2020: Unfazed – Part 1

I think you can agree with me that this has been a crazy year. It’s been intense, difficult, challenging,

hectic and so much more. But in the midst of the craziness, something beautiful has been emphasized

and that beautiful thing is JESUS.

His grace, power, goodness, and faithfulness have shone through the darkness and if He wasn’t with

me in this season I can confidently say I wouldn’t be here today. It’s only by His grace that I have got so

far.

 

So in this new series simply titled “2020” I take some time to stop and look back at all the amazing things

God has done in the hope to encourage you because as 2021 fast approaches we need to go into it full

of hope, and full of faith.

And we do that by remembering His blessings and how good He has been to us.

 

We also need to settle something in our hearts,

There is nothing that can faze the Lord

There is nothing that can catch Him by surprise and

There is nothing that can limit Him

 

No matter what the enemy throws His way, it is nothing to Him.

So as Covid-19 has wrecked havoc in the world we need to know and be reminded that

God is stronger and greater than Covid-19. He is not limited by it and it hasn’t cast a spanner

in His plans. God is working more in this time and His plans for us are very much alive in this

crazy season and even though we may have no idea what’s in store next year we know that God

is with us and is protecting us and watching over us.

 

No weapon formed against us will prosper. 

 

As I conclude I want to encourage you to not limit the Lord today. Keep dreaming, keep praying

and keep taking steps of faith in all that He has shown you. Don’t let the circumstances we are in

stop you from moving. Don’t let what’s happening in the world fill you with fear.

Be expectant for what God has in store for you. Look forward in hope because God is faithful.

Bring your fears, worries and anxieties for 2021 to Him.

He is your strong tower of refuge!

 

Blessings to you friends!

 

Rolain

The same favor.

“Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.””

‭‭Esther‬ ‭4:10-11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 

Because we are sons and daughters of God we have favor but what does that mean?

Haman, the king’s top man set a plan in motion to destroy all the Jews so Mordecai challenged Esther to step up and do something to save them but there was one problem, she had to be summoned by the king. She couldn’t just approach him when she felt like. The penalty was death but after fasting and praying she went before the king and this is where we see the favor of God in action;

 

“When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.”

‭‭Esther‬ ‭5:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 

Because of God’s favor, Esther’s life was spared and the Jews were saved even though king Xerxes was one of the most wicked kings living at that time.

We have that same favor. There are so many other stories in the word that support that truth.

Nehemiah experienced God’s favor before his king as well as Ezra.

Mephilboseth experienced favor like never before.

And why is this important to know?

So we can trust God for breakthrough and deliverance in the most difficult of situations. No matter how tightly shut a door is, if God wants it opened, it will open.

No matter how many giants are standing in the way opposing you, God’s favor will make a way for you.

Favor will take on different shapes and sizes for each person but the fact is,

God’s favor is on you in this season.

It doesn’t stop just because the world has got darker. It just keeps getting brighter and brighter and that’s great news!

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

He gave him back his strength…

“He answered them, The Man who healed me and gave me back my strength, He Himself

said to me, Pick up your bed and walk! 

John 5:11

 

For thirty-eight years the enemy had stolen the man’s health. For thirty-eight years he was under the

power of the enemy. The enemy thought he had won. But he was wrong. The story was not over.

 

The enemy is all about taking stuff away from us. From the moment he was cast out of heaven he

has been stealing, destroying and killing. he doesn’t want us to have the good things God has for us.

But there is some really good news for us.

 

“He answered them, The Man who healed me and gave me back my strength, He Himself

said to me, Pick up your bed and walk!

John 5:11 (emphasis mine)

 

Jesus gave the man back his strength which enabled him to walk again. The enemy’s hold on

the man was broken.

As I read this there are things the enemy has stolen from me that I want back.

The Lord came to restore what was stolen from me. He wants me to have all the goodness

and blessings He planned for me and so it is with you.

 

What has the enemy stolen from you? The Lord wants to give you back what the enemy has stolen.

It may take a day, a month or years but the Lord wants to restore to you what has been taken. The enemy

might think he is in the driving seat but he never was and will never be.

The Lord is gracious and merciful and fights for us!

 

Rolain

The Lord gave him a picture…..

“Then God led Abram outside. God said, “Look at the sky. There are so many stars

you cannot count them. And your descendants will be too many to count.”

Abram believed the Lord. And the Lord accepted Abram’s faith and that faith made

him right with God.

