In hard times we have a chance…trust God!

The Israelites didn’t stand a chance if God wasn’t on their side. They would have died

in Egypt in slavery had the Lord not saved them. They would have been swept away

by the powerful enemies that fought against them in the desert had God not stepped in

and fought for them. They would have been swallowed up by the giants that resided in the

promise land if God had left their side.

 

We don’t stand a chance if we go at life on our own, in our own strength and power.

We need the Lord so desperately friends. This life is hard, painful, disappointing but in spite

of all that God is with us. He is on our side and He will get us through the hard times we are

facing. It doesn’t matter what mountain is standing in our way, we will get over it because the

Lord is our strong tower of Refuge. He is our Protector and Deliverer.

 

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles.”

Psalm 34:17

 

“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;

He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.”

Psalm 34:19

 

We will face hard and difficult times but we need to always remember that the Lord will be with

us through those difficult times. We don’t need to rely on our own ability and strength which is

useless in the day of battle.

We don’t stand a chance if we depend on our strength, intelligence, and ability but we have every

chance in the world when we put our hope and trust in God.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

 

From inside the fish…

We all know the story of Jonah. How he tried to run away from God but instead

was swallowed by a huge fish. It is there I want to pick up the story.

He was in the fish three days and three nights (Jonah 2:1)

Did he know he would live? Did he think God had abandoned him and was punishing

Him for his disobedience?

All we know is that in that dark, empty, solitary watery grave he prayed!

 

“From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.”

 

He was at the bottom literally and metaphorically speaking and it is there that he called out

to the Lord. He didn’t remain silent or give up. He prayed.

You may be in a dark place today. A place of pain and a place where God seems to be

absent. I want you to know that He is not gone from you. He is right there with you.

 

Jonah was in the belly of the fish. In the deepest part off the sea where no man could hear

and help. He could have tried to shout all he liked but no one was going to hear him down

there. There was only One who could and did hear his prayer. In that place where no man could

hear and help the Lord heard him and answered him.

 

“In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me.

From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help and You listened to my cry.”

Jonah 2:2

 

Don’t remain silent in your pain. Don’t think you are alone in that dark place.

When you have no one to help God is your help!

Call out to Him today because you are not alone.

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

God has a name for you.

“And they journeyed from Bethel and had but a little way to go to Ephrath [Bethlehem]

when Rachel suffered the pangs of childbirth and had hard labor. 

When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, Do not be afraid; you shall have this son

also. And as her soul was departing, for she died, she called his name Ben-oni [son of my sorrow]; 

but his father called him Benjamin [son of the right hand]. 

Genesis 35:16-18

 

As Rachel was dying she called her son Ben-oni and rightly so in her mind because she was about

to die. Because of the pain she was experiencing she named him but Jacob gave him another name.

A name of blessing which spoke of God’s plan and purpose for his life.

 

The temptation is great to listen to the names people call us because we think they “know” us.

We allow the words of man to define us because we think they really do know us. Either because

they have been friends for a really long time or because they are family but the truth of the matter

is that God is the only One who really knows us. We need to look to Him to tell us who we are and

not man.

 

I am not saying we should stop listening to the encouraging words of friends, family, mentors, teachers

and the other people in our lives but what I am saying is that we need to be very careful we don’t stop

with what they tell us we can be or do.

 

Rachel is a picture of man who makes decisions about us and speak based on what they see.

Jacob is a picture of God and what He sees. Even when it’s not clear to us or anyone else, God knows

the plans He has for us.

He knows all the great things we will do and that’s what He speaks over us.

 

“Jabez was honorable above his brothers; but his mother named him Jabez [sorrow maker], saying, 

Because I bore him in pain. 

Jabez cried to the God of Israel, saying, Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my border, and 

that Your hand might be with me, and You would keep me from evil so it might not hurt me! 

And God granted his request.”

1 Chronicles 4:9, 10

 

Jabez was given a name by man but he prayed for God to bless him. He was tired of being called

Sorrow-Maker. He knew God had something better for him so he prayed and God granted

his request! I love that so much. You don’t have to live by what man says you can or can’t do.

Just because man thinks you can’t doesn’t mean that’s true. What matters is what God thinks and

says about you!

 

For a long time I lived by other people’s scripts. I was okay with living in the box they made for me. But

when I gave my life to Christ things changed radically. The Lord opened my eyes to what He had in store

for me. He showed me a glimpse of what He had in store which was so much higher and greater than

what man said I could do. Bit by bit the chains began to be broken off.

Don’t let man define what you can do. Let God’s word be what directs you and drives you.

Don’t be limited by all the perceptions and images man has put on you.

 

God has an amazing plan for your life.

Let go of the words that have been spoken over you that have limited you and live

by who God says you are.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

A belief problem.

