Graced To Do God's Will

Deuteronomy 11:18 “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

As we can see, it’s important to teach our children the Word of God, but we can’t teach something we don’t know or learn ourselves. This means, we have to study God’s Word and get a revelation from the scriptures for ourselves in order to teach it to our children.

We see the importance of our children reading, doing math, or learning a second language at an early age, but what about the Word of God?

Instead of allowing our children to watch their favorite TV show every night, why don’t we spend family time teaching them the Word of God. It’s THE most important foundation we could ever provide for them.

Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.

How do we think God’s going to materialize a blessing in our lives? It’s not going to drop out the sky. It’s not going to grow on a tree. It’s going to come through a person.

Whatever need or desire is going to come through a person. God’s going to raise up somebody, somewhere, to use their power and their ability to help us. However, if we’re full of pride, we’ll miss God’s blessing every time.

Someone may want to pay for our groceries. A prideful person may say, “that’s okay, I’ll pay for it myself.” The money we could have saved by allowing someone to pay for our groceries could be a missed opportunity to build our savings account. Someone may offer us a ride to work. A prideful person may deny the offer. That conversation we could have had with the person offering us a ride to work could be the wisdom (blessing) we need to open our desired business.

Don’t miss out on God’s blessing by being prideful towards another person. Let pride go and experience God’s best.

Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shallprosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.

We hear this verse all the time, but if we truly internalized it, we’d be free from worry, fear, and anxiety.

We would realize that whatever we’re facing is only temporary and it won’t end up as the worse case scenario. We may be facing sickness, but that sickness won’t kill us or permanently cause damage. We would understand that our financial shortages won’t be the story of our lives. We would realize the crazy behavior of our child today won’t be the end product.

When God says no weapon will prosper, that means no weapon whatsoever. So, don’t freak out about what comes in our lives today, it’s only temporary.

Psalm 105:37 He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.

Surprise! Surprise! We’re getting older. Although we’re getting older, we don’t have to accept everything that comes along with getting older according to the world. The world will say, “I’m getting older so, my back is tight, my legs are sore, and I can’t move like I used to.” You can believe that if you want, but I choose to believe the Word of God.

God brought over 3 million people out of Egypt and not one of them was lacking physical strength. When Moses was 120 years old, he still was strong and had great vision (Deut. 34:7). If God can do it for them, He can do it for us (Acts 10:34). Psalm 91:16 says, with long life He will satisfy us. How satisfied would any of us be if we’re senile, sickly, and weak in our old age? What kind of quality of life would that be?

Age is just a number. As we get older the quality of our lives doesn’t have to change. With our faith in God’s Word, we can enjoy a healthy pain-free quality of life with all of our mental faculties.

Proverbs 4:20-23 (AMP) My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh. Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.

Consistency in the Word of God is the key to a long-lasting healthy productive life. The Word of God is alive and not void of power. It has the power to change any situation for the better. The Word is also a seed for our desires. That seed must grow (not optional). If we consistently hear the Word on healing, divine health must enter and remain in our lives. If we hear the Word of God on forgiveness, we’ll develop a heart to forgive. The more Word we hear, the more beneficial it will be to our lives.

On the other hand, if we hear the Word only once a week or read it as if we’re doing God a favor, the impact it has on our lives is limited. Faith comes by hearing, therefore, limited exposure to the Word limits the strength of our faith (Rom 10:17).

Throughout the day, let’s get a healthy dose of the Word to experience God’s best in our lives.

Mark 4:30 Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? 31 It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; 32 but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”

When we read or hear the Word of God, it may not seem like it’s doing much. It may seem counterproductive because our situation hasn’t changed yet. It may even seem repetitive due to the fact we’ve been taught to continuously confess the Word over every situation. It may not seem beneficial.

But just like a natural seed, give the Word some time to work. Give it some time to develop. It may seem like nothing’s happening at the moment, but that Word is producing a harvest in our lives bigger than we can imagine. That Word is doing exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think (Eph. 3:10). That Word is changing our situation for our good (Rom. 8:28).

Time spent in the Word may seem insignificant or even boring, but it’s the most important and impactful thing we can ever do. Let’s increase our time reading and hearing the Word of God.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

We should get to a place where we have a desire to do good, change our ways, and to please God. However, the company we keep can impact our spiritual development. If we keep friends around who oppose the idea of change or have no desire to change themselves, we’re the ones who will become corrupted. It’s not a possibility, it’s a guarantee.

