Are You Believing and Trusting In God In Spite Of Your Circumstance?

Do you believe God?  Do you believe that He will do what He said He would do?   Do you believe that He will heal YOU?   Do you believe that He will bring forth the finances that YOU have need of?   Do you believe that He will give you peace in the midst of the storms in YOUR life?    Do you believe that He can restore YOUR joy?   Do you believe?

In order to truly walk in faith, you must first believe.    If you don't believe God can, how can  you call it faith?   One thing you must understand is that doubt cancels out your faith.    To believe means to accept and feel sure about the truth of something.   You have to believe that God is who He said He is and that He will do what He said He would do.

How often do we start out in faith and begin to doubt when we encounter the unexpected.   Understand, faith is believing in what you cannot see.   So everything in our walk of faith is going to require us to trust God in spite of the circumstance. 

Are you trusting God when your body begins to hurt more when you are believing Him for healing?   Are you trusting Him when the deadline for the bill is approaching and you still don't have the money you need?   Are you trusting Him when you lose a loved one?   Are you trusting Him when you need a job and no one has called you for an interview?

Your trust in God can't stop no matter what the situation is.    Even if the deadline is past, you have to still trust that God has a plan in place for your deliverance.    We have to understand that believing and trusting in God is not an option, IT IS A MUST! 

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Psalms 28:7 

The LORD [is] my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise Him.

Are You Determined To Finish Your Race Well Even Though You Feel Tired?

Are you willing to run the race no matter what obstacles come up in life?   Are you willing to go "all the way" with God?   

So often, we are ready to give up and we are ready to quit when things become difficult in our lives.    We have to understand that difficulty does not mean denial.   Things are difficult when they are hard to accomplish, deal with, or understand.   We have to trust God to give us an understanding.  We have to trust Him to help us to accomplish His will in the earth.   We have to trust Him to help us to deal with the difficulties of life.

We have to get to a place in God where we say we are going to "finish well" no matter what.    We have to be determined to finish the race even when we feel weak.   We have to understand that our weakness is not a reason for us to stop because God said in our weakness, He is strong.   We have to be determined to finish no matter how long our deliverance is taking because God has already let us know that our timing is not His timing.   

Not every race is easy.   In order to build your endurance, you have to go a little further each time you try.   Sometimes you have to slow down and you have to understand the importance of resting in the process so that you are able to go further and further with God. 
 

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Ecclesiastes 9:11

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

Do You Believe That God Knows What You Are Going Through and Are You Trusting In What He Said?

GOD KNOWS!   If God knows, why do you think you know more than God?   GOD SAID!   If God said, why do you think what other people say overrides what God has said?   We have to get this right.   We have to start letting God be the FINAL authority in our lives.    We have to stop trying to work around His plan to get things done in our lives.    God knows what we need and God has already said what we must do. 

How often do you sit up at night wondering what to do next?   Wondering how to get done what you need to have done in your life.   Even after we give things over to God in prayer, we tend to pick those things back up.   We have to learn the art of laying it down and leaving it.   

God wants us to trust Him.   He wants us to truly believe that He knows what is best for us and that He will work everything in our lives together for our good.   He wants us to believe that He is God and that He is well able to take care of us.   Every time we pick our problems back up after giving them to Him, we are saying that maybe we can do something God can't do.   We have to understand that God is all-powerful and all-knowing.   Not only that, He has a plan already set in place and that plan includes meeting us at our point of need.

Understand today ... GOD KNOWS!   He knows what you have been through, what you are going through, and everything you will ever go through.   If He knows, TRUST that He has a plan in place to take care of you.   

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Psalm 139:1-16

1 Lord, you have examined me
    and know all about me.
² You know when I sit down and when I get up.
    You know my thoughts before I think them.
³ You know where I go and where I lie down.
    You know everything I do.
⁴ Lord, even before I say a word,
    you already know it.
⁵ You are all around me—in front and in back—
    and have put your hand on me.
⁶ Your knowledge is amazing to me;
    it is more than I can understand.

⁷ Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?
    Where can I run from you?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there.
    If I lie down in the grave, you are there.
⁹ If I rise with the sun in the east
    and settle in the west beyond the sea,
¹⁰ even there you would guide me.
    With your right hand you would hold me.

¹¹ I could say, “The darkness will hide me.
    Let the light around me turn into night.”
¹² But even the darkness is not dark to you.
    The night is as light as the day;
    darkness and light are the same to you.

¹³ You made my whole being;
    you formed me in my mother’s body.
¹⁴ I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.
    What you have done is wonderful.
    I know this very well.
¹⁵ You saw my bones being formed
    as I took shape in my mother’s body.
When I was put together there,
¹⁶ you saw my body as it was formed.
All the days planned for me
    were written in your book
    before I was one day old.

