1 Corinthians 10:13

P 3091 Define the word ‘gift!’

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“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, Who does not change like shifting shadows.”James 1:17.“Ask, and the gift is yours. Seek, and you’ll discover. Knock, and the door will be opened for you.”Matthew 7:7 TPT.

If I were to ask you to define what you think a good gift looks like, what would you say? A happy life, travel, health, a nice house, great kids, plenty of money …a happy wife? Here’s a side note … the bible talks about finding a wife. “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favour from the LORD.” God has a whole other take on what He thinks good gifts look like! That cranky wife is His gift to you  – you prayed for transformation!

It seems to me that we have translated the above scriptures in James and Matthew to mean that ‘I’ get to define what a good gift looks like! Good luck with that one. Why? Because only God is good … so He is the only One we can trust to define what good looks like! You might like to put your false teeth back in and chew on that one. God’s idea of good, and ours aren’t always the same. The bible tells us in Isaiah 53:10 that: ‘…it pleased the Lord to bruise Jesus’ – His Son.

Father God looks through the difficulties and pain to the overall end result. Jesus’ death meant salvation for all of us! He will use every bit of our journey through hard things – to grow, and diagnose and transform us. I believe human beings cannot discern good, because our minds are saturated with bitterness, resentment, troubles, worries and strife … as well as the so-called pleasures of this world! Somehow all that stuff skews our thinking, and we end up focusing only on the things that we think are advantageous to US, and not on the overall benefit to everyone. 

While our minds are in defensive or offended mode – we cannot easily see whatever is going on in that other person. We’ve been emotionally and mentally distracted, and we will be clouded by our own self-interest. Maybe a nasty attitude in another person is a demonic influence. Maybe it’s a habit, or maybe they are in nine kinds of pain!! But because we are prepared for pickiness, or fight, or flight, that means we are not in a prayerful position to receive heaven’s download about the situation.

The Holy Spirit always has a contribution to make … a gift.  A word of knowledge, some insight, a word of wisdom for every scenario. If we concentrate on how we feel – our anger, loss or pain, we probably won’t see or hear His answer, or we will reject it! And that means the broader deeper blessing is missed. We sometimes trot off feeling relieved when we manage to avoid a grumpy person. But, in truth, we have only postponed change – for me, for them, for the situation. Part of being transformed means we will need to yield to His wishes, His way, even though at the time it feels like the last thing we want to do.

He says this in His word: “No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; He’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; He’ll always be there to help you come through it.” I Corinthians 10:13. Did you see the gift in that sentence?  Yeah yeah, I know you think you’ve had times when you’ve been pushed too far, but the punch line is this — Almighty God thinks you can do it! He believes in you! Here’s another gift to think on:“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” Psalm 27:14. You know, the bible says that waiting on God renews our strength. (Isaiah 40:31) 

When we start out prayerfully trying to resist any kind of temptation, we may feel weak and not capable of what we know we need to do. But waiting for Him, pulls our focus out of the normal mixmaster mindset that rattles our brain. Waiting allows us to breathe – to find our peace. This is also a gift! Suddenly all the mind-cloudiness etc. lifts and we can begin to see spiritually. When we stop rattling our brains about “this or that or some other solution” and just sit in silence, and wait for Him! The same way we might wait for a friend in a coffee shop. We will quickly find that silence is another gift.

“My soul, wait in silence for God alone, For my hope is from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, My refuge; I will not be shaken. My salvation and my glory rest on God;  The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.” Psalm 62:5-7.

This answer is a gift to us. In reality the Lord is saying to us:“this is the way walk ye in it!”He is showing us another way to get through difficulties – and that’s another gift! God daily gives us good gifts and if all we choose to see is this whizz-bang spiritual gift, or that special ability, we will miss seeing Him in our day to day ordinary life.

We need His definition of the word GIFT not ours. Prayerfully ask Him to help you to see and recognise Him, as He is active in your life. He showers us with blessings every single day! If you want to settle for a car park when you need one, then … have at it! But there is more! If what you receive is just perfect, then it is Him. Bye. 👋

P 2913 Latest news anyone?

