He turns dark situations into light!! (part 4)

This is the last post in my series on David. I love the word

because there is so much to learn. I have really enjoyed

this series. David truly was a man after God’s heart!

Let’s get going.

Some time ago I wrote a post on David titled “nine months

later……”

In that post I talked about David and Bathsheba.

 

“When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was

dead, she mourned for her husband.

And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her

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

But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

2 Samuel 11:26

 

That was the key scripture I used. David sinned and he didn’t

even know it!

David didn’t repent straight away. We know from the above

scripture that Bathsheba was in a time of mourning.

She also gave birth to a son and still David hadn’t repented!

For at least nine months we know David was in sin and he didn’t

even know it. Even when the prophet Nathan came and told

him a story that would expose David’s sin, David still didn’t

get it. Nathan had to tell David, he was the one he was talking

about in the story!

 

But we know the end of the story and I would like to pick up

the story there.

 

“Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her

and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name

Solomon. Now the Lord loved him, and He sent word by the

hand of Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah,

because of the Lord. “

2 Samuel 12:24, 25

 

This scripture amazes me. David and Bathsheba were not a

good thing. Death, pain, seperation, darkness had come

into David’s life because of that relationship.

But then something amazing happens, Solomon!

I think of Abigail, she was an amazing woman. Why didn’t

Solomon come through her?? I know, it’s a crazy thought but

I hope you understand where I am going with this.

I don’t think it brought a smile to David’s life when he thought

about Bathsheba. He killed someone because of her. He was

seperated from God in that time. There is no record of what

transpired during those nine months. David didn’t do any

exploits during that time. It was just a dark time for him

and Bathsheba.

 

I have a theory…..

 

“Now satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number

Israel. “

1 Chronicles 21:1

 

The enemy’s plan was to take out David. Bathsheba was how he

was going to do it. This was not the first time the enemy had

tried to take him out. he tried a few other times but God always

delivered him! And that’s why I believe Solomon came through

Bathsheba and not Abigail or David’s other wives. The Lord

would use what the enemy meant for harm for David’s good.

The enemy would not win! God would be glorified in the very

situation that was meant to kill David!

Please understand me, I am not saying Bathsheba was the

enemy. The enemy used that situation to try to destroy

David. He was supposed to be out at war but he chose to stay.

(read 2 Samuel 11:1)

The fight was always against satan and he would of won if

God had not stepped in!

 

As God was with David, He is with you and with me. God is our

Deliverer! The enemy will not win no matter what weapon he

fashions! I really believe that.

Even when David was blind to the sin in his life God came in

and saved him! God is so good friends!

What a testimony it was for David and Bathsheba. They would

look at Solomon and remember God’s goodness and mercy.

He turned such a dark situation into something glorious!

Be encouraged friends. God will not leave us alone. God will be

with us as He was with David.

David wasn’t perfect. But his life is a testimony of what a loving

God can do in a life of a man or woman who loves Him! I pray

this is a blessing to you like it was to me! Bless you!

 

Rolain

 

When man relies on himself…..(part 2)

This is part two of a four part series I am doing on David. If you

missed the first post click here to read.

 

“So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go

number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of

them to me that I may know it.”

1 Chronicles 21:2

 

“But Levi and Benjamin he did not include among them, for the

king’s order was detestable to Joab.

And God was displeased with this [reliance on human resources]

and He smote Israel. “

1 Chronicles 21:6, 7

 

This was another one of David’s mistakes. I would like to

make myself clear before I move on. My goal is not to discredit

David. God called him a man after his own heart so instead I

want us to learn from the challenges he faced. The enemy was

not just going to let him walk freely into God’s glorious plan. The

enemy would fight him with everything.  There

are some very valuable lessons we can learn from David’s

battles. Let’s move on…..

 

David decided to count Israel. Why?

The answer is found in verse one of the same chapter,

 

“Satan [an adversary] stood up against Israel and stirred up

David to number Israel.”

1 Chronicles 1:1

 

David counted Israel because the enemy filled him with fear, doubt

and lies! That is how satan stood up against him. Everything

was going well for David but the enemy used fear and lies

against him. “Does God really have my back?”

