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

One More Time Again

The other day, after hearing a loud thud, I went into the bedroom to find my husband flat on his face in a tiny space between the chair and the bed. I prayed about what to do, but felt total peace.

My initial reaction was to say, "Well, Beloved, you have gotten yourself into quite a pickle." He was virtually squeezed between the furniture and I was amazed at how he could have gotten into that small space.

I rubbed his back, but could not tell if he was dead or alive. The words of John Denver's song flitted through my mind, "I always thought that I'd see you one more time again."

I wondered if my Heavenly Daddy took His Saint home to be with Him. I internally prepared myself for a new chapter of life and continued to pray about what to do.

"Home alone" was not a state of being that I looked forward to experiencing a second time. I lost one husband when he decided there was no option for us but divorce; and now the husband that God gave me to care for and cherish me was flat on his face on the bedroom floor.

Hearing my voice, my comatose giant stirred and I immediately asked, "Beloved, should I call 911? Are you hurting any place…head, heart?"

His weak response was, "My knee is really hurting me right now."

A knee…well, that did not sound very ominous. I inquired, "May I help you up, or would you like to rest there a few more moments?" As if being squeezed between two pieces of furniture could be comfortable.

"No, I need to get up" was his sweet reply. Helping him to a standing position, I supported his considerable weight on my small frame, but I did not mind. He was still ALIVE.

We staggered over to the side of the bed for him to sit down. He immediately began rehashing what had happened in the last 10 minutes. 

"I woke up with a start from a cramp in my leg and jumped up to work it out. Then, instead of sitting on the edge of the bed to allow the blood to flow into my head, I went to the bathroom.

"As I stood there, I got lightheaded and broke out into a cold sweat. The next thing I remember, I heard a loud thud and I lost consciousness until I heard your sweet voice talking to me."

"How did you fall into that tiny, carpeted space between the furniture?"

"It had to be the Lord, because I could have broken bones, gotten a black eye or hit my head on some piece of furniture or the tiled bathroom floor; but when I fainted, He had me free fall right into the only clear, carpeted space available."

We both shook our heads in wonder and silently praised God for His Fatherly care of His child. "Since I just popped out of bed when my leg cramped, I guess I should have sat down and let the blood into my head before going to the bathroom."

We stared at one another over the miracle we both just witnessed. Our awesome God cared for His beloved Saint through every second of that ordeal, which could have left me a widow.

I greatly rejoiced and clung to my husband and cried. He wrapped his arm around me as he always does and snuggled me into my favorite place in the whole world…firmly protected in the circle of his love with my head resting peacefully on his muscled chest.

Prayer:

Father God, since we are loved by You, I know from experience that losing a mate does not hurt nearly as much as one would anticipate. You walk with us - in us - through every step of the rocky road of recovery. You work out everything to our advantage and You provide for all of our needs: physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and financially. As an authentic Believer, we experience every trial as a grand adventure in You with new people, places, ministries and purposes.

We still have anxiety which attempts to derail our faith, but You give us constant 'hugs' throughout the day to remind us that You are in us and living this experience in union with us. We still grieve our losses, but the tears are healing to our soul. Remind us not to take life for granted. Thank You for Your love and mercy in this case, by allowing me to actually see my beloved husband one more time again.

Thought for the Day:

As we completely surrender our heart to God in prayer, and relinquish our hold on unholy thoughts, words and deeds, we will not be ashamed or anxious, but confident and full of His courage. - Job 11:13-15

A Whole New Life

Read: Romans 5: 6-10

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself." - Luke 10:27

You may be experiencing the worse that life has to offer. Maybe you lost your home, your mate, your child or your job. You may be devastated right now with your stomach in knots, confusion ambushing your mind and no resources to depend upon. Do not attempt to get through these distressing and demoralizing times by yourself. You may put a bandage on the problems, but this is simply a temporary and superficial healing.