Are You Living In The Shadow of Your Family, Friends, and Past Mistakes or Are You Dwelling In The Secret Place of God and Abiding Under His Shadow?

Have you ever done something just for the sake of doing it?   Just because it was something that someone else wanted you to do or just because you were bored and had nothing else to do?   We have to get to the place of understanding that our choices matter.   What we choose to do matters?   It's time to stop living in the shadow of our family, friends, and even our past mistakes.

The Bible says that He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.   There is no place better than being hidden in the shadow of God.   You may be asking Yourself what is that secret place?   How do I get there?  How do I stay hidden in the shadow of God?

When something is secret, it is not known, seen, or meant to be known or seen by others.   There is a secret place in God that not everyone knows about.    It is a place of refuge, a place of shelter, and a place of peace.

We have to learn how to dwell in the presence of God.    When you dwell there, you reside there, live there, and become settled there.   We  have to come to a place where we rest in God and His Word.   It's time to dwell and to abide in the secret place of God where we know His Word, His will, and His way.   Where we put our total trust in what He has said He will do because as we do, we will begin to experience the protection and the peace of God. 

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Psalm 31:20

You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues. 

Psalm 27:5

For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. 

Psalm 119:114

You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your word.

Are You Allowing People, Places, or Things To Obstruct Your View Of God or To Keep You From Hearing God Clearly?

Have you ever thought of changing positions?   If there is an object in front of you, your view of that object is dependent on where and how you are standing?   If you are standing behind another person, a part of your view may be obstructed.   When something is obstructed, it is blocked or cut off.    Understand, people can be an obstruction to your view of God.    However, if you move over or if they move out of the way, you can see God clearly.   

Not only can our view of God be obstructed but our ability to hear God can be obstructed as well.   There are many sounds in the earth.   There are many voices that are speaking to us daily.   We hear people speaking to us and we also hear the situations in our lives speaking to us.    Bills talk.  Not only do they talk they cause emotions to arise.   They can cause us to walk in fear, worry, and doubt.   So can people.   People can give us their opinion and if we are not rooted and grounded in what God has said, we can allow the opinions of others to dictate our actions.   

It's time to get in position.   We have to be in a position where we see and hear God clearly.   We have to be in a place where we are rooted and grounded in Him so that when the winds of life try to blow us down, we still stand strong because we see God clearly and we know what He has said to be true.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Psalms 1:3 - And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 

Jeremiah 17:8 - For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.  

Are You Becoming Relaxed In Today's Society and Fitting In Instead Of Standing Out For God?

Are you representing God well?   Are  you allowing the people in your circle of influence to see just how good God is in your life?

We have become such a relaxed society.   We don't press into the beauty of God's holiness.    When something is beautiful, it carries within it a standard of excellence.   Are you pressing towards God's mark or are your becoming comfortable in the world's way of doing things?   In life we can become so comfortable with the world's way of doing things that we fail to raise the bar for others to press towards God's way of doing things.

God gave and still gives us His best and yet we sometimes minimize His blessings.   When He gives us a nice home, we fail to open it up for His people.   When He gives us nice clothes, we choose to wear jeans to go and worship Him.   When He increases our finances, we fail to tithe and give offerings.    Why should He continue to bless us if we fail to use His blessings correctly?  

What we have to understand is our blessings are not just for us.   God blesses us to be a blessing.   He blesses us so that others can see the significant difference that comes about when you serve God.    He doesn't bless us so that we can fit in, He blesses us so that we can stand out for Him.   He doesn't bless us to walk in pride and arrogance, He blesses us to humility and strength.   

We have to stop trying to fit in and start standing out for God and His Kingdom.    God loves us and we have to share that love with the people around us.     People need to know that when they are willing and obedient, they shall eat the good of the land.   If you look and act like they do, how will they know that God has called them to be different.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

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

1 Peter 2:9 - But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 

Are You Sharing The Overflow Of God's Love, Joy, Peace, and Power That Is In Your Life With Those Around You?

Are you living in the overflow or are you sharing the overflow of God's love, joy, peace, and power with those around you?   Don't just "live in" the overflow, share it!   God wants the same love you feel to be felt by someone else.   He wants the same joy that  you experience to be experienced by someone else.   He wants the people in your circle of influence to experience His peace and to also walk in His power.  So don't just live in the overflow, share it.  

The word overflow means that there is excess or surplus available that is not able to be accommodated by an available space.   It means more than enough.   It means too much.   If you are living in God's overflow, that means you have more than enough to share.   So make sure you are sharing God's love with those around you.   Make sure they know how special they are to God.  Let them know that they are His divine creation.    

Remember, the joy of the Lord is your strength.   Help someone be strengthened today.  Share your testimony and let people see how joyful you are.   Let the overflow of your joy rest in the heart of someone else so that they too can be joyful and strengthened.    

