Wait A Bit More!

What are you waiting for? How long have you been waiting?

Waiting is not an easy thing to do. It actual is a big step of faith because you are giving up your control so God can be in control.

I love how Psalm 27:14 describes waiting on God,

“Wait patiently for the Lord.

Be brave and courageous.

Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”

Words like, be brave, be strong and courageous are used. That should give you an idea of how hard it is to wait.

But I want to encourage you to keep on waiting. No matter how long you have been waiting, no matter the obstacles, the closed doors and unanswered prayers you have faced, keep waiting on the Lord. Don’t throw in the towel. Keep standing in faith that God will come to your rescue.

He will come through for you.

He will answer your prayers.

He will breakthrough on your behalf.

I would like to share a scripture that encouraged me this week

“I waited and waited and waited some more, patiently, knowing God would come through for me.

Then, at last, he bent down and listened to my cry. He stooped down to lift me out of danger from the desolate pit I was in,

out of the muddy mess I had fallen into. Now he’s lifted me up into a firm, secure place and steadied me

while I walk along his ascending path.”

Psalm 40:1, 2 TPT

Wait a bit longer friend.

God will come to your rescue. the word says, “AT LAST, he bent down and listened to my cry.” (emphasis mine)

It may seem like nothing is happening right now but things will change. He knows exactly where you are.

Don’t give up. God is good and He is faithful. He will not abandon you.

He knows you are waiting on Him so He will not waste your wait.

As you wait on Him be confident and assured that He has got you. Stand strong in faith as you wait on Him.

If you don’t know, I unveiled my book cover of my latest book this week.

It is almost finished so in the meantime

I created a free version (teaser) of my upcoming book. If you would like to get a copy of it please click here to get it.

And after you read it I would really love to hear your thoughts on it.

Bless you friends

Rolain

Hold On

You need to hold on to God’s promises because He has so much in store for you. He has amazing things lined up for you. But it’s the standing in faith that is not as easy as it seems. It’s a fight to hold on to what God has promised you.

It’s our responsibility to do the hard work of standing on God’s truths and promises for our lives in the face of attack and opposition. It won’t be easy. We will fall and fail numerous times but we must always get back up and dig our feet deeper in our faith in God. Because He will fulfill and bring to pass what He promised us, period!

I think of Abraham and Sarah who held on to God’s promises. They held on to His promises despite the challenges they faced and the challenges were tough. But in all that they didn’t give up and lose heart. Even when they fell short, they still got up and dug deeper in their faith in God. And as they did that they received what God had promised them.

So as I come to the end of this post I want to encourage you to keep holding on to God’s promises in the face of opposition and attack. It’s going to be a fight for sure but even when you fall make sure to get back up and dig deeper in your faith in God, even when you haven’t seen the answer to your prayers yet, and when you haven’t seen the breakthrough because God is faithful. You will receive what God has promised you!

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!

No Matter How Bad Things Get, God Is With You.

I was having one of “those days” a few days ago.

You know, those days your faith is low and things don’t seem to be

happening. My prayers didn’t seem to be getting answered and for a

little bit, I thought God didn’t care. I actually thought He was ignoring me!

But later that day, the answer to my prayer came and God proved once again,

He can be trusted. I don’t like it when I doubt God and when I do it makes me

wonder. But I guess that’s part of the downside of being human. We are not

perfect and we make mistakes and that’s why we need a Savior, Jesus.

As I journaled the events of the day I penned these words, which are the title

of this blog post,

“No matter how bad things get, God is with me”

And it’s true. You may be having a bad day but I want to encourage you with this

truth. In the bible we see this truth in action.

In Luke 7:12-16 we see Jesus arriving to a city called Nain and there is a funeral procession

happening. A woman has lost her only son and she is going to bury him. Things are

really bad for her but at that moment, she meets Jesus. I don’t believe it was an accident

Jesus being there. I believe He went there FOR her. He wanted to help her at her lowest point.

And He did just that. He raised her son from the dead and gave him back to her.

When things were at their worst for the woman, Jesus stepped in and turned things

around for her.

So even when your hope and faith fail, remember, Jesus doesn’t fail.

He knows what you are going through and there is no problem you go through, that

God doesn’t see. Trust in Him no matter what happens.

Bless you friends!

Rolain

When will the Lord answer us?

Is this the day?

Is this the day the door opens?

Is this the day my prayers are answered?

Is this the day I get my breakthrough?

 

The truth is I don’t know the day but that’s not the point. The point is to be expectant.

The point is to put your hope in the Lord. Today could be the day but if it’s not keep trusting,

Keep declaring, Keep doing, fully confident the day is coming.

