4GIVEN

You will not be defeated by your storms because the God in the storm is your protector, waymaker, sustainer, and deliverer.

When we are going through a storm it can be difficult to cleave to all of the promises we’ve learned throughout the sunny days. Mainly because we short term memory disorder. We conveniently forget that storms are often used to compound what we learned when everything was going right. The truth is we need storms to help us activate or reactivate faith. As uncomfortable and painful as stormy seasons are in your life, they undoubtedly grow us and stretch us for your good and God’s glory!

Here are few of passages to chew on about faith in hard times, to help you get through the storm. Try using these in your prayers, place your name in each one and let them, minister to your soul as you declare and remember that He is God in the storm:

1. “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.” Isaiah 43:2 NLT
2. “Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him, and He will act.” Psalm 37:5 ESV
3. “I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born, says the Lord.” Isaiah 66:9 NCV
4. “He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings, you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Psalm 91:4 NIV
5. “My soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from Him, He alone is my rock and my salvation.” Psalm 62:1-2

My brothers ad sisters, storms have a way of reaffirming what we know in our hearts. Storms have a way of opening or ears. And they also help to build a solid foundation to say with confidence that He is God in the storm and He will never abandon us.

Beloved, if you are journeying through a storm right now, remember you will not be defeated. I encourage you to put your hope in God. Look at it this way; we put our hope in so many other things. We put our hope in houses, in cars, in money, in relationships, in jobs. And when a disaster comes and takes all those things away, we are reminded that the only proper place for our hope is in God alone.

There is no viable substitution for hope because when it comes to hope, the Scripture says, hope in God alone. And the reason we can do that is because of what He promises to bring out of our sufferings. Romans 8:18 tells us, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

One thing is certain, the God in the storm will always speak to us in the storm if we are quiet enough to listen. C.S. Lewis writes, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains. It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

Life can be viscous and unfortunately when we get knocked down so does a piece of our faith. The stench of fear and defeat permeates our spirit and we start to doubt what we believe. Getting up and fighting back after a knock down isn’t always easy and sometimes it feels darn near impossible, but never mistake a knock down as a sign of weakness, rather it’s evidence of your humanity. There are several men and women in the Bible that were knocked down but later got back up to fight the good of faith (I Tim 6:12).

Oftentimes our lives takes a hard tilt, and the effects are tantamount to being thrown face down to the ground. The circumstance is devastating, the pain excruciating. Try as we might, in that moment it is difficult to grab hold of any semblance of joy or hope.

The apostle Paul wrote, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck [knocked] down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9). We rejoice that, because of Christ, we are not crushed, despairing, forsaken, or destroyed.

Peter sharply drives home this reality as well when he says, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). The ordeal is fiery, and it does come upon you. It packs a knockout punch.

Whenever a boxer is delivered a hard blow that knocks him to the floor, the people in his corner shout, “Get up! Get up!” While his opponent stands on the ropes celebrating, thinking the fight is over. In that moment, the down boxer starts to mentally scroll through all he’s been through up until that point, and all the people who love and motivate him. Like a jolt, he’s up before the count of ten — and is back in the fight.

My brothers and sisters the enemy’s goal is to devour (1 Peter 5:8), but the Lord’s goal is to grow us in faith, trust, and endurance.

If I am speaking to you, I know that you’re not in an actual boxing ring, but perhaps life has delivered you a massive blow to your jaw. Maybe people you thought were friends stabbed you in the back. Maybe your marriage or job have been in trouble. Maybe people you trusted have talked about you badly. Maybe you’re hurt and disappointed because something didn’t go your way. Maybe you’ve been hurt by situations beyond your control. Maybe your life is currently filled with pain and regret.

Well, if you have been adversely impacted by any of the things listed above, I want to encourage to get up and fight back. Your story isn’t over and it’s not time for you to throw in the towel. God has more work for you to do and before you leave this planet you fulfill the purpose God birthed in your belly even before you were conceived in your mother’s womb!

Get up!! Get up!! Get up!! It’s time for you to fight back and never forget, “greater is He who is in you than he who is in this world (I John 4:4).”

I have found the deepest level of worship is praising God in spite of the pain, thanking God during the test or trial, and trusting Him when all I want to do is throw in the towel and give up!

Refreshingly, my worship to God is more than just a song—it’s a learned lifestyle! My worship is all about continuously glorifying God everywhere and every time, even after the music ends.

