Always on God’s mind.

“Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him.”

Genesis 40:23

 

People will forget us at times but I want to remind you that God will never forget you.

Even though the butler forgot Joseph, God hadn’t forgotten him.

 

“And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed:”

Genesis 41:1-7

 

Two years was a long time to wait but it was important for Joseph.

Imagine if he got out when the butler was released two years earlier.

Pharaoh wouldn’t have had his dreams yet so who knows what Joseph would have done with his life back then. He definitely wouldn’t have been able to get an audience with Pharaoh.

But waiting two years was what was needed because that was when the next chapter of God’s plan for his life began. So God had not forgotten him and God will not forget you too. Let me rephrase that, He will never forget you.

You are always on His mind.

Be confident in Him knowing He is working in your life.

Bless you

Rolain

When we have been let down, and we let down, God doesn’t…!

“God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie, neither the son of man, 

that He should feel repentance or compunction [for what He promised]. 

Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not 

make it good?” 

Numbers 23:19

 

We have been let down on countless occasions. Heck, we have let others down on

countless occasions and the temptation is to look at everything through that filter.

But that is not the case with the Lord. He will never let us down. He will always keep

His word no matter what. He won’t back down or retract any promise

He made to you. The enemy might make you think God has given up on you but

He hasn’t. He loves you and won’t back down on what He promised you.

 

Don’t lose heart and don’t get weary in the waiting. God is faithful and will come through for

you. He has not forgotten about that problem you are having. He has not gone deaf to

your prayer. He hears you loud and clear and will help you. He is not a man…

He doesn’t belittle

He is not spiteful

He doesn’t abandon

He is not judgemental

Don’t think there is ever a time He gets tired of listening to you.

He is not a man…

 

Because He is not a man you can trust Him. He wants you to trust Him!

He will bring to pass every promise He has ever made to you. I know that’s a bold statement

but it’s true. It’s something I am coming to grips with as well.

You don’t need to worry.

He loves you and He is faithful to you!

Bless you, friends!

 

Rolain

 

Does the Lord get amnesia??

“Then God remembered Rachel and answered her prayer. 

God made it possible for her to have children.” 

Genesis 30:22

 

Rachel couldn’t have children and in that time of history, women were looked down upon

if they couldn’t have children. It must have been hard for Rachel because Leah was bearing

children while she was unable.

But things didn’t stay that way for her because the day came when the Lord remembered her…

 

He hadn’t forgotten about Rachel. He hadn’t discarded her prayers or the desires of her heart.

He had them at the very front of His mind never to be forgotten. It’s not like the Lord gets amnesia

and totally forgets what you need. He loves you and knows exactly what you need so don’t lose heart.

 

The Lord has not forgotten you. He knows what’s in your heart and His desire is to bless you

beyond what you can ever imagine! He is listening to you and even though it may seem like

He is silent the day will come when He will speak up. The day will come when He remembers you.

Keep trusting, and keep praying.

Bless you, friends…

 

Rolain

 

 

 

God silenced her voice…..

“But to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah,

but the Lord had given her no children.

[This embarrased and grieved Hannah] and her rival provoked

her greatly to vex her, because the Lord had left her childless.”

1 Samuel 1:5, 6

 

There are times I feel like Hannah. It seems like people

are getting on with life and here I am still waiting…….

They look and wonder then ask, dude???

What’s going on? Why haven’t you got that, why aren’t you where

we at? Is everthing okay? What’s wrong with you?

What about you? Do you ever feel like Hannah?

 

I wish I had the answer but I didn’t and that is what Hannah

felt like. She was embarrased and grieved. There was nothing

she could say…..the Lord had left her childless!

Off course there was a reason she was barren. God had a plan

for Hannah but it was hard for her to understand. Peninnah was her

oppressor. It’s hard to understand for all of us I guess. We need to

know that God is good! His plan for us is good no matter how hard

things get.

We hear a lot of Peninnah in the first chapter. She is in Hannah’s

face and in life we will have Peninnah’s. Peninnah was provoking

her out of jealousy. The people who are ridiculing you have their

reasons but don’t worry about them. There will always be

Peninnah’s in your life!

 

But then at the right time God came to her rescue.

 

“The family rose early the next morning, worshiped before

the Lord, and returned to their home in Ramah.

Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. “

1 Samuel 1:19

 

The Lord remembered Hannah!

 

Hannah may of thought God had forgotten her but it wasn’t

true. God was up to something. He had a plan for her life.

He remembered her and gave her her heart’s deepest desire!

God has not forgotten you friends. You are on His mind.

He will silence the Peninnah’s in your life by giving you

what you have asked for! No matter how long you have waited,

He remembers you.

We don’t hear of Peninnah after the Lord remembered Hannah.

We don’t hear her provokings, her ridicules, her words of hate.

God silenced her voice completely and that is His plan for you too.

It grieves Him when people speak against you.

His plan is to silence her voice in your life completely!

