How to see God when life is difficult.

What problem are you dealing with today? What is getting you stressed, anxious and fearful?

As children of God we know the answer is to call on God but it’s harder said than done.

We live in a world that’s full of negativity. A world that doesn’t acknowledge a Savior.

A world that promotes bad news in every facet of life.

It’s not hard to find hopelessness, negativity, discouragement and the list goes on.

And the trap we keep falling into is accepting all that negativity. We accept a truth that’s made up and a truth

that is not a truth.

 

We need to be very careful what we are feeding our selves with today. The enemy’s goal is to destroy our

faith in God. If he can do that he can do his work which is to kill, steal and destroy.

But there is a way to fight his devices and it’s found in Mark 5.

There was a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years. She had spent all she had on doctors but

was getting worse. Her situation was bleak. For twelve years she was in pain with no hope of healing.

She just kept getting worse but one day she heard about Jesus.

 

The words tells us,

“She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched 

His garment. 

For she kept saying, If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.” 

Mark 5:27, 28

 

The circumstances around her were bleak but when she heard about Jesus things changed. She had faith in

Jesus and changed her confession. She charged her environment with faith using her words.

We are surrounded by so much negativity but we don’t have to accept it as our reality. Jesus is

our answer.

We can change the result with our words. Instead of letting fear, hopelessness and anxiety determine

our situations we can inject faith in those situations and see God move and do the impossible.

The woman kept saying. 

We need to charge our environment with faith so much that we begin to see victory, and breakthrough.

We can’t let the negativity and hopelessness in the world steal our faith in God.

No matter how bad things get there is always breakthrough and deliverance because God is with us.

The enemy doesn’t want us to see God as the answer.

 

Put your faith in God today. Charge your environment with faith.

Faith in God is what will get you through the hard times.

Faith in God’s ability will bring you the deliverance and healing you need.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

 

 

 

Is the door really closed??

As I considered my options I couldn’t help feeling discouraged. It seemed like I would not

get the breakthrough I was looking for. Should I even keep trying to pursue this opportunity

I asked myself?

 

I have been seeking the Lord for the next steps in my career and I took the step and tried something

new but I was stopped dead in my tracks. Did I hear God wrong?

Was this the direction he wanted me to go in?

 

We all have doors the Lord wants us to go through but there are times when it seems like the door is

tightly shut. At times it feels like the doors the devil has closed can’t be opened again but the Lord helped me

to see the truth.  The devil is not that powerful. He doesn’t have the power to close a door and keep it closed.

 

“And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Philadelphia write; These are the words

of the Holy One, the True One, He Who has the key of David, 

Who opens and no one shall shut, Who shuts and no one shall open; 

I know your [record of] works and what you are doing. See! 

I have set before you a door wide open which no one is able to shut;”

Revelation 3:7-8

 

“And the key of the house of David I will lay upon his shoulder; he shall open and no one shall 

shut, he shall shut and no one shall open.” 

Isaiah 22:22

 

From God’s word, it is clear that when God opens a door, the devil has no power to close it and when

a door is closed he has no power to open it. So just because the devil closes a door doesn’t mean

it will stay closed. That door will be opened. We must not let him deceive us into believing the door

can’t be opened. When I got this understanding I continued pressing forward. I did not give up.

I have faith God will breakthrough for me.

 

Before I go any further I want to add something,

The only time we should stop trying to go through a door is if God has said no but other than that,

we need to by faith keep going through the door. So what I am writing about are the doors the devil tries

to close. Those are the doors we need to bust open.

 

All doors the enemy has closed are meant to be gone through. It can be so discouraging when

things don’t seem to be working out but don’t stop praying and moving in faith.

 

The enemy is always trying to close doors that God wants us to go through. In the book of Ezra,

we read how the Israelites started rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. They were making progress but the

Samaritans opposed them. (Ezra 4:4) They didn’t want the Israelites to finish so they wrote and sent

a letter to the King of Persia who was the ruling power at that time. The letter was malicious and was

the enemy’s way of closing the door on the Israelites. The Samaritans got their wish because the

king commanded the building of the temple to be stopped immediately.

The door had been closed.

 

“Then the work on the house of God in Jerusalem stopped.” 

Ezra 4:24

 

But that was not the end of the story.

All the doors the enemy closes can be opened. He has no power to keep any door closed. Always remember

that.

 

In the next chapter the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the Israelites. They encouraged the

people to start building again which they did. The Samaritans tried to stop them again this is what

happened;

 

“Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province [west of] the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates,

the Apharsachites who are [west of] the River, keep far away from there. 

Leave the work on this house of God alone; let the governor and the elders of the Jews build this house

of God on its site.” 

Ezra 6;6-12

 

You can read all of the good things the king decreed but the point is this,

 

The enemy tried to close the door of opportunity on the Jews but he had no power to do anything.

The door God opened for His people would stay open no matter how hard the devil tried.

 

Don’t give up when the door seems to be closed on you. If God has not closed it then the

door is still open. The devil has no power to close and keep a door closed.

It is only God who has that power.

 

What to do when a door seems to be closed by the devil? 

 

The bible is very clear on what we are to do when that happens.

 

“Keep asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; 

keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. 

For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking

finds; and to him who keeps on knocking [the door] will be opened.” 

Matthew 7:7-8

 

Don’t give up on the things God has put on your heart. Keep asking, keep seeking and

keep knocking.

Don’t be discouraged when things don’t work out. Keep looking to God. Keep praying to Him.

Things will work out for you. He will breakthrough for you!