We may want to be a loyal friend or not appear high and mighty as we go deeper with God, but at some point we may have to make a decision. We may have to love our friends from afar until we get ourselves together. We may have to distance ourselves from naysayers or friends behaving in dishonorable ways. Sure, they may call us fake or “self-righteous” and we may even lose a few, but having God on our side is better than any person who won’t support our spiritual development.

Let’s keep a circle of friends who will support, uplift, and motivate us to better ourselves.

Judges 7:7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”

Gideon is about to go to war with a great number of men. God instructs him to reduce his number of men from 32,000 to 300.

Human logic says, the more people you have, the more chance there is to secure the victory. As usual, God went against human logic to do the supernatural. God wanted the credit for the victory. At the end of the chapter, without losing a soul, God gave them the victory.

The things God requires of us may seem strange and illogical, but by complying with His requests, we’re guaranteed the victory. He may have us look at houses, knowing we don’t have the money or good credit yet, but when we obey, the miraculous could happen. He may have us buy our boss a gift, knowing they recently gave us a bad evaluation, but when we obey, that same boss could be a good reference to promote us within the company. God may have us apply for a position where we don’t qualify, but when we obey, His favor could get us the job.

It may not always be as smooth of a victory like we see in Gideon’s story, but at the end of the day, God gets the glory and God’s promises are ours.

Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Every single day, some part of our flesh wants to rise up and take over our lives. The flesh includes lust, greed, fear, or anxiety. Daily, if not hourly, we need to destroy the desires of the flesh. Why? In our flesh dwells no good thing and from our flesh we cannot please God (Rom. 7:18; 8:8).

If we tolerate those fleshly desires, it may take over and potentially ruin our lives. The next thing we know, some of us may have a 10-year addiction to pornography or we’ve become a mean bitter person because we refused to keep negative comments to ourselves. Or, we’ll become a nervous wreck because we allowed fear to take over our lives.

If we die to those cravings of the flesh and resist the temptation to sin, we’ll experience a better quality of life.

One of the things Satan is after is our joy. If he can steal our joy, the quality of our lives will decline. In extreme cases, we could lose our will to live.

Satan can steal our joy by tempting us to magnify the problems in our lives. We can have a nice place to live, great health, and a good job but because we have a car that’s giving us problems, he’ll make us think our whole world is in disarray. God could bless us with something nice but since most of our thoughts are focused on what’s wrong, we’ll give God a half-hearted thank you and return our attention back to our problems.

If we find ourselves focusing on our problems rather than God’s promises, we must recognize that Satan is attempting to steal our joy. Let’s change our perspective. Let’s look at all the good things God has done for us and realize if He blessed us in these other areas, it’s only a matter of time before the “problematic” areas must change for the better. Recognize the thief and don’t let him steal your joy.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Judges 6:3 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

The biggest question people have is why. Why did my mom get cancer and die? Why didn’t God save my marriage? Why didn’t I get that job I prayed for?

The question of why can cause people to doubt God’s ability, question God’s existence, and lead them down a path to unbelief altogether.

Why, is a valid question. Answers for why can vary from, disobedience, to unbelief, to basic trials of life. If God can’t answer the question of why, He should cease to be God.

The questions we should ask ourselves is, are we willing to listen to the answer, wait on the answer, or accept the answer that is given to us? Our emotions may be so involved until we’re not willing to calm ourselves and listen to God’s answer. Someone may have prayed for their mother to be healed of cancer, but what they didn’t know is their mother was in so much pain until she would rather be pain-free with the Lord. Our prayers can’t override another person’s desire.

Some answers may not be given for another 5 years. Are we patient enough to wait on the answer?

Finally, are we willing to accept that God may have something better for us if we didn’t get exactly what we prayed for. Psalm 84:11 says, no good thing will he withhold to those who walk uprightly. If He withheld something from us, that wasn’t a good or good enough thing for us.

Trust in God’s answer. Know that whatever we go through, God has our best interest at heart. We can ask why, but don’t let that why turn into unbelief.

Revelations 2:17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”

There must be a willingness to hear and receive God’s Word in our lives. If we listen with reluctance, skepticism, or doubt, we won’t reap the full benefit of the Word.