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Isaiah 3:1-7 “The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, is emptying Jerusalem and Judah of all the basic necessities, plain bread and water to begin with. He’s withdrawing police and protection, judges and courts, pastors and teachers, captains and generals, doctors and nurses, and, yes, even the repairmen and jacks-of-all-trades.
He says, “I’ll put little kids in charge of the city. Schoolboys and schoolgirls will order everyone around. People will be at each other’s throats, stabbing one another in the back: Neighbour against neighbour, young against old, the no-account against the well-respected. One brother will grab another and say,‘You look like you’ve got a head on your shoulders.Do something! Get us out of this mess.’ And he’ll say, ‘Me? Not me! I don’t have a clue. Don’t put me in charge of anything.’”

Verses 8-12: “Jerusalem’s on its last legs. Judah is soon down for the count. Everything people say and do is at cross-purposes with God, a slap in My face. Brazen in their depravity, they flaunt their sins like degenerate Sodom. Doom to their eternal souls! They’ve made their bed; now they’ll sleep in it. “Reassure the righteous that their good living will pay off. But doom to the wicked! Disaster! Everything they did will be done to them.“Skinny kids terrorise My people. Silly girls bully them around. My dear people! Your leaders are taking you down a blind alley.They’re sending you off on a wild-goose chase.”

I read this passage today and I was astonished! It reads like the current news services – particularly the people who overemphasise the bad! My first thought was — so sin really IS common to mankind! (1 Corinthians 10:13)  The accuracy of what was written by Isaiah, 2,711 years ago. blew me away. Secondly I also realised that means that God is no stranger to the squirrelled-up lives we live, and the stupid decisions we make. I keep saying this stuff is in the book … and look at that – it really is in the book! Wow. If that doesn’t give us confidence that our God has already ‘bin there and dun that’ then what will?

As Christians we serve such a powerful Shepherd, He will fight every battle to protect us, as well as free us from fear. He wants to train our hands for war. However, in the west we have the luxury of thinking most of the poverty and war are ‘over there’  — as in, somewhere else! But many, many people get no relief from this kind of turmoil. Here’s another little eye-opener. This one is from Jeremiah 6:13&14 – 2,595 years ago: “For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.”

We misrepresent the power of God when we minimise the depth of the trouble and sorrow and suffering all around us. The power of God is always present to deliver, heal and usher people into His kingdom and it has no limitations! However, our fake cheery positive attitudes, the ones unsupported by the Spirit of God, are a knife into the heart of those who really live under all kinds of pain and persecution. We must never change Who Jesus Christ is to serve our theology. And we cannot change reality to elevate Him either. Other people will see straight through the lies and half-truths.

The church has developed an attitude like David’s brothers did when Goliath was challenging the army of Israel. I call it the: “If I can’t see it then it is not really there,’ attitude! Our job is to bring the kingdom of God with us wherever we go, not just hide from the bad stuff with over-emphasised prosperity and happiness doctrines. Our happiness is in Christ not in this world. We are strangers, simply passing through, plus we are His ambassadors while we are here. We cannot hide from reality by putting huge rocks of these badly formed theories between us, and the giants of this world. We need to do every bit of our hiding in His shadow!

“When you abide under the shadow of Shaddai, you are hidden in the strength of God Most High. He’s the hope that holds me and the stronghold to shelter me, the only God for me, and my great confidence.” Psalms 91:1-2 TPT

Always remember, Jesus was willing to pay the incredible  price to transform our lives so His Presence can go  with us wherever we go. We are not the whole ballgame – we are merely the ticket sellers and food vendors to the main event! JESUS IS ALWAYS THE MAIN EVENT!! Instead of making our own personal kingdoms comfortable and filled up with stuff, we are here now to make His Name famous. They will know we are Christians by our love, not our ten cars and fourteen overseas trips!

