We have a chance to win…

The fight we are in is not an easy one. The enemies we face are strong, intimidating

and formidable. Their goal is to take us down, to make us fail.

On our own, we are seriously outnumbered and outgunned. Do we have a chance?

Can we win when the odds are stacked heavily against us?

As I look at my own life and the challenges I face it can be intimidating and overwhelming

at times. There are times I can’t see a way out or an answer. There are times I feel

completely powerless and not sure how things will work out but this week

I have been thinking about victory. I believe the Lord has been showing me

I have a chance. Even though the enemy seems like a mountain blocking

my way I believe I have a chance, we have a chance!

No matter how gigantic the enemy is or how impossible our situation is we have

a chance because God is with us. Let’s look at a story that beautifully portrays this,

 

“Now four men who were lepers were at the entrance of the city’s gate; 

and they said to one another, Why do we sit here until we die? 

If we say, We will enter the city-then the famine is in the city, and we shall die

there; and if we sit still here, we die also. So come now, let us go over to the army

of the Syrians. If they spare us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, 

we shall but die.” 

2 Kings 7:3-16

 

The lepers were in a dire situation. They had no weapons,

they were heavily outnumbered and had very limited options but God made a way for

them. Because God was with them the lepers had a chance. With everything against them,

God turned their hopeless situation around for good.

 

We have a chance against the hordes that stand in our way. God will not abandon us.

Have hope because you will win. The Lord will carry you through the valley of death.

He is faithful and can be trusted.

Be encouraged today!

 

Bless you, friends.

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t take your “foot off the pedal”….keep hoping and trusting!

“One day some men from the tribe of Judah went to Joshua at Gilgal. One of those men was Caleb

son of Jephunneh. He said to Joshua, “You remember what the Lord said at Kadesh Barnea. He was

speaking to the prophet Moses about you and me. 

Moses, the Lord’s servant, sent me to look at the land where we were going. I was 40 years old then.”

Joshua 14:6, 7

 

Caleb is officially one of my favorite bible characters now. I get pumped up every time I read

his story. He was one of the spies that was sent out to spy out the promise land and he was one

of two spies who believed YAH would deliver the Canaanites into their hands.

His faith in YAH was crazy!

His story challenged me so much. In Joshua 14, he goes to Joshua to ask for the mountain YAH promised

him all that time ago.  Let me rephrase that, he tells Joshua to give him the mountain YAH promised

him. There was no asking…..

 

The crazy thing about this story is that Caleb was promised the mountain when he was 40 years old.

And at the age of 85 he was ready to take what YAH promised him. (Joshua 14:10) He waited 45 years for

the Lord’s promise. His faith didn’t waver in all that time. He held on firmly to what the Lord promised him.

 

I don’t know about you but my faith is stirred every time I read that. The Lord is faithful and will

not fail to fulfill what He promised us. We need to make sure we don’t give up and falter in our faith.

If you do falter then get back up. Put your hope in the Lord again. Don’t stay down, don’t

stay discouraged.

No matter how long it has been, hold on to your faith. Hold on to the Lord’s promise.

Caleb didn’t let his age stop him from possessing the Lord’s promise.

At 40 his faith was in YAH and at 85 his faith was still in YAH and stronger than ever!

Don’t let anything stop you from trusting YAH.

 

He never gave up or lost hope. He was patient and confident in the Lord’s faithfulness! His trust

was not in himself, no. His faith was in the Lord.

 

“So give me the mountain country the Lord promised me that day long ago. Back then you heard that

the Anakite people lived there. And the cities were large and well protected. 

But now with the Lord helping me, I will force them out, just as the Lord said.” (italics mine)

Joshua 14:12

 

Wow! That faith!

 

It’s not too late. The Lord has not forgotten about you so don’t throw in the towel! Hold on to the promise

even though it seems like it’s not going to happen.

To be honest with you, there were things I stopped praying about but after reading about Caleb I am back.

That’s what the Lord wants, for us to keep holding on to the promises He has made. No matter what people say,

hold on to the promise.

Don’t let go it. The Lord is faithful and will fulfill what He promised!

 

ACT ON IT – Firstly, write down the things YAH promised you.

Secondly, Go boldly to YAH and ask Him for those things you have stopped praying about

Thirdly, Talk to someone about it.

And lastly, Is there something you need to start doing? Caleb’s faith was in the Lord but he

had to go fight. What do you need to do today as a demonstration of your faith in YAH?

 

And that is it friends. Hold on to the promise of the Lord until he brings it to pass. There will be plenty

opportunity to give up but don’t. The Lord is is faithful to us always!

Bless you.

Rolain

The Promise land in Danger!!!

I have been loving the book of Joshua these past couple of weeks. It has been a book in season for me.
I am going to talk about God’s plan for us. We all know (at least I hope) that God has an amazing destiny for us. God wants use us to touch the world. He wants us to be light in this darkness.
I was reading the book of Joshua and I saw something. It seemed insignificant at first but as I meditated on it more and more, the more serious it became.
In the book of Joshua we read about how the Israelite s got into the promise land and began taking what God promised them but when Joshua dies everything changes. The tribe of Judah is the first tribe were we see something strange happening. They have been taking their allotted land but then we read they couldn’t take a certain piece of land because the people in that place had iron chariots!!! (Joshua 1:18,19)
From there we read how one by one the other tribes fail to take the land God has given them and they resort for something way below what God planned for them! They lived with the people they were supposed to destroy and put them to forced labor!! Was that really God’s plan for them? This is what I am trying to get to in this post.
Israel for some reason didn’t take all God had for them. They settled for mediocrity. Were they tired of fighting, maybe? Were they in fear, maybe?
Did they lose heart because the people they were facing were just too strong, maybe? Was God ok with them not destroying the people they were supposed to destroy? No!!!  Look at what He says in Judges 2:1-2,

God’s angel went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you out of Egypt; I led you to the land that I promised to your fathers; and I said, I’ll never break my covenant with you – never! And you’re never to make a covenant with the people who live in this land. Tear down their altars! But you haven’t obeyed me! What’s this that you’re doing? 

They were supposed to destroy the nations. God knew they had iron chariots, He knew they were strong but He also knew He would help His people. My question and challenge to you is this, are you living out everything God called you to do or have you settled for second best because you are in fear. You saw what God wanted you to do but you thought you were not the right person. You thought He made a mistake or you got tired of fighting that you just settled for second best??

Personally I know there is so much God has called me to do but I am not pursuing all that God has for me. It doesn’t matter if the land God has for me has giants and iron chariots, God is with me. It’s the same for you. He is with you to destroy the giants and the iron chariots. The enemy will not give up without a fight!
Let us not settle for a mediocre life. Let us aim for the best God has for us. Don’t settle for second best. Stand up and trust God. I know  God will destroy all your enemies. Refuse second best, refuse, mediocrity! God’s plan for you is worth the fight. The story of the Israelite’s is not our story. Our story is one of victories and enemies being destroyed. Our story has a God end!!! Our story will tell of how we went conquering the enemy and how we lived a life of trust in God and how we accomplished all that God had for us!!!!!!   Amen.

Rolain