Skeptics listen to find contradictions and to scoff at things that seem illogical. There’s no benefit to that. Our willingness to hear can provide revelation, direction, and guidance in areas that we can’t even imagine.

Secondly, we all are different and we get inspired differently. You may get inspired by the teaching style of one minister and I may get inspired by the teaching style of another minister and that’s okay. There’s different types of people, therefore, there’s different styles of teaching. Just as long as we have a willingness to hear.

Let’s open our hearts to hear God’s Word to receive inspiration, revelation, and guidance to navigate this thing called life.

Colossians 1:23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Every obstacle we face is designed to get us into unbelief. Everything from sickness in our bodies, financial shortcomings, to a problematic marriage are all designed for us to question is God’s Word real? Does it really work? Is it for me? The answer is yes.

Despite the situations we face, our responsibility is to believe God’s Word. Some of us start out in faith, but due to fatigue or not seeing results quickly, we begin to doubt God’s Word.

Hold on and keep the faith. Don’t let situations sway you from one side to another. If God said it, that settles it. Even if we have to wait for years, God’s Word will come to pass. Keep the Faith!

Numbers 20:11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink. 12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them.”

Moses was with the children of Israel for years. They complained and were constantly disobedient. After so many years with them, Moses was frustrated. He was frustrated to the point of disobedience. When God told him to speak to the rock for water, he hit the rock. That one act of disobedience due to frustration cost Moses the opportunity to enter the promised land.

There will be times where we’ll experience frustration. We can be frustrated at our jobs, at home, and within ourselves. During these times, God will continue to give us instructions. God’s instruction may be unrelated to what we’re frustrated about. Here’s 3 steps to overcome frustration.

Frustration Elimination:
1. Recognize the areas of frustration.
2. Ask God to give you a plan of action regarding overcoming frustration.
3. Despite your feelings, continue to do what God told you to do.

Don’t miss out on a blessing because of frustration.

Just like it’s beneficial to do physical exercises, it’s even more beneficial to do spiritual exercises. One main spiritual exercise is exercising our authority to use the name of Jesus. When we use the name of Jesus everything must bow. Everything must comply with the Word of God. This includes, sickness, lack, negative experiences, and insecurities.

Also like physical exercise, a good way to spiritually exercise is to exercise with music. Put on your favorite worship song and speak the name of Jesus over every negative situation. Speak Jesus over the hurt that was caused from that divorce. Speak Jesus over not knowing what to do next. Speak Jesus over our children who are trying to find themselves.

When the name of Jesus is called, things have to change. It’s not a possibility, it’s a guarantee. They have to change. Ready, set, exercise!

Philippians 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

Christ is bigger than tattoos, piercings, and wardrobes. Christ is bigger than cigarettes and alcohol. Christ is bigger than gold jewelry, weaves, and makeup. Christ is bigger than homosexuality, abortions, and adultery. Christ is bigger than secular music, movies, and TV shows. Christ is bigger than church attendance, giving of tithes, and baptism.

There are believers who will condemn others for one or some of these categories above. They’ll say God is not pleased with us and some will say they’re going to hell. Based on the correct context of the Word of God, this is not true. Christ is bigger than it all. The sacrifice of Jesus redeemed us from ALL sin. There’s not one thing we can do that Christ didn’t suffer and die for. When people condemn others, or tell people they’re going to hell because of this or that, they’re essentially saying, Jesus didn’t pay for that sin. Who are we to tell others the extent of God’s grace?

As believers, our responsibility is to encourage others to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Legitimate salvation teaches all of us how to change our behavior to better the quality of our lives (Titus 2:11-13).

1 Timothy 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,

Have you ever dreamed about a person you haven’t spoken to in a long time? Has someone randomly came into your mind and you wonder how they’re doing? This may be God prompting us to pray for them. People post happy pictures on social media and smile in our faces, but we never really know what they’re going through.

We can pray for their well-being, their family, a better relationship with God, and their salvation. It doesn’t have to be long and drawn out, but a quick prayer over their lives will work. Even if it’s someone who hurt us, we can use this time as a maturing process to pray over their lives.

Be a blessing to someone by sincerely praying for them.

Having intelligence in math, science, and history can be beneficial. It can provide better ways of doing things and make life easier for all of us. However, there are individuals who are ruled by their intelligence. Their intelligence is their god. At the same time, they look at individuals who believe in a God they cannot see as ignorant. They see people who follow an ancient book with “multiple inconsistencies” as fools.