There is nothing that even compares to the power of God.   Understand, God has empowered you to encourage and empower those around you.   Share God's Word and let the people around You know that God is good and He is able to do whatever needs to be done in their lives. 

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

2 Corinthians 12:9 - And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Deuteronomy 31:6 - Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, He [it is] that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Acts 1:8 - But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Are You Disqualifying Yourself Based On Your Past When God Has Already Forgiven You and Qualified You For Your To Walk In Hope and Expectation For Your Future?

Are you disqualifying yourself?   Are you looking at your life and saying that you have made to many mistakes?   Are you thinking people won't receive you because of your past?   Are you looking at your ability instead of relying on God's ability?   Are you trying to override what God has said concerning your life? 

God knows all about you!  He knew what your response would be to every situation in your life and yet HE QUALIFIED YOU.    To qualify means to be  entitled to a particular benefit or privilege by fulfilling a necessary condition.   The condition that was fulfilled was fulfilled by Christ.   The blood that was shed, was shed on your behalf.   It's the blood that cleanses you and qualifies to live and to speak in the earth for God.

You have to stop looking at your past.   You have to stop listening to the words of negativity that people are speaking against you.   People will talk but not every person is speaking the Word of God.   You have to know who you are and you have to know that the blood covered it all.   You should never be ashamed of the blood covering.   God knew that we all would need it.  We just have to accept it and move forward in life.   

Understand, God delivered you with a purpose in mind.   Our purpose is to always fulfill His purpose.   We are called to be a light to a lost and hurting generation.   Sometimes, when people know that you have been through, it will help them get through whatever they are going through in life.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Isaiah 43:25 

I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, And will not remember thy sins.

Learning How To Wait On God. Are You Trying To Get God To Move In "Your Timing" with "His Plan"?

Are you trying to rush God?    Are you trying to get Him to move in "your timing" with "His plan"?   Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that it is His plan and because it is His plan, He has set in place the timing for the fullness of His plan to be seen.

In this world, we have a microwave mentality.   We want it NOW and God says in His Word to wait on the Lord and to be of good courage.   He says that those that wait on Him will renew their strength.   He says to be still and to know that He is God.   He says to rest in Him and to wait patiently for Him.   He says that the vision is for an appointed time and the end shall speak and not lie.    He says that if we wait patiently for Him, His ear is inclined to hear our cry.  

We have to understand that waiting on God is part of our process.   A process is a series of steps we take in order to achieve an expected end.   So don't get lost in the process.   Don't give up because it's not happening as soon as or as quick as you would like for it to happen.  Continue to trust and believe God.  Continue to wait on Him.  Remember, God is not a man and He cannot lie.   What He has said, He will do if we continue to walk in obedience to Him and His Word.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Psalms 27:14 - Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Isaiah 40:31 - But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.

Psalms 37:7-9 - Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

 Habakkuk 2:3 - For the vision [is] yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

 

Psalms 40:1 - (To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.) I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

Are You Being Distracted By Life or Are You Keeping Your Focus On God In The Midst Of The Trials Of Life?

Are you allowing life to distract you?   Don't stop looking to God. It's easy to get distracted in life. Bills are a distraction. Sickness is a distraction. Family and friends can be a distraction. But you have to refuse to get distracted. 

When you are distracted, you are unable to concentrate because your mind is preoccupied.  To be preoccupied means to be obsessed, concerned, or absorbed by someone or something.    In other words,  you let someone or something inhabit and take residence in your heart and your mind.   We have to make sure that we don't allow anyone or anything to occupy the place in our heart and our mind that only God and His Word should be occupying. 

We have to understand that God is the author and the finisher of life.   He knows our beginning and He knows our end.   Because God knows, we can have faith and trust in whatever He is telling us to do.   Even when we don't understand the process, we have to trust and believe that God knows what He is doing and His plan of deliverance will come to pass in our lives.    

So don't be distracted by life.   Don't allow the worries and the cares of this world to cause you to lose your focus.   When you focus on something, it is the center of  your attention.   Keep your eyes on God.   Let the Father and His Word always be the focal point of your life.   

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Isaiah 26:3

 King James Version (KJV)

³ Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.

How Do You See God? Understand, If You See God Right, It Will Fuel Your Faith!!!

Are you reaching for God's highest and His best or are you settling for less than.   Less than what God has said and less than what God has required.   When you look at the term "less than", it is used to make a comparison.   When you compare and contrast something, you know that there are similarities but there is also a "standard" of measurement.    Understand, God has a standard.   There is a level or degree of excellence in God.   A level where you see His attributes and His characteristics outweighing the world's way of doing things in  your life.  

