loves them and so do you! Do what Jesus said to do, pray for those who are hateful and hurtful. Pray for their healing, spirit soul and body. Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:10-12:

“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.”

So there you have it. You can speak the truth in love, but be frank with them. You represent the Kingdom of God and that’s a good thing! Like the old chorus goes, “Be bold! Be strong! For the Lord your God is with you. Be bold! Be strong! For the Lord your God is with you. I am not afraid, no no. I am not dismayed, not me, cause I’m walking in faith and victory, come on and walk in faith and victory for the Lord, your God, is with you.” And all Gods people said, AMEN!

I hear the Lord saying, “I will stay close to you, instructing and guiding you along the pathway for your life.  I will advise you along the way and lead you forth with my eyes as your guide. So don’t make it difficult; don’t be stubborn when I take you where you’ve not been before. Don’t make me tug you and pull you along. Just come with me!” Psalm 32:8-9 TPT

We recently decided to begin looking for a home to purchase, so the first thing I do when I get in my car is to add the address of the house we’re going to see into my maps so that I can get directions on how to get there. Immediately the voice of my GPS lady comes on to tell me which way to turn until finally I hear her say, “You’ve arrived!”

When I read this verse this morning, I thought about that. God directs me along my pathway for life. Even in the turns, the unknowns, the traffic and detours, He sees and knows the best way to get me where I need to be to do what I need to do in order to go where I need to go.

Just as there are times when I realize where I am and think, “I know a faster way!” So I veer off the GPS way and hear her say, “Take a U-turn,” so it is with God. He has a better plan, maybe not as easy or comfortable, perhaps it will take longer to get there, but this is a journey, a journey with and for Him.

So that last part, “don’t be stubborn when I take you where you’ve not been before. Don’t make me tug you and pull you along. Just come with me!” Yeah, that’s seriously for me! I’m not going to tell you it’s been an easy road to travel because it’s not been. I’ve gone through some things I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, but it’s still a road I will gladly travel with God guiding me to my final destination. 

When you become dependent on Gods voice leading and directing you and your confidence in Him grows, it becomes second nature to follow His lead. You just know that He’s always got your best interests in mind. You just know that when you finally reach your destination, it will include all the things you’ve secretly asked Him for. He loves to give good gifts to His children, but He also loves you lavishly.

Today as I get in my car, I will ask Your directions because that is where I truly want to go. I don’t want my way, I want Your way. When I hesitate or become fearful of the unknown, help me to lean and rely on You so that You don’t have to tug and pull me along to my destiny. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

So then, prepare your hearts and minds for action!  Stay alert and fix your hope firmly on the marvelous grace that is coming to you. For when Jesus Christ is unveiled, a greater measure of grace will be released to you. 1 Peter 1:13 TPT

That’s a call right there, prepare your hearts and minds for action. What’s he trying to prepare us for? I felt he was saying, “This life won’t be boring! It’s meant to be a life of action not comfort!” So often we want the ‘good life’ with ease and happiness, everything money can buy, but that’s not what Jesus called us to. He said go-that is an action word.

Then the words ‘stay alert’. Why stay alert? What’s coming that we have to watch for? Perhaps it’s the attack of the enemy because we know he’s real and unrelenting in his pressure to get us to give up and give in. Stay watchful, your adversary roams around like a roaming lion seeking who he may devour.

And then these sweet words; fix your hope firmly on the marvelous grace that is coming to you. Oh wow! Solidly, immovable, firmly grounded, unshaken hope in the undeserved, unearned grace that’s coming to you. What a place to live. What a place to focus, on Jesus and what He’s done for you.

But He didn’t leave us with that. This last statement shows promise of more, much more! For when Jesus Christ is unveiled, a greater measure of grace will be released to you. There’s more to know, always unveiling things we’ve not learned, things not seen yet, a greater grace to be released. Oh my! As if the simple grace of God wasn’t already enough, He promises a greater measure will be released to us.

Father, my heart is overwhelmed with this promise. I will stay alert and fix my hope in You who never fails. You will reveal Yourself to me in ways I’ve yet to discover and I will bask in the amazing grace I’ve yet to know. It’s in Jesus’ name I say, Amen.

