God Shall Supply

There is no limit on the ways and means God will use to bless His children. We may go through trials in life, but there is a seed for a miracle in each one of them. They always have some good quality that blesses us in the end.

When the tax collectors threatened to put the widow’s sons into indentured service, she cried out to God for help. She had no idea how God would solve this problem, but she knew He is worthy of our trust and praise.

God sent the prophet Elisha to meet her need. After she followed his directive by collecting every available pot and jar she could find from all of her neighbors, the widow started pouring oil from her tiny oil jar as he directed.

The oil did not stop streaming out until the last jar miraculously filled to the very top. After selling the abundance of oil, the widow paid her bills and spared her sons from a life of slavery for someone else’s profit.

She also had oil for herself, the prophet and her family. What if she told the prophet she was too tired to gather all of those pots and jars? What if she decided not to bother her neighbors? What if she had quarreled with her neighbors and no one agreed to lend her a jar or a pot? She would have missed out on the blessings of God.

She may have considered the prophet a little crazy for telling her to do such a silly chore; but due to her obedience, she received a blessing and saw a miracle from God in the midst of her trial.

As we obey the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit and trust Him no matter how silly His directions sound, He will supply all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). God gives us the anointing of His Spirit to do all that He calls upon us to accomplish.

Prayer:

Father God, sometimes I feel too tired or weary to get out of my chair and obey Your Spirit. I receive the unction to obey when I realize that I would miss the benefits of Your supply and deny someone else the blessings that You have in store for them.

Give us the anointing of Your Spirit to do all that You call us to accomplish. Also give us the energy to rise up with wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31). Thank You that You care for us and already provided for every need we will ever have. Thank You for Your Spirit to lead us every moment of every day in the center of Your perfect will for us.

Thought for the Day:

God never promises to provide more than we need, but He does declare that He will supply all of our needs according to His glorious riches. - Matthew 6:33

God is in Control - Regardless of Circumstances

As our fleshly, carnal appetites decrease, Christ in us increases. Negative emotions, such as: fear, insecurity, anxiety, depression, etc., along with their companion of mental and physical illnesses, decrease in us as well.

We enter God's rest and feel fewer negative emotions. Any negative emotion that does surface is a red flag to draw our attention to some aspect of our life that is overwhelming us or an unresolved conflict.

These unresolved issues paralyze us with fear; they control our thoughts, words and deeds; and they cripple us for the work of the ministry and the quality of our relationships.

As we focus on the presenting emotion, listen to the words in our mind associated with that feeling, and ask God for wisdom concerning the issues causing the emotion, we can find solutions or turn the problems over to God to work out in His way and timing.

God's Word calms our troubled soul, energizes our spirit and empowers our body with health and vitality. We make wiser choices, form more spiritual friendships and enjoy more success in life.

Even if fears and insecurities dog our steps, we learn to trust God's consistent presence in our life. We speak our mind and make sure we have a voice in choices made that affect our life.

There is no reason to fear, because God is always with us. Discouragement holds no place in our life, because He gives us His strength and He helps us. He supports us with His mighty right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

Prayer:
Father God, whenever we are afraid, remind us to put our trust in You (Psalm 56:3). There is no need for us to feel anxious about anything in this life, because through prayer and petition with gratitude in our heart for all You have already done for us, we can present our deepest and most frightening concerns to you (Philippians 4:6).

Then, Your peace, which transcends the issues of life, will guard our heart and our mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). This peace is not the carnal, fleeting peace that the world gives, but the peace of Christ within us. We have no need to feel worried, afraid or upset about anything (John 14:27).

Thought for the Day:

Even when life careens out of our control and we fear for our future, we can still trust in our God who is always in control.

Quietness and Confidence are our Strength

The proud and haughty think only of themselves. They have a superior attitude and demean others in order to make themselves greater in their own sight.

They gossip, backbite and bully people; thinking they are wise and better than anyone else. Some people really believe this, but some are insecure and hide behind this mask (Psalm 131:1).

It is only as we are quiet before the Lord that He can search us and teach us to know our own heart. He tries us and knows our thoughts. He sees the wickedness within us and leads us to His everlasting truth (Psalm 139:23).