“Am I really safe?”

“Did God really mean all that He promised me?”

Where these the kind of things going through David’s mind?

And is David alone in this? I don’t think so….

 

I have allowed fear to paralyse me at times, I have allowed the

lies of the enemy to get my attention off God a lot.

David began to rely on what he had. Fear drove him to lean

on weapons, human resources and so on. Fear made him forget

God was by his side never to leave him! Fear made him doubt

God’s goodness and faithfulness.

How the enemy has done this to me so many times. He whispers

the lie that God has abandoned me, that God doesn’t have my

best interests at heart, that faith in God is futile because He will

surely let me down but it’s not true!

 

Our trust should always be in God. We should never rely on

man, a government, a system, the money and other resources

we have. Don’t rely on your strength, don’t rely on how smart you

are. Instead, trust God! He wants us to trust in Him.

Where is your hope and trust at the moment? Is it in man? Is it

in the stuff you have or the stuff you have accquired? Is it in the

elaborate plans you have formulated for yourself?

I want to challenge you to trust in the Lord completely. The

enemy will always try and make you doubt, he will always

try and use fear but don’t let those things dissuade you from

trusting in the Lord. Hold on tightly to God’s

word!

David repented of his sin and God restored him. He can do the

same for us. Trust in the Lord completely. He can be trusted!

Amen!

 

Rolain

 

The arrogance of man….

And Saul built an altar to the Lord;

It was the first altar he built to the

Lord.  1 Samuel 14:35

 

Saul built an altar to God. It was probably the only

altar he built to God.

Why he built the altar is not really clear but the point

is this, he built an altar.

Saul building that altar almost seems out of context.

In fact, it’s so out of Saul’s norm that the word says,

 

“It was the first altar he built to God.”

 

Building an altar meant on a very rare

occasion Saul remembered God, he honored God!

It was one of those very rare occasions where

Saul put God first, where Saul stopped to thank

God.

The altar that Saul built tells us a lot about where

his relationship with God was. He didn’t build altars

which meant something.

 

On the other hand let’s look at David.

Building an altar wasn’t out of context for him.

He built countless altars to God. That also said

something about his relationship with God.

David was a man after God’s heart. God was the

most important thing to him….

 

David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:1-5)

David kills Uriah (2 Samuel 11:14-23)

In both these situations David repented to God.

He confessed his sins and asked God to forgive him.

His heart broke because of what he did.

 

David counts his people (2 Samuel 24:1-9)

After counting the people the word says:

David felt ashamed after he counted the people

and said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in

what I did! Lord, I beg you, forgive me for my

sin. I have been very foolish.”

2 Samuel 24:10

 

Once again David humbled himself before God.

He confessed his sin to God quickly!

 

David wants to build a house for God.

(2 Samuel 7:1-18)

Even in peace David still sought the Lord.

He never forgot Him!

 

This is what I am trying to show you,

We need to be like David who built countless

altars to God. He loved God so much. Yes,

he sinned many times but he always turned 

to God. No matter how bad things got he

always turned to God and even in good times

he still turned to thank God!

 

Saul didn’t put God first a lot of the time.

Some would say he was proud. He believed

he could make it on his own. He was a skilled

warrior who was a “head taller” than everyone

else. (1 Samuel 9:2)

Whatever the case we must aim to be like

David who humbled himself before God.

He never relied on his own strength. Instead,

he relied on God and ALWAYS turned to

God, always……

The goal is not to be David but it’s to take

those things that made his relationship

with God stronger and apply them to

our lives.

The goal is not to discredit or attack

Saul but it’s to look at his life and

learn from his mistakes. We all sin

so attacking Saul would be foolish…

 

God wants us to put Him first….

Pride will always resist God.

We need to be humble and allow

God to lead us.

Rolain

 

 

The promise of God under attack!!

 

 

I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets….Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. Hebrews 11:32

 

I have been writing a series on faith for the past month or so and I have been meaning to finish it which I will do in this post. If you want to read the last post I wrote on faith please click here.

The word tells us the men and women of old obtained promised blessings by faith! God had promised them things but they could only obtain them by faith! There was no other way those things could be obtained!!