The question is no longer, “will the day come” but “when is the day”.

 

The enemy will try to deceive you into believing the day won’t come. He will try to make you believe

the sickness is permanent, the lack is permanent, the broken relationship is permanent, the addiction

is permanent, the list goes on and on but he is wrong.

Your answer to prayer will come, it might be already here, the sickness will leave, you are healed,

what the enemy stole will be restored, poverty will be broken off your life…..I think you get the

picture.

 

Mephiboseth was a cripple and didn’t have much going for him. As a baby his nurse fled with him but

in her haste she dropped him and he became a cripple. He didn’t have a say in the

matter. (2 Samuel 4:4) Talk about an unfortunate circumstance.

But when all was lost something pretty amazing happened.

 

“The king said, Is there not still someone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the [unfailing, unsought, 

unlimited] mercy and kindness of God?”

2 Samuel 9:3

 

There is nothing Mephibosheth did differently to get the kings attention. No one went to the king and

appealed on his behalf, no. He was a nobody in one instant and in the next he was eating at the

king’s table! And that is why we must live a life of expectancy and faith.

I don’t think Mephibosheth had any idea his life would change so drastically. But as sons and

daughters of the King we can be expectant. A life without hope is death. What David did

for Mephibosheth is a picture of the Father’s heart I believe. We don’t deserve His goodness, grace

and mercy but He has given it anyway.

Like Mephibosheth the Lord can do the same thing and more. We need to be expectant always.

 

 

Expect YAH to move in your life today.

Expect an answer to your prayers.

Expect healing, expect deliverance, expect breakthrough.

The Lord is faithful. He won’t let us down.

Have a great weekend friends……

 

Rolain

 

 

 

When nothing seems to be happening, keep praying…..

“And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is

heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his

name John.”

Luke 1:12, 13

 

This scripture spoke to me deeply today. As I read it something jumped

out at me. Something I didn’t see before.

We know the story of Zacharias and how he didn’t believe the angel Gabriel.

We know because he didn’t believe he would not be able to speak until his son

was born.

 

But there is something else in that story that we need to see and learn from.

 

“Do not be afraid, Zacharias for your prayer is heard; “

 

Zacharias had prayed for a son! His wife was barren and well advanced in years (doesn’t

that sound familiar??)

 

“And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances

of the Lord blameless.

But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.”

Luke 1:6, 7

 

The word doesn’t tell us how long they were praying for. All we know is Zacharias prayer to YAH

for a child was heard!

 

That really encouraged me to keep praying! Time has passed but that doesn’t mean YAH has

forgotten about me.

It doesn’t mean He has forgotten about US!

He has heard our prayers……period!

Why it hasn’t come to pass yet, only YAH knows. But don’t lose hope, don’t give up.

People may be talking about you, and looking at you funny because your breakthrough hasn’t

come yet but hold on to hope. Yeshua will come through for you.

John’s mom Elizabeth said something amazing during her pregnancy;

 

“Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take

away my reproach among people.”

Luke 1:25

 

The Lord took away her reproach among the people. There was a time when people looked

down upon her because of her bareness but that all changed when YAH heard their prayers

and answered them!

 

He will take away your reproach! You may be looked down upon because you haven’t got your

breakthrough but it is coming. Keep on praying in faith and EXPECT an answer.

Zacharias prayed for a child but after some time stopped believing he would receive the child.

Let’s trust YAH no matter how hard it gets. No matter how hopeless it seems keep on praying and

believing you have your answer.

 

I want to share one more amazing scripture before I close;

 

^“And Mary said, My soul magnifies and extols the Lord,

And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

For He has looked upon the low station and humiliation of His handmaiden.

For behold, from now on all generations [of all ages] will call me blessed and

declare me happy and to be envied!”

 

That is the God we serve friends. He doesn’t enjoy seeing you being humiliated.

In the place that you are right now, He will answer you.

In your low station keep praying. Trust Him to come through for you.

Bless you friends…..

 

Rolain

 

 

 

When the woman put her trust in God…….

“Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel

grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”

And she said, “let your maidservant find favor in your sight.”

So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer

sad. “

1 Samuel 1:17, 18

 

This story is very close to my heart. Hannah’s story encourages

me every time I read it.

I want to touch on something that I noticed as I read her story

again.

 

How many of us can identify with Hannah? She was trusting God

for a child. In the meantime she was been ridiculed and verbally

abused by Peninnah. How hard that must of been.

 

Let’s look at another important point.

 

“This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice

to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh.”

