God Can Handle It

Are you feeling oppressed? Does it seem as though the entire world is against you? Are there specific persons or organizations who are not treating you well? Is it a general feeling that the world is off kilter? Who have you turned to for help? Have you turned to anyone for help?

We may be oppressed and not realize it. There may be people who do not like us and do not want to see us succeed. There may be organizations who simply do not want to help us. We may feel like no one is on our side, that no one cares. But that is not true.

When we feel overwhelmed, oppressed, put down, or discriminated against, we can always turn to God. In fact, that is exactly what we should do. When we are in trouble, whether of our own doing or someone else’s, we need to turn to God for help. Sure, we should still reach out to people we know who can help. We should continue to do the best we can to find assistance ourselves. Yet, the most important thing we can do is reach out to God.

God can move mountains. He can calm the sea. He can stop the wind. He can stop the storm in its tracks. Spending time in prayer, asking for God’s help, and trusting him to come through is the best thing we can do. We know that God will never turn his back on us. He will never forsake us. He will never leave us hanging. He will never allow us to walk alone.

So, if you are facing troubled times, reach out to God. He will answer you. He may not answer in the way we want nor expect. But God has a plan for you that is better than you have for yourself. Trust him with whatever is troubling you. God can handle it.

I pray we all turn to God during times of trouble. I pray we seek him out when we feel overwhelmed or oppressed. I pray each one of us will trust God to handle whatever situation we find ourselves in. Turn to God. Ask God for help. Trust God. Know that God can handle it.

Psalm 9:9-10

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, 

a stronghold in times of trouble. 

And those who know your name put their trust in you, 

for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Work with God

Yesterday, we talked about facing our giants. Let’s continue that discussion by continuing to look at how David faced Goliath. He did not run out to battle Goliath haphazardly. He had thought it through. He remembered his battles with lions and bears while protecting his father’s flock of sheep.

David used his experiences of previous battles. He had learned lessons from those previous battles. He applied those lessons by formulating a plan to go against Goliath. Though King Saul had given David his armor and sword, they did not fit, and they hindered David from being able to move fluidly. David discarded them.

Young David knew he needed to be nimble. He needed to be able to move quickly. So, he threw off what would hinder him from doing so. David had used his sling to take on the lion and the bear. His sling was not like we know today but was a long leather cord with a pocket in the middle. David would twirl the sling around a few times to build momentum, then release one side of the leather cord to allow the pocket to open and the stone to be slung toward Goliath.

The most important thing David did was put his faith in God. He knew his experience. He had thought through it. But he still relied on God to guide him and give him the victory. We can take this same approach to defeat our giants. We can learn lessons from previous encounters, whether successful or unsuccessful. We can apply those lessons for the current battle while trusting God to guide us. This is how we work hand-in-hand with God to defeat our giants.

I pray we all learn lessons from our previous battles with giants. I pray we trust God to guide us every day. I pray each one of us overcome our giants by working hand-in-hand with God. Learn lessons from your experiences. Trust God is always with you. Work with God. Defeat your giants.

1 Samuel 17:45 But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

Overcome Your Giants

Have you ever seen a giant up close? Do you experience giants in your life? Do they seem to be overwhelming? Is there a giant taunting you now? Are you battling a giant now? Have you battled giants in the past? How have your battles turned out?

We all face giants at times during our lives. They often involve other people. Sometimes those other people are merely spectators. At other times they are the giants we are facing. Often our giants are giants because of the situation we find ourselves in.

Goliath was a massive man. He stood roughly nine feet tall. This at a time when the average height of a man was less than five feet. So, Goliath appeared to be even taller to them than he would to us today. He was extremely strong when compared to the average man of the time. That made him a man to be feared. It is no wonder the Israelite army was trembling in his presence.

Our giants may not be a person that stands nine feet tall. Yet, they are no less giants. They are a huge obstacle that stands in our way. We have a choice to make. We run away or decide to overcome them. If we decide to overcome, we need to be like David. We need to trust in God to help us overcome them. We cannot do it on our own. But God can ensure we are successful at overcoming the giants we face.

I pray we all face the giants we encounter in life. I pray we trust God to be with us as we face our giants. I pray each one of us ask God to be with us so we can overcome the giants in our life. Trust God. Ask him to be with you. Know that he is. Overcome your giants with God’s help.

1 Samuel 17:4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

Power of Blessing

What does a blessing mean to you? Is being blessed by someone a big deal to you? Do you bless others? Do you believe blessing someone can be powerful? Do you know blessing someone is a form of prayer?

We do not practice blessing others much anymore. There was a time when blessing someone was quite significant. We see a variety of situations in the Bible in which one person blesses another. The belief was that by blessing someone you not only gave them your blessing but called down God’s blessing on them as well.

There are examples of fathers blessing their eldest or favored son, such as Isaac blessing Jacob. There is a call to bless those who are sick by praying over them and anointing them with oil (James 5:14). A blessing typically included laying hands on the person to bless.