That got me thinking, what does it mean to obtain promises by faith? What does that look like? When the word says we need faith to obtain the promises He has promised us what does that mean? Why do we need faith to obtain what God has promised us?

The word is filled to the brim with answers. Let me show you a few.

• Abraham was given some amazing promises. (Genesis 17) But there was a slight glitch…..

Abram was ninety-nine years old when the LORD appeared to him again and said, “I am God All-Powerful.  Genesis 17:1

Did this very important fact slip God’s mind??? How could He call a ninety-nine year old man seriously? But this is God the Creator of the Universe we are talking about. He knew what He was doing. He knew the only way Abram would walk in what He promised him would be if he trusted in Him. There was no other way he would obtain the promise!

God knows what your situation is, He knows the circumstances you are in and He wants you to trust Him no matter how impossible things seem. Let’s face facts, without faith you will not be able to obtain the promise. I didn’t say “not willing” but “NOT ABLE”!!! You will not be able to no matter what you try. God’s calling for your life is too much for you to accomplish on your own which would mean in your flesh! You will fail….. Yes, you just heard me say you will fail. I didn’t make a mistake or mix up my words! You will fall and not be successful.

Let us look at another example:

• The Israelites were in a hard place. On one side there was the Red Sea and on the other side the Egyptian army! There was no way for them to turn back and fight the Egyptians because they had no weapons and they were not trained warriors! They would be massacred….In front of them was the Red Sea. They didn’t know how to swim, they would surely drown but by faith the word says, “They walked through the Red Sea on dry ground.” (Hebrews 11:29)

I hope you are beginning to see how important a role faith plays in you obtaining God’s promises. Without faith you will not be able to obtain what God promised! The Egyptian army thought they could walk through the Red Sea but like we all know, they couldn’t! The water crashed in on them and killed them! They didn’t know about faith! And without faith they died…..Is that the reason things don’t seem to be working out for you? Maybe you have been trying to do this in your own strength when God wants you trusting in Him. Sometimes doing nothing and waiting patiently for the breakthrough is what you need to do and at times that is so much harder to do. Anyway let’s move on….

• The Israelites thought taking the promise land was a small thing. They thought they were strong enough but that was quickly proven wrong. The Israelites were finally at the gate of the land flowing with milk and honey. All they had to do was obey the word of God and storm the city but they believed the ten spies! They believed them and were filled with fear. There was talk of appointing a new captain to lead them back to Egypt and there was talk of stoning Joshua and Caleb! But God stepped in and everything changed. The Israelites repented but it was too late, the damage was done! Let’s pick up the story in Numbers 14:39

 

When Moses told all of this to the people of Israel, they mourned long and hard. But early the next morning they started out for the high hill country saying, “We’re here; we’re ready – let’s go up and attack the land that God promised us. We sinned, but now we’re ready.”

 

As we know, the Israelites were defeated. Without faith, without God they couldn’t obtain what God had promised them! Let that be a sober reminder for us all…….I am going to stop here in the hope you got the heart of what I was saying!. God has some really amazing things in store for us but we will need to exercise our faith to obtain those amazing things. If you don’t know what God has planned for you know He has great and amazing things in store for you, things that are too big for you alone to handle and accomplish. If you can accomplish it on your own it’s probably not from God! It is clear in scripture that God called the men and women to a greater vision one that was too much for them! But with God and faith in God they accomplished what God had planned for them. It was not because of their wisdom or their good looks, or their strength but it was through faith!

 

I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets….Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. Hebrews 11:32

 

God has a plan for us, so may we take it by faith!

 

Rolain

Nine months later…….

When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she grieved for her husband. When the time

of mourning was over, David sent someone to bring her to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. 

But God was not at all pleased with what David had done, 

1 Samuel 12:26, 27

We all know what happened here. David slept with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife but to cover it up he got Uriah

who was a faithful solider to him killed! Bathsheba may not have known what David did but the point is she became the king’s wife. She may not have had a say in any of this either. A king was free to do whatever he wanted in those days.