Some of the questions they have and some of their ideas about the Bible are valid. If we listen long enough, it will make us question why we’re believing what we’re believing. It’s just a difference in what each of us choose to believe. Believers choose to believe in a book (the Bible) as the truth while, intellectuals choose to believe in books based around math, science, and history as the truth. There’s not 100% factual evidence that either book is 100% true, but it’s what we choose to believe. There’s only one difference. What we choose to believe, even if we’re wrong, won’t hurt us. In fact, we can be intelligent in math and science and still maintain our belief in the Word of God. But for most intellectuals, what they choose to believe accompanied by the rejection of the Bible, can have them spending eternity in hell.

Don’t get persuaded by teachings that appeal to our logic and reject the Bible. It can be devastating to our lives here on earth and disastrous for our eternity.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 2:14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

People may see our house, our cars, the happiness in our families, or know our financial situation and say, “we’re blessed.”

What they didn’t see is what I like to call “the trenches.” In times of war, the trench was a hole in the ground that sheltered soldiers from artillery. It was a hectic time. Shots were being fired at soldiers and within that trench, they had to learn how to fire back.

In our own lives, the trenches are times of spiritual warfare. It’s when the enemy (Satan) may be attacking our health, the peace within our family, or our finances. We must spiritually fight to keep our trust in God, our sanity, and remain in faith for what we’re believing God for. People see us now, but they didn’t see when we had to pray over our child for divine healing. They didn’t see how we had to confess our marriage is blessed when our marriage was headed towards divorce. They didn’t see how we had to meditate on the promises of God when our finances were in disarray.

It’s a fight to maintain this blessed life that Jesus provided for us, but the best part about this fight is we win. If we remain in faith, confess God’s promises over our lives, and praise God in advance for the victory, we win (1 Cor. 15:57).

If people compliment our lives or inquire about how we got to a certain place in our lives, give them the whole story. Be transparent. Let them know it was God Who brought us through the trenches.

We can’t tolerate curses in our lives because we are blessed. For those who are in Christ Jesus, we are blessed. The most common curses we see today are defeat, financial hardship, and poor health. According to Deuteronomy 28:15-68, these are considered curses.

Why are these curses tolerated? Because we don’t want to do the necessary things to remove these curses from our lives. The necessary things are not positive thinking, working harder, and healthy eating. It’s deeper than that. These are spiritual forces attacking our lives. The necessary things are resisting those forces with the Word of God. It’s confessing daily that we are blessed, healed, and prosperous. It’s feeding our souls by reading/hearing the Word of God. It’s being in tune with the Holy Spirit to determine what He wants us to do to experience manifestations of God’s Word. The negative experiences we see may not leave instantaneously, but if we remain consistent in the things of God and know who we are in Christ, the curses must leave our lives.

Believe and receive all that God says we are and expect the curse to leave our lives.

Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

God is and has been so good to us. He took some of us out of a pit of despair. He removed our fears, got us out of depression, and prospered us. With all that God has done and all that we expect Him to do, we should praise Him.

For those who are in a rough place right now, everything in our flesh will tell us not to praise God. The enemy will magnify the difficulties in our lives and pose the question…“What’s the point?” The point of praise it to keep our souls in check. It’s to get us out of that funk. It’s to remind ourselves of God’s ability. It’s to live in expectation of Him doing great things in our lives again.

Wherever we are in life, open up your mouth on a consistent basis (not just at church) and praise the Lord.

Psalm 150:1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! 2 Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! 3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp!

John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Notice what it doesn’t say. It didn’t say reading the truth shall make us free or hearing the truth shall make us free. It said knowing the truth shall make us free. That means the truth should be understandable and easily accessible.

Now, let’s determine what is the truth. John 17:17 tells us God’s Word is truth. So, anytime we have the Word (in context), we have the truth. The truth is, we’re righteous, we’re healed, we’re blessed, and whatever else God’s Word tells us we are. There may be facts in our lives that are contradicting the truth, but as we continue to apply our faith towards the truth in God’s Word, the truth will override the facts.

Just like we know how to operate our smart phones or operate our social media accounts, know God’s Word and know how to apply God’s Word in every area of your lives.

2 Timothy 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

God’s faithfulness has nothing to do with us. It has nothing to do with our behavior, our performance, or our abilities. His faithfulness has everything to do with Himself.

