Forty days of fear!

“And the Philistine said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day; 

give me a man, that we may fight together. 

When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine,

they were dismayed and greatly afraid.”

1 Samuel 17: 10, 11

 

One would think that would be the perfect opportunity for the

Philistine’s to attack Israel.

It would be an easy battle for them.

Saul and ALL Israel were dismayed and fearful.

But the enemy didn’t attack.

Instead of attacking, Goliath came out morning and evening

for FORTY days!

Yes, forty days!!

 

“The Philistine came out morning and evening presenting 

himself for forty days.”

1 Samuel 17:16

 

That is so crazy to think. It’s like the enemy enjoyed seeing

Israel cower in fear.

They loved seeing the Israelites in fear.

 

“David left his packages in the care of the baggage keeper

and ran into the ranks and came and greeted his brothers. 

 

As they talked, behold, Goliath, the champion, the Philistine

of Gath, came forth from the Philistine ranks and spoke the 

same words as before, and David heard him. 

 

And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from 

him terrified. “

1 Samuel 17:22-24

 

And this went on for forty days, morning and evening!

Who knows how long it would have gone on for if David had

not come along.

 

And this my friends, is one of the enemies most effective strategy.

He wants you to live in fear as long as possible.

He wants you to be paralyzed by it.

He wants you to be bound by fear to a point where you can’t

think and you can’t step out in faith.

 

You don’t have to go far to find it. Fear is everywhere. It’s the

headlines you read on your way to work.

It’s in the 8:00 news.

It’s littered on your Facebook page.

 

Because the Israelites were gripped with fear they could not

move in  faith.

Fear blinded them to the truth.

They forgot the Lord Almighty was stronger than the enemy

they were facing.

 

The enemy used fear to stop the Israelites from moving

forward in their purpose.

 

We can’t let fear win friends. If left alone it will steal

everything good in our lives.

 

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, 

of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us 

a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced

mind and discipline and self-control. “

2 Timothy 1:7

 

We need God’s help to overcome fear. God has brought me

so far as I look back at my life. I was so fearful but He continues

to take me to new levels of boldness. This is not an easy battle

friends. But we are not alone facing this enemy.

Fear’s hold on our lives must be broken.

The God we serve is stronger than every fear we face.

He is stronger than the author of fear!!

Take heart.

Blessings to you

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

How to pray for your future wife!

This post is a response to a post I read a few days ago, a post that  challenged me to the core. If you are a single woman I urge you to read it. The title of the post is called, “Dear Future Husband” and it is written by Samantha Hardcastle. You can read it here.

Men, I urge you to read it as well. It is an excellently written post and I think as men we need to know the kind of women we want and Samantha does a great job of holding up a Proverbs 31 woman. Anyway, let’s start. After reading the post I realized how important it is for us as men to do our part. We too need to pray for our wives. Samantha says,

‘These women don’t know if he has brown hair or orange hair – if he enjoys his coffee black or sweet – or if he’s been through hell and back. But they all share a common thread that all too easily, could be a lost art in one’s love life – and that is the act of praying.”

Men, prayer is important. Prayer is powerful and not to be taken lightly. I say that to you and to myself as a reminder. But I would like to go further with this because as men our responsibility is so much greater not because God made men better than women, but because God has a plan. We are to be the head. We are called to lead our families. We are called to protect and take care of them. The responsibility we have been given is very serious. So the question stands, how are we as men to pray for our wives?

I mentioned the first point. The actually act of praying is very important and key.

For the second point I would like to share something else from Samantha’s post,

“As I go through my past letters, a common theme I have prayed over him is that He would be a bold man for the things of God, bold in loving others, bold in living selflessly, bold in risking his personal comfort for more of Jesus. A man who is bold is the kind of man I want to hold”.

Another way of praying for your future wife is by preparing yourself in your singleness.

What habits need to be changed now? We don’t start when we get married, no! We start now. Ask God to show you habits that are not honoring to Him and ask your closest friends about the things you do that annoy them. Maybe you talk with food in your mouth or people can hear you from the other side of the world when you eat. Maybe you like getting up late every day or maybe you can’t resist flirting with other women, I don’t know. Just change habits that need to be changed.

