There Is A Reason To Wait.

“And the king said, “All this misery is from the LORD! Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”

2 Kings 6:33 NLT

Waiting can be so hard. It really isn’t for the faint of heart.

But we wait even though it’s hard because the LORD is faithful and good.

He doesn’t make us wait for nothing!

He doesn’t make YOU wait for nothing!

He will never waste your wait.

The Israelite king was frustrated and was in despair. His people were under siege and the food ran out.

People were desperate and he blamed Elisha. So he sent a messenger to take off Elisha’s head but he also sent him with a message,

“Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”

At times it feels like that. It’s hard to see the benefit of waiting when nothing seems to be happening or when things are actually getting worse.

But I want to encourage you to continue holding on and waiting on the LORD. He knows exactly where you are. He will breakthrough for you very soon. He will answer your prayers shortly.

You just need not to give up. I read a quote that I love that I want to share with you,

Good things come to those who Believe,

Better things come to those who are patient

and the best things come to those who Don’t Give Up.

– unknown

I love that.

DON’T GIVE UP friends.

God will never fail you. He cares about you and knows what you are going through.

And He loves you so much.

“I wait quietly before God,

for my victory comes from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation.”

Psalm 62:1, 2 ESV

Bless you friends

Rolain

Stop Eating “JUNK” Food!

In the past few weeks God has been teaching me to stop eating what the devil is dishing out.

Because the devil has a lot of crazy stuff he would like you and me to believe. And I was just there eating what ever he was dishing out which caused fear, anxiety, and hopelessness in me. I would cry out to God to help me in the midst of the attack because it was intense but God began to show me that I was not filtering the thoughts I was getting.

Our filter is the Word of God and that’s how we need to be measuring up everything that comes our way.

So He showed me that I need to reject the lies instead of entertaining them. And that’s what we tend to do right? Instead of taking the lies to God immediately we start thinking about what ifs, and project possible outcomes that are totally not according to God’s will for us. We let the fear shut us down.

But if we are going to hold on to the promises God has for us we need to stop doing this. We need to stop eating everything the devil is dishing out.

IT’S ALL LIES…

IT’S ALL LIES…

Resist and reject all of it. It’s not going to be easy I understand but God is with you and He will help you as you cry out to Him. The thoughts will come but they don’t have to pitch their tents in your mind. Cast them out with the authority Jesus has given you.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV

So as I come to the end of this post I want to encourage you with one more scripture,

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

Philippians 4:8 NLT

Change what you think about. Stop thinking about the negative things the devil keeps trying to remind you about but instead think on the things God is doing in your life, the words He has spoken to you, on His beauty, on His grace, on the amazing things He has in store for you, His promises and so much more.

With that I have come to the end of the post.

Bless you friends and have a great weekend!

Rolain

It’s Just A Matter Of Time.

When it comes to God’s faithfulness, it’s just a matter of time.

He WILL come through for you and He HAS heard your prayers. Nothing can stop God’s faithfulness in your life. The fact that you are here is proof alone that He is faithful.

Don’t entertain the enemies lies about God’s faithfulness. The enemy will try to make us believe that God is not really good, that He doesn’t care for us, and that we can’t really trust Him because He is not reliable. There are so many other lies he tries to tell us but we must NOT give in to them.

When talking about God’s faithfulness it’s not a question of ‘IF’ God is going to come through for us or ‘IF’ we will see His breakthrough in our lives or ‘IF’ He will hear our prayers. Because of His faithfulness He has heard and answered our prayers, and breakthrough is guaranteed!

I think of the Israelites who were slaves for about 400 years (Acts 7:6, 7). Was there a time in that period as they were crying our to God that they doubted Him? Did they think He didn’t care about what they were going through and that He didn’t hear their prayers? I don’t know.

But one thing I do know is that for the Israelites it wasn’t a question of ‘IF’ God would deliver them and hear their prayers, it was a matter of ‘WHEN’. And at the right time God did deliver His people out of bondage because of His faithfulness.