When I read this story a thought came to me. Between Uriah being killed to Bathsheba giving birth to a son was

at least nine months. I don’t know how long the time of mourning was but all we know is it was at least nine months

when all this took place. David was in sin for nine months! He knew taking someone’s wife was sin. He knew murder

was a sin. David loved God. He had an intimate relationship with Him but David was blinded in this season. This post is

not about how bad David was. We are all sinners. David sinned but so do we.

What I want to show you though is how as sinners sin can destroy us. During this ‘nine months’ we hear nothing.

There is no Psalm that we read during that period! We don’t hear of David’s exploits during that time. Nothing was recorded during that time. David was in sin and he didn’t even know it!

If that could happen to David, a man after God’s heart then surely it could happen to us. And please note, David

didn’t snap out of it by himself. He didn’t realize what he was doing by himself. God intervened!!!! If God did not intervene who knows how long it would of gone on for?

And this is what this post is about……God intervened!

God did not leave David in his sin. He saved him. By God’s grace David was disciplined and forgiven! That is good news for us indeed.

We will do crazy things and left to our own we will not win, BUT……But God does not leave us to ourselves. He is watching over us.

He has extended His grace and mercy to us! We serve a really great God! He sent His son to die for us!

I was so encouraged when I got that revelation. God is for me and no matter how crazy it gets God will help me. I hope it’s an encouragement to you as well.

Generous in love – God, give grace! 

Huge in mercy – wipe out my bad record.

Scrub away my guilt, 

soak out my sins in Your laundry.

I know how bad I’ve been; 

my sins staring me down. 

Psalm 51:1-3

 

But that is not the end of the story. God turned this dark and terrible situation for good.

David went and comforted his wife Bathsheba. And when he slept with her, they conceived a son. When the son was born they

named him Solomon. God had a special love for him and sent word by Nathan the prophet that God wanted him named Jedidiah (God’s beloved).

2 Samuel 12:24, 25

Solomon would not have been born if David and Bathsheba never met. I am not saying what David did was right. He sinned! What I am trying to say though is God turned a bad thing into something wonderful. And He will do the same thing for us. We may think our sin is too much and God cannot use us but that is not true. God has forgiven you and will turn what the enemy meant for death into life…..

He has amazing things for you despite what you have done. Sin does not define who you are anymore, God’s grace does. He is a truly amazing God!!!

Rolain

 

 

The way to greatness……

How did THEY do it? The great men and women who went before us? How did they achieve greatness? One thing is for sure. None of those men and women became great in a day. It took time. Look at Israel, what a great example. Jacob was one man with a promise. He would become a mighty nation! Psalm 105: 11, 12 says,

Saying, unto you will I give the land of Canaan as your measured portion, possession, and inheritance. 

When they were but a few men in number, in fact, very few and were temporary residents and strangers in it. 

Don’t despise the day of small beginnings. We see from this short passage that God started with a few people. He started off small. It is doing the small things that great things are born. Without the small things you cannot be great. So you may have started writing but no one knows your name, please know there will  come a day when people will know your name, a day where your books will impact millions. Keep on writing. You may have started a company but it hasn’t picked up like you would want it too but know the day is coming when you will be so busy you will not know what to do with the clients that come to your place.

All great things start as small things. It is just the way it is. Don’t despise the “small” that you are doing now. It is to an end. God has a much bigger plan in store for you. It takes time for “small” to turn into great. You need to keep at it. keep pushing, keep trusting, keep declaring, keep on working. God knows what He is doing.                                                        I need to constantly remind myself of this truth. God is doing something and I must not despise the day of small beginnings. He is making me stronger, preparing me for the great and so it is with you. King David looked after his fathers sheep. But God was preparing him out there. He fought the lion and the bear out there. God was preparing him for the giant and more. He was preparing him to be a king as he was doing the “small”. Did he know what God was up to, I don’t know! People saw but didn’t understand. His own family didn’t see it. People don’t usually tend to see what God is doing but keep on with what He has shown you.

What you need to do, is see beyond the “small” as you do the “small”. Do you understand?? When you do the “small” see the end result. See the “small” in it’s completed state. If you are at school aspiring to be a doctor keep the picture of the doctor up. When things get hard at school, having the main picture in front of you will help you. It takes faith to see ahead. You can only see the big picture by faith! The “small”  you are doing now is the key. Don’t despise it.  The “small” is setting your foundation down and making it stronger. That is where greatness starts…..