The daily news will probably continue to be bad, because Jesus Christ is not necessarily enthroned in the hearts of the press or most of the people around us, either. The press just want a good story and $$$$$!  But we have the real steadfast, eternal good news, inside US. We are carriers of His kingdom, filled with the love of God and the good news about forgiveness of sins, no matter what other people have done.← That’s a full stop right there. Bye. 👋

P 2868 One choice at a time.

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You know, if we are not careful we can say yes at an altar, when our passion for Jesus is high, and choose no the very next week, because somebody else is driving us crazy. What do I mean by that? It is much easier to make the choice to serve Him when His peace, love, hope and joy are upon us, and much harder when we are out there in the ups and downs of every day life! The Lord is still there, but our awareness of Him can dim. The Israelites sinned in the absence of Moses’ presence, and Moses was the duly appointed “God” spokesperson!

Let’s remember that choices like these need to be made over and over again. It is a hard choice to say yes to His Ways and no to how I feel at that moment of impact … when someone else is driving me bananas! When we choose to die at that crucial moment, our journey toward transformation flourishes. Actually the meaner the other person is;  and the more wrong they are about your motivation and attitudes;  the bigger the opportunity to die to self!

Being misjudged is probably one of the hardest spiritual tests to face. When you live inside your own skin and you know that another person in that particular moment has no idea who you are and where you are coming from – that’s when the temptation to escalate the angst and confusion grows. Nobody likes to be misunderstood.

Let’s just think about that idea for a minute. Have we ever seen anyone more misunderstood than the Lord Himself? The contrast between what He actually came here to do, and what other people thought and said about Him, as well what they did to Him is utterly terrifying. Pilate said it best in Matthew 27:22,23 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify Him!” “Why? What crime has He committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!” And Jesus said nothing.

Tunnel vision took over. Crowd think. They went so far down the wrong road, they had no thought about going back. Their bad decisions had blinded them to their own faults and prejudices. Anyone can see that in those moments a wicked spiritual force was put in charge. The Jews were so in the passion of judgment, that they ended up cursing themselves. But even though Pilate knew everything about this situation was wrong, he wriggled out of his responsibility to set an innocent man free … by handing Jesus back over to them. 

Choosing God’s way isn’t a once off. In Pilate’s case his wife had already warned him about Jesus, and told the man to leave Him alone – but fear of man, or uprising, or whatever – meant he abrogated his responsibility and snuck out the back way. And before we waggle our fingers in disdain at that man, do try to remember the time when you snuck out the back door and left the boss, or teacher with the blame, or your spouse, or your sibling … The bible tells us sin is mankind’s common defect. 

“No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].” 1 Corinthians 10:13.

So there went all those excuses! The thing is, I know personally what that is like. I’ve done it, I stopped looking for the way out and I’ve given in to temptation instead. I missed God’s opportunity for change. There’s no point in blaming Him for not fishing us out of something we got ourselves into. However!! …I know, personally, that there are times that He rescues us anyway, just because He’s so good and He loves us – He chooses US. The application of the above verse is one of the ways we get endurance – by enduring, by suffering long, by believing for the best in others, when their worst is on display.  Which is not a popular thought really.  

It means we need to pay attention to what we choose all the time. Even in unguarded moments.  Blanket statements about choosing God’s Ways aren’t worth a hill of beans, in the day-to-day muddle of life. What matters is what we choose when we are being misunderstood or provoked. Those choices mean we are valuing our relationship with Him and He is our priority. Things keep getting added unto us when we make Him our priority – stuff like real love, and long-suffering. Bye 👋

P 2769 Be Gentle with people.

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“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”  2 Timothy 2:22-26.

When people disagree with us theologically and we know they are wrong, we need to come alongside them, and go over the truth from the bible, mixed with great spiritual wisdom and kindness. There are many people today that would probably say nothing at all, because they feel somebody else’s error is none of their business and disagreement is not of God. But here, Paul is telling us not to fight about stuff, but we can’t ignore it either. Error flourishes when the truth is not explained, and error has a picnic when people stop reading their bibles!