We may have seen someone being blessed by the laying on of hands and being prayed over in church. It certainly happens when someone is ordained or commissioned as a missionary. Again, the belief is that we call God’s blessing onto the person. It is a type of prayer since we cannot command God but ask God to pour out his blessing on the person. Perhaps we should bless people more often.

I pray we all believe that blessings are powerful. I pray we lay hands on people and call God to bless them. I pray each one of us will look for ways to bless our brothers and sisters in Christ, calling on God to show his amazing power to save all of us. Bless someone today. Ask God to bless someone. Ask God to save someone. Know that God can save.

Psalm 20:1-2

The LORD answer you in the day of trouble! 

The name of the God of Jacob protect you! 

May he send you help from the sanctuary, 

and give you support from Zion.

Open Hearts and Minds

How open is your heart and mind? Are you open to seeing and hearing the truth? Are you seeking to discern the truth among the rhetoric, half-truths, and lies? Or is your heart hardened and your mind refusing to discern the truth? Are you willing to have a change of heart?

We see and hear a lot of rhetoric, half-truths, and outright lies. Artificial intelligence is used to create video and sound bites that appear to be real. People speak half-truths to pull us in so that we might believe the lie that underlies the small tidbit of truth they used.

We see many instances in the Bible in which the people’s hearts were hardened. Many of us will immediately think of Pharoah, but Jesus referenced the hard hearts of the people in the first century. Because of their hard hearts, they could not discern the truth He was speaking and teaching. They could not see the underlying truth He spoke through the parables.

How well do we see or hear the truth Jesus was (and is) speaking? We all approach the Bible with biases. Some of those biases were taught to us when we were children, and we continue to carry them decades later. Unfortunately, those biases are so ingrained that we refuse to open our hearts and minds to see and hear the truth. In some cases, we are just as blind as the Pharisees who were leading the people of Israel (Matthew 15:14).

How do we open our hearts and minds? We discard our biases to the degree possible. We remind ourselves to read God’s Word for the purpose of discovering the truth, setting aside what we think we know. If we do that each and every time we read, we can slowly divest ourselves of our biases and see God’s truth.

I pray we all seek to set aside our biases when reading God’s Word. I pray we take our blinders off. I pray each one of us will read God’s Word with open hearts and open minds, seeking the truth. Take the blinders off. Set aside your biases. Seek the truth of God’s Word.

Mark 4:33-34 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Sowing Seeds

Are you amazed when you look at nature? Have you ever wondered how seeds become beautiful flowers? Do you ever wonder how a little acorn becomes a large oak tree? Are you in awe of how much corn or beans are produced within an acre of land?

As adults, we may not be quite amazed as we should be. Children are amazed to watch plants grow in their classrooms. They jump for joy when the first bit of green pokes up through soil. It brings us joy to see the joy on their faces. We may wish we had the same joy.

Jesus says that we scatter seed, sleep, and the seed grows. We don’t know how. This short parable, though referencing seeds sown in the ground, is referring to seeds of the gospel sown. We can sow seeds of the gospel all day long, and never know how they will grow. The Apostle Paul says one plants and another waters (1 Corinthians 3:7-8). Each of them receives their reward.

Sowing seeds of the gospel is not difficult to do. It simply requires us to give credit to God, thank God for his blessings, tell others we are blessed by God, dropping small kernels of the gospel along our way. We cannot make the seeds grow. God will make them grow (1 Corinthians 3:6).

The seed will sprout according to God’s plan and by his hand. It will continue to grow as God works within the person. The full grain will ripen for the harvest over time. At the right time God will reap the harvest. We are the harvest God will reap, taking us to be with him for eternity.

I pray we all sow the seeds of the gospel. I pray we give credit to God for his blessings. I pray each one of us look forward to the harvest and spending eternity with God. Sow the gospel seeds. Know that God will cause the growth. Look forward to God’s harvest. Look forward to eternity with God.

Mark 4:26-27 He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.”

Restart Button

What would you like to put behind you? Are there parts of your past you would like to forget? Do you get tired of people bringing up your past? Would you like to be able to hit the restart button? Do you know the restart button is available to you?

Some parts of our past are not pleasant. There may be portions of it we would just as soon forget. We may grow tired of being reminded of the mistakes we have made in the past. We may desire to have a clean start, the ability to move on.

The Apostle Paul tells the Corinthian church they have been made new. By accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they have become a new creation. He reminds them that the past is the past. His words encourage them to move on, leaving the past in the past, and walk in their faith in Jesus.

His words should also be an encouragement for us. We should read and internalize his words. Even if others bring up our past, we can allow it to roll off like water off a duck’s back. Though the past cannot be completely erased, we can stop it from defining who we are. We can move forward in a new way. In fact, we should move forward with newness and pep in our step.

The old saying that we cannot change the past, but we can change the future is true. But we can only do that if we live in Christ as a new creation. Some of us accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, taking it seriously and fully welcoming Him in our lives. Others have only partially done so, holding on to their past and reverting to their past.