Our soul is like a little child within us - frightened, demanding and careless. As we learn to trust in the Lord now and always, we rest in His loving arms (Psalm 131:2-3).

We wait in hope by faith, and God gives us His Son of righteousness as our salvation (Galatians 5:5). We rest in His secure hope and safety (Job 11:18). Courage and strength fill our heart as we hope in the Lord (Psalm 19:7; 31:24).

God is our help and shield (Palm 33:20). We never feel ashamed, even in hard times, because we have patience and rejoice as we pray to and trust in Him and worship His holy name (Romans 12:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:3).

God reveals to us the mysteries of the riches of His glory through Christ who dwells in us, and gives us a living hope of dwelling with Him for eternity (Colossians 1:27).

We do not even have to worry about what we will eat or wear. As He cares for nature, He provides even more for us. Worry cannot add an hour to our life or an inch to our stature. In fact, stress from worry reduces the quality and quantity of our life (Luke 12:22-26).

Only as we cast all of our cares on God's strong shoulders can we truly enter into His rest. He will never let us fall (Psalm 55:22). He is our light, our salvation and our stronghold, so we have no need to fear (Psalm 27:1)

Prayer:

Father God, this world often terrifies us; but the fact that You will never leave or abandon us gives us hope, strength and courage (Deuteronomy 31:6). You hold our hand, help us and redeem us (Isaiah 41:13-14; Proverbs 29:25). You are our refuge, strength and ever-present help in any times of trouble (Psalm 46:1, 118:6-7).

You surround us with Your holy angels and protect us from threats and trouble (Psalm 34:7; 1 Peter 3:14). As we call on You, You free us from all of our fears and You fight for us (Psalm 34:4; Deuteronomy 3:22). Nothing will ever separate us from Your love - not even the power of Satan and all of His demons (Romans 8:38-39).

Thought for the Day:

Whomever dwells in the shelter of God Almighty will rest in the shadow of His wings; we climb into Him as our strong tower and refuge and are safe. - Psalm 91:1-16

We Love God by Obeying Him

Lately, God has been fine tuning my obedience in walking in His Spirit, and weaning me from relying on my own humanistic thinking. The other day, we were doing our quarterly shopping at Walmart, and I felt led to go to the shoe section to look for a pair of pool shoes on sale. 

I immediately thought about my very comfortable pool shoes at home, made by Speedo of the highest quality of materials. Instead of shopping for pool shoes, I spent the rest of the shopping time praising God for my wonderful, comfortable, sturdy pool shoes. 

I felt such gratitude in my heart for God’s provision of those shoes for me. This flowed into praise for His generous provision in every area of my life.

The next day...the very next day...my Speedo pool shoes were stolen at the pool while I exercised!!! This resulted in a week without pool shoes. Reduced to wearing my shower shoes instead, I rubbed bruises in the bones of my toes as I walked in these flip-flops. 

God's Spirit knew about the coming theft, and He wanted to provide for me, but I disobeyed His leading.My disobedience cost me more than a lack of pool shoes; it also cost me intimacy with our Daddy God, and an opportunity to see His abundant provision in action before I ever knew I needed it. 

Obedience proves our love for God (John 14:15); and in this instance, I grieved the Holy Spirit, because of my disobedience (Ephesians 4:30). I am sure God appreciated my praise, but He was attempting to supply my unforeseen need according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). 

I was able to purchase a cheap pair of new pool shoes online and they work great...but I have bruised toe bones to remind me of the consequences of leaning on my own understanding, rather than obeying the direction of God's Holy Spirit (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Prayer:

Father God, many people would believe that this illustration of obedience is straining at a gnat, and that You have more important things for us to focus on than pool shoes. However, the issue in this case was my obedience in walking in Your Spirit, and the shoes were simply a tool You used to teach me this lesson. 

Thank You for providing such a simple object lesson, to prepare me in the future to act more vigilantly in my obedience in every area of my life. As I am in-tune with Your peace and Your Word in every moment of my day, You will lead me by Your Spirit and You will prepare me for every future contingency that I will ever face as I walk in Your will for me.

Thought for the Day:

Obedience is better than sacrifice; or in this case, obedience is better than praising. – Acts 17:11