I also think of Abraham and Sarah who had to wait a long time until God’s promise to them were fulfilled. Then there was Hannah who was barren and had to endure ridicule for a season but through it all, God came through for them. He was faithful to them. He never let them down.

So as I come to the end of this post I want to encourage you to not doubt God, don’t give up just because your situation doesn’t seem to be turning around, don’t listen to the negative voices that are trying to get you discouraged and trying to get you to make you lose your faith in God. Don’t let fear overwhelm you because after all is said and done,

God is faithful forever!

And there is nothing that can ever change that truth.

Bless you friends!

Rolain

Is God Really Good?

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1 NLT

If there is something we as sons and daughters of God need to always remember is that God is good. At His core of who He is, He is good. And it’s important to have that truth secured in your heart because the devil will try to challenge that truth by using the painful things we have been through, the heartbreak, the rejection, the loss, the unanswered prayers and so many other things. And we need to be careful to not listen to the lies he tries to tell us as he reminds us of the painful things that happened to us. A good example of that is with the people of Israel. God delivered them from 400 years of slavery but destroying Pharoah and his people but even on their journey to the promise land they doubted God. Their trust in him failed numerous times. Let’s look at what happened when they reached their destination.

“Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness! they complained. Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?”

Numbers 14:1-3 NLT

God in His goodness had led them to the promise land to give them what He had promised but the people didn’t understand that. Instead they thought God wanted to kill them and their children!! And this kind of talk happens a few times in the desert.

The enemy wants us to believe God is a cruel God, he wants us to believe God is evil, unforgiving, mean, hateful, uncaring, unloving and so many other negative things but we can’t let him convince us because at the core of who God is He is good. He loves us so much.

So let me ask you this.

What do you believe about God in the difficult times, when your prayers haven’t been answered, when things are not going your way? Or let me ask it in this way. Do you believe God has got you in the midst of all the terrible things you have been through? Do you believe there will be a turnaround in your situation because He is good? Look at some of the people in the bible. Job went through some terrible trials but God showed him His goodness by revealing Himself to him and restoring double what he lost. Then there is Hannah who was barren. God gave her a son eventually. He showed his goodness to Abraham and Sarah by giving them a child in their old age and fulfilling the promise he made to them. And then David. Even though he sinned numerous times God in his goodness extended his grace and mercy to him. He called him a “man after his own heart”

God at His core is so so good. Hold on to that truth no matter what comes at you. As I close I want to share one more scripture;

He who diligently seeks good seeks [God’s] favor, but he who searches after evil, it shall come upon him.”

Proverbs 11:27 AMPC

So because God is good we need change our expectations. We need to expect good. The Word says we must SEEK good because when we do that we seek God’s favor! We go through so many tough things that at times we just expect bad things to happen. “No good things happen for me” is what we tell ourselves but that’s contrary to God’s word. We need to expect and seek His goodness to show up in our lives. Expect Him to answer your prayers. Expect the breakthrough to come. Expect the door to open for you. If I could sum it all up I would say,

Expect Him to be good to you! Period.

So with that I have come to the end of the post.

God is good all the time and all the time God is good!

Bless you friends!

What Hard Times Teach Us About God

We don’t face difficult times for the fun of it. The world is broken and there is nothing

we can do to escape the tragedies that come our way but there is a hope for us in the

midst of the darkness. As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we can

be guaranteed that the Lord is with us. He won’t let us be consumed by the enemy.

Look at what happened to Daniel. (Daniel 6)

The king had intended to promote him but the governors around him were jealous

so they tricked the king into making a law that banned anyone from making any

requests to any god besides the king. But as was his custom Daniel opened his window

and prayed to God.

The jealous people saw this and took him to the king for punishment.

The penalty for disobeying the king’s command was a trip into the lion’s death.

Daniel was in serious trouble.

But in one of his darkest times the Lord never left him. He protected him in the lion’s den.

The lion’s den was the enemy’s way of destroying Daniel but instead of death, Daniel

experienced the faithfulness of God.