My worship has taught me through good and bad experiences to place my hope, faith, and love in God even when I am at my wits end, at my lowest, darkest, weakest, and saddest.

Once timelessly spoken, I too have learned to appreciate that storms don’t come to stay, they come to pass and that seasons are always seasonal!

Jesus admonished the Samaritan woman in John 4:23, “The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

If you agree with any of the words written in this devotional, I invite you to worship God on deeper level and remember that worship is a response not a reaction. It is never a work performed for God to gain His favor. Our response is to render our service to honor him because he is worth it and we recognize we have nothing without Him.

How do you know you’re a product of God’s grace? Well, before we answer this question let’s explore a few definitions:

Grace is – God’s unmerited favor.

Grace is – God’s sufficiency or God’s fulness in the life of the believer

Grace is – Costly

Grace is – exhibited clearly in the atonement of Christ on the cross

Grace is – Portrayed in the lives of believers

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10, “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain.” Here we find Paul recognizing that he would not be where he was had it not been for God’s grace. He recalled the person he used to be, but he obviously chose not to allow his past to discredit the dispensation of God’s grace working in and through his restorative life.

Brothers and sisters, Satan wants you to look at your sin and he wants you to believe you’re a product of sin. Whereas, God wants you to look at His Son and know that you’re a product of grace. Paul didn’t allow his prior sins stop him from responding to God’s call on his life.

With that said, let’s now answer the question. In a poem entitled, A Product of Grace, Andy Wood penned these words:

I am a product of grace.

No measure of performance could ever achieve in a lifetime what the grace of God performed in an instant.

No failure to perform could erase what the Spirit of God has completed for all of eternity.

I am a product of grace.

No nod of any human’s approval could compare with the fulfillment, the joy, the wonder of knowing my Heavenly Father has turned His face toward me.

No amount of mortal rejection can change the fact that my Lord God has made me accepted in the Beloved.

I am a product of grace.

No sin of the past, no matter how grave, can resist the transforming power of a Risen Lord.

No future failure can change the fact that I am an heir of God, a joint heir with Jesus Christ.

I am a product of grace.

No situation, no pain, no frustration can rob me of my hope.

No force without or within can deny or change the fact that I am a new creation in Christ –
that every old thing is passed away and everything has become new.

I am a product of grace.

And grace never sleeps. It never gets tired or weak, old or crippled. It’s as new as the sunrise, and as powerful today as it was the first Easter.

Grace is my testimony and I its trophy. There is never a time when grace is not
covering my sin or revealing me as God’s work of art.

I am a product of grace.

And I have a story to tell. Once I was lost, but now I’m found.

Marvelous!

Once I was blind, but now I see.

Infinite!

Once I was afraid, now I am at peace!

Matchless!

I am what I am.

That’s grace. But I am not yet what I will be. That, too, is grace.

Oh, how amazing!

Grace.

Yes, we are a product of grace and it calls for an appropriate response from each one of us.

I read the caption on this pic Sunday morning and I was immediately convicted to write about the four principle embedded in this message. Here are four questions I asked myself:

1.) How many times have I made unsubstantiated assumptions? 2.) How many times have I misjudge a situation before completely understanding all the facts? 3.)How many times have I retaliated and not felt the pain I subjected or inflicted. 4.) How many times have I spoken out without given any consideration to the weight and sharpness of your words?

Let’s be honest, we have all struggled with at least one or more of these negative reactions in our lives.

Prayerfully, this message will help you to differentiate between the appropriate response rather than an inappropriate reaction.

Let’s begin with the first reaction listed above and we will go from there.

Before you assume:

Truth be told, it is very easy to make assumptions without even realizing it. We have the propensity to make assumptions based on appearances, things said, things seen, from what we hear, and incomplete statements. Do you realized that making assumptions about others reveals more about what’s in your heart than it does about the other person? Assumptions reflects us, they uncover what’s inside of us. Case and point assumptions opens the door to self-righteousness, gossip, bitterness and fuels pride and anger. Proverbs 18:2 exclaims, “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.”

Before you judge:

If I had a dollar for every time someone said the bible says don’t judge! Well, John 7:24,51 sets the record straight. V24 says, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” and V51 says, “Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing…”

Before you hurt someone:

I don’t think God can make it any clearer! Romans 12:19 is relatively easy is to understand. Paul said, “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD. Now, Before you insert the knife in your neighbor’s, chest, first imagine inserting that same knife your chest. Does this sound painful? Just because someone wrongs doesn’t give you free reign to clap back at them and it certainly doesn’t mean God is going to repay them with the same pain they caused you! Remember, God don’t do evil. In fact, He may love on that person until they see the error in their ways enough to repent. Never forget, God chasten with love not hate!