Have a vision. As a man you are going to lead your family but how will you lead if you don’t have a vision? Let me rephrase that. How can you lead your family if you don’t know what your purpose is? Everyone has a purpose from God. Ask God to show you His purpose for your life.

Seek God with all of your heart. I put this third but it’s actually the most important thing a man can do. Without God we are nothing. He must be first in your life. He must be your consuming passion. He must be the one who occupies your thoughts constantly. He must be the one that completes you. Please listen to me on this point. A woman will not complete you. God is the only one, I repeat , the only one who will complete you…..The media has lied to us through movies and music that a man or woman will complete us but that is so not true. GOD IS THE ONLY ONE WHO WILL COMPLETE YOU. Ladies, if you find yourself relying on a man for meaning and purpose then you have been deceived! God is the only one who can give you that.

I will stop there for today. I have lots to share but I will stop there. I hope you got the gist of what I am saying. As men we need to pray for our wives too. They need our prayers as we need their prayers……It’s a two way thing.  Be vigilant; don’t take the assignment you have been given by God lightly. Your future wife is depending on you, she is praying for you!

Rolain

What God’s goodness has to do with the Sun and a Shield……..!

I am currently doing a bible study on discovering the will of God. The book I am using is really something. It is unique in the way it tackles questions about God’s will. I started about a month ago and I have learned so much already. I came across a question that I have been meditating on for quite some time now. And it is this question and portion of the study I would like to share with you. I am sure it will be a blessing to someone.

What I will do is write down the questions and the answers I put down. The scripture used is really amazing. Here goes….

Psalm 84:11 is an outstanding verse on how good God is. Meditate on the verse, then answer the following questions.

(I used the Amplified Bible to answer this question.)

For The Lord God is a Sun and Shield; The Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and 

[future] glory (honour, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from

Those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11 (Amplified) 

– What two things is God like? What does each of these do for us? 

My answer – He is like the Sun and a Shield. 

The Sun brings light. It also brings life! 

A shield protects us. 

The Lord is a Sun…..

As He is the Sun the darkness in my life can do nothing but flee. Darkness cannot reside in the light. The Sun comes to shine in the dark places within me. It comes to give those dead things in me life…..! 

As a Shield He protects me from ALL the weapons the enemy fashions against me. No weapon can hurt me or destroy me. He is my Shield! 

– What does God do? 

My answer – He bestows [present] grace and [future] glory (honour, splendor and heavenly bliss)!

– What does He not do? 

He does NOT withhold any good thing from me! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. 

and a Shield!!!!

– How do these truths help you? 

Firstly these truths encourage me. They give me hope. They strengthen me. They give me confidence to face the challenges on my path. 

They give me boldness as I go to Him. 

And that is it. As you read the questions take time to meditate on them. Use whichever version is easy for you. The Amplified gave a deeper meaning for me. The truths you find will give you the hope you need. He is our Sun and Shield!!!

Rolain.

Has My Free Access Before God Being Denied??

Free Access Before God Denied???
I was having my time with God when a scripture jumped out at me. It made me think about how my approach before God has been. The scripture is in Ephesians 3:12 and it says;
In whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear).

So as I am reading the verse I realise that I am not that confident before God. I am not unreserved in my approach to God all the time. But we are meant to come to God in boldness and in confidence without fear.
But why do a lot of us come to Him afraid and unsure? Something is very wrong if we can’t. I want to come to the Lord in boldness and confidence all the time. He is my Father. He really loves me. I want to be unreserved in my approach to Him without fear or doubt.

As I was thinking about all this there were a few things that came to mind. I am fearful in my approach to God because of sin. I know God says I am forgiven when I confess my sin but sometimes I think He is still angry with me. Are you in the same boat? Is there sin that you have committed that you think God cannot forgive? God is true to His word when He says He has forgiven us. God wants us to come to Him boldly.

The other thing that could be a hinderance is having a lack of faith that God hears our prayers. But He does. The word says He delights in our prayers. He loves the prayer of a righteous man. He hears your prayers. He doesn’t disregard them.
The goal is to come to God in boldness and confidence without fear. We need to have an unreserved approach to God. He is our Father who loves us deeply.

The key is coming to God in faith. It is because of our faith that we come to Him in confidence and boldness. It is through faith that we eradicate fear and doubt.

We have free access to God by faith. Let us go to Him in boldness.

Rolain.P