Timothy is being instructed by Paul to dialogue with others about theological differences. The thing is, we don’t have to disagree about these things, but we do need to address them. It is part of our mandate to make the Lord’s ways, as written in His book, clear. In my own family there is someone who has some quite squirrelled-up ideas about God and what He will or won’t do. I remind myself often that love covers a multitude of sin – and love is not a feeling it is a choice. So love cares deeply if the other person is misinformed, but it doesn’t punish them for not knowing what the truth is, it demonstrates it, as well as corrects it.

However, please don’t overlook the fact that satan is the prince of the power of the air and he makes a lousy interpreter of what somebody else just said!! Clarification is imperative. Instead, no matter how either party feels, pray,  and release the Holy Spirit to bring about reconciliation and a deeper understanding. People can hear you better if you stand with them, not on the other side of some theological fence. We need to practise humility, and not blame. And if we are to correct others, we need to be humble and open to correction ourselves. Fighting doesn’t teach anyone anything, it just makes other people defensive.

Meanwhile, I think the Lord is on the move. The church at large, seems to think that God moving means ‘good times for ALL.’  Actually, I don’t think that. “…narrow is the gate, and few people find it…” I think this is the time to throw out erroneous theology and concentrate on what the bible says. We’ve been stuck on the “God wants to bless me and make my life great” turntable for way too long and many people were flung off it because it did not ring true in their own lives. The Holy Spirit is looking into our lives and asking each one us about what we believe and WHY. He’s levelling our theological roads to make a highway for our God. He knows how to fix everything. Meanwhile, in the Lord’s Presence, disagreements melt away. 

When God points out error it is not to condemn anyone.“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world … but that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:17. So, I can say, unequivocally, that nobody should ever feel condemned, however, convicted works for me! Condemnation is not from God and it’s not why Jesus came! He came to save us from our sins, past, present and future. Jesus knows how to get through this stuff, He talked to the religious leaders in His ministry. He is truth. And He knows how anyone can escape from the enemy’s lies and traps. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13.

Did ya get that? I had to read it a couple of times before I did. The word endure popped out. Sometimes the best answer is to lovingly endure someone else’s ignorance. Meanwhile this verse also means He won’t immediately fish us out of whatever is going on… remember – He promises to be WITH US in trouble!  And faith does not grow without str-etch-ing …. What we have at stake here is the mistaken perception that if God is good, why do good people suffer? That’s an easy one –  all have sinned! His compassion for other people won’t fall on us, we must become alive to it, and often experience will teach us more than a theory can.

We are told in 2 Timothy that we must not be quarrelsome. Speaking for myself, I hardly ever start out trying to be quarrelsome, I jump in when I can see someone else is hurting themselves with a false belief system. I have also observed that there are times when people seem argumentative, but they are simply trying to explain themselves. Sometimes, loudly and aggressively! But, listening carefully is the very best posture to take. Responding like this can let the angry hot air out of someone else’s bright red balloon and disarm the situation. We simply need to continue to live in love, no matter what is said … and agreement comes later. And conviction comes from the Lord Himself, not from our opinions, even if they are accidentally right.

It can be really hard to talk to someone we know about touchy issues. Stress is everywhere and people get defensive. Even nice people!  We can all feel anxious and attacked when somebody else points out our faults or mistakes. That is time to ask for the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and help. The world gently  stands out in 2 Timothy — that means we will need the Grace of God to help us to operate in all our conversations, ‘gently,’ and not get ticked off. The major thing in any argument is to remember that nobody likes to be misunderstood, or have their personhood maligned. Insulting the other person, and what they believe, is counterproductive.

We can’t change someone else’s behaviour, instead, we are looking to introduce God’s Love into the situation so both people stop focussing on the issue, and start to remember that even if they are wrong or misinformed that God already forgave them and He accepts them. We do not have to be held captive to any strategy of satan that has been sent to create pain, division and strife, instead we can choose to become God’s messengers of gentleness, accompanied by acceptance and love. Bye 👋

P 2712 Our difficulties are actually stairs.