God wants to establish a reputation of 100% faithful. Regardless of what we’ve done, He’s not going to remove His faithfulness from our lives. That’s good news. That means no matter how far we’ve strayed or how many times we’ve missed the mark, His faithfulness remains available to us.

Whenever we miss it, know God’s faithfulness remains. Grab hold of that faithfulness and receive God’s forgiveness and continue on with life.

Psalm 107:17-19 Fools, because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, And they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses.

Suppose, you were disappointed with your child. They’ve been making poor choices in school, having bad attitudes, and they have tested your patience. You tell them to take the trash outside. As soon as they get outside, they scream…Dad! or Mom!… SNAKE!!! Out of love for your child, you run outside, grab a shovel, and kill the snake. You may have been disappointed with your child’s behavior but when they cry out, you run to their aid.

God’s the same way. We may have strayed from His will but any time we call, He’ll hear us and come to our rescue. He’s never going to forsake us or have us figure it out on our own. He’ll always be there to hear and respond to our prayer.

Deuteronomy 10:21 He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.

When we face negative experiences, we have two options. We can complain and worry about the situation or we can praise and worship God. Complaints don’t create change. but praise is associated with the promises of God.

It’s important to praise and worship God during trying times because it reminds us Who God is in our lives. It lets the devil know that we know where our blessings come from. It allows us to get into God’s presence. It forces us to meditate on His promises. It allows us to recall all the times He’s brought us out before.

On the other side of praise and worship, is a positive attitude and strength to endure another day. You may not feel like it, but worship God in the middle of your negative experience.

Psalm 41:10 But You, O LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up, That I may repay them.

God lifts us up. Not only does He lift us up, but He has the ability to keep us up. Through all the political drama, with the rise and fall of the economy, and even the severe temperatures in the weather, God lifts us up.

Staying lifted above all the negativity that’s occurring in the world depends on us. If we’re worried or fearful about how we’re going to make it, our faith is not in God. If our faith is not in God, there’s no guarantee of God keeping us lifted. A negative mouth and attitude doesn’t guarantee God keeping us up. If we’re speaking negatively towards this person or that person, or that business, we’re sinking to the world’s level.

Whatever negativity we see around us doesn’t have to be our fate. God can and will keep us lifted above it all.

Psalm 34:1 I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

We hear this verse a lot in church, but this is not the easiest thing to do.

• When we receive a promotion, bless the Lord. When we get laid-off, bless the Lord.
• When we have a baby, bless the Lord. When our child has a difficult time following instructions, bless the Lord.
• When we have the finances to take a 4-day vacation, bless the Lord. When we don’t know how we’re going to pay the bills, bless the Lord.
• When we’re full of energy, bless the Lord. When we’re too tired to talk, bless the Lord.

It’s easy and quite natural to bless the Lord during the good times, but it takes disciplined effort to bless the Lord during difficult times. In the midst of negative situations, we don’t bless the Lord because of the situation. We bless the Lord because He is the One Who can instantly change the situation.

So whatever state you’re in, remember to bless the Lord.

Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

When we face afflictions, it doesn’t mean we don’t have faith, we did something wrong, or God is punishing us. Afflictions are a part of life (John 16:33).

There’s a devil, who’s constantly on attack. His job is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Regardless of the affliction, we have hope. Our hope is God’s deliverance. Everything from a minor cold to stage four cancer, God guarantees deliverance.

That’s where our faith comes in. We can either believe and receive God’s deliverance from whatever affliction we’re facing or, allow the affliction to unsettle our peace, take our joy, and destroy our bodies. Being a born-again believer doesn’t mean we’re exempt from problems, but it does mean we’re victorious over every problem.

When we face afflictions, just realize the faith fight is on. Put your hope in God and receive the deliverance that He guarantees.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Honor, reverence, and respect is also known as the fear of the Lord. It has nothing to do with being afraid of God. When we honor God, we position ourselves for wisdom. We position ourselves to receive wisdom in our finances, wisdom at our jobs, and wisdom in raising our children. Whatever area we need wisdom, it begins with our reverence towards God.

The world may look at God as a joke or think those who put their trust in Him are foolish, but when we’re wealthy, promoted, with a happy family, they’re the ones who will look foolish.