  

Genesis 15:5, 6

The Lord led Abram outside and gave him a picture of his life and that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

But as I look back at my life I see how I allowed people to give me a picture. The enemy was in the mix

as well and did everything in his power to enforce the picture he had given me

because I didn’t know better. It took years to break the negative picture I had been

given and thanks to God the healing is still ongoing.

The Lord has a picture for you too. The picture is amazing and glorious but there is so much opposition

from the enemy. he doesn’t want you to walk in the plan God has for your life because that’s what the picture

is about. It’s about where God wants to take you. It’s about what He has in store for you.

But the enemy uses fear, abuse, manipulation and a whole lot of other things to blind you to God’s picture.

Don’t accept the enemy’s pictures. They are all lies.

his pictures get you depressed, fearful, anxious, greedy, and weak.

his pictures are all void of goodness, peace, love, fulfillment, faith, joy and every other good thing

God is.

Reject them at every turn. But you need help. You need the Lord’s help.

The good news is this, the picture you have now can be changed. That’s what happened to me.

My picture was really bad but the Lord came and changed it. He replaced the dark, hopeless,

fearful picture and replaced it with His life-giving, fresh, new, energizing picture!

And that’s what He does for us as His children.

As I end I will leave you with a scripture that sums up what I have been talking about,

“Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, 

which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).”

Jeremiah 33:3

Blessings to you, friends

Rolain

He takes the painful things in our lives and makes them beautiful…….

*I was reminded of something I wrote some time back and that is why I am writing this post today.

This post is dedicated to everyone who has made mistakes and think God has turned His back 

on them. As you will read, that is not true. He loves you and will do all He can to get you back 

on track.*

 

“And when the morning was past, 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 was evil in the sight of the Lord.” 

2 Samuel 11:27

 

This was one of David’s darkest periods of his life. He slept with Bathsheba and got her husband killed.

To make things worse he was blind to his sin. He never repented, he never confessed his sin. Somewhere,

somehow his heart became hardened. I want to stop here for a bit.

 

We all make mistakes, we all mess up in life. What we need to pray for is for the Lord to correct, and to intervene

like He did for David. He could have left him in his sin but He didn’t. He confronted him about what he

did and delivered him. Because He loved David, the Lord sent Nathan.

The Lord knew David wasn’t going to snap out of sin on his own so in His mercy and grace He stepped in.

We need YAH to step in for us always. We can’t fight sin on our own. We need Him.

 

David messed up bad but the Lord didn’t abandon him. He was patient with him even when he was blinded.

He was blinded for nine months but the Lord never left. When the baby was born the Lord sent Nathan.

We need His mercy and grace more than we know. We will fall, we will make mistakes but the Lord

will not abandon us when we do. He will pick us up, He will confront us and He will deliver us.

 

But the biggest thing we need to overcome is thinking the Lord’s plan for our life, His goodness, and His

mercy stops when we mess up.

That’s not true. There is hope. Let me show you why I think so,

 

“David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went to her and lay with her; and she bore a son and she 

called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved [the child]. 

He sent [a message] by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and [Nathan] called the boy’s [special]

name Jedidiah [beloved of the Lord], because the Lord [loved the child].”

2 Samuel 12:24, 25

 

Out of the horrible mess David was in, the Lord turned it into something beautiful. And that’s how

good Yeshua is. David’s life was not over. The Lord didn’t take back all the amazing things He promised

him. I think of David’s other wives, Abigail to be precise. She was amazing. Surely YAH could have used

her to show David how great, and amazing He was?? He didn’t. Instead, He took a

horrible moment, a terrible situation in David’s life and turned it around into something beautiful.

 

There is a lesson here for all of us. The Lord can take what’s painful, what’s horrible and turn it into

something beautiful. David could not take the glory for what happened. All glory went to YAH.

It was very clear He had performed a miracle in His life.

Don’t throw in the towel today. You may be in distress, guilty, condemned because of something

you have done but the Lord can turn it around. He has not abandoned you friend. He has not

turned His back on you. And that is why He is our God!

No matter how dark your past has been, He can and will light it up. There is nothing too hard for

the Lord. Put all your hope in Him. Call out to Him. Don’t stay silent.

With that have a great weekend friends….

Blessings to you.

 

Rolain

 

 

He knows exactly what you need…..

“There, at the Temple Gate, was a man who had been crippled all his life. Every day he was carried to this gate

to beg. He would ask for money from people going into the Temple. The man saw Peter and John going 

into the Temple and asked them for money.” 

Acts 3:2

 

The man thought his problem was not having money but his problem was much deeper than that.

Peter and John knew what he really needed. I believe the Lord led them that way at that precise time.

