When Things Go South…

God is bigger than our circumstances.

We need to remember this constantly. Even when everything seems to be failing and crumbling around us.

Even when our circumstances are telling us that there is no hope, we need to trust in God.

There is a scripture that I would like to share that has been helping me so much.

“Though the fig trees should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields

yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

God, the Lord is my strength;

he makes my feet like the deer’s he makes me tread on my high places.”

Habakkuk 3:17

As you can see Habakkuk was having a difficult time. Things were not going well at all but despite what was

going on around him he chose to focus on the Lord.

The bad circumstances he was facing did not weaken his faith in God.

His faith remained resolute and unwavering.

What are you believing in the midst of difficult situations?

Are you convincing yourself that you are doomed, that there is no way out?

I want to encourage you to look to God. He wants to help you through what you going through.

Let me share one more scripture with you,

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever;

who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.”

Psalm 146:5-7

The Creator of the Universe is our help!

The word says we are blessed because he is our Helper.

So don’t remain silent as go through the storm. Ask Him for help. Put all of your hope in Him.

Bless you friends

Rolain

The Plan Is On

Hey friends.

I can’t believe a month has already passed us by!

I had decided to take a break in January and I am glad I did that.

But I am really pumped to be back.

So I know this is late but Happy New Year to you all!

I wanted to focus on Jeremiah 29:11 today. It’s a very popular passage of scripture and it’s one of my favorites for sure!

But I want to look at in context because I think it’s even more powerful when you look at the full picture.

“These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to

the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”

Jeremiah 29:1

God’s people were forcefully taken away from their home. It had been destroyed and burned by the Babylonians.

So there they were in a foreign land with no hope for the future. They were discouraged, hopeless and lost in Babylon.

But in the midst of those grim circumstances God had a word for His people,

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11

In that hopeless situation, God’s plan for His people was very much alive. Even though it was hard to see at the moment, God

would free them from their captives. He had an amazing plan for them!

You may be in a place today and you are hopeless and see no future for yourself but I want to encourage you to keep hoping.

Hold on to your faith in God because He has a plan for your life, an amazing life. In spite of the grim circumstances, God’s plan

for your life is very much alive. Don’t lose hope.

Bless you friends

Rolain

Silence The Negative Voices At All Costs

“But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were

with him, and went in where the child was.”

Mark 5:14

Negativity is all around us. That’s a given.

But we don’t need to live it out in our lives. The enemy is trying to use it to bring us

down but we must not let him succeed. We need to fight against the negativity

that comes our way, the voices that say we are ugly and the voices that say we will

never amount to anything, that nobody will love us and so many more words that

we are told.

In the scripture above we see that Jesus had to do the same thing. He had arrived

at Jairus house to heal his daughter but the people in the room laughed and made

fun of him.

And what did Jesus do?

He chased them out of the room. He didn’t give negativity a chance.

We can’t give negativity a chance.

What is your environment like?

What are you watching, listening to and reading on a daily basis?

What king of thoughts do you have of yourself and your situation? Are they

positive or negative?

What kind of words do you speak everyday?

All these things need to be looked at if you want to change your environment, if you want to

change the negativity that comes your way.

Encourage yourself with the word of God.

Surround yourself with the right friends.

Change what you read and listen to, replace negative words with positive ones.

But do something. Don’t just let negativity infiltrate your life without fighting it.

Take the necessary steps to change your environment.

God has amazing things in store for you and He is with you every moment of your life.

Bless you friends

Rolain

What Are You Holding Onto In Difficult Times?

When you are in a difficult place, what are you holding onto?

Are you holding onto God’s Word or man’s word?

God’s Word is sure, reliable, trustworthy and dependable and that’s

what you should be holding onto.

In the book of Acts chapter twenty-seven we read a very interesting story.

Paul is imprisoned and is on his way to Rome because he appealed to Caesar.

They boarded a ship and reached a place called Fair Havens but instead of staying there

until the seas become a bit more calm the centurion decided to proceed with the journey.

Paul warned them that he could foresee loss of cargo and even loss of life.

But the centurion decided to listen to the captain of the ship which makes total

sense because the captain had experience and he probably sailed those seas hundreds of times.

But look at what happened when they listened to the captain’s advice,

“We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo

overboard. On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither

sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope

of being saved.”

Acts 27:18-20

The captain’s advice was wrong even though he was the most experienced and even though

he probably sailed those seas hundreds of times.

As we face the storms of life we need to hold on to God’s Word over any other word.

That’s the only word that can and will get us through the storm.

Man’s word will fail and disappoint but not the Word of God.

After that Paul told all the men that an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him that no

soul would be lost. Paul held on to the word of the Lord and encouraged the men to do so.

