Watching from afar…….?

Word of the day.

Does the Lord see our pain and afflictions? Does He stand afar looking at all the things we go

through? Does He stand afar refusing to intervene, letting the enemy have His way in us?

 

He does see our pain and afflictions. The news gets better, He does not watch us from afar.

He is protecting us and watching over us. The enemy would like us to think we are alone but

that’s not true. Let’s take a look at what YAH says about that;

 

“I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy and steadfast love, because You have seen my affliction, 

You have taken note of my life’s distresses, and You have not given me into the hand of the enemy; 

You have set my feet in a broad place.” 

Psalm 31:7, 8

 

The Lord sees our pain friends. He sees what we are going through but He doesn’t stop there. He

comes in and protects us. He comes in and helps us.

 

Don’t stay discouraged. The Lord is with you and will stop the enemy from accomplishing his evil plan in

your life. He will set your feet in a broad place. That’s a promise!

 

Bless you friends…..

 

Rolain

It’s time to move…..

Life is constantly teaching us stuff and to grow we need to learn what we are being taught.

Unfortunately there is a lesson I had to relearn this year (this week to be more precise) that I ignored

last year. It’s so frustrating because the lesson had a financial cost. That really got me thinking though.

How many lessons have we ignored that keep coming back but we just don’t learn. For whatever reason

we make a decision to do nothing.

But YAH wants us to learn the lessons that come our way. Those lessons once learned will make us grow.

 

I am reminded of the Israelites. They too didn’t learn their lesson and because they didn’t, they had to go

round the same mountain.

 

“And the Lord spoke to me [Moses], saying, 

You have roamed around this mountain country long enough; turn northward.”

Deuteronomy 2:3

 

It’s time to stop going round the same mountain. It’s time we start learning the lessons we are supposed

to learn. I am tired of going round the same mountain. I want to grow, I want to move.

I don’t learn because it’s hard at times, or because of laziness and so on and so on….

But that needs to stop.

It’s time to move!

 

ACT ON IT – What lessons have you refused to learn because they are difficult? 

Ask the Lord to show you the most critical lesson you need to learn so you can grow.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

 

 

 

Be deliberate about what you think on daily.

What are you thinking about every day? Have you thought about what you think about lately?

I had to train myself with my thoughts. It’s crazy how easy it is to let your mind wander

to thoughts of defeat and hopelessness.

Just last week I was wrestling with thoughts of inadequacy. Someone said something to me and I

had to catch myself in the moment. I was not about to accept the words that were spoken to me.

I was not about to let that word take root in me.

 

You need to know the enemy is not taking a back seat when it comes to

your thoughts. He is trying to get you to think a certain way, in a way that is destructive. He is not waiting

for you to think negatively. He is being proactive in affecting the way you think.

So must we take a back seat then when it comes to our thoughts? No!

We need to be vigilant and proactive.

 

There are so many opportunities to think negatively these days. We need to be vigilant when it comes

to guarding our minds. Let’s look at what the word says,

 

“For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, 

whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and 

gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh

and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]. 

Philippians 4:8

 

Let’s take this word to heart. This is our offensive attack against what the enemy is trying to do.

If we are going to protect ourselves against the world’s infiltration we need to be proactive about what we

think about. Like I said before, there is so much opportunity to think negatively about our lives and

everything going on around us. Let’s be deliberate about our thoughts. Have a plan!

 

ACT ON IT: Right down ten things (using the Philippians 4 model) that you can think about on a daily basis.

What do you think about when you think about your life? 

Write down three things you feel YAH has spoken to you about concerning your life. 

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

What was his confidence based on?

“When they had come, he looked on Eliab [the eldest son] and said, Surely the Lord’s 

anointed is before Him.” 

1 Samuel 16:6

 

Samuel thought his job was a success when he saw Eliab.

We must remember Samuel was sent to anoint a king, so the person he would anoint

was not ordinary. He would have something that separated him from everyone else.

So when Samuel looked at Eliab’s physical appearance he was convinced he was the one.

He had the muscles, the height, the intelligence, and was well spoken.