He wanted to help the crippled man so He sent Peter and John.

 

Yeshua knows exactly what we need even if we don’t. That is why we trust Him with our lives.

We may not know how to articulate the things in our hearts but He can. Trust that He knows.

There is nothing about our lives that surprises Him. He knows it all.

 

The beggar asked for money but got what he really needed. The Lord knew what he really needed.

 

“Peter and John looked straight at him and said, “Look at us!” The man looked at them; he thought 

they were going to give some money. 

But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold, but I do have something else I can give you: 

By the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth – stand up and walk!”

Acts 3:4-6

 

I am not saying don’t ask for money. What I am trying to show is that the Lord knows exactly what you need

so trust Him completely where your needs are concerned. Depend on His goodness to give you exactly what

you need, when you need it.

You may not know what you really need but He does, so stop panicking about your life.

Pray with that understanding, live with that understanding.

 

People may not know where you are at in your life right now, and they may not know the cry of your heart

but that’s okay because Yeshua does. He knows where you are exactly. He knows everything that’s in your

heart. He knows exactly what you need for the season you are in!

He loves you so much.

 

Bless you

 

Rolain

He will not embarrass you……

“Don’t embarrass me by not showing up;

I’ve given you plenty of notice.

Embarrass the wicked, stand them up”

Psalm 31: 14-18

 

That’s my prayer at the moment.

There are decisions I have made, and declarations I have uttered boldly.

It would be quite embarrassing if God didn’t come through for me!

 

But, is it possible for God to embarrasses His children??

For Him to embarrass us would mean He isn’t able to

show up for us.

 

As I meditated on this scripture today the more and more I realized

how unlikely it would be for me to be embarrassed by Him.

 

Let’s look at some scriptures to illustrate my point,

 

“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might

humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a straight and

right way for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.

 

For I was ashamed to request of the king a band of soldiers and horesemen

to protect us against the enemy along the way, because we had told the king,

The hand of the our God is upon all them for good who seek Him, but His

power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.”

Ezra 8:21, 22

 

Ezra declared the goodness and greatness of God to the king and because

of that Ezra didn’t get soldiers and horsemen to protect the families on

their journey.

 

“So we fasted and besought our God for this, and He heard our entreaty. “

Ezra 8: 23

 

“We left the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go to

Jerusalem;

and the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the

enemy and those who lay in wait by the way.”

Ezra 8:31

 

God showed up for His people and because He did His people were

not embarrassed.

What are you trusting God for?

What have you been praying to Him about?

 

Remember, He will not embarrass you by not showing up for you.

He is faithful and true and He will show up for you.

 

As we wait on the Lord, lets remember that He will always show up for

us. It may not be in the time frame you are expecting and it may not be

in the way you are expecting but He will always show up.

Don’t abandon the prayer.

Don’t think He has abandoned you.

He will show up!

 

Bless you friends!

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

Believing God when life is hard.

 

“[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed

that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living!

 

Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good 

courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. 

Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord. “

Psalms 27:13, 14

 

It’s so easy to expect good things when everything is going well

for you. It’s actually hard to be negative when doors in your

life are opened and everyone loves you but what happens when

things go wrong??

What if nothing is working in your life?

What if everyone hates you?

What if things are falling apart?

It’s in those times, when expecting goodness isn’t so easy.

 

I have had a couple of rough weeks and to be honest it’s been

hard to expect the Lord’s goodness. Things have not been going

the way I wanted them to. . I have been public enemy number

one at times. In those circumstances it’s been hard to be

positive.

In my sad state it was easy to start thinking negatively.

It was so easy to tear myself down.

But that was not where God wanted me to stay.

He wanted me to focus on His goodness.

 

The enemy wants us depressed. He wants us to feel hopeless.

He wants us to believe nothing good will happen in our lives.

He wants us to believe God doesn’t care about us.

He wants us to experience God’s goodness period!

But the Lord wants us believe we will see His goodness in the

land of the living!

What are you believing today?

Do you believe you are finished?

Do you believe nothing good will happen for you?

Do you believe your circumstances won’t change?

 

The word for us today is to wait, hope for and expect the Lord!

It’s not easy to do those things but we have to be brave and

courageous!

We must expect the Lord’s goodness!

 

The author writes,

“what, what would have become of me had I not believed that

I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living?”

 

We can’t let the bad circumstances steal our hope?

We can’t allow the fear in the world to shape our expectations.

We can’t let the bad things that happen to us in life take God

out of the picture.