Don’t let the devil deceive you in thinking the door can’t be opened. It’s not true.

Every door that he “closes” is not really closed!

Be encouraged today friends.

Bless you.

 

Rolain

 

 

How to respond in difficult times…

 

“So Potiphar arrested Joseph and put him into prison. This prison was where the king’s

prisoners were put. And Joseph stayed there in the prison. But the Lord was with Joseph

and showed him kindness. The Lord caused the prison warden to like Joseph.”

Genesis 39:20, 21

 

Joseph was having a really tough time in Egypt. Firstly he was sold into slavery by his brothers,

then he was falsely accused by his master’s wife which put him into prison. It’s important to

note and understand that the hardships he was facing did not limit God’s power in his life.

God didn’t stop moving in Joseph’s life because he was in a bad place. In slavery God was working,

in prison, being falsely accused, God was at work in his life.

 

No matter how bad things are in your life God is still working. The difficult things around

you don’t limit Him one single bit. He is not looking at what’s happening around you to move.

He is looking at your faith. Will you still look to Him when things are difficult?

Will you allow what’s happening around you to determine how big you dream? Are you going to

wait for circumstances to get better before you move in faith or will you start trusting Him where

you are right now??

 

I am fully convinced God is moving in your life even when the world around you is falling apart.

Don’t let the bad things that are happening around you determine how must live.

Put your trust in God and move with Him.

 

Bless you, friends…

 

Rolain

 

Jars of clay!

I am in awe how God has

made a decision to work with broken vessels!

That’s right, He has made a conscious and deliberate decision

to work with and through us.

He knows we are not perfect, He knows we will fail, He knows

we will mess up, He knows we will rebel and yet He still uses us!

 

It’s amazing to think that God would choose us as flawed as we

are and work with us.

It’s because of Him we are something.

He calls the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.

That’s the way He works.

We are nothing on our own. Our lives make sense when God is

added to it. We don’t glory in our strength but in God’s.

 

As you go through your day today I want you to remember that God

has chosen you despite your weaknesses.

You don’t have to perfect to be used by Him.

He created you and knows everything about you.

Lean on His strength and not on yours.

Blessings to you today!

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One thing that can stop God’s power in your life…..

“And the woman [in due time] bore a son and called his name Samson;

and the child grew and the Lord blessed him.

And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in Mahaneh-dan

[the camp of Dan] between Zorah and Eshtaol “

Judges 13:24, 25

 

I used to think Samson as the most arrogant of the heroes of the

bible. I thought he was brash, proud and conceited but I was wrong.

He was humble.

He knew where his true strength came from.

 

Let’s take a look at a scripture,

 

“Samson was very thirsty, and he prayed to the Lord and said, You have

given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant, and now shall I

die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”

Judges 15:18

 

When spending time with God he addresses himself as “servant”.

With all his strength and power he humbled himself before God.

He never once gave himself the glory.

We never read of a time where he praised himself.

Samson was a humble man.

 

Let’s take a look at one more scripture,

 

“And when he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him.

And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon [Samson], and the ropes

on his arms became as flax that had caught fire, and his bonds melted

off his hands.”

Judges 15: 14

 

“The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon Samson”

 

That wouldn’t have been possible if Samson was arrogant and proud.

He knew God was the reason for his strength and power and that is why

he was used so mightily.

 

This is the lesson I want you to take from the life of Samson.

With all his strength and power he never became proud and arrogant.

He knew God was the source of his strength.

Because he was humble he was in a position to be used mightily by God.

He put God first in his life and that is why he did what he did.

He never once praised himself.

If he was prideful he wouldn’t have been used.

 

To be used by God we need to be humble. We need to always put Him first.

Pride takes God out of the picture and makes us believe we can do it on our own.

Pride wants to go on its own.

Pride thinks it doesn’t need God or anyone for that matter.

One of our prayers should be to be humble.

No matter how much God does for us we must remain humble.

No matter the great heights He takes us to we need to remain humble.

It’s only when we are humble that we can be used by Him.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

 

 

The mystery of The “Sand” Revealed…..!

You might be wondering what “sand” I am referring to! And no, this post is not about sand. Instead the sand I am referring to is the sand Naaman took with him……It had a lot of significance as I am about to show you.
With that said I would like to share one of my favorite bible characters with you. As I have already said, his name is Naaman. (2 Kings 1)
He was the commander of the army of the king of Syria.
The bible says he was a mighty man of valor but he was a leper.
This is not why he is one of my favorite characters. He is one of my favorite because he had an encounter with God which changed the direction of his life forever. God used Elisha to heal him of his leprosy.

When he experienced the power of God he made a decision to follow Him. He then makes a weird request to the man of God Elisha. He asks him for ‘two mules’ burden of earth!!! (2 Kings 5:17)
This is what he says,
For your servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offerings nor sacrifice to other gods, but only to the Lord.
In this thing may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master [the king] goes into the house of [his god] Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant in this thing. (2 Kings 5:17,18)

Naaman made a decision and he was committed to that decision and nothing was going to change that. The “sand” signified a change. It signified a change of heart. He chose God and he was not turning back! I get so challenged when I read his story. As I have made a decision to follow God I ask myself, am I as determined as Naaman? Am I committed and focused as him?
Are you as determined and focused and set as Naaman? He was an alien but when he saw God’s power he made a decision. He was probably more committed than most people in Israel at that time.

In this day and age we need to have the same determination and commitment. We cannot serve God halfheartedly!!! It’s either God or something else. Let us be like Naaman and make a wholehearted decision to serve God with everything within us!!!

Rolain