A time of endurance…

“So Moses and Aaron gathered all the elders of the Israelites. 

Aaron told them everything that the Lord had told Moses. 

Then Moses did the miracles for all the people to see. So the 

Israelites believed. They heard that the Lord was concerned about them

and had seen their troubles. Then they bowed down and worshipped

Him.” 

Exodus 4:29-31

 

The Israelites were in bondage for a really long time. Things had been really

difficult for them. So when Moses and Aaron told

them that God was concerned about them and had seen their troubles they must have

been encouraged.

 

But the hope they had quickly disappeared when the pressure intensified. The joy, the hope,

the faith they had was replaced with doubt, fear, and anxiety. They were not patient with the

Lord. They wanted the deliverance to happen that very instant.

 

“As they were leaving the meeting with the king, they met Moses and Aaron. 

Moses and Aaron were waiting for them. So they said to Moses and Aaron, “May the 

Lord punish you. You caused the king and his offices to hate us. You have given them 

an excuse to kill us.”

Exodus 5:20, 21

 

That story spoke to me today. We need to endure as we wait for God’s promise

to materialize in our lives. His promise for our lives, our families, and our countries will be

contested against by the enemy. There is no way he is going to just sit and let you

stroll into what God has promised you. he is the adversary and by the very nature of

that name he opposes and fights against everything good that God has prepared for us.

 

The Israelites thought it would be a walk in the park but it wasn’t. They had to trust God with

all that they had. They had to believe His word was true. They had to endure.

God’s promise was true and He would deliver them and they needed to understand that no matter

how bad things got.

 

“He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold as a servant. His feet they hurt with fetters;

he was laid in chains of iron and his soul entered into iron. 

Until his word [to his cruel brothers] came true until the word of the Lord tried and tested him.”

Psalm 105:17-19

 

When the promise seems like a fantasy we must keep trusting, we need to endure. His promise

is true, it will come to pass. The Lord is not a man that lies. His word is sure and if He promised

it will come to pass.  Difficulty doesn’t mean the promise won’t come to pass.

There is nothing that can stop the word of God from coming to pass.

Hold on in the storm. Endure, put your faith in Him.

He will fulfill what He promised you.

 

Bless you, friends…

 

Rolain

 

Australia.

In approximately 7 days I will be leaving for Australia. I will be gone

for two weeks. I hope I will be able to write when I am there.

I am going for a conference with my pastor. For more information

about the conference please click here. It would be so amazing

if I met you there!!!

But this post is about something deeper than going to Australia.

It will be my first time to visit and I am so excited. At the same

time I am blown away, I am amazed at how good God is.

I have no words honestly. God continues to bless me not because

I did something right but because of His unending, boundless,

grace. I stand here in awe knowing full well that I had nothing

to do with being blessed. I sin every day, I ignore God, I lash out

at God and the reward is blessing???

 

My testimony is, if God could do it for me then He can

certainly do it for you! I don’t deserve to be blessed the way

I have been blessed. I can’t make sense of any of this. It just

doesn’t make sense. A few months ago I was blessed with a car!

Can you imagine that? A friend wanted to see me after church so

I went and saw him. After speaking to him briefly he handed me

car keys! I was wrecked for weeks with no words

to say. I tried talking to God after that but no words came. I was

shell shocked for lack of a better word. And now, I am going to

Australia! I have no words……

 

God is surely the God of the impossible. If He can do it for me,

He can do it for you. I totally believe that. There is nothing special

about me. I am just someone God blessed. I know this is

just the beginning. I would be foolish to think this was it!

There is more, so much more and I am not talking about

material things.

What are you trusting God for?

Don’t stop praying, don’t stop believing. God will answer

your prayer.

He has amazing things in store for you, friend. You may think

You don’t deserve His blessing but that’s just it, none of us

deserve anything from God. We have sinned and the only thing

we deserve is death but He gives us life instead!

My prayer is that you will look at my life and be encouraged.

I am not showing off. I am hoping you will see the faithfulness

of God through my testimony.  He is the reason I am blessed.

I cannot give that credit to anyone else.

After everything that has happened I am encouraging you

to not shrink back, don’t give up on that thing you are

praying for. God hears your prayers.

 

Rolain

 

 

A testimony within the scars……

Scars, everybody has some sort of scar be it physical or emotional. When you get hurt a scar is made and usually a scar is for life. It will be with you for the rest of your life. A lot of people see scars as a bad thing because it reminds them of a very difficult season in their lives or it may remind them of a very specific event in their life.

I have physical scars and emotional scars. As I look in the mirror I see the scars and they remind me of a time I was physically abused as a child. Then there are the emotional scars. Certain situations trigger them, for example Father’s day. It reminded me of an absentee father who was abusive and I wanted to have nothing to do with. But thank God that has changed!

I have been taught to see my scars differently. I have been taught to see them as a testimony. What do I mean by that?
I mean, my scar can be a testimony to myself and someone else. They can be encouraged and know they are not alone because of what I went through. It’s a testimony because the enemy didn’t win. I am still here. A testimony because it can be a tool to impact a whole lot of people. I can look at the scars and realise that God saved me from the pain. In the darkest time of my life he came through. But it needs me to get the focus off myself and start focusing on others.

Yes I had a difficult time growing up. Yes it was devastating.

But I see how God had a plan in all of this. God wanted to use the pain I had gone through to minister to people but my perspective had to change.
God is good and He has a plan. He always has a plan……

A lot of people have gone through a lot of bad stuff and in no way am I suggesting you just forget and act like nothing happened. You were abused, taken advantage of, raped, robbed, ignored and a whole host of other unspeakable, horrible, evil things. It takes time for pain to heal. A lot of prayer, a lot of help, a lot of people standing by your side helping you. It takes God’s mercy and grace and power for healing to happen.

This post is to let you know that God has a plan for you. Your scars are a reminder of the pain you went through and you can stop there but realise your scars can be a testament of God’s saving power and it can save a lot of people because there is a testimony within your scars!

 Rolain