1 Samuel 1:3

 

The bible doesn’t tell us the exact amount of years they went to

worship. All we know is that Hannah couldn’t have children.

But every year she went to worship and every year she had to deal

with the onslaught of words from Peninnah. That must of being so

hard to deal with.

 

But there is something I want you to see.

When Eli spoke to her she did something amazing. Let’s look

at the scripture,

 

“Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel

grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”

And she said, Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.

So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer 

sad. “

1 Samuel 1:17, 18

 

“She went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad”

 

That act really spoke to me.

She believed the word. She had faith she had her answer and

changed her attitude and behavior!

 

I haven’t been doing that enough.

I should live with an attitude of faith.

If I am going to receive what God has promised me

there has to be a change of heart, there has to be a change of attitude,

and a change of behavior. I can’t have faith and walk around like nothing

is going to happen. I can’t have faith in God and live like God hasn’t

heard me. That was such a powerful revelation for me.

Hannah didn’t hesitate when she heard the word.

And look at what happened when she did that,

 

“Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the 

Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. 

And Elkanah knew his wife, and the Lord remembered her.

So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived 

and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “

because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

1 Samuel 1:19, 20 (emphasis mine)

 

Not only did she change her attitude and behavior but she

worshiped the Lord with her husband!

Worship is so important in the life of a believer.

In her mind her prayer had been answered and that’s

why she worshiped the Lord!

I don’t know about you but that blows my mind.

What are you worshiping God for today?

If you have your answer worship!

If you don’t see your answer still worship!

We need to live a life of worship.

We don’t just worship when we get stuff,

we also worship Him because He is God!

 

What did their worship sound like?

I think they were worshiping the Lord for giving them a child.

They were worshiping Him because He heard their prayers.

That is amazing.

 

Even the words she spoke changed!

Her faith in God had an impact on what came out of her mouth.

Your faith should be spoken out, friends.

You can’t speak negatively and say you have faith.

You can’t speak negatively and see your breakthrough!

The way you speak must change if you have faith.

You should be worshiping the Lord for the great things He has done for you!

 

As I close I would like you to think about how you are speaking?

What is your attitude and behavior like?

Are you complaining, are you talking about how things

are not going to workout or are you speaking out what you believe?

 

And that is my challenge to you today friends…..

 

Bless you

 

Rolain

 

 

When you don’t know what to do…….

 

I have come to a realization! What I thought God had planned for me is not what God has for me!! I have been holding on to something I thought was from God but really originated from my own mind! This week I surrendered that plan to God which means I don’t know what God has for me in the next season of my life! I have nothing to fall back on. It’s all or nothing! It’s crazy because I felt secure because I had a plan. I was confident and had no fear. But everything has changed. It has all changed because of something a friend said to me a few days ago:

“The best position your heart can be in, is where you don’t know what to do!”

At first I was like, what????? But upon further meditation I realised how deep that statement was. It is in that position that we get on our knees and seek the Lord for answers and clarity!

It is in those times of “I don’t know” that God shows up!

We grow the most in those times because we are desperate for answers and direction.

“Desperation is a native language in heaven”……,.

 

The best example that comes to mind is found in 1 Samuel 1. We are introduced to a women named Hannah. She didn’t know what to do. The Lord had not given her a child and she was being ridiculed by her husband’s second wife Peninnah. How hard it must of being. Her pain drove her to tears constantly! What was she thinking? Did she have it altogether? I don’t think so. But in the midst of her pain, in the midst of “I don’t know” she sought the Lord and the Lord heard her!

Remember this:

The best position your heart can be in, is where you don’t know what to do!

If you know everything why would you need God???

If everything made sense all the time would you really need God???

If God showed you everything He had planned for you and I mean everything would you still seek Him???

I realised something, not knowing is not a bad thing. In fact if we are to grow in God we need MORE of those times! I am now in a place where I don’t know what to do or where my life is going but I know God is good and that is what matters. I trust Him to guide me! Even though I don’t know, He knows!

If you are confused about some things in your life, if you have no idea what the answer is to what you are going through then turn to Him! He allows us to have those times so we can seek Him and get deeper into Him! He is so good……..

Rolain

P.S      Please pray for me as I will be traveling to Botswana tomorrow! I will be in Gabarone for a music tour with my church. We will be there for about five days. I truly believe God wants to show me something new and everytime I travel is an opportunity to see. So I want to see what He wants me to see. This is a time to get refreshed in His presence because I will be in a different place! Please pray I have a safe journey. And pray I will be impacted by being in Botswana! I would really appreciate your prayers!

 

 

Is Your Life Balanced?

