God’s plan for him took him to Egypt…..!

And the patriarchs [Jacob’s sons], boiling with envy

and hatred and anger, sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt;

but God was with him,

And delivered him from all his distressing afflictions and

won him goodwill and favor and wisdom and understanding

in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him governor

over Egypt and all his house.  Acts 7:9, 10

 

Joseph’s brothers held nothing back. The word is very clear

how they felt about him. They were boiling with envy, hatred,

and anger toward him. They wanted to do him harm!

When they sold him as a slave they thought that was the

end of him!

I think the enemy does something similar. he brings things

in our lives to take us out, to do us harm. he doesn’t want

us fulfilling our destiny.

But he is seriously misinformed. Like Joseph, God is with

us in the desert, in the storm, in Egypt!

Consider this:

God had a plan for Joseph but he had to go to Egypt for it

to come to pass!

I believe we all have an “Egypt”

to go through but that is not the most important thing to

remember. The most important thing to remember is,

God is with you!

 

Because God was with Joseph in Egypt the word says,

 

He delivered him from ALL his distressing afflictions

(which in reality are many). God will deliver us as well.

 

He won him goodwill and favor and wisdom and

understanding in the sight of Pharaoh, King of Egypt!

Wow….!!!

 

Pharaoh made him governor over Egypt and all his house!

 

That is so crazy right! That all happened in Egypt!!

His brothers wanted to take him out but God stepped in

and turned things around. He delivered Joseph from

the evil plans of man.

God protected him. Anything could of happened to him

but it didn’t because God was with him!

Did Joseph understand at first? Off course not. He had

dreams in his heart, dreams he believed were from God!

But even though he was confused and even though he felt

abandoned, even though he was in fear, even though he

was rejected, even though he was misunderstood, even

though his faith in God waned, even though he was locked

up,

God was with him through it all..…!

 

Friends, please let that truth sink in deep. He is

with us. He knows exactly where you are, what you are

facing. He has not abandoned you, He has not cast you

into the darkness, He has not disowned you, He doesn’t

want to harm you….never! He is with you. He loves you

with an everlasting love! Don’t ever forget that.

be encouraged…….God bless you!

Have a great weekend!

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

Throw away that script!!

 

All his life he was abused. His dad was a drunk and his mom was having an affair, an affair that led to divorce! His school life suffered greatly! Who cared about science or geography when life was falling apart! His world as he knew it had been destroyed and was still a living nightmare and yet he was still required to engage at school!!! His teachers called him stupid, his seniors ridiculed him daily. He had no where to run but in himself but even that was hopeless because the person inside would tear him to bits, the person in him would tell him how pathetic he was……no one understood him not even his family….

His script.

I am a nobody and no one loves me! I am better off dead…..I am of no use on this earth! If there is a God, He really really hates me!!! No one understands me.

The boy grew up and for a lot of his life he held on to the script that had been given to him through experiences he went through as a child. He wanted nothing to do with his family, he was treated like trash but it never bugged him because his script said he was trash! He was poor but that was okay with it because his script said he was a nobody and he didn’t deserve anything good! He never expected love from anyone because his script said no one loved him and so it went until…..

Something happened, something that would change his life forever. The boy who was now a man found God or may I say, God found him! God changed the way he saw. God started showing him flaws in the script, not only flaws but lies and deception! It was a difficult time for the boy turned man. A lot of the lessons where painful. The crazy thing about the whole situation was there was a part of the man that wanted to hold on to the script!! It was what he knew and even though it was destroying him he held on to it and didn’t want to let go!

But God in His grace and love saved the man. After years and years of rebuilding and restructuring, and pounding and pain the man began to see something else. He began to see what God had for him…..He began to believe in love again! The script he once had was nothing but a memory now.

It would still come back to haunt him at times but by God’s grace he stood tall and strong knowing who his God was and is, knowing the plans God has for him, confident in the God who loves him!

This is what I would like to say to you. The script you have been given is false. God loves you and cares for you and has a plan for you. Your life can turn out differently despite what people are saying. Your life WILL turn out differently. God did not compose the script you are living by now not if it is a negative one and not if it undermines who are in Christ.

You are not destined to fail.

You are not a loser.

You are not ugly.

You are not useless.

You are not stupid.

You are not just a statistic.

You are not a burden.

You are not clumsy.

God has someone amazing out there for you.

You will succeed, you will win, you will prosper, you are loved, you have been forgiven, you are beautiful, you are rich, you are precious, you are important and so much more……

You don’t have to follow the script you have been given. God wants you to look to Him and trust Him. He wants to give you the best. The script is not true. Throw it away!

* Depression is real and needs to be taken seriously. If you want to understand it more and know how

to deal with it please click on the link below*

https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/depression/10-depression-quotes-that-may-change-your-life/

Rolain

She was a nobody but faith………

This is part of three of my series on Hebrews 11. Read part two here. As I start this post I would like to share a verse that got my attention,

[Prompted] by faith Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed along with those who refused to believe and obey, because she had received the spies in peace [without enmity]. Hebrews 11: 31

Rehab is a hero of the faith but I wonder if she sees the same thing?? If we spoke to her now would she say she is a hero proudly? A lot of people read her story and are inspired and it is good but let us look deeper into her life. She was a prostitute and that meant a few things:

– She slept with men for money. It didn’t matter if the man was married or a drunk, or abusive, as long as they had money she would sleep with them.

– She was looked down upon by society.

– It’s very possible she struggled with a low self esteem

– She was finding it hard to make ends meet and maybe that is why she became a prostitute.

– She lived in fear (it’s possible she was threatened by men she slept with)

– No one respected her.

– She may have broken a few families up. It’s possible wives found out their husbands slept with Rahab and left!