Rolain

What does God see when He sees you?

I will sing of the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness from generation to generation. Psalm 89:1

I have established the fact that God has a plan for you. But there is more. God has a plan for you but He has a plan for your children and their children and their children and so on. God doesn’t just see you. When He looks at you He sees generations. He doesn’t want to just bless you but the generations after you!! We need to begin to see like He does. We need to think like Him  in every sphere of our life. When you make a decision concerning your life, know that it is going to affect the generations after you. Where will your kids be and what will they believe, who will they worship? Do you want them to be blessed? Do you want them to do great things for God? Well, you have a part to play in that.

For He has strengthened and made hard the bars of your gates, and He has blessed your children within you. 
Psalm 147:13

God has already blessed your children within you! If you are single, know that your kids are blessed. If you are married and you have kids, God has blessed them. God has a plan for them and He has a plan for their children. There is more to God blessing you than just blessing you. There is a part you are to play in all of this.

When King David dwelt in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies,
The king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within curtains. 2 Samuel 7:1, 2

We know the story. Nathan comes back to him and tells him he will not build the house for God but because the thought came into his mind God would bless his children.

And when your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up after you your offspring, who shall be born to you, and I will establish his kingdom. 2 Samuel 7: 12
(read the whole of chapter 7)
God blessed David by blessing his generation to come!

“Your throne shall be established forever.” 

Wow!!!! I hope you are beginning to see it. You are not just living for yourself but for the generations to come after you and God doesn’t just see you but the generations that are to come after you. He is not just blessing you but He has blessed the generation after you! When you understand that, the way you live changes. The way you make decisions changes.
Remember, when God sees you, He sees generations. Amen

Rolain

3 Lessons From King David About Destiny.

Is there a set formula to accomplishing your destiny? There was a time when I thought there was but the truth is, there is not. I know that is a bold and definite conclusion but I will show you why. I don’t believe there is a set way because we are all different. God made us unique and our callings are unique. I do believe there are universal things that we need to heed if we are to accomplish our calling and I also believe there are things we can learn from people that have gone before us but to say there is one specific formula to reach our destiny is where we err.
In this post we are going to look at King David. He had the call of God on his life and I believe we can learn a lot from him concerning destiny.

1 – The first thing we learn from King David is, he was a worshipper. He loved worshipping God. He knew he was called and he never forgot who was in charge. Worship does that. When we worship God we are delaring God is in charge. King David was not afraid to worship. He was passionate about worship.

Are you a worshipper? Do you love worshiping God? Is it a part of you? On the road to our destiny we need to remember that worship plays a big part in our lives. Worship is a very important key to accomplishing your destiny because it keeps your focus on the One who is really in control of your destiny! Worship was more than a “thing” King David did. It was a lifestyle! Worship for us needs to be a lifestyle. No one had to tell him to worship because it was a part of him. Is that the case with us?

2 – King David always knew who to turn to when he sinned. He wasn’t proud like Saul who denied his sin. Instead, he would confess his sin. He didn’t get it right all the time but when he realised where he erred he would ask God to forgive him.
We need to be open and transparent with the sin in our lives to God. Are you like King David who would confess his sin or like Saul who would try and hide his sin?

3 – King David was someone who trusted in God. He only read a few incidents where he tried to do things on his own but in the overall picture of his life, King David was someone who trusted in God wholeheartedly. We can see it in how he carried himself with Saul. He never took matters into his own hands. He waited on God to vindicate him. It was the same with Absolom and it was the same with Goliath. David had complete trust in God.
We need to trust God as well. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Trust is a key ingredient in context to destiny and life in general. God’s calling on your life is beyond what you can fathom in your natural understanding and that is where faith comes in. Faith in God will help you achieve what seems “unachievable” because by faith you will be able to see God who is the One  directing you and guiding your every step.

And those are the three things that will help you on the road to your destiny. I am so very confident that God’s plan for your life is real and is in motion.  I pray these steps will help on your journey. God bless.

Rolain.

 

 

Rolain.P