No matter how bad things are God wants us to believe we

will see his goodness!

He wants us to believe things will get better.

He wants us to believe that bad situation will turn around.

My encouragement to you is to expect the Lord’s goodness

in the land of the living!

Wait, hope for and expect the Lord!

He wants us to expect His goodness because He will

turn the bad to good. He will turn that bad situation into

good. He will not let that

winter last forever. He will answer our prayers.

He will give us that breakthrough we are trusting Him

for.

What will you do today???

 

Bless you friends!

 

Rolain

Do we really understand His faithfulness??

“For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are

everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all

generations. “

Psalm 101:5

 

“His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations”

 

This verse has been on my heart this week. The Lord is so

faithful. This past week has been interesting because I have

been reminded about the things I am trusting God for. Those

things haven’t come to pass as yet. Nothing seems to be

happening. I have asked God the “why” question and the

“when” question and as I have done that the scripture I shared

has been bubbling in my spirit. Even in the “hard to understand

times” God is faithful!

 

“His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations”

 

It may “seem” like nothing is happening at the moment but

the Lord is faithful! He really is….

 

The word says “His faithfulness and truth endure to ALL

generations!”

God was faithful to Abraham when He told him to

leave his home to go to a place he didn’t know.

 

“The Lord had said to Abraham, “Leave your native country,

your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land

that I will show you.”

Genesis 12:1

 

A hundred and one things could of gone wrong for Abraham.

Leaving what you know to go to a place you have

never seen and never heard of is crazy right.

But Abraham obeyed and went and God’s faithfulness protected

him as he went. God blessed Abraham, protected him and

directed his every step. Abraham had favor where he went.

That was God’s faithfulness operating in his life.

 

The Lord was faithful to Adam and Eve when they ate of the

tree that God told them not to eat. They were doomed when they

ate the fruit. The enemy had won if it wasn’t for God’s

faithfulness to Adam and Eve! (Genesis 3)

Without God’s faithfulness we would be doomed.

 

“His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations”

 

Generations later we see God’s faithfulness in the life of Hannah.

She was barren and because of that she was constantly

ridiculed by Peninnah. It seemed like Peninnah would be

victorious. It seemed like her negative words would ring

true in Hannah’s life.

 

“So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because

the Lord had kept her from having children.

Year after year it was the same – Peninnah would taunt Hannah

as they went to the tabernacle.

Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not

even eat.”

1 Samuel 1:6, 7

 

But God was faithful to Hannah! He answered her prayer and

granted her heart’s desire by giving her a child, Samuel!

Year after year it seemed like nothing was happening for

Hannah. There was no relief from the taunting. But God is

faithful and even in that dark time God’s faithfulness prevailed.

Because of God’s faithfulness Hannah had a child and

a testimony! (1 Samuel 2)

 

“And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from

God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home

is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be

His people. God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear

from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or

crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Revelation 21:2-4

 

God’s faithfulness is everlasting. Even in the end of time we see

His faithfulness!

 

Throughout scripture we see God’s faithfulness. Generation after

generation we see His faithfulness at work. His faithfulness

was at work then and it’s at work now. I know things don’t

seem to be happening right now but God is faithful.

Last month I went on tour to Zambia and I was involved in

a very serious car accident. I was supposed to be dead. At the very

least I was supposed to be seriously injured but because of

God’s faithfulness I escaped unscathed.

When my country came to a standstill in 2008 with no food

in the country and our dollar crashing it was God’s faithfulness

that kept me. When I didn’t know where the next meal would

come from God was faithful. So no matter what is happening

or not happening at the moment I know God is faithful!

 

Why I am sharing this with you? I am sharing this with you

because no matter what you going through know that God

is faithful. Troubles will come in their droves but

God is faithful and He will deliver you from them all!

He was faithful yesterday, He is faithful today and He

will still be faithful tomorrow!

His faithfulness will outlive us all!!

Because He is faithful your darkness will turn to light.

Because He is faithful everything will turn out alright.

The enemy will not win over you because of God’s faithfulness!

You will have a testimony because of His faithfulness.

Because of His faithfulness your posterity is blessed!

 

It will take all of eternity

to write of God’s faithfulness so as I close my hope is that you

will get a revelation of God’s faithfulness in your life.

I hope the very few stories I have

shared will encourage you to rely on His faithfulness in your hard

times. In the dark know He is faithful.

His faithfulness might not manifest itself in the way we expect and

the time we expect but know this, He is faithful!  That truth is

irrefutable! Have a blessed day friends…….

 

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