What Samuel saw convinced him Eliab was the one but the Lord said something that made

him change his mind;

 

“But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance or at the height of his stature, 

for I have rejected him. 

For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord 

looks on the heart.” 

1 Samuel 16:7

 

“Look not on his appearance or at the height of his stature; for I have rejected him.” (emphasis mine)

 

I like to imagine that Eliab was the “Dwayne Johnson” of his time. He had everything a man would

want. He was a first born, an ultimate warrior, had the voice, and so on. Who wouldn’t want to be like him?

But the Lord rejected him!

The Lord only rejects those who reject Him (Matthew 10:33) so that’s what must have happened here.

Eliab trusted in himself. He didn’t need YAH.

His confidence was in himself. He didn’t look to YAH for help.

We can conclude that Eliab didn’t have a relationship with YAH.

 

There is a lesson we can take from this.

Where is your confidence? Are you depending on yourself, your resources, your education,

your upbringing?

Are those things stopping you from trusting the Lord.

The word is very clear about what YAH is looking at? He is not impressed with our show of strength.

He wants us to look to Him. He wants a relationship with us.

While Eliab was wrapped up in himself, David his brother was in the field getting closer to YAH.

His relationship with YAH was getting stronger and stronger.

He trusted the Lord completely. The Lord was his consuming passion night and day. He

communed with the Lord daily. He sang songs to Him.

 

The Lord called him a man after His own heart.

The Lord wants our hearts friends not our “strength”.

He is not impressed when we try to go at life on our own steam.

He wants to be first in our lives, not second.

He wants our hearts set on Him and nothing else.

 

ACT ON IT – Is the Lord first in your life?

What is stopping Him from being first?

 

Bless you friends

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

 

You are an original and that’s okay……

“We must live in the Holy Spirit and follow after Him. So may we never be arrogant,

or look down on another, for each of us is an original.

We must forsake all jealousy that diminishes the value of others.

Galatians 5:25, 26

 

“each of us is an original”

 

Is this not where the problem’s start, when we compare ourselves to others? Trying to be someone

else is just going to make things worse for you. Jealousy, arrogance, dis-contentedness, frustration and a

whole lot more stem from trying to be someone else.

The word is clear, you are an original!

Let’s look at another scripture;

 

“You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them 

together in my mother’s womb. 

I thank You, God, for making me so mysteriously complex!”

Psalm 139:13, 14 (TPT)

 

We are handsome/beautiful not because we are made like another person but because we are unique.

There is no one on this planet like you and me and that’s a great thing. You are one of a kind.

You are made in the image of YAH!

 

But the world has created a standard of what beauty should be. It has created a picture of what

handsomeness should be and we have bought into it. Not only do we use that measure on others, but

we use it on ourselves. The standard has been reinforced for so long that we don’t know anything else.

We hate and destroy ourselves because of it.

 

I was that person I am describing. Through a series of unfortunate events (abuse, divorce of parents, stuttering)

I hated me. The enemy had done a great job of destroying any good picture I had of myself. There was not a

single trace of self-esteem I could hold on to. I was my own worst enemy. Like I said, I hated me and envied

other people. How I wanted to be someone else.

But when the Lord saved me He changed all that. He showed me I was unique and that was good.

It took a lot of years to get here but He did it. He changed the old picture with a new one. A better picture!

 

You are an original! Don’t let people dictate who you should be. Don’t let the media, your peers and

anyone else for that matter dictate your worthiness. If it’s not based on the word don’t give it any

credence. What YAH says about you should be your standard period!

 

When we live by his truth, then no one is a threat and there is no reason to change ourselves so we can

be like that actor, musician or whoever we are trying to be currently.

We can be confident in who YAH made us to be. And that’s how He wants us live.

 

 

ACT ON IT – Change the way you speak to yourself. Be your biggest fan. Exhort & encourage

yourself, speak YAH”s word over your life.

There is a way to speak to yourself when you mess up without diminishing your value. Find ways of doing

that.

Find two scriptures you can hold on to that talk about your value.

 

Bless you friends.

 

Rolain