God loves To Come Through For Us

“But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house.

And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug.

I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”

1 Kings 17: 12

The widow at Zarephath was in a crisis. The little food she had left was about to run out.

She had gone to gather a few sticks she could use to cook the last meal for her and her son then die.

Like I said, crisis.

But God came through for her. He sent Elijah and when she obeyed him by making him a meal

first the Lord provided for her in an amazing way.

“So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days.  

There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised

through Elijah.”

1 Kings 17:15, 16

I share this scripture because it teaches us a truth about our God – He loves to come through for us.

No matter how bad things get God has got your back.

No matter how deep you are in trouble, God will help you out.

When there seems to be no way out of the trouble you face, He will ALWAYS come through for you.

Throughout scripture we see this truth play out over and over and over.

With Daniel when he was thrown in the lions den

With David, when King Saul was hunting him down

When Hannah was being ridiculed for being barren

When the Israelites were trapped by the Red Sea as the Egyptians chased them

I could go on and on but I think you get the picture.

God loves to come through for you.

So in whatever trouble you find yourself no matter how bad it is, remember that

God is for you. He wants to help you.

Ask for His help always!

Bless you friends

Rolain

The Storm and the Word – Part Two.

I said in part one of this post that a storm is either coming your way or you in one now or one has just passed. Storms are a part of every persons life. So how do we deal with them? How are we to act in the midst of a storm which is another word for trials, crisis, challenges and problems? In the book of James 1:2 it said we are to consider it wholly joyful when we encounter storms.
So in this post I am going to show you what the book of Mark teaches about how we are to handle ourselves in the midst of the storms of life.
In Mark 4:37-41 we read an interesting story about Jesus and the disciples. It says:

And a furious storm of wind [of hurricane proportions] arose, and the waves kept beating into the boat, so that it was already becoming filled.
But He [Himself] was in the stern [of the boat], asleep on the [leather] cushion; and they awoke Him and said to Him, Master, do You not care that we are perishing?
And He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush now! Be still (muzzled)! And the wind ceased (sank to rest as if exhausted by its beating) and there was [immediately] a great calm (a perfect peacefulness).
He said to them, Why are you so timid and fearful? How is it that you have no faith (no firmly relying trust)?

There are a few things I would like to pick out from this passage.
The disciples were faced with two truths on the boat. The first truth was, the boat was sinking. Their lives were in real danger. The other truth was Jesus Christ who is the Son of God was on the boat. Which truth would they believe? The fact is this, one truth was more powerful than the other!
In our lives we face the same dilemna. We have storms that are life threating but we also have the Messiah! One of these truths is stronger than the other. We need to decide which truth to believe. Just in case you didn’t know, Jesus Christ is stronger than any other “truth” we will ever face. We just need to believe it. As we believe this truth all other “truths” will need to subject themselves to Him! (I am going to write a post on which truth to believe. It will probably be my next post)

The other thing I would like to pick out is this, we are given a vivid picture of the storm. It was a furious storm of HURRICANE proportions. I can see the disciples who are skilled fishermen doing all they can to keep the boat afloat. They have been at sea countless times. This is not new to them. But they get to a point where they give up. Their strength and experience has come to nought and that is why they go to Jesus!
Then there is Jesus who is sleeping!!! In the midst of this life threatening storm He is asleep in the stern of the boat!
That is a picture of how we are supposed to handle storms. We are supposed to be at peace during the storm. The first picture of the disciples relying on their experience and strength is NOT what we are supposed to be doing when the storms come. If we trust God we will rest and be at peace in the midst of the storms. We will be serene in the midst of the storm because we know He is with us.
This takes the grace of God. You cannot do it in your strength because you will fail.

As I end, I would like to encourage you to be like Jesus who was at peace during the storm. He was at peace because His faith was in His Father!
Storms will come but our faith in God will sustain us. It will keep us sane and stop us from losing it. Amen!

Rolain.P

What is the purpose of trials and crisis in our lives?

Are you in a crisis right now? Does it seem like there is no way out? Does your situation seem bleak and dark. Well i got news for you. It might be hard to accept but it’s true. The storms that we face are a part of life. We can’t do without them. We need them. If we are to ever experience real growth we will need the storms. It sounds crazy but it’s true.
Look at what James 1:2 says:
Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.
Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.
But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.

Trials develop you. They build you up. We really need to change the way we see storms. The way we see them will determine our attitude in the midst of the storm.

Another purpose of storms is to lean on God. We don’t have enough strength to overcome the storms that come our way. When the storms come we need to learn to look to God. It’s in the storms that we get to know God more intimately. It’s where we hear His voice so clearly. God wants us to know Him more. Look at these scriptures:
For i will not trust in and lean on my bow, neither shall my sword save me. Ps 44:5,6
For He has delivered me out of every trouble, and my eye has looked [in triumph] on my enemies. Ps 54:7

Notice in both these scriptures that there is no mention of our strength but God’s. In fact, we see the writer disowning his own strength – “for i will not trust in and lean on my bow, neither shall my sword save me” Ps 44:5,6.
We are not equipped to take care of storms by ourselves. We need the Lord’s help.

I believe that a storm is either coming your way or you in one right now or you have just come out of one. That is the cycle.
Look at natural storms. Does winter last forever? No! No matter how bad a storm is it will always finish. Storms might seem never ending but they must come to an end. That is their nature. So it is with the spiritual storms we face. They are for a season. They will not last forever. No matter how hopeless your situation is, know that it will end.
So the question is not if the storm will end but how long can you hold on during the storm?

What should be our attitude during the storms we face? The bible gives us a very clear idea of what our attitude should be. Let us look at Proverbs 15:32 –
The wicked is overthrown through his wrongdoing and calamity, but the [consistently] righteous has hope and confidence even in death.

We are going to focus on the last part of that scripture which says: “but the [consistently] righteous has hope and confidence even in death”.
What does that mean? God gave me a revelation of this passage when i was in a storm seeking His help.
This verse is saying that as Christians we should have hope and confidence in the midst of the storms we face. It even describes the type of storm. Even in death! Not only does the righteous person have hope in death but has confidence. Where does the confidence come from? It comes from the belief that even in death we believe that God will make a way. He will not let us down even in death. Even when our storms seem like they will destroy us we look to God and have confidence that He will come through!
That is the attitude we should have when storms come our way.
Remember that storms will always come, that is a fact. But God will always be there with us during the storms of life and that is a fact! God bless.

Rolain.P