 

“Hannah prayed, and said, My heart exults and triumphs in

the Lord; my horn (my strength) is lifted up in the Lord.

My mouth is no longer silent, for it is opened wide over my

enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.”

1 Samuel 2:2

 

Peninnah had managed to silence Hannah’s voice. Hannah

had believed what Peninnah was saying. So she remained

silent BUT God made it possible for her to open her mouth!

Yipeeee….!!!!

The enemy’s goal is to shut you up always. He doesn’t want you

praising the Lord and giving Him the glory. Don’t let the

negative voices in your life silence you. Don’t believe what

they are saying becasue it’s just not true!

We will not deny Hannah was barren but it was never

meant to last. Peninnah underestimated the power of God

in Hannah’s life. Remember, the situation you are in will not

last forever. God will open your mouth again! You will praise Him,

you exult Him because of His salvation in your life…..

 

“Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,

but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren

has borne seven, but she who has many children languishes

and is forlorn. “

1 Samuel 2:5

 

I believe this is a warning for all those who are proud and a

promise for those who will trust Him wholeheartedly.

Peninnah had children but that didn’t give her the right to

speak to Hannah like that. She got proud and in God’s eyes

that’s was unexceptable. God hates pride.

Pride affects us all but we must fight it. Even if I become a

preisdent, that should never be a reason to look down on anyone!

Humility says, ” I am not better than anyone, no matter

what position I hold, no matter what I own, no matter where

I come from.

 

“Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,

but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.”

 

Pride makes the full go out hiring themsleves out for bread.

There is no blessing found in pride.

But we know there is a blessing in being humble. So take

this warning seriously friends. Never get to a point where

you are too important for anyone. Never get to a place where

you are looking down on another person!

That’s a word for you and for me.

 

So after all is said and done remember,

God remembers you! He loves you and has a plan for you

no matter how hard things seem at the moment!

 

Be humble!

 

Blessings to you friends!

 

Rolain

 

photo credit: google images

 

 

God had a plan for her on that field….!!!

“And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields

and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I

find favor.”

Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So she went out,

entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters.

As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz,

who was from the clan of Elimelek. Ruth 2: 2, 3

 

I read this scripture a few days ago when I saw something

AMAZING…!!! Ever wonder where your life is going?

Ever wonder if anything good is going to happen to you?

Ever wonder if things will turn around?

Ever think God has abandoned you on your journey?

Ever think your life was doomed, that all hope was lost

for you?

 

There is good news…….

 

Ruth had gone through a lot. She had lost her husband

and she moved to a foreign land. Her life looked bleak

but in the midst of all that God directed her steps:

 

“Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So

she went out entered a field and began  to glean

behind the harvesters.

As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging

to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek. Ruth 2:3

 

Let’s think about this for a minute. Out of all the fields

in the land, Ruth “happened to work on a field belonging

to Boaz”…!!!!

God is so good….There is no other explanation to give.

God directed her to the field of Boaz….!!!

Naomi didn’t lay out a plan before hand for Ruth.

Ruth didn’t know a thing about Boaz but somehow

“it turned out that she was worked in a field belonging

to Boaz“!!!!

Let me say this, as He directed Ruth I believe He is

directing our steps. The “field” we are in is not some

field! There is a reason we are working in that “field”…!

 

Who was Boaz?

 

He was a relative of Naomi who had the power to

help them. The NIV study guide explains it like this:

Guardian-redeemer – The Hebrew word for guardian-

redeemer is a legal one who has the obligation to redeem

a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55)

 

He was later to be married to Ruth (she had no clue at

the time)

 

They had a son named Obed who was the father of Jesse,

the father of David!  Ruth 4:16

 

She was part of the genealogy of Christ! Matthew 1:5

 

Ruth thought she would go and work in a field but

God had a much bigger plan for her. He directed her

steps in such an amazing way. She had no idea where

she was but God did. He led her to the field of Boaz.

She had no idea the impact that would have on her life!

 

I was encouraged when I read that. How many of us are

like Ruth just working in “some” field? The thing is, it

wasn’t some field…..It was the field God had directed

her to. He cared about her life and there is no man who

could have done what God did for her.

 

Because God guided her a few things happened:

 

“So Boaz said to Ruth, My daughter, listen to me. Don’t

go and glean in another field and don’t go away from

here. Stay here with the women who work with me.

Ruth 2:8

Ruth had favor in the place God directed her into.

 

Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and

follow along after the women. I have told the men

not to lay a hand on you.  Ruth 2:9

Ruth was protected as God led her.

 

As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men,

Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand

her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles

and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.

Ruth 2: 15

She began to experience blessing and prosperity when

she walked in God’s leading.

 

As I read this story I cried out to God. I asked Him to

guide my steps like He did for Ruth. She had no idea

what God had in store but He led her to the field of

Boaz…!!!

You may be like Ruth, just working on some field,

not expecting anything from God, thinking He has

left you or thinking His plan for you IS the field…!!!