And what the angel spoke came to pass. There were no souls that were lost. Everyone reached land

safely.

“The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached

land safely.”

Acts 27:44

We can depend on God’s Word because it is sure, trustworthy, reliable and dependable.

“Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word

has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.”

1 Kings 8:56

Bless you friends

Rolain

The Enemy’s Plan For You, Will Be Defeated.

What happens to the enemy’s plans for us?

Because truth be told, he has plans to take us out.

He doesn’t want us to succeed but there is good news for us in the Word of God.

The bible has the real truth. The enemy’s plans will not succeed over us.

Take David for instance. He had to flee from Absalom for a season and to make matters worse

his counselor Ahithophel had sided with Absalom which was really bad news for David.

Ahithophel was David’s trusted advisor. He was wise and knew David really well, the way

he worked, his family, how he thought and so much more. He was not the guy to go up

against.

Anyway, he had a plan to eliminate David and went to Absalom to tell him his plan.

Everyone loved his plan but before it could be green lit they called Hushai (another of David’s

counsellors) to hear what his plan would be. Earlier on in the story, David sent him back

in the hope to overthrow the counsel of Ahithophel.

So when they called Hushai they asked him what his plan would be and they loved his plan.

They thought it was better than Ahithophel’s plan. So they decided to go with his plan.

And this is the lesson I want to get across.

Ahithophel’s plan to eliminate David was better than Hushai’s. The word tells us so.

“Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “Hushai’s advice is better than Ahithophel’s.

For the Lord had determined to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, which really was the better

plan, so that he could bring disaster on Absalom!”

2 Samuel 17:14, 15

So if Absalom and his men had listened to Ahithophel’s counsel they would have managed to

destroy David and his men BUT….

Because God was with David, He overthrew the counsel of Ahithophel. David would not be eliminated

by the enemy’s plan because God was watching over him and protecting him.

And like David, God will frustrate and stop the enemy’s plan for you. His plans will not succeed

over you.

No weapon formed against you will prosper the word tells us.

So don’t fear when the enemy rises against you to destroy you. The Lord will never allow the enemy

to be victorious over you and that is good news!

So trust God no matter how intense the battle gets because He is protecting you and watching over you.

No plan of the enemy will succeed over you.

Blessings to you.

On one last note,

If you would like to support me financially in what I am doing here you can now do so with a few

dollars every month.

Simply click here to find out more.

Have a great weekend friends

Rolain

When The Enemy Has Appeared To Have Won, God Steps In!

“When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.

After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house,

and she became his wife, and bore him a son.

But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.’

2 Samuel 11:26, 27

We all know the story.

David slept with Bathsheba and to hide what he did, he got Uriah her husband killed.

That was a dark season in David’s life, if not THE darkest.

All seemed lost for him. The enemy appeared to have won against him but God stepped

in! He intervened in David’s hopeless situation.

He stepped in and pulled David out of the dark pit he was in.

When Nathan the prophet confronted David he was quick to confess his sin and received

forgiveness. But there was more…

“And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in into her, and lay with her:

and she bare a son, called his name Solomon: and the Lord loved him.”

2 Samuel 12:24, 25

As I read that verse I had a thought. Why didn’t Solomon come from David’s other wife Abigail?

She was amazing and had less “baggage.”

But I believe God used Bathsheba because He wanted to make a statement.

God took the darkest and ugliest situation in David’s life and turned it around.

The enemy’s proof of victory was no more. The “souvenir” he kept with pride was now turned

into a testimony of God’s goodness, mercy and power.

He could no longer brag about the destruction he caused in David’s life because God redeemed

the situation!

And God will do the same for you and me.

He will take the enemy’s victories and turn them around into powerful testimonies of His goodness,

mercy and power!

Even if you have messed up big time and it seems like the enemy has won, he hasn’t. The Lord

has the final say. When He steps in there is nothing the enemy can do to stop Him.

Forgiveness, mercy and grace are a prayer away. Call on the Lord for help when you are in trouble.

Call on Him when sin has made you stumble.

He wants to help you.

And with that I have come to the end of the post.

If you would like to support what I am doing here financially, you can do so with a few dollars a month.

Click here to support me.

Bless you friends

Rolain

How To Talk To “Giants”

How do you speak to the giants that come against you?

As I read the Bible this week there was a story that made me think about that.

There is a way we are meant to speak to giants. We are not supposed to

cower away in fear or terror because God is our Protector.

He is so much stronger than the giants we face

I was reading the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:45-47 and there

were a few things that stuck out to me that I would like to share about how we

should speak to giants.