Before you speak:

Now for the camel’s back breaking nail. We all need to tame the dragon that sits behind our ivory bars. Now this scripture we articulate correctly but we under value its importance. Proverbs 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death.” In your spare time read James 3:1-12. However, In verses 9-12 we recognize that the inconsistencies of the tongue is rooted in its source. Additionally, Paul zeroes in on the sins of the tongue in Rom. 3:13-14: “Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps [venomous] is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness….”

In closing, the right response will always lead to healing. Proverbs 16:24 says, “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones”

I believe that in all cases, it does us good to give every person the benefit of the doubt. It is something I continue to learn. As I grow closer to Christ, I realize that not everything is as it appears. Even if some may call me naive or dumb because I like to see and think the best of everyone, I’d rather be right with God and please Him than to please man. God has commanded us to do good to others and love them without reproach. Staying away from making hastily reactions is just the beginning to loving our neighbor. In His response to what is the greatest commandment Jesus said in Matthew 22:36-40, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Jesus is coming back!

Jesus Himself made it clear as mud that we will not know the date nor hour of His return. He stated in Matthew 24:36, “of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

With that said, the Bible makes it equally clear that those who have the Holy Spirit living in them — that is, those who believe in Jesus as Savior — can understand the nature or signs of the times that mark His return (1 Thessalonians 5:2-6).

Let’s topically look at a few signs and wonders that points to Jesus’ second coming.

The first obvious indicator is the ‘signs of society’ (Matt 24:37 & 2 Tim 3:1-4), the second is the ‘signs of technology’ (Daniel 12:4), the third is the ‘signs of world politics’ (Ezekiel 35,37,38 & Daniel 2:36-41), the fourth is the ‘Spiritual signs’ ( 1 Tim 4:1-4), the fifth is the ‘signs of nature’ (Matt 24:8 & Luke 21:11), and the last for this topical discussion are the ‘signs concerning Israel’ (Luke 21 & Zechariah 8:4-8).

Bottom line, Jesus is on His way back to deal with rebellion and sin before setting up His Kingdom on earth. It is God’s merciful and loving nature to let us know beforehand when He comes in justice and judgment to give us a chance to repent. 2 Peter 3:9 explains, “God does not wish that any should perish but that all should be brought to repentance.”

For those who know Christ, you are sealed for the day of redemption (Eph 4:30), but if you’re on the fence and not sure what to believe, I encourage you to seek Him out, look for Him in the Bible, learn about Him through His Word. Even if you don’t like to go to church, read His Word and ask Him to show Himself to you in it. He is there for all to find and know, all you need to do is seek Him out in it. His majesty is around you in the trees, the stars and the entirety of the universe but all of that is His creation, it is the Creator that you should worship and He is available to those who diligently seek Him.

Please hear me, if you are not ready for Christ’s return, you have a decision to make. If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Savior, then heed Mark 1:25. “The time has come…the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” Believe in Jesus, God’s Son, and have everlasting life.

Whenever a situation is uncertain and I’m not exactly sure if a thing is God’s perfect will and whether He’s going to work it out or not, I’ve learned to pray this prayer: “Father God, whatever happens, Lord, You’re still in charge and You’re still God, and if things don’t work out just the way I expect or the way I hoped or the way I was driving or pushing for, if that’s not what You want me to do, if You have some other idea and You’re going to accomplish something maybe even better, or maybe teach me a lesson I need to learn, or whatever Your purpose is, Lord help me to just do what You want me to do!–‘Not my will but Thy will be done!'”–Luke 22:42

The reality is God is sovereign and ultimately we will do what God has ordained us to do and commissioned us to do, whatever it is! In Exodus 19 we find the Israelites chillin in the wildness at Sinai. In verse 3 the bible says Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God and God spoke to Moses these words found in verses 4-6, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”

Although their commitment was short lived , the men and women responded in verse 8 the following, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded…”

Had the people maintained their assurance in God when times got tough and did exactly as God had commanded perhaps that entire generation would have made it to the promise land and experienced the unexpected joy that was prepared for them while they were chillin in the wilