Focus On God, Not Giants.

“Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing

in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and

asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?

Neither he replied, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now

come.”

Joshua 5:13, 14

Instead of focusing on Jericho, Joshua looked up and because he did He saw

the Commander of the Lord’s armies!

A lot of the time we spend so much time looking at the giants standing in our

way. We focus on all the things that are not working, the prayers that don’t seem

to be getting answered, and forget to look at God.

I have been guilty of this many times.

But we should be looking to God who is our Savior and our Strong Tower of Refuge.

He is stronger than every enemy we will ever face even if the giants standing in our

try to appear stronger than they really are.

So when Joshua changed his focus, he saw the Commander of the army of the Lord!

So who or what are you focused on today?

Take your eyes off the enemies in front of you and focus on the Lord who is your very

present help in time of need.

“I lift up my eyes to you,

to you who sit enthroned in heaven.

As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God,

till he shows us his mercy.”

Psalm 123:1, 2

This post is inspired by a devotional from my book.

If you would like to get yourself a copy, click here.

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Bless you friends

Rolain

The sisters believed and saw God’s glory…..

“Then Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God.” 

John 11:40

 

Mary and Martha thought Yeshua would heal their brother but He never got to them in time. Lazarus

died and by the time He got there Lazarus had been dead for four days.

 

How hard that must have been for the sisters. They had put their hope in the Lord but He never

showed up in time. Lazarus had died end of story. Yeshua would have to pay his condolences

when He came but that’s not what happened. When He arrived, He challenged them in their faith.

The story was far from over.

 

“Then Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? 

 

The glory of God Yeshua was speaking about was answer to prayer, breakthrough, Lazarus being

raised from the dead.

But the sisters needed to keep believing if they were to see the glory of God!

 

That spoke to me this week. If I am to see the glory of God in my life I need to keep believing. 

What does the manifestation of God’s glory look like in your life today?

Is it healing, restored relationships, breakthrough of finances……

 

The sisters had put their faith in God. It was hard seeing their brother’s health fade away.

Where was the Lord? Had He forgotten about them? Did He love them as much as they thought?

(the bible tells us they had a close relationship)

But in a moment of time it seemed like their faith in God was misplaced. “He couldn’t even come on

time.

But the Lord as we know had not forgotten. He loved this family and would do something amazing

for them.

He would bring Lazarus back from the dead and that is why He challenged them to keep believing.

 

We need to keep believing friends. As you put your hope in God you WILL see the glory of God

manifest in your life. That’s the message today.

The glory of God will be manifested in your life so keep believing. The Lord is faithful and won’t

back down on His promises. Even when it’s difficult believe and see His glory!

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

 

 

 

The war we find ourselves in……

“Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest

of her offspring – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

Revelation 12:17

 

As I read this scripture a few days ago certain things began to make sense.

The hardships I face when I try to live for YAH, the difficult times,

the distractions that get in the way EVERY TIME I decide to spend time with Him,

the sin that so easily begets me,

it’s all part of the enemies plan to derail me….us.

The shame, the disappointments, the condemnation, the unforgiveness that you carry is all

part of the arsenal he uses.

 

The enemy has declared war on us.

His plan is to kill, steal, and destroy and that doesn’t only mean physically.

He wants to destroy any hope that we have, he wants to destroy the dreams YAH has placed

in our hearts.

He wants to destroy everything good in our lives.

He doesn’t want to see us happy, prospering, winning, and at peace.

 

I am reminded of Lazarus when he was raised from the dead. That was a joyous time for him

and his sisters. He died and was now alive! What a miracle, what a moment!

And yet…..there were still people who were angry that Yeshua raised him from the dead!!!!

It dumbfounds me totally!!

 

“Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did,

believed in Him.

But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do?

For this Man works many signs. “

John 11:45-47

 

The Pharisees were supposed to be rejoicing and praising YAH for the miracle they had just

witnessed and heard about but that didn’t happen. That is an accurate picture of how the enemy

thinks about us.