/ DVH

The every day obstacles, irritations and difficulties we face can be obstructions to living a new life … OR … stairs leading us up into all Christ’s blood bought for us. When we see things as obstacles, we face them with a different mental attitude. An obstacle must be avoided, or conquered or mastered, and all that involves effort and application. Stairs simply take you from one level to another. They take us from a lower place to a higher one. Today, I want to highlight the thought that the Christian life is meant to be one of progression, while we gain increasing humility, accountability, and wisdom, plus maturity. 

Nobody told me this stuff when I was a baby Christian. I was not taught that Jesus has faced every single obstacle I will ever have to endure, and that He knows the way through them. Instead I was taught to try harder… like it was a Maths test! So I just kept failing, and the harder I tried, the more I failed … I was taught I must somehow, by myself, transform myself into a new person. But Jesus actually died for, fought for and He won that battle for me. The thought that I was personally responsible to be different in my everyday life, nagged at me daily. I was supposed to be a good Christian witness to others, but I could easily end up shouting like a fishwife! 

None of the credit for starting to change my awful attitudes and actions belongs to me. All I ever needed to do was ADMIT that I can’t do any of this transformation by myself, and ask the Holy Spirit for His grace. And then – step up into it, using my faith.There are things that I know I used to do, almost automatically, that I simply don’t do anymore – I don’t even want to do them anymore. I asked for His help.

I wish I could say that when I’ve learnt something, and I’ve seen His grace in action in myself, that this means I will always act graciously! What a sad little laugh that thought is! Instead I have found that I need to practice practice practice trusting in His ability to get me through whatever He is teaching me, at every opportunity. Or I will lose touch with His grace, faster than a gambler can lose his quickly gained bundle of notes! However at the same time I have also noticed my thought patterns are changing too.

As I read the Word, and refused to accept what it said as something I would become some day – He began to teach me to act on it in faith. I started to understand that the things I dismissed as being only human, actually meant that I was not totally sold out to Jesus! Because me, myself and I – still became grumpy and nasty over the stupidest things. 

The Lord is so faithful. He revealed to me through the bible that He has already done all the work … so my part was to believe Him and step up into what He has already done, no matter how I feel.  Those things that accused me, and led me into looking after myself first, are the everyday, niggly little grumpy or sarcastic responses that the Holy Spirit loves to help us master. All we need to do is to step out of that bad mood or irritation, INTO His grace. After all, Peter stepped out of a perfectly good boat when Jesus said – “Come!” He didn’t think about it He simply obeyed!  Living this way is our birthright.

Sadly in the past, I did not have any idea that I didn’t have to live such a frustrated life, pretending to be something or someone, I wasn’t. I found, over time, that  a lot of what I was taught was a lot of theory, as well as unrealistic expectations – heaps of I “ought to be this or that!” It was not practical enough. Yet everything Christ taught was PRACTICAL. Because of what He has already done, my part is to take each attitude as He reveals it to me – then repent, repair and ask for His help. And then I simply followed His prompts, and they helped me escape from the temptation to let fly.

Jesus Christ’s death opened the prison door of sin we were forced to live behind, that place where we were trapped by our own anxious, fearful, unkind attitudes. We can even learn to resist provocation! We are no longer trapped by who we used to be. Freedom is more than a lovely song we sing passionately – it is a faith step. Freedom doesn’t mean I can do what I want – true freedom actually means I CAN DO WHAT HE WANTS!  We believe Him and what He has already said in the bible.

You know, in the natural, I have the worst trouble with real stairs, nowadays. Having fallen down our stairs a while ago, I am a bit intimidated by any stairs that have no railings. And so hubby helps me step up from one step to another, by giving me his arm. This is what the our precious Saviour does for us. We exercise our faith in the Lord’s Word, by taking His arm, as we choose how to respond to the daily irritations of this life according to His Word. We learn to lean on Him! And if we go under, like Peter did – Jesus’ strong right arm will lift us up again.

Psalm 119:133 “Direct my footsteps according to Your word; let no sin rule over me.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 TPT “We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously.”