– She must have dealt with guilt and condemnation on a regular basis because of the things she had to do. .

– Did she try to commit suicide???

I would like to make something clear before we move on,

I look up to Rahab and in no way am I trying to tear down her reputation and what God had done for her. I am trying to paint a picture of what she probably went through to make you understand what God saved her from. Because despite all the bad she did and all the bad that happened to her, through faith she was saved. Her name is recorded among the Greats because she trusted God! Because of faith she saved her family and was found in Jesus’s lineage!! (Matthew 1:5)

We need faith and without it we can do nothing pleasing to God. Do I understand what faith is? Not really. What I do know is God did amazing things through the people who trusted Him. No matter what people labeled them, or where they grew up, they turned the world upside down!

This is what the word says about these great men and women of faith,

[Men] of whom the world was not worthy–roaming over the desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth. (Hebrews 11:38 AMP)

Think about all Rahab could of gone through. How could God use her, one could think but in the end what matters is He did! No one is too far off for God to use!

You might feel like you are of no use and your life doesn’t count for something. You might think you have committed too much sin to ever do anything great or you may be plagued with guilt and condemnation but know God has a plan for you! He wants to do great things through you and that is why He wants you to trust Him. Only God can turn your life into something great but you have to have faith in Him!

Rahab did that. She stepped out in faith to God despite what she had done and what people thought and saved the spies. As she used her faith her life changed never to be the same ever. What an amazing testimony for her. I am going to look forward to meeting her and hearing her story! Her story is an example of what God can do with someone who has faith in Him!

Our faith in God can do things we never imagined ever. It can open doors only God can open. Have faith in Him.

Rolain

A testimony within the scars……

Scars, everybody has some sort of scar be it physical or emotional. When you get hurt a scar is made and usually a scar is for life. It will be with you for the rest of your life. A lot of people see scars as a bad thing because it reminds them of a very difficult season in their lives or it may remind them of a very specific event in their life.

I have physical scars and emotional scars. As I look in the mirror I see the scars and they remind me of a time I was physically abused as a child. Then there are the emotional scars. Certain situations trigger them, for example Father’s day. It reminded me of an absentee father who was abusive and I wanted to have nothing to do with. But thank God that has changed!

I have been taught to see my scars differently. I have been taught to see them as a testimony. What do I mean by that?
I mean, my scar can be a testimony to myself and someone else. They can be encouraged and know they are not alone because of what I went through. It’s a testimony because the enemy didn’t win. I am still here. A testimony because it can be a tool to impact a whole lot of people. I can look at the scars and realise that God saved me from the pain. In the darkest time of my life he came through. But it needs me to get the focus off myself and start focusing on others.

Yes I had a difficult time growing up. Yes it was devastating.

But I see how God had a plan in all of this. God wanted to use the pain I had gone through to minister to people but my perspective had to change.
God is good and He has a plan. He always has a plan……

A lot of people have gone through a lot of bad stuff and in no way am I suggesting you just forget and act like nothing happened. You were abused, taken advantage of, raped, robbed, ignored and a whole host of other unspeakable, horrible, evil things. It takes time for pain to heal. A lot of prayer, a lot of help, a lot of people standing by your side helping you. It takes God’s mercy and grace and power for healing to happen.

This post is to let you know that God has a plan for you. Your scars are a reminder of the pain you went through and you can stop there but realise your scars can be a testament of God’s saving power and it can save a lot of people because there is a testimony within your scars!

 Rolain

The desolate, defenseless, poor & needy….

THOUGHT OF THE DAY.

Open your mouth for the dumb [those unable to speak for themselves], for the rights of all who are left desolate and defenseless; 
Open your mouth, judge righteously, and administer justice for the poor and needy.  Proverbs 31:8, 9

God has given us the responsibility of speaking up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. We are to defend the defenseless. We are to stand up for those who cannot stand. Who are the people who cannot speak, and are defenseless and cannot stand? They are the poor, they are the abused, the little children, the widows, the castaway, the aids victims, the people who have been trafficked around the world……the list goes on and on. Who can you stand up for? Who can you defend? This is what God has called us to do.

Open your mouth the word says. Administer justice for the poor and the needy! I like that. We are the ones who are to enforce God’s justice on the earth. If you see injustice then do something about it. Don’t just expect someone else to do it.
God has shown me who to stand up for but because of fear I have shrunk back but I know now that God does not want me to shrink back. He wants me to stand and open my mouth. What about you? Who are you supposed to stand up for?

Before you can stand and speak you need to be able to see. If you can’t see the injustice around you how will you defend? Let us ask God to open our eyes. There are people waiting for us. They are in pain, hopeless, hungry, abandoned, broken and at the brink of death literally. We can’t stand on the sidelines anymore. God, please help us………Give us the courage to step out. Give us the strength to stand and speak out. We will not turn a blind eye and ear to the cry of the abandoned, the hurt, the abused and the poor……Give us the wisdom and the fearlessness to do what You have called us to do. How can we live a life content on being comfortable while others suffer and die on a daily basis. The enemy is destroying whoever he can and we just stand idly by!!!!! We go to church and lift our hands in praise but during the week we ignore the poor, the weak, the homeless, the abused….something is wrong with that picture.

I am so guilty of doing this Lord. Please forgive me for acting blind. Please forgive me for closing my eyes and keeping my mouth closed. Help me from this time forth and help everyone else who reads this and has the same desire to stand up and speak up……We need your help Lord, Amen!                         It is so easy to say a prayer but it’s a whole other ball game acting it out and that is what this world needs, more acting out Christians instead of Christians that think a prayer is enough……..Prayer is key, it’s the foundation of all we do but we need action. There has to be a balance. Let us be the voice God has called us to be…….Amen

Rolain