What we believe is so important if we are going to achieve all that God has for us.
Our beliefs can either hinder or propel us so we must be very aware of what we
believe. For a very long time I believed I was nobody and nothing good would happen
to me and that shaped the way I looked at life and the way I lived life.
When great opportunities came my way I would turn them down because it was “too good”
for me. I didn’t expect much to happen to me because that is what I believed.

We can see the danger of a wrong belief system in the word of God. The Israelites
were chosen by God. He had amazing plans for them. But they didn’t believe they
were special. They had a belief problem. When they were by the door of the promise
land they stumbled and fell short because of what they believed.

 

“But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are
stronger than we are.”

They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there
are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the
Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to
them.”
Numbers 13:31-33

 

They had so much potential because they were sons and daughters of God but what they
believed trumped the potential in them.

“It doesn’t matter how much potential you have, it’s what you believe that matters” is what
I was taught.

So in other words, what you believe is stronger than the potential in you.
Before I gave my life to Christ, I didn’t see myself as much. I thought nothing of myself
and even though I had the potential, my wrong beliefs silenced the potential in me.
What do you believe about yourself today? What do believe about God? Do you believe
all the good things the word of God promises you?

It’s time to take a long hard look at what we believe and ask God to help us as we believe
what He has said about us, and as we believe His promises for us.
The enemy is working overtime to get us to believe the wrong thing but we can’t let him
win. May the Lord reveal wrong beliefs that we have adopted that have stopped and hindered
us from growing and progressing.

The Lord has put so much in us and it must be realized and released. It must be unleashed all
for His glory and this is the season to start!
Bless you friends!

Rolain

 

Start speaking better today.

“From the fruit of their lips people enjoy good things.”

Proverbs 13:2

 

This is another thing God has been speaking to me about this year. I have been challenged

to improve the quality of my words. It’s especially hard to speak life when things don’t

seem to be going our way or when things are just bad but we need to. The word is very

very clear when it comes to the words we speak.

If you want to enjoy good things then start speaking better. Don’t allow yourself to speak

negatively when things are not going your way.

 

“From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things, and the work of their hands

brings them reward.”

Proverbs 12:14

 

It’s easy to speak positively when everything is going well but quite another story when we are

on the ground and losing. Speaking life doesn’t just happen, it’s a choice on our part. And just to

be clear I am not talking about pumping yourself up with motivational words only. I am talking about

declaring the word of God in your situations. Any one can say “everything is going to be okay” but

it is something else when you take God’s word and declare it as truth for yourself. Declaring

the word of God is powerful.

 

“From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled, with the harvest of their lips they are

satisfied.”

Proverbs 18:20

 

What are you trusting God for? Declare it, speak it out. Don’t let your faith remain silent. Speak

out what you believing for. Let’s this truth be something you use more and more in your life.

And not just in your life but in the life of others. Your friend may not have enough faith to declare

Healing over themselves but you can do it on their behalf. Use your words to encourage and inspire.

It’s time to work on the words that come out of our mouths today. Things begin to happen when we

speak out God’s word in our situations!

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

A two letter word for doubt.

“How long has this been happening? Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy.

The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us,

if you can.” What do you mean, “If I can?” Jesus asked. Anything is possible if a person believes.”

Mark 9:21-23

 

“Have mercy on us and help us, if You can?”

 

Why would the man ask for help if he doubted the Lord’s ability?

But before I go on a tangent and criticize the man I need to confess something. I have realized

the amount of times I use the word “If” in my conversation. It’s instinctive so it was hard to catch it

but recently I have been noticing how many times I have been using it.

When it comes to the Lord ability it’s either He can do it or He can’t. The word “if” suggests doubt

and uncertainty in the Lord’s ability.

“I would love to do this or that “IF” God comes through for me”
“I am believing for that situation to change “IF” the Lord hears my prayer”

 

These and more were the kind of statements I would make not knowing that I was casting doubt

on the Lord’s ability. The truth of the matter is that He can! He always can!

There is never an “IF” when God is involved. He is more than able to answer your prayer, to turn

things around in your life.

This year I have decided to get rid of the word “IF” from my vocabulary. It will mean intentionality

on my part. It will mean being more aware of the words that come out of my mouth. It will mean deliberately

choosing faith over doubt even when things don’t seem to be working. The issue is never God’s ability but if

we really believe Him. That’s what I took away from what I was shown.

The Lord wants us to believe in His ability because He is more than able. Deal with the doubts and misgivings

you have. Be honest about them and bring them to Him. He wants us to be in a place of faith and trust always.

It’s faith that pleases Him.

 

“The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
Mark 9:24

Bless you friends.

 

Rolain

God remembered her…

“Then God remembered Rachel; He listened to her and enabled her to conceive.” 