The enemy doesn’t want anything good happening to us.

 

THE GOOD NEWS

I don’t know if he understands this but no matter how much he wants us to fail, and see

us destroyed it’s not his call!!

He is a defeated foe and doesn’t have any say in the matter.

Yeshua paid for us when He sacrificed Himself on the cross.

The enemy has declared war on us but he will not win. We belong to Yeshua now.

The enemy has no say about what happens in our lives.

Bad things happen because we live in a broken world but Yeshua will carry us

through all the trials we face.

 

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. “

Psalms 34:19

 

We will fall down for sure but the enemy will not keep us down, he is not strong enough to keep us down.

The Lord will keep picking us up and there is nothing he can do about that.

 

“For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.”

Proverbs 24:16

 

The most elaborate thought out plan of the enemy will always be stifled by YAH. It will not

succeed against you.

 

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in

judgement You shall condemn.”

Isaiah 54:17

 

We need to trust Yeshua every step of the way.

When we fall we need to confess our sins.

When we are weak we must call out to Him for help.

He is the One who will keep us.

In our own strength we don’t stand a chance against the enemy but only as

we look to the Lord do we have a chance.

The enemy has declared war on us, yes,  but he has been defeated.

Yeshua is with us protecting us against the enemy!

That is really good news!

 

Bless you friends…..

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

Living life in your own strength…..

“Moses told [the Lord’s] words to all the Israelites, and they

mourned greatly.

And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of

the mountain, saying

Behold, we are here, and we intend to go up to the place which

the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.

But Moses said, why do you transgress the command of the Lord

[to turn back by way of the Red Sea], since it will not succeed?

Go not up, for the Lord is not among you, that you be not struck

down before your enemies. “

Numbers 14:39-45

 

The twelve spies had got back from scouting Canaan and

ten of the twelve brought back bad news. Joshua and Caleb

where full of confidence that God could bring them into the

promise land but the other ten thought otherwise. Anyway

after the news Israel in it’s entirety complained and grumbled.

Talk of going back to Egypt was going around and the people

were about to stone Joshua and Caleb when the Lord intervened!

 

They would not inherit the land God promised them because

of their lack of faith. Their children would be the ones who

would enter the promise land.

Anyway to cut a long story short, the people were very sorry

for how they reacted and decided to take up their weapons

and take the land God had given them. Moses told them it

was too late and they had to turn back but they thought it a

small feat to attack the Canaanites and Amalekites.  So off they

went without Moses and the ark of God (His presence) and

lost! (Numbers 14:44, 45)

 

The Israelites took for granted God’s presence with them.

They thought they could storm the Canaanites in their own

strength but they were dead wrong. It was because of God

they were able to destroy nations stronger than themselves!

 

This Sunday I was reminded who is really in control. Like

the Israelites I forgot who was really in control. I had become

proud. I forgot the reason I do all I do is because of His grace

and mercy on my life. There is no other reason behind it. I am

able to teach because He enables me to!

 

“My glory is great because of His aid”

 

That sums up everything.

The reason I write, the reason I am

able to teach, the reason I am where I am is because of Him.

It’s not because I am smart or because I “know” people!

It’s not because I grew up in the right neighborhood.

It’s not because I am eloquent and so on and so on….

 

I am able to do all that I do because of God. It’s all Him!

Without God I would lose. The enemy would win hands

down.

My enemies in the natural ARE stronger than me and I could be

extinguished if I was alone. But I am not alone!

The Lord is with me and He is the reason I win, He is the

reason I succeed. He is the reason I am still here.

 

We need God friends. I hope you realize just how much you

need Him in your life. He does so much and at times we can

take it for granted. We can think it’s because of our strength

but it’s not. He is the One who has carried us this far.

The Israelites thought their strength was enough but they

were so wrong! They needed God desperately if they were

ever going to enter the promise land.

As I close I want to encourage you to always seek His guidance.

He is the reason we win and He is the reason we are alive.

Don’t forget that friends!

Bless you

 

Rolain.