What’s It Going To Be, GOD or Giants?

I was watching a live stream this week of an upcoming movie and the presenter was talking about a book he was reading from Eugene Peterson called Leap Over A Wall ( I think)

He talked about how David had a God-dominated imagination while Israel had a Goliath-dominated imagination. And because David had a God-dominated imagination he wasn’t afraid of the giant and that is why he stepped out in faith. He not only took on the giant but killed him. All he saw was how strong God was.

Israel on the other hand had a Goliath-dominated imagination and they cowered away in fear. All they saw was the giant and God was no where in sight. They were not able to get the victory because the giant was so strong in their mind.

And that really spoke to me.

It’s time to switch from a Goliath-dominated imagination where all you see is giants and not God, to a God-dominated imagination where all you see is God no matter the giants that come up against you.

You are sons and daughters of God and your portion is victory but the enemy wants to corrupt your mind. he wants you to believe he is stronger and there is nothing you can do. He wants you to forget about God and to not even consider Him as an option when the fight is at it’s thickest. Don’t let him do that.

Let God be all you see when the enemy rises against you. Let Him be the One you cry out to when you are overwhelmed and have no answers to the trials and tribulations you are facing.

God bless you friends

Have a great weekend!

Rolain

We are happy when we go to Him for help!

“I asked the Lord for help, and He answered me. 

He saved me from all that I feared. Those who go to Him

for help are happy. They are never disgraced.”

Psalm 34:4, 5

 

I needed to hear that today and thought you did too!

We need His help today and we will need His help tomorrow.

We simply have to ask for it and He will answer.

Life can be tough and unbearable at times but the Lord doesn’t want us going through it alone.

We should never get to a place where we deal with problems without Him. He cares about every

part of our lives and wants to help. He doesn’t like seeing us suffer.

He wants to bring to an end the things that are tripping us up. He wants to stop the trials

from having victory over us. He wants us to win. He wants us to be victorious.

 

Let me say this, the trouble you are facing today will pass because the Lord is helping you.

No matter how dim things appear they will get better. Trust in the Lord. He has got you.

He is on your side. The enemy will not win.

Ask the Lord for His help always.

Bless you, friends.

 

Rolain

When courage is lost.

“[Those aboard] mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the deeps; 

their courage melts away because of their plight. 

They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits end [all their 

wisdom has come to nothing]. 

Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses.”

Psalm 107:23-30

 

“Their courage melts away because of their plight” 

 

I can understand that. Life throws things that have the potential to melt away your

courage. It can throw things that render you hopeless and weak.

Situations that leave you clueless and powerless.

But what I want to look at and discus is how you deal with those situations. There will always

be giants stronger than us. We will always be faced with hard things that we don’t have answers to.

But knowing how to deal with those situations will make all the difference.

 

Psalm 107:23 paints a vivid picture for us. There were sailors out at sea and a storm

arose. The sailors knew a lot about the sea and you would expect that knowledge would help them,

but it didn’t. Their wisdom came to nothing. With all their experience and knowledge there was

nothing they could do. They didn’t have answers.

All hope they had of being saved was crushed. Their courage was lost.

But things turned around because of one thing and one thing alone, God. Their situation turned around

not because they were skilled, not because they were sailors and had tons of experience, and not because

of their strength.

When they cried out to God in their trouble He heard and saved them. The bible says it this way,

 

“Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses.”

 

When you are at your wits end, when your courage is lost because of the enormity of the

storm cry out to God. He doesn’t expect you to deal with the storm by yourself. He expects you to call Him.

He expects you to trust Him in the fiercest of storms.

 

When the sailors cried out to God, He delivered them from their distress.

What are you going through today? What trouble are you facing?

Has your courage gone because of your plight? Is your hope lost?

Don’t lose heart in the storm.

God is with you and He will carry you through.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

He hears me always…..!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord. 

And He answered me.”

Psalm 120:1

 

There is a place to run to when we are in trouble.

There is a Person to turn to when things go bad.

His name is Yeshua. He hears our prayers. He ALWAYS hears us.