I also think of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego and how they were in trouble when they

refused to bow down to the king’s idol. The penalty for disobeying the king’s command

was death by fire but once again, instead of dying in the fire, they saw the Son of God!

In their dark time the Lord showed up for them and delivered them in a powerful way.

I want to remind you that in your difficult times, the Lord is with you like He was with

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.

In the fire, and in the lion’s den the Lord is with you.

Trust in the Lord like they did.

As I conclude I want to share Isaiah 54:17 with you

“No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,”

Bless you friends

Rolain

Where You Start Is Not Where You End.

On one of my recent podcast writing episodes I talked about this.

If you didn’t know, I have a podcast where I talk to authors and aspiring authors.

I provide tips, advice and encouragement. The podcast is called,

The Writer’s Creative Space.

If you would like to listen to the episode here is the link.

Anyway, as I recorded the episode I realized this was not just a life principle but a

spiritual principle.

“Where you start is not where you end” is a spiritual principle too.

I am reminded of Rahab. She didn’t have the best start. She was a prostitute and people

saw her in one way. Her narrative for a time was negative. I don’t think anyone saw

greatness in her. But that all changed when some Hebrew spies came to her.

Her life changed forever. Her narrative changed for good.

“By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed

with those who were disobedient.”

Hebrews 11:31

Her end was so much better than her beginning. And if you search deeper into her

story you will find she was included in the lineage of Jesus Christ!

What an honor, what an ending.

So you see. where you start is not where you end.

Let me share one more example.

The disciples were ordinary men with no real purpose before Jesus. They were fishermen.

I wouldn’t say being a fisherman was bad but it wasn’t the greatest thing to be.

The disciples were probably overlooked. They probably overlooked themselves!

But look at what happened when Jesus came onto the scene.

Everything changed. Their lives were changed forever.

They became fisher of men and turned the world upside down!

And that’s the other thing I want you to see.

Only Jesus can change the narrative.

Only Jesus can change the ending.

You may be in a place today where you can’t make sense of how your life is going.

You may not understand how God can turn it around but He can and will.

No matter how you have started know that your end will be very different.

Look to Jesus for help.

Trust Him to change the narrative in your life.

Trust Him to change the ending.

Bless you friends

Rolain

When The Enemy Has Appeared To Have Won, God Steps In!

“When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.

After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house,

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

But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.’

2 Samuel 11:26, 27

We all know the story.

David slept with Bathsheba and to hide what he did, he got Uriah her husband killed.

That was a dark season in David’s life, if not THE darkest.

All seemed lost for him. The enemy appeared to have won against him but God stepped

in! He intervened in David’s hopeless situation.

He stepped in and pulled David out of the dark pit he was in.

When Nathan the prophet confronted David he was quick to confess his sin and received

forgiveness. But there was more…

“And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in into her, and lay with her:

and she bare a son, called his name Solomon: and the Lord loved him.”

2 Samuel 12:24, 25

As I read that verse I had a thought. Why didn’t Solomon come from David’s other wife Abigail?

She was amazing and had less “baggage.”

But I believe God used Bathsheba because He wanted to make a statement.

God took the darkest and ugliest situation in David’s life and turned it around.

The enemy’s proof of victory was no more. The “souvenir” he kept with pride was now turned

into a testimony of God’s goodness, mercy and power.

He could no longer brag about the destruction he caused in David’s life because God redeemed

the situation!

And God will do the same for you and me.

He will take the enemy’s victories and turn them around into powerful testimonies of His goodness,

mercy and power!

Even if you have messed up big time and it seems like the enemy has won, he hasn’t. The Lord

has the final say. When He steps in there is nothing the enemy can do to stop Him.

Forgiveness, mercy and grace are a prayer away. Call on the Lord for help when you are in trouble.

Call on Him when sin has made you stumble.

He wants to help you.

And with that I have come to the end of the post.

If you would like to support what I am doing here financially, you can do so with a few dollars a month.

Click here to support me.