Jesus has provided us with an opportunity to let the past go. He has given us an opportunity to hit the restart button. We are a new creation in Him. We need to believe it. When we finally accept it, we can and will step out in our faith and refuse to let our past define us.

I pray we all realize we are a new creation in Christ. I pray we leave our past behind. I pray each one of us will step out in our faith, hitting the restart button, and never turning back. You are a new creation. Put your past behind you. Hit the restart button. Step out in faith.

2 Corinthians 5:17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

Confident Faith

How confident are you? Are you confident in your life? Are you confident in your job? Are you confident in your relationships? Do you walk in your confidence? Or is it all a façade? Do you merely put on a good face to convince people you are confident and have it all together?

Being confident can be challenging. Sometimes, there is a fine line between confidence and cockiness. Walking that razors edge can also be a challenge. Many people have struggled to walk that line, often going beyond confidence to cockiness only to fall hard.

Here is the question we all should be wrestling with. Are we confident in our faith? Faith requires us to believe in God though we cannot see him. Faith requires us to trust that God is in control when everything appears to be out of control. Faith requires us to stand firm in the promises of God, even when our culture tells us they are fake news.

Confidence in God can be scary. When we step out on the limb of faith, Satan will send a hurricane force wind to knock us off. He will shake that limb as hard as he can. He wants us to give up our faith. Yet, when we hold on to that faith, we will see God do amazing things. We will be part of him doing them. He will use us in accomplishing them.

Walking by faith can be like walking around our house in the dark without a light. We know where things are. We know how many steps from the door of our bedroom to the bathroom door. We know how many steps down the hall before we get to the staircase. Yet, when we cannot see, it can be intimidating. But faith carries us through those situations. Faith carries us through the storms of life. Continue to be confident in your faith.

I pray we all are confident in our faith. I pray we trust in God’s promises. I pray each one of us will walk by our faith rather than by sight being confident that God is in control at all times. Be confident in God. Be confident in your faith. Trust God’s promises. Know God is in control.

2 Corinthians 5:6-7 So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Anointing

What do you know about anointing? Have you heard of anointing? Have you seen someone be anointed? Anointing is not something we see much anymore. We especially do not see it done in the same way it was done in Biblical times with oil. Yet, it does happen.

To anoint someone is to consecrate them, to set them apart for God’s purpose. We may see this today during an ordination ceremony of a pastor. The ceremony may or may not use oil. They will almost certainly include laying on of hands and prayer.

When Samuel anointed David to be the next king of Israel, he poured oil over David’s head. He also likely laid his hands on him and prayed over him. Samuel would have asked God to guide David in all he did; to give him strength, courage, wisdom, and discernment to carry out God’s will and lead the people of Israel.

As we see in Scripture, God poured his Spirit upon David. This is a rare instance in the Old Testament in which we see God’s Spirit come upon someone and stay. The prophets of old typically only had the Spirit come over them for a short period of time to give them the message God wanted spoken to the king or people of Israel. David had the Spirit with him for the remainder of his life.

Though we are not anointed in the same way, we are baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Much like David, God’s Spirit comes to live within us. We may feel the Spirit come upon us during our baptism, especially if we are baptized when we are an adult. It can be a transcendental experience. And, like David, we can listen to God’s Spirit for his guidance.

I pray we all know that God has poured out his Spirit. I pray we know that God’s Spirit lives within us. I pray each one of us seeks to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow his guidance. God has poured out his Spirit. God’s Holy Spirit lives in you. Listen for the Holy Spirit. Follow his guidance.

1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

Grief is Difficult

Have you grieved over someone? Have you grieved over someone who God had rejected? Did you know that God had rejected them? Did you know they had rejected God? Were you able to move on? Did you hear God encourage you to continue to do the work he had set aside for you?

Grieving is difficult. It is different for each person. It can be more difficult if we are grieving a family member who did not accept Jesus as their Savior. We can blame ourselves. We can feel guilty for not doing more to convince them to accept Jesus as their Savior.

Samuel was probably grieving partially for Saul and partially for himself. He likely felt guilty that he had not done more to convince Saul to change his ways. Yet, there are people, no matter how hard we try, who will never accept Jesus as their Savior. It is disheartening. It is frustrating. I’m sure Samuel felt those feelings as he was grieving for Saul. In fact, he may have been grieving over Saul long before Saul died.

Yet, God urges us to move forward. He has more for us to do. We cannot change the past; we can only seek to change the future. God had a plan for Samuel to anoint the next king for Israel—David, son of Jesse. Samuel had a task set before him. Perhaps God gave Samuel the task to get him to move on. God may do the same thing for us.

Though we may grieve, we also must move on. Moving on does not mean we forget the person we are grieving, but it means we recognize we have additional works to complete. We understand God has more for us in his plan. We continue to look toward the day when we will meet God face-to-face and seek to hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

I pray we all grieve when we need to. I pray we move on from the grief when God urges us to. I pray each one of us know that God has a plan for us, and we continue to work for him. Grieve when needed. Know when to move on. Know God has a plan for you. Continue to work for God.

1 Samuel 16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”