 

Pray to Him with confidence. When you are in trouble call out to Him.

He wants to help you. He wants to carry you out of the pit you are in. Put aside the lie that says He is

not listening. It’s not true.

 

“I love the Lord, because He has heard [and now hears] my voice and my supplications. 

Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live.” 

Psalm 116:1, 2

 

He hears and He answers. That’s the way He does it. Don’t remain silent. Open your mouth and

pray to Him as long as you live……

 

Bless you

 

Rolain

Spend time with God today…..

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Don’t underestimate the power of a quiet time.

This is something the Lord has been showing me in this season. It seems like the amount of distractions

have increased exponentially today. But we must keep at it, we must fight through, we must put down the

phone/turn off the TV and spend time with Him.

This is something we must take seriously. Let me show why;

 

“The council members were astonished as they witnessed the bold courage of Peter and John,

especially when they discovered that they were just ordinary men who had never had religious training.

Then they began to understand the effect Jesus had on them simply by spending time with him.

Standing there with them was the healed man, and there was nothing further they could say.”

Acts 4:13

 

“Then they began to understand the effect Jesus had on them simply by spending time with Him.”

 

I love this so much. Something happens when we spend time with Yeshua. We are empowered, we are

changed. Look at the disciples for instance,

They had changed. The Pharisees who killed Yeshua noticed something different in them.

They were bold, and fearless and had just performed a miracle. They had only seen that in one other man,

Yeshua!

Time with Yeshua had changed them. They were no longer the same. They were filled with the Holy Spirit.

All of this and more happened as they spent time with Yeshua.

I have found this to be true in my life. The more time I spend with Him the more sensitive I am to His voice

and leading. The more empowered I am…..

 

The world is getting darker and darker in need of light. We can be that light, the answer to the darkness but

we need to spend time with Him. The disciples were able to turn the world upside down because of the

empowerment they got from spending time with the Him and I believe that’s His desire. He wants us to

be a light in the sphere’s we are in.

It’s in His presence we find peace, purpose, identity, strength, joy and love. So in other words everything we need.

The answers to the storm we are facing are found in His presence.

The strength we need to endure are in His presence.

The wisdom we need now, is in His presence.

There is always room to be better and I want to be better. I want to spend more time with Him.

Let’s do all we can to spend as much time as we can with Him…..

Blessing to you

 

Rolain

 

 

 

He was abandoned by everyone!

“Be diligent to come quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, 

having loved this present world, and he has departed for 

Thessalonica-Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. 

Only Luke is with me. “

2 Timothy 4:9-11

 

“Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord

repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, 

for he has greatly resisted our words. 

At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. 

May it not be charged against them. “

2 Timothy 4:14-16

 

How hard it must of been for Paul. He had been abandoned by

so many people.

He was on the Lord’s business and people kept leaving him left,

right and center!

I don’t think it was easy for him.

 

I think we can all think of a time where we have been let down.

It could of been by a family member, a friend, or a co worker.

Whoever it was, it wasn’t fun. It’s hard actually.

 

But that’s what happens when we put our trust in man.

But that goes two way.

I can remember countless times I have failed people. No

matter how hard I tried I still failed them.

What is the answer then?

 

Paul didn’t have one person abandon him, he had several people

abandon him and oppose him! How did he deal with it?

 

“But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the 

message might be preached fully through me, and that all the 

Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the

lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and 

preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. 

To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! “

2 Timothy 4:17-18

 

When Paul was abandoned by his friends and co workers he

didn’t go into a panic attack. He didn’t send “hate mail” to

the people who abandoned him. Instead, he looked to God

to help him.

And the Lord helped Him and delivered him out of the mouth

of the lion.

The Lord remained faithful to him. Even when man failed him,

the Lord remained faithful. The Lord was by his side.

The lesson I want to get across is this,

 

People will fail us, and we will fail people but our

trust and dependence should be on God always!

What happened to Paul had the potential of sending him

into depression and so much more but he knew Who turn to.

The problem for us begins when we put all our hope and reliance

on man.