If we want to follow Jesus and overcome every day irritations, obstacles and difficulties, as well as entering into our new life in Christ, we need to live this life with absolute humility. At the same time we need to be aware and open about our limitations. Let us not pretend to be someone we are not! Every one of our difficulties are actually our own personal stairs. My advice is to take the Lord’s proffered arm and walk up each step with His help. Bye. 👋 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3-12.

P 2673 Who or what has your heart?

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“When you pass through the deep, stormy sea, you can count on Me to be there with you. When you pass through raging rivers, you will not drown. When you walk through persecution like fiery flames, you will not be burned; the flames will not harm you,” Isaiah 43:2 TPT.

The above verse is mentioned today to comfort to anyone who is in a very dark place. It promises us that God’s Presence is never absent despite our circumstances. The thing is, we must remember that this verse and others like it, are faith verses. Almighty God said it, and He means it, so we need to embrace it. However, in those hard times we may not feel a thing! We may dearly need to feel better, but our feelings have nothing whatsoever to do with His Grace in our lives! Even our disappointment could be seen as judgment against His ability to use everything to help us.

The lack of change can sometimes be the reason we are strongly tempted to think that He is not with us, because we have a great expectation that He will deliver us … but sometimes things can even get even worse!!  So what happened? Is it sin in our lives? No! Sin went on the cross. Does God not care that we feel overwhelmed by our circumstances? Of course He does, but we must remind ourselves that He says “I will be with you” — He does not say – you will FEEL Me with you! Yeah, I know, that seems to be splitting hairs, but let’s remember that now we are in His kingdom, where He is King. We chose to come under His rule, and we will need to trust Him to do what He has promised.

“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”Numbers 23:19. In our society today, people are judged or exalted or rewarded because of their actions. As Christians we need to remember that Almighty God does not do things to meet mankind’s expectations. He does not answer to us. In other words, our societal attitudes don’t feature in His decision making processes. Whatever His answer, action, or lack of! … the real point is – His ways are perfect. So, if there is no answer, or corresponding change of circumstances, then we need to remember that He is sovereign. We must always leave our heart with Him, that is the safest place for it.

“No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; He’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; He’ll always be there to help you come through it. So, my very dear friends, when you see people reducing God to something they can use or control, get out of their company as fast as you can.” 1 Corinthians 10:13-14. MSG.

Personally, I have discovered that I can set my pain and strife limits a bit too low – I can probably move and change much more than I think I can! I get side-tracked because I am not all that excited about stretching — old bones, etc. Everything creaks when I am stretched! In those moments, it is good to remember that this life is the only one I’m going to get, and it is about growth and change. That’s two more things older people don’t like much!! I have to remind myself over and over again, that the Lord is bigger than my circumstances, and if they remain the same, after I have prayed … then He has a purpose I can’t see yet! Good place to pray: “Teach me Your ways, Lord, so I can walk with You.” Amen.

“Even when Your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for You already have! Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of Your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for You are near.” Psalms 23:4 TPT.

This verse from the 23rd Psalm is a great clue to the solution to my problem and it diagnoses the heart of what is really going on. Who or what has my heart? Does fear rule me when the going gets tough, or does He? We must always remember that “there is no fear in love,” as well as,  “what time I am afraid I will trust in Thee.” When I finally catch on to the fact that I am feeling afraid, it can take a while, but eventually I have an ‘AHA!’ moment. That’s when I realise that I have let circumstances fill my vision, instead of WHO He is. Rookie mistake. I’m back thinking that He’s there to make my life better, I’ve totally forgotten I am here for His purposes.

After repenting, my next move is to ask the Lord, “Who can I bless?” ‘ That’s because ‘it is in giving that we receive!’  And in those difficult times, my receiver seems to have gone off-line. Sometimes doing that simple thing leads to a fresh revelation about Him. And sometimes it leads to a fresh revelation about me. I need both! I have found that taking my focus away from the difficulty, and caring for someone else, eventually gives me a chance to view things from another angle. As I bless others, I remember that my heart belongs to Him, I gave it to Him. 

He won’t ever ‘leave me or forsake me or give me up.’ Switching focus clarifies what really matters. 👋