There needs to be a balance in our lives. A lot of Christians like to get stuck in one truth and that’s all they ever see. Some of us get stuck in prosperity or giving, or faith forgetting the other important things that make up Christianity. We need to strike a balance in our walk. It is not one or the other thing but it is all those things that make us successful.

 At bible school the lecturer made a very interesting observation. He said a lot of Christians pray and pray but don’t praise. He then told a true story about a traveling pastor who was sick. Every where this pastor went he asked people to pray for him but nothing changed. His sickness remained. One day the pastor went before God and asked Him why he was still sick despite the countless prayers being offered for him. God showed him a vision of measuring scales. On one scale was praise and the other was prayer. The scale which was prayer was filled and it far outweighed praise. God then told him that the reason nothing was happening was because there was no praise in his life. The man began praising God everyday and within no time he was healed of his sickness completely!!! That is the power of prayer and praise. The two go hand in hand.

Let me show you this principle in action in scripture. In Acts 16:23-36 we read about Paul and Silas.

In verse 25 up to 26 it reads, “but about the middle of the night, Paul and Silas were making prayers and songs to God in the hearing of the prisoners;
And suddenly there was an earth-shock, so that the base of the prison was moved; and all the doors came open, and everyone’s chains came off.
Notice, they prayed first but only as they praised God did the deliverance come through. A lot of the time we have prayed and prayed but with no answer while God was waiting for us to praise Him! There is power in prayer, no doubt but there is also power in thanksgiving and praise.

For another example we are going to look at 2 Chronicles 20. In verse 2 we read how Jehoshaphat got some disturbing news about a great army coming towards him. In his fear, he prayed to God for help. But notice that he didn’t get his deliverance then. The Lord answered his prayer but he didn’t get his manifestation then.  The manifestation only came when he praised God! The enemy still advanced after he prayed but it is only when he praised that the deliverance came.

It is the same with us. We should pray, we NEED to pray but it should be coupled with praise! Is your life balanced? Is your scale balanced? This is for all of us. I know that my scale is not balanced. My praise and thanksgiving is very low but I want it to increase!

Praise is acting like we have the answer – David Divelbiss

I have been so challenged by this word, I hope you have too. Let us practice praying and praising. Our praise is an act of faith towards God. It is our praise to God that releases our faith! Prayer is powerful, praise is powerful but together you become unstoppable!

God bless

Rolain

 

Thoughts and Feelings About 2012.

I have been thinking about this year. It has had good parts and bad and it wouldn’t be fair if I just focused on the good. There are things that I see that I know I could of done better and there are things I should of left well alone. So this post as hard as it is to write is about my failures. I realise that God has given me so much but I shouldn’t take them for granted. I will be accountable for the talents and opportunities I haven’t taken.
I am only going to touch on a few of the failures in the hope that as I read over them over time I avoid making the same mistakes.

The first thing is about the way I see. I have missed some important opportunities because I failed to see. Let me explain what I mean.
The church called for a prayer on the 12/12/12. This was a very significant day but I didn’t go because I had just finished doing a Christmas Production and 3 days of intense teaching. But because I was “tired” I missed out on meeting with God. I missed out on declaring things over my life and my church. I was so convicted. I failed to see that by going I would meet with God. I listened to my flesh and it robbed me of something precious!!!

The other opportunity I missed was when I travelled to Malaysia. I was given some spending money on the last day and instead of using it to pay off my trip I spent it on clothes and the like!!! Again, my flesh got in the way!! I felt so bad. How could I not see that opportunity?! There was an opportunity to put the money towards the trip but instead I used it on myself!!!

I started working at a coffee shop about 3 months ago and I have been lazy to work on my own company! I have seen opportunities and I know I can do both things but I have been lazy. It is crazy….!
The more I write the more I see how I have allowed the flesh to rule me!

I have a mentor and I felt I needed to speak to a certain man to be a mentor in my life. I have been putting it off for some months now. There are so many qualities that I want that I see in him but I have been procrastinating and I have been taught that procrastination is just delayed disobedience! There are times I wonder how God can use me………

The last thing I would like to talk about is sin. I have allowed myself to get comfortable with sin. There are things I am dealing with which came about by my own foolishness!!! How could I be so blind? There are things that I am fighting which I am really not supposed to be struggling with but am because I was just acting the fool………

This year has been a learning one. There are things that need to change. I am not going to have 2012 all over again. 2013 is going to be better and not because I rely on my own strength but because God is for me! Save me from my own craziness Lord.

I am not usually that raw but I needed to vent. If I can’t be transparent with you then what’s the point????
Please remember me in your prayers.
Rolain.