Bless you friends

Rolain

How Can We Win Against These Strong Enemies?

What should we do when life gets overwhelming and the troubles we face seem too much for us? 

I was in a situation this past week and I was overwhelmed by the things I was facing. I felt discouraged

and felt like God wasn’t listening but I came across a scripture in my quiet time that recalibrated my thoughts

back to Him. 

Life has a way at times of getting our minds off God, and driving us into some pretty dark and ugly tunnels and

that is why we need God’s word in our lives. 

It recalibrates, and realigns our thoughts back to Him. 

Let’s get into the word I read; 

“Perhaps you will think to yourselves, ‘How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful

than we are?’ But don’t be afraid of them! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the

land of Egypt.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭7:17-18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Moses was addressing the people of Israel as they were about to enter the promise land. They would come up

against some very powerful enemies and Moses knew they would encounter times of fear, doubt and anxiety. 

But he reminded them to REMEMBER, what God did to the Egyptians. 

As powerful as the Egyptians were, God delivered and saved Israel from them. He defeated the Egyptians. 

He also reminded them that God was with them.

““No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the Lord your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭7:21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So if you are feeling overwhelmed by the troubles you face and the giants that are before you, remember what the

Lord has done for you. Remember the great deliverances He has delivered you with. Remember how He has answered

your prayers through the years and still continues to do so. 

He is with you. You are not alone at any time, especially when trouble is at your door. God will deliver you like He has

done many times before. Keep holding onto your faith in Him. 

Bless you friends

Rolain

In the darkness, God has a plan.

I was encouraged today as I read the story of Joseph. With all that is going on with the pandemic, it’s easy to get discouraged but I was reminded that God is working in our lives in the midst of intense darkness.

So let’s get into it.

We all know the time Pharaoh had dreams and when no one could interpret the dreams someone remembered Joseph and he was summoned to interpret them. He told Pharaoh seven years of plenty would come followed by seven years of famine.

The seven years of plenty came and Joseph who had been promoted to second in charge stored away grain. He stored away so much that it became impossible to keep track of how much they were storing.

Then the seven years of famine arrived and this is what I want to focus on. The famine didn’t just affect Egypt but the whole world.

 

“And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.”

Genesis 41:57

 

It was a difficult time for the world but in that dark time God had a plan. There were some very important and key things that God was doing in that seven year famine period. I want to highlight two things.

 

1. Israel reunited with Joseph, who he presumed had died.

Since the famine affected the whole world, Israel was affected too and had to send his sons to buy grain which in turn led to the discovery of Joseph. That is important because it leads us to the next key thing that happened.

       2. Israel’s entire family relocated    to Egypt because of Joseph.

Joseph made plans for his whole family to move to Egypt so they would be provided for during the famine. And that is also important because it was a fulfillment of what God told Abraham,

 

“Then the Lord said to him, know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.

But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.”

Genesis 15:13, 14

 

We know God was talking about Moses and the deliverance of Israel from Egypt.

So do you see?

In the seven year famine period, God was working and setting some big things up. And the famine had a part to play in the grand scheme of things.

God was setting pieces in place for Israel’s next chapter and that encouraged me because in this season of Covid-19, God has a plan too.

You may not see it or understand but He is working. You don’t need to stay discouraged or hopeless because He is in total control.

His plans and purposes for your life are working out in the midst of the darkness.

And that’s my encouragement to you. He will fulfill what He has promised you and this season will end.

Bless you friends

Rolain

All I see is God’s faithfulness.

 

“Great are the works of the Lord;

they are pondered by all who delight in them.”

Psalm 111:2

 

In a year when it seemed like nothing could happen God did the impossible and brought 

to reality a dream and desire I had been holding on to for seven years. 

He is faithful. 

Watch the video to hear my testimony. 

 

 

If you would like to buy a copy of my devotional click here and don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube 

channel to not miss any episodes.

To follow my channel, click here. 

 

 

Bless you friends and I hope you are having a great holiday. 

 

Rolain