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:9

As I lay crying on my bed I prayed, “Father, how long before I see the manifestation of my healing? How long will I have this horrible pain? I believe Your word is true, not just with my head, but with my heart! Am I missing something?”

Suddenly I saw a drop of blood and heard the Lord speak to my spirit, “When the first drop of blood was spilled, that’s when your healing happened.  What happened long ago is still as powerful today. Don’t allow your feelings to hijack your promise.”

That was Saturday night. Sunday morning I was scheduled to sing on the worship team and the thought of standing for that long made me want to call off and stay in bed. Suddenly I threw off the blankets and jumped in the shower. Yeah, I’m not going to allow the devil to talk me out of my blessing. If faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word, I’m not missing church!

Did the pain go away? NO! I just kept thanking God for my healing, iced it, did what I needed to do and went to bed hurting. As I lay in bed, I pictured that drop of blood Jesus shed for my healing and as I thanked Him, I fell asleep.

I awoke Monday morning still in pain, still having trouble walking, took my shower, went to work for a friend and while there I received a call from my daughter, Stacy who lives in Michigan.  She told me that when she went to her second service to sing special music, her pastor gave her a word for me. He said, “Anoint your moms head, hands and feet and pray for her healing. Tell her healing is coming through her worship.” She called last night and had her dad lay hands on me and anoint me as she prayed.

I’m taking every opportunity to worship God today, for in due season my feelings will line up with my faith.  What Jesus did for me cannot be taken from me.  The same power that raised Christ from the dead quickens my body. He’s just that good to me! He’s just that faithful to me! He doesn’t favor one of us above another, His blood works for you just as is does me.

May this song encourage you today as it did me.

“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.” Romans 8:5-6 NLT

Well whats it gonna be today? Will you listen to your flesh or focus on the Spirit? Will you pray and fill your mind with the Word or just allow your mind to carry you along like an empty canoe bobbing down a river?  Perhaps you’re complaining because your prayers haven’t been answered and you’re frustrated about that. Your choices today will bring your results tomorrow. No one to blame but you! 

You can’t continue to pay attention to what he did to you. You can’t pay attention to what the doctor said, you can’t even pay attention to what came in the mail yesterday. The things you must pay attention to is this; Whats the Word say about that? If you’re unsure, your blessing has become vulnerable. It’s only those who trust in the unfailing Word of God that see the manifested promise. If it’s not showed up, spend time with the Lord asking for correction on your thinking and your speaking. He will show you! How do I know that? Because He said the Holy Spirit would lead you into all truth and that you will know the truth and it would set you free.

When you think on the Word, speak the Word, agree with the Word, your mind will have peace and you will live. I didn’t say it, the Word said it. So today as you face challenges, make your mind up right now that you will practice Philippians 4:8 today by keeping your mind on good things. It’s the only thing that brings lasting peace.

Relationship with God will trump your natural circumstances because you will have perfect peace. Isaiah 26:3 Amplified says: You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. The Orthodox Jewish bible says He keeps you in shalom shalom. That is some heavy duty peace right there!

Oh Father my Father, You have this! All that is in my mind and heart I give to You. I climb into Your lap and catch the view from Your perspective because Your ways and thoughts are much higher then mine are.  You have a plan for it all. You have a purpose for everything that happens in my life, my job is to trust You with it and that is exactly what I will do today. All for Your glory and Your Kingdom in the earth in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Hannah prayed: I’m bursting with God-news! I’m walking on air. I’m laughing at my rivals. I’m dancing my salvation.  Nothing and no one is holy like God, no rock mountain like our God. Don’t dare talk pretentiously—not a word of boasting, ever! For God knows what’s going on. He takes the measure of everything that happens.The weapons of the strong are smashed to pieces, while the weak are infused with fresh strength. The well-fed are out begging in the streets for crusts, while the hungry are getting second helpings. The barren woman has a houseful of children, while the mother of many is bereft.  God brings death and God brings life, brings down to the grave and raises up. God brings poverty and God brings wealth; he lowers, he also lifts up. He puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, Restoring dignity and respect to their lives—a place in the sun! For the very structures of earth are God’s; he has laid out his operations on a firm foundation. He protectively cares for his faithful friends, step by step, but leaves the wicked to stumble in the dark. No one makes it in this life by sheer muscle!  God’s enemies will be blasted out of the sky, crashed in a heap and burned. God will set things right all over the earth, he’ll give strength to his king, he’ll set his anointed on top of the world! 1 Samuel 2:1-10 MSG

This was the praise that Hannah gave the Lord when she took young Samuel to reside in the house of the Lord, keeping her vow.  I think as a mom I can glean a whole lot from this praise/prayer she offered up. She simply remembered the faithfulness of God and reminded Him of what she knew.