Let’s not participate in the minimizing of God or diminish the spiritual forces we have through God. Let’s continue to hold Him in high regard.

When a situation arises, there are three types of people. There are people with unbelief. They panic, stress, and worry about how to resolve a situation.

Secondly, there’s the partial believer. They may listen to a sermon or two and say they’re healed or all their needs are met but two hours later, when someone asks them how that situation is going, they speak a negative report. They let them know how hard it is and they don’t know what they’re going to do. They let them know how much pain they’re in and they let them know how stressed they are.

Finally, there’s the believer. The believer is all in. They’re all in with their belief and speech. They believe what God’s Word says. They believe that God’s Word will come to pass. Temptation or doubt may enter their minds, but they immediately rebuke those thoughts with the Word of God. They may be feeling pain every time they walk, but they periodically confess they are healed. They may see a shortage in their bank accounts, but they call themselves wealthy.

As believers, we want to be all in. Not partial or unbelieving. No matter how long it takes or how big the situation may seem, be all in with God’s Word, God’s ability, and the finished works of Jesus Christ.

Mark 4:14 The farmer sows the word…
20 Still others are like the seeds sown on good soil. They hear the word, receive it, and produce a crop—thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or a hundredfold.”

In the United States, for the past 34 days, people working for the federal government have not been paid. It’s a seemingly stressful situation. People don’t know when they’re going to get their next paycheck and bills are due.

A lot of people are complaining about the president or congress when in actuality, they never had any control over what they did anyway.

For the believer in this situation or any situation like this, it’s an opportunity for our trust to be put on display. Either we’re going to trust God to provide all our needs or complain like the rest of the world.

Our attitude should be an attitude of trust. When people see us doing our jobs (for free in this case) without complaining, they’ll wonder how we can remain so calm and positive. That allows us to share with them Who we put our trust in. Every day, there will be a temptation to complain, but we must resist.

In whatever situation we’re in, we can either trust God or complain about the situation. For positive results, trust in God.

Jeremiah 17:7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. 8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

John 1:16 (GNT) Out of the fullness of His grace He has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another.

When we get a new house, we’ll gladly give God the praise. When we get married to our best friend, that’s another reason to give God the glory. When we receive a financial increase, we’ll rejoice all week long. The same enthusiasm we give God on major breakthroughs in our life is the same enthusiasm we should have on the “little things.”

What’s little to us may be big to someone else. Some of us overlook thanking God for that close parking spot because it’s not that big of a deal but for someone else, it’s truly a blessing because they have arthritis in their knees.  Some may see that $100 raise as insignificant but for someone else, that’s a Godsend because that’s the exact amount they need to pay their rent. Even appreciating our house/apartment has dwindled but, someone else must brave the cold because they have no roof over their head.

Even if it’s not that exciting to us or it’s normal routine, acknowledging God’s hand in the situation is vital. Throughout the day, begin thanking God for the most basic of needs and luxuries.

When we have a heart to please God, we’ll want to make sure we’re doing everything He tells us to do. Depending on the task, we may want confirmation that it’s really God. During those times, we can ask God for a sign.

For instance, if we believe we heard God tell us to move to another city, but we’re not quite sure, we can ask God to show us a specific sign. We can ask God to have that city randomly mentioned 3 times to us within the week and God will do it. While watching the news, He may have that city mentioned. That city may be mentioned by our friend in conversation. That city may be mentioned at a presentation at work. Coincidence? I think not. That’s God showing us a sign.

For confirmation in any area of your life, ask God for a sign. He did it for Gideon and He’ll do it for you too.

Judges 6:36 So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said— 37 look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

There are a lot of things that command our attention. We have work, our families, household responsibilities, and more. In the midst of all of that, there’s God. Now, if we say or have a mindset to put God first, our priorities should reflect that.

That means, if we’re not able to do a load of laundry so that we can spend time with God, so be it. If that means we won’t be able to hang out with our friends to go to a church event we want to attend, oh well. If that means, we’ll miss out on watching our favorite TV show that everyone will be talking about at work the next day, we’ll just have to miss it.

God understands all the things we have to do on a daily basis, but that doesn’t mean He should get pushed to the side. If we want God to prioritize us in our time of need, we should prioritize Him.

Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.  

God wants every believer’s light to shine. What does that mean? That means, being a blessing by generously giving to others, helping those in need, and walking in the love of God in spite of how others treat us.