Genesis 30:22

 

Rachel couldn’t have children but that all changed because God remembered her.

Don’t lose heart.

Keep praying and keep believing God will come through for you.

We serve a God who never ever forgets us and because of that we can have hope.

 

Rachel prayed and prayed and it seemed like God wasn’t listening but He was.

He is always listening.

No matter what it seems like today know that the Lord remembers.

You will have breakthrough this year because the Lord remembers you.

Trust Him in the difficult times when nothing seems to be happening.

He is always faithful.

 

Bless you friends

 

 

 

No problem is too far gone for the Lord.

“Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; 

and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.” 

Genesis 18:11

 

“and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women” 

 

I was so encouraged as I read that verse. No matter how dead a thing may seem, no matter how hopeless

a situation appears, with the Lord there is hope. It’s not a faint or in the distant hope but a real and

tangible hope.

 

Sarah’s situation was beyond impossible but even in those circumstances the Lord gave her a son!

You may in a really bad place in your life right now and not sure how are you going to get through the new year

but know that the Lord is more than able to bring your dead situation back to life.

 

“Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the 

time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

Genesis 18:14

 

Nothing is too hard for the Lord. Don’t limit Him this year. What has seemed impossible in the previous

years can be accomplished if you only put your trust in Him. There is no situation that is too far gone for

the Lord. There is nothing off the table for the Lord. Everything is game because the Lord is with you!

Have a great new year friends!

 

Rolain

Why you will be victorious today…

“If it had not been the Lord Who was on our side when men rose up against us, 

Then they would have quickly swallowed us up alive when their wrath was 

kindled against us, ” 

Psalm 124:2, 3

 

The chapter continues, painting a picture of what would have happened if God had not been with His people.

God is with us, friends. If He had not been on our side we would have easily been destroyed by our strong enemies.

The enemy would laugh and be victorious if the Lord wasn’t on our side.

We would have no testimony if He wasn’t with us.

We would have no victory, no deliverance, no answered prayers if the Lord wasn’t on our side.

We wouldn’t be able to declare His mighty deeds if He wasn’t by our side.

 

“Then they would have quickly swallowed us up alive when their wrath was kindled against us; 

Then the waters would have overwhelmed us and swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us.” 

 

In short, we wouldn’t have a chance against the devil without Him by our side.

But because He is by our side we can praise Him, we can be thankful. We can declare the mighty

things He is doing in our lives. Because He is on our side we have hope.

Because He is by our side we will have a testimony!

Bless you friends.

 

Rolain

 

 

God is taking you somewhere…

It can be frustrating not knowing where your life is going. At times it feels like you going around in circles

and at times it can feel like you are wandering about aimlessly. Then there are days when it seems like

nothing is happening. But I want to tell you that in the midst of all those things, God is directing your

life. Even when you can’t make sense of the things happening in your life God is in total control.

There is nothing to be worried about. You don’t have to lose sleep wondering what next.

The Lord cares about every detail of your life. Everything about you and your life matters to Him.

 

Look at how God led Peter. The way God leads us is so amazing!

In Acts 9:32 we are introduced to a man names Aeneas who lived in Lydda. Aeneas was paralyzed

and had been bed ridden for eight years. Peter goes on to heal him and the whole town of Lydda

and Sharon turn to the Lord! (Acts 9:35)

That was really amazing but the Lord was not done directing Peter. In a nearby town called Joppa a woman

named Tabitha fell sick and died. The disciples heard Peter was in Lydda so they called for him.

When Peter arrived in Joppa he raised Tabitha from the dead which brought more people to the

Lord. (Acts 10:5). But the Lord was not finished with Peter. In a town called Caesarea there was a man

named Cornelius. He was a Gentile and until then the good news was only been proclaimed to the Jews.

Salvation was closed to the Gentiles until then. One day an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told

him to go to Joppa to call Peter.

 

“And now send men to Joppa and have them call for and invite here a certain Simon whose surname is 

Peter; He is lodging with Simon a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.” 

Acts 10:5, 6

 

The Lord knew exactly where Peter was. He knew his address. He knew who he was staying with.

Off course He knew, the Lord led him there!!

Because Peter was in the right place at the right time he was instrumental in the Gospel being preached

to the Gentile’s.

Because the Lord directed Peter’s steps he was able to be at the right place at the right time. On his

own Peter would never have been able to pull that off.

 

The Lord is directing our every step friends. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, He is.

It may feel scary but the way He leads us is amazing! Be expectant. Bring your frustrations to Him.

He really does have amazing things in store for you. It may seem like you are in the middle of nowhere

but the Lord is taking you somewhere. His hand is on you and He is directing your every step.

The way He leads us is so amazing!

Bless you friends!