Daniel 11:32 says; Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

Hannah knew God! She was strong to keep her promise to Him and because of her sacrifice, carried out great exploits through the prophet Samuel. I believe God knew this about her even before she did. There are times that the very things with-held from us are the things that drive us deeper to know the God who keeps His promises.

Every year when her husband went to the temple to offer sacrifices, she was persecuted by the rival child-bearing wife which drove her to the temple to pray. It was in the quiet time before the Lord that she became aquatinted with Him. She could not withhold her vow from the God who saw, who heard and who delivered.

We can allow the adversity we face to drive us toward God or away from God, but the best choice is going toward Him. To focus on the goodness of Him rather then the adversity that surrounds us. To understand that what we yield to Him will only come back stronger and better in the end and have lasting benefit to others.

My dear remnant friend, you may be facing a mountain that looks too big to climb, the God in you is bigger then that mountain. You may be weighed down with burdens too big for you to carry, but the God in you wants to carry those for you. You were never meant to do life alone, the God in you wants you to come up higher, know Him better, lean on Him heavier, trust Him deeper. He wants you to see things from His perspective, not your own.

Father, here I am praising You in the midst of my mess.  I know that when it’s all done, it will be just as beautiful as You saw it. I don’t need to be alive to see it, I’ve already seen it when you showed it to me. I trust in You and You alone. It’s all for Your glory in Jesus’ name, Amen.

So how is it that God rewards those who keep their promises to Him? The thing with God is that He doesn’t just see the seed you give, He see’s that the one seed contains much more within it. Just as it is in a kernel of corn, once it goes into the ground and dies, it brings a stalk up which bears 2-3 ears of corn with several hundred kernels on each ear. God never see’s things the way we do and when He blesses you, it’s to show just how generous He is to those who trust Him.

God was most especially kind to Hannah. She had three more sons and two daughters! The boy Samuel stayed at the sanctuary and grew up with God. 1 Samuel 2:21 MSG

If you back up into chapter 1 again, or read what I blogged yesterday, you’ll understand that Hannah was barren and persecuted because of it. Yet she asked God for a son and vowed to give him to the Lord for His service. It wasn’t an easy thing to pray, but she understood that God was a generous God! Wanting a child to serve the Lord is a beautiful thing.

We are all created for service to Gods Kingdom, what we do with that promise determines the fruit we bear in our lifetime. It’s not up to us what that produce looks like, but that we’re faithful in producing for Him.

There are times I think we’ve been promised that if we give our lives to the Lord, we will be blessed beyond measure, never experience problems or difficulties and life will be a garden of roses. What we fail to teach is that manure is tilled into the soil-that stinks! We’re expected to work the soil, pick bugs off the plants, get our arms scratched in the process of caring for these beautiful roses. It’s not easy! It’s hard! But it’s so rewarding when you see the fruit you’ve produced working the same process and producing more of the same.

Dear Lord! There were times I thought I had developed an allergic reaction to the fruit I bore. Each time I would speak into them, they would be angry or contrary. Those ‘blessings of the Lord’ at times seemed to bring pain and stress into my life, but then I remembered that gardening is hard work and I should never have committed to it without counting the cost.

I would remind God that they were His to do with according to His plan and I left their growth to Him. I was merely a planter and grower, the final product was up to Him alone. I would remember the promise of Proverbs 22:6, that if I train up my child in the way of the Lord, when they’re older they won’t depart from Him. He always keeps His promises even when I don’t see it happen!

Thanks Lord for that amazing reminder. My reward is in my obedience, pure and simple. I’m not responsible for what the fruit yields, only in my obedience to what you instruct me to do. If I deviate from my purpose, it may effect the outcome and for that I truly repent. May I be a faithful promise keeper, a doer and not a hearer only. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer. In Jesus’ name, Amen.