The only person we should totally depend on is God.

I am not saying abandon your relationships with everyone

and do everything on your own.

I am saying, understand that people will fail you and you will

fail people.

Depend entirely on God.

He will never let you down.

 

*Do you feel abandoned, thrown aside and ignored but you need someone to talk to.

Click on the link below for help*

 

https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/relations/what-to-do-when-youre-feeling-neglected/

 

Bless you friends.

 

Rolain

He prayed much…..

 

“Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter

of Bethuel the Aramean of Padan-aram, the sister of Laban the

Aramean. “

Genesis 25:20

 

What happens when you don’t have all the answers to the

problems in your life?

There will be times we will come up against impossible odds,

situations we will be completely powerless against.

Isaac was blessed with an incredible woman by God but she

was barren! God led Abraham’s servant to her family. There

is an entire chapter (Genesis 24) dedicated to the servant

finding Isaac’s wife! There can be no argument she was the one

but she was barren……

The only explanation I could think of for that was, God had a plan.

He wasn’t caught off guard by Rebekah’s barreness.

Let’s read the next verse;

 

“And Isaac prayed much to the Lord for his wife because she was

unable to bear children;

and the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife

became pregnant.”

Genesis 25:21

 

At face value the impossible situation in Isaac’s life was

resolved so easily. Isaac prayed, God heared and answered

his prayer. Lesson learned!

But it goes much deeper than that. Let’s take a look.

 

“Afterward his brother came forth, and his hand grasped Esau’s

heel; so he was named Jacob [supplanter]. Isaac was sixty years

old when she gave birth to them. “

Genesis 25:26

 

Jacob got married at forty right. According to their culture I

don’t think it took long for them to try to have a baby.

Let’s give it maybe a year.

If that is the case, Isaac prayed for nineteen years give

or take for a baby!

Isaac prayed much, the word tells us and he got his answer.

What is it like praying for something that long?

Who knows the things Isaac and Rebekah faced as they

trusted God for their baby?

Just know this, it took about nineteen years for Isaac to

get an answer to his prayer. He never gave up on God.

He never lost hope, instead he prayed much!

I am encouraged as I read their story because there are

things I have been praying for for a long time.

 

So let’s go back to that impossible sitution I was talking about

in the beginning of the post.

It’s not a mistake you are going through what you are going

through just like it was not a mistake when Isaac married

Rebekah even though she was barren.

God was very much in the know about that and He had a plan.

All I would say to you today is, don’t give up. God has a plan.

Isaac didn’t complain or murmur about his problem, he

prayed much!

Are you praying “much” in your impossible situation?

That could be the answer.

 

Be encouraged, be hopeful, because God sees what you are

facing. He has the answer and He will not let you down!

Pray much…..

 

Rolain

 

photo credit: google images

 

 

The key to breakthrough is……

We need prayer in our lives. Prayer is the key to the breakthrough we are

seeking in our lives. But how do we pray for the breakthrough?

Luke 11 has the answer.

“Here’s what I am saying:

 

Ask and you’ll get;

 

Seek and you’ll find;

 

Knock and the door will open. 

 

Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. 

 

This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. 

Luke 11:9

It is that simple, actually too simple! But this is the thing. I have

had things I have asked for and sought which I still don’t have.

There are some things I have been waiting for weeks, months and years.

Are there things you have been praying for that you are still waiting for from God?

Has He forgotten or simply just ignored those requests? No!

The answer is in the story He tells before hand…..

“Then He said, “Imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of

the night and said, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. An old friend travelling through

just showed up, and I don’t have a thing on hand. 

The friend answers from his bed, don’t bother me. The door’s locked; my 

children are all down for the night; I can’t get up to give you anything. 

But let me tell you, even if he won’t get up because he’s a friend, if you stand your 

ground, knocking and waking all the neighbours, he’ll finally get up and get you whatever you need. 