That is so not true…!!! God has more planned for

you beyond field. Ruth may of thought she was

just working in some field but she was exactly

where God wanted her to be….! She may of thought

she didn’t deserve anything from God but He had

something so amazing for her….She may of seen

herself as a foreigner but God saw her as a

daughter, beloved and precious daughter who

deserved only the best!!!

Don’t lose hope where you are. God is directing your

EVERY step. Like Ruth, He cares for you

Like Ruth, He has an amazing plan for you

Like Ruth, His favor is on you

Like Ruth, He has not abandoned you

Trust Him as He leads you

It’s not an easy thing to do but it’s worthwhile

Stretch your faith

He has a plan for every step you take

Your life is not meaningless

There is so much more in store

Amen

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unseen……

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Does God see me?

Does He notice me at all?

To answer that I want you to look with me at a man named Matthias. He was the thirteenth disciple! (Acts 1:26)

I wrote a post on him two years ago so I am not going to tell his story again. Instead you can read his story here.

But what I want to do is answer those two important questions.

“So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from the men who were with us the entire we were travelling with the Lord Jesus-from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus resurrection.” Acts 1:21

For the entire three years of Jesus ministry we don’t hear of Matthias! He was in the background. What did he have to deal with in the three years of Jesus ministry? That question is hard to answer because there is not much on Matthias.

All we know is after three years he was chosen to take Judas Iscariot’s place. He was chosen to be a disciple!

He may have felt left out

He may have thought Jesus had forgotten about him,

but the truth of the matter is,

He wasn’t forgotten.

He was seen and noticed! God had a plan for his life!

Like Matthias, you are seen! You are not forgotten.

Your time will come. You may be in the background witnessing other people be exalted, getting married, and so on but your time will come. Be faithful like Matthias. He never left during the three years of Jesus ministry! He served God faithfully!

Did he deal with discouragement? Maybe!

Did he ever think he was not important to God? Maybe?

Despite all that he served God, he stuck with Him! That is all that mattered. He wasn’t seeking recognition with people.

Serving the Lord was what mattered!

Remain faithful to God this year. He sees you even if it feels like he doesn’t.

He is with you even if it seems like He has abandoned you! (that is a lie from the devil. He will never abandon you!)

He hears your prayers even if it seems like He has ignored you.

Happy new Year to you. 2015 is filled with such promise! God be with you all…..!

Rolain

God is to blame for my problems?????

I don’t know anyone in this life who has never had a bad thing happen to them. We live in a broken world where bad things happen and we as children of God are not exempt from it. In this lifetime there will be suffering and pain but where we err a lot of the time is we blame God or a friend, or a system or the government, or the wife, husband and the list carries on instead of looking at ourselves first.
As children of God we need to know in our heart that God has only the best for us. His plan for us is good! God does not have any evil plans for you. His plan for you is not to be sick or poor or lonely!!! He has a good plan for you.
Let us take a look at Joshua because he had to learn that God’s plan for him was good. In Joshua 7 we read the story of Ai. This was a small city compared to Jericho. Joshua had just defeated Jericho and now they had to face Ai. It was so small that Joshua sent 3000 men to fight! Ai was supposed to be a walk in the park but it wasn’t. Instead they got defeated and to make it worse other surrounding cities would attack them and defeat them because of what Ai did!!! This was a problem and look at how Joshua responds.

Joshua said, “Oh, oh, oh…Master, God. Why did You insist on bringing this people across the Jordon? To make us victims of the Amorites? To wipe us out? Why didn’t we just settle down on the east side of the Jordon? Oh, Master, what can I say after this, after Israel has been run off by it’s enemies?
When the Canaanites and all the others living here get wind of this, they will gang up on us and make short work of us – and then how will You keep up Your reputation?
Joshua 7:7-9

Can you believe him? “Make us victims”, “wipe us out”, “gang up on us”….! These were the words used and a lot more. Joshua totally missed it here. From trusting in God, he went to fear! He forgot that God’s plan is always good. As much as I would like to sit here and criticize him I know I have prayed the same prayer and thought the same thoughts!! Have you? When things go wrong we look to other people to blame. It must be that person, we tell ourselves but we can’t keep on thinking like that. We need to trust the fact that GOD is GOOD. He will never do anything to harm us. He loves us.
The reason the Israelite s failed to defeat Ai wasn’t because God did something wrong, it wasn’t because He liked to confuse them, or it wasn’t because God liked seeing them fail!!!!
They were defeated because some one man sinned! Achan failed to listen to God and disobeyed Him.
When things go wrong who do we look to? Is the first instinct to look outside of ourselves?? That needs to change. God is not to blame for your problems. God is not unfair and cruel and evil. He is good. God is not the problem, you are! It’s you and me!! God wants the best for you but how often do we mess it up. Before you blame God look inside you. Start with yourself.

Is God to blame for the evil in the world and the pain and the suffering? No He is not. Let us trust in His goodness. He is good. Do you believe that???

Rolain