There is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). He will walk with you and guide you through the depths of your grief, suffering and uncertainty. There is no other friend that compares to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (1 John 3:1). In Christ, the healing from your loss will be total and complete. If you do not have the Lord Jesus Christ in your life, I want to encourage you come to know Him as your personal Savior. His love will never let you go.

You may think that God could never love you because of all the wrong actions and decisions you made in your life. There are numerous accounts in the Bible where God forgave vile sinners. God loves each person the same. You can be confident of His unconditional love for you (John 3:16). All He wants is for you to believe and cease your sinful behavior (Matthew 21:32). Then, He will reach down his Father’s arms and pick you up and hold you until your fears and pain are gone (Psalm 68:5). The Holy Spirit will restore your life to sanity, stability and order if you will follow His leading moment by moment throughout your day.

Have the courage to completely release the shredded remnants of your existence and embrace His will for your life. He hears the prayers of the afflicted (Psalm 10:17). He encourages us and listens to us when we cry out to Him (1 John 5: 14-15; Psalm 54:2). He keeps every one of our tears in a bottle and records them in His book (Psalm 56:8). He defends the fatherless, the oppressed and the widow. He removes the terror from our life (Psalm 10:17-18). Surrendering your life to Christ is the first step of faith. If you sincerely pray to release control over your life to God, He will immediately act upon it. The words of your prayers are not as important as your heartfelt motives.

At just the right moment, when we were powerless over sin and our ungodly ways, Christ died for us. While we were still sinning, God demonstrated His love for us by sending His only begotten Son to die in our place. Jesus justifies us by His blood and saves us from God’s wrath. Even when we were still God’s enemies, Jesus reconciled us to God by His death and saved us through His life (Romans 5: 6-10). Once we repent of our sins, God remembers them no more (Romans 8:1; Hebrews 8:12).

Jesus is the only way, truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). We cannot enter heaven through our own good deeds or morally upright behavior. We cannot go to heaven by joining a church, getting baptized or living in a Christian home. Salvation is a free gift from God and there is no way we can boast about it (Ephesians 2: 8-10). Eternal life is free, but only those who believe in and surrender control of their lives to Jesus will receive it (John 3:36).

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I turn complete control of my life over to You. Thank You for forgiving me of my self-centered lifestyle. Thank You for adopting me into Your family. Hold me, protect me, nurture me and comfort me. Reassure me that You have everything under Your control. Thank You for plucking me out of my old lifestyle and giving me this wondrous new life in You. I will live each day in Your will with the knowledge that You already secured for me my eternal destination. Thank You for all you do for all of us each and every day.

Thought for the Day:

God’s love for us defies description, because it is more than we can comprehend.

Abundant Supply

Read: 2 Kings 4:3-6

When the creditors threatened to put the widow’s sons into indentured service, she cried out to God for help. God sent Elisha to meet her need. After 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 directed by the Prophet of God. 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. It is to our advantage to keep our relationships with our family, friends and neighbors open. You never know when God will call upon you to reach out to them in your time of need; or to minister to them in theirs.

What if she went a little further out into the neighborhood and gathered even more pots and jars? Did she limit God’s provision by gathering too few containers? She had no idea why the prophet gave her this command. She may have considered him a little crazy for telling her to do such a silly chore. As we obey the promptings of God’s Spirit and trust Him no matter how silly His directions sound, He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). God gives us the anointing of His Spirit to do all that He calls upon us to accomplish.

Sometimes, I feel too tired to talk to one more person, go to one more meeting or visit one more church prospect. What would happen if I failed to obey the Spirit of God and decided to hide under my covers instead? I would miss the benefits of God’s supply and deny someone else the blessings that God has in store for them. God gives us the anointing of His Spirit to do all that He calls us to accomplish. He gives us the energy to rise up with wings like eagles and soar (Isaiah 40:31).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, 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 more than we need, but He does declare that He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory (Matthew 6:33).