• David didn’t talk to Goliath about his strength. He spoke about God’s strength and power.
• David knew the battle wasn’t his but the Lord’s. He knew that the God who delivered him from lion and the bear would deliver him from Goliath.
• David never negotiated or pleaded with Goliath. He TOLD him what was going to happen to him.
• Because David had faith in God, he knew he was going to win.

We don’t have to let giants determine what happens to us.

Our faith in God will make us see giants differently and will make us talk differently because that’s what

happened to David. He didn’t run away in terror when he saw Goliath, he defeated him and told him

he was going to kill him.

Keep trusting the Lord and don’t let go. Let your faith be the driving force behind the words and actions

you speak and take against the giants that come against you.

And before I go I have some exciting news.

If you like what I do here and would like to support me financially, you can now do so.

With a coffee or coffees you can support on Buy Me A Coffee.

You can also become a member if you really enjoy what I do.

Click here.

And with that, I have come to the end of the post.

Bless you friends

Rolain

How Can We Win Against These Strong Enemies?

What should we do when life gets overwhelming and the troubles we face seem too much for us? 

I was in a situation this past week and I was overwhelmed by the things I was facing. I felt discouraged

and felt like God wasn’t listening but I came across a scripture in my quiet time that recalibrated my thoughts

back to Him. 

Life has a way at times of getting our minds off God, and driving us into some pretty dark and ugly tunnels and

that is why we need God’s word in our lives. 

It recalibrates, and realigns our thoughts back to Him. 

Let’s get into the word I read; 

“Perhaps you will think to yourselves, ‘How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful

than we are?’ But don’t be afraid of them! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the

land of Egypt.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭7:17-18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Moses was addressing the people of Israel as they were about to enter the promise land. They would come up

against some very powerful enemies and Moses knew they would encounter times of fear, doubt and anxiety. 

But he reminded them to REMEMBER, what God did to the Egyptians. 

As powerful as the Egyptians were, God delivered and saved Israel from them. He defeated the Egyptians. 

He also reminded them that God was with them.

““No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the Lord your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭7:21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So if you are feeling overwhelmed by the troubles you face and the giants that are before you, remember what the

Lord has done for you. Remember the great deliverances He has delivered you with. Remember how He has answered

your prayers through the years and still continues to do so. 

He is with you. You are not alone at any time, especially when trouble is at your door. God will deliver you like He has

done many times before. Keep holding onto your faith in Him. 

Bless you friends

Rolain

What are you practicing?

Hi friends. 

I was going over an old journal of mine recently and came across a post that I wrote based

on a devotional I had read. The post was about the power of action or practice. 

What are you practicing today or what are you taking action on today? 

These are the questions the devotional was asking me to answer. 

It’s not enough to listen to something and at times we can fall into the trap of thinking listening

is the main thing but it’s not. The change and the growth comes in the action, in the practice. 

So we can attend the best workshops, and webinars, or read the top books in the industries we are in but

if there is no mindset of, “what do I need to act upon”, then growth and change won’t happen. 

And when it comes to faith, James chapter two states that faith without works is dead. Faith is faith when action is applied. 

Reading the word has some benefit but reading and acting upon the word is where the real power is. 

The author of the devotional went on to talk about how we need both the abstract and the practical. 

The abstract is the faith, the belief, the hope which are not tangible then there is the practical part which is the action or practice. 

We need both. 

So as I close, what are you practicing today?

Do you have both the abstract and the practical locked down? 

Have a great weekend friends 

Rolain

Unstoppable – Your purpose cannot be stopped.

“The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage!

As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

Acts 23:11

 

We all have a purpose given by God and His desire is to see us accomplish it but the enemy doesn’t want us to accomplish it, he wants us to fail.

Paul had a clear mission from God. He would testify in Rome but a few hours after the angel spoke with him the enemy launched his attack,

“The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty men were involved in this plot.”

Acts 23:12

 

The enemy didn’t care that the Lord had spoken to him. He wanted to stop Paul but the good news is that he COULDN’T stop Paul, because God was with him. Paul did testify in Rome despite all the attempts from the enemy.

God has a calling on your life which the enemy will try to stop. But he will not succeed because God is with you. Trust Him fully.

We have a similar pattern in the story of Moses and the Israelites. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron to encourage His people that deliverance was coming. (Exodus 4:29-31)

But after receiving the promise instead of things getting better, things got worse for them. They were persecuted even more. (Exodus 5:6-15)

But as you know, the Lord delivered His people. The enemy tried to stop the call of God on their lives but once again he was powerless to stop it.

What the Lord has promised you will come to pass even when it seems like the enemy is winning. He will not stop the purpose God has for you.

So keep moving ahead in faith and even when things get tough, know that the devil will not be victorious over you. God is watching over you and will fulfill the purposes He planned for you.

Bless you

Rolain