We have to get to a place where God's way outweighs the world's way.   Our desire to please God must be "more than" our desire to please people and to obtain "stuff".    The term "more than" is a quantifier.   It means greater in size or amount or extent or degree.   There is nothing greater in heaven and earth than God.  The question is, how are you seeing Him?   What is your perception of God?   

Are you recognizing God for who He is in your life?   Are you seeing Him as your Healer, Deliverer, and Provider?  Are you living in constant awareness of His presence?  Knowing that He is everywhere present.   Therefore, He sees all, knows all, and can do all things.   Do you realize who He is and appreciate Him for all that He has done and is doing in your life?   Understand, our perception of God fuels our faith and opens up doors of opportunity for Him to move in our lives.    

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Psalm 34:8 

King James Version (KJV)

⁸ O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.

What Is Your Hope, Confidence, and Reliance Rooted In?

Where is your faith?   Is your faith in your family and your friends?   Is it in your job?   Is it in what you can do and what you can make happen?  Or is your faith in God?   We have to understand that the word faith is defined as our "complete" hope and confidence in someone or something.

Is your hope and confidence in what others can do for you or in what God can do for you?   People may stand by you  but you can't put your total hope in confidence in them.   What if something happens and they leave?   What if God calls them home?   What if their attitudes and their actions change concerning you?   What do you do when they do the unexpected?   Do you give up?   Do you quit?   Do you get mad and begin to talk about them because they didn't do what you expected or wanted them to do?   We have to remember that God will use people to help us but our hope and our confidence have to remain in Him.   

What about your job?   Is your hope, confidence, and reliance on your paycheck?   What happens when the job goes out of business or they suddenly do a layoff?   What happens when you get that supervisor that has something against you for some reason or another?   What happens then?    We have to understand that God opens up the door for us to work at various places but just as He opens up that door, He can surely open up another.   Again, our hope and confidence can never be in the job, it must always remain in the Supplier and God is the source of our resources.    

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Jeremiah 17:7

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” 

Are You Walking In Confident Expectation Knowing That A Conversion Is About To Take Place As You Take Your Place In God?

Are you ready for the change?   Are you ready for a conversion to take place?   Are you ready to be transformed?   God is ready, the question is are you?    As I was posting on my Facebook page this morning, Isaiah Chapter 60 dropped into my Spirit.   It says to ARISE and to SHINE for thy light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.   

You have to realize God has chosen you and He wants His glory to be seen in and through your life.   He wants you to GET UP from your brokenness.   From that place of hurt, fear, and doubt.   God wants you UP and not down.    So often we carry the weight of the world instead of doing what God has said.   He said that we are to cast our care on Him because He cares for us.   We can't keep being weighty in life.   We can't keep being held down or held back by life.   We have to let it go.   We have to lay things down at the feet of the Father so that we can have the strength and the ability to ARISE and to SHINE for Him.   

So understand, it's time to arise, it's time to shine, it's time to know that God is ready to let His glory be seen in and through your life.  It's time you walk in confident expectation, knowing that a conversion is about to take place in your life as you take your place in God. When something is converted or transformed, it changes in form, appearance, and character.  It's time to expect the unexpected as you arise and shine for God.  For God has said that He would do exceedingly and abundantly above all we could ever ask or think.    

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Isaiah 60

 King James Version (KJV)

60 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

² For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
³ And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
⁴ Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
⁵ Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.
⁶ The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.
⁷ All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.
⁸ Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?
⁹ Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
¹⁰ And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.
¹¹ Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.
¹² For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
¹³ The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
¹⁴ The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee; The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁵ Whereas thou has been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.
¹⁶ Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
¹⁷ For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness.
¹⁸ Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.
¹⁹ The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
²⁰ Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
²¹ Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
²² A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.

So What Now? Where Will YOU Go From Here?

So what now?   Where do you go from here?   Will you serve God completely or will you seek Him half-heartedly?   The choice is yours.   You choose which direction you want to take in life.    You have to choose between a life of obedience or a life of disobedience.    It sounds easy but it is not an easy choice to make.

God loves you and because He loves you, He sent His Son to die on the cross for you.   Understand, God had a choice to make.   He could have chosen to let us die in our sin but He didn't.   He chose to save us.   He chose to make a way for us and now it is our time to make a choice for Him.   

Every day we have encounters in our lives that cause us to make decisions.   From the time we wake up in the morning until the time we go to bed at night, everything is a matter of choice.   We choose when to get up, we choose what to wear, we choose who we talk to, and we choose what we do.   Our lives are full of choices and sometimes the choices are not easy ones to make.   We have to learn how to choose like God chooses.   God chooses to love us and we should choose to love Him back.   God chose to sacrifice His Son's life for us and we should choose to sacrifice our lives for Him.    God chose us and we should choose Him.   

So again I ask, what now?   Will you move forward from this point and make God your priority?

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

1 JOHN 4:19 

 "We love Him, because He first loved us."