Some people use this as an opportunity to boast. They want to let people know that their donation came from them. They want to let us know how much of a sacrifice it was to help someone else. They want to publicize the charity work they do for the poor. They’re being a blessing, but they have the wrong attitude.

Our attitude should be an attitude of love. We should genuinely want to see our fellow man do and have better. We should want to see them get back up on their feet. It’s not an opportunity to boast, but to show the love of God to all.

Be sure to shine and not show off.

Acts 9:20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”

After receiving his sight, Saul immediately went to the same place and preached Christ to the same people he led before his Damascus experience. Think about that. Just a few days ago, Saul told these people to kill everyone preaching Christ and now, he’s passionately preaching Christ to them. How “hypocritical” was that?

In our own lives, we may be led to go into our old neighborhood, to our old friends, who knew how we used to be and preach Christ. We shouldn’t allow thoughts of being a hypocrite stop us from doing what we’ve been called to do. Since God’s been good to us and we’ve experienced blessing after blessing, shouldn’t we want everyone to know about our Lord? They may not accept the teachings of Jesus from an outsider, but they may receive Christ and repent, because they know us.

Don’t be ashamed to preach to your past. It’s not hypocritical. It’s vocalizing the manifestation of change.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

A lot of times, when we get overwhelmed with the issues of life, we get emotional. We begin to cry and plead with God to change our situation. We tell God all about our problems, hoping He’ll take pity on us, and change our situation soon. After 6 months of an unchanged situation, some of us get frustrated with God and lose hope.

As we can see from scripture, God doesn’t respond to tears. He responds to faith. Not just any type of faith, but bold faith. God tells us to come boldly to the throne of grace to receive help in our time of need.

Why boldness? Because as children of God, we should know what belongs to us. Everything from healing, finances to meet a need, to deliverance of addictions all belong to us. So, don’t cry about the situation because crying won’t cut it. Boldly approach God, according to His will, and declare what you need changed in your life.

Proverbs 7:21 With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, With her flattering lips she seduced him…23 Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it would cost his life….25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths;

Let’s face it, people are attractive. That attraction can be the first step in the devil’s plan to ruin a loving marriage. If we’re not mindful, we’ll allow Satan to invade our thoughts with lustful and unholy things. Satan attempts to deceive us into thinking life would be better with the other person or no one would know. But as we can see from scripture, this deceptive thinking can ruin our lives.

We could get a divorce and inherit all of the terrible things divorce can do to ourselves, our families, and our finances. We could create a lifetime of trust issues in our marriage. We could create a deeper insecurity within our spouses. We could send the wrong message to our children. All of this can occur if we choose not to resist temptation.

If thoughts of adultery have entered your mind, remove those thoughts by literally saying, “I only desire my spouse” every day. If adultery has already been committed, receive God’s forgiveness, ask for your spouse’s forgiveness, and turn from that lifestyle and commit yourself to God and your spouse. Let’s not ruin the blessing God has given us.

Acts 9:6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

If we had our way, we’d want to know every detail of God’s plan for our lives. We’d want to know when, where, and how. Who wouldn’t? But often times, God gives us partial information. He’ll give us initial steps to determine if we’ll handle those instructions appropriately. Did we do what was instructed? Did we do it when He told us to do it? Did we have the correct attitude when we did it? All these things play a factor on when we get our next instructions.

Once partial instructions are appropriately completed, then we qualify ourselves to receive additional instructions that will lead us to God’s best for our lives. Matthew 25:23 says it this way, if we’re faithful over a few things, we can be in charge of many things.

What has God told you? Whatever it is, do it appropriately to eliminate any delay on God’s promise.

Hebrews 2:16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.

All throughout the Bible and even today, people are in awe of angels. They see them as these big, powerful, beautiful beings. With all that we know about angels, it’s interesting to see how God doesn’t give aid to angels, but to the seed of Abraham.

If we belong to Christ, we are Abraham’s seed (Gal. 3:29). God prioritizes us, flawed and all, more than He does angels who worship Him day and night. That’s encouraging. That means, no matter what we’ve done wrong and no matter how far we’ve strayed, His hand remains available for us to grab. God is and will always be willing to help us in our time of need. He hasn’t left and He will not leave us to fend for ourselves. He is and He will always be there for us.

Receive God’s aid because He prioritizes you.