Luke 11:5-8

There is a principle in this story that I totally believe in and apply. A principle that keeps me asking and stops me from giving up. The principle is this, Friendship is not enough at

 times when it comes to prayer,

“But let me tell you, even if he won’t get up because he’s a friend….“

We have a relationship with God but that doesn’t mean He will hear us all the time. Sometimes we will need to be persistent! The friend gave the bread because of the persistence of the other friend!

There is a saying I have, Persistence will get you what friendship can’t. I even wrote a post about it some time ago. I can’t get into it right now but all you need to know is,

to get breakthrough you need to persist. Friendship will help at times but at other times we need something more.

The point is this. Be specific when you come to God in prayer. Be very clear. Ask, seek

and you will find. Then persist. If something doesn’t come through keep knocking,

keep seeking, and you will find! God is not trying to hide things from you. He has so

much in store for you. God bless.

Rolain.

It’s not God’s fault….!!!

What do you do when things don’t go according to plan in your life?

What do you do when what you were trusting God for doesn’t happen?

What do you do when it feels like God has abandoned you?

Do you think there are some instances where God is to blame for some of the
things that have not worked out in your life?

I have had to deal with these questions in my life. There have been times I
have blamed God. These are hard questions but questions which need to be
answered. As I had these questions God spoke to me through Joshua.
He had just come from the defeat of Jericho. God had given them a big victory. The
next town they had to attack was called Ai. It was a small town. Joshua 7:3
says,

And they returned to Joshua and said to him, Let not all the men go up; but
let about two thousand or three thousand go up and attack Ai; do not make
the whole army toil up there, for they of Ai are few.

It was supposed to be a sure victory but it wasn’t. They were defeated!
They had never experienced defeat before. They even experienced death which
was a new thing! Joshua 7:5 says,

And the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, for they chased them
from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and slew them at the descent. And
the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

To top that off, all the surrounding nations would now try and attack
Israel. They heard about all the miraculous things God did for them but if
they heard about the defeat at Ai they would surely come to destroy them!
Joshua acted quickly. He went up to God. Joshua 7:6-8;

Then Joshua rent his clothes and lay on the earth upon his face before
the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they
put dust on their heads.

Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, why have You brought this people over the
Jordan at all only to give us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us?
Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan!

O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned to flee before their
enemies!

Joshua blamed God! There is no other way to put it. I am not going to try
and be euphemistic here. He blamed God…..But I understand, I have been
there. When things have gone so bad that you feel like God has abandoned
you, when you feel like God deliberately did something to hurt you. Have
you been there, or maybe you ARE there! I want you to know,

Joshua was wrong! God was not to blame for what happened. God did not want Israel to
be defeated. That was never in His plan. God is a good God who only has
good in store for us. The fault was in Achan. He went against what God had
told him to do. (Joshua 7:11)

This story raises a very important point. God is not to be blamed for what goes
wrong in our lives. His plan for us is ALL good. ALL GOOD!!! Yes that may entail
trials, and tribulation, and tests and so forth but God is not the author
of the pain, brokenness, disappointment we face in life. He has a destiny
for us. He has a plan for our lives and that plan is good. HE CAN BE
TRUSTED!!!

I don’t write this for the sake of writing a good post. This is what I believe. God is not

to blame. His plan for my life is good. Trials and tests will come but I must remember

that He is good and He is with me every step of the way. That goes for you as well.

No matter what you going through, He is with you and it is not His fault. He loves you

and He is only good. Everything He does stems from that!

God bless…

Rolain

 

What you need to know about times and seasons…..

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

When they were together for the last time they asked, “Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?”

He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”   Acts 1;6-8

I was reading my bible when this passage jumped out at me. After the resurrection Jesus was with his disciples and they asked Him about the restoration of Israel. His answer is what has been resonating within me.  

“You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business.”  Acts 1:7   (The Message)

I will stop right there. There have been so many things I have wondered about. When God, when? has been a frequent question. But the word is clear, Timing is the Father’s business! God knows where I am at, He knows where you at. He has not forgotten about you. Everything will happen at the right time. If things haven’t happened then the timing is not right yet. 

Be patient and trust in the Lord. Whatever you are waiting for and trusting God for this year know that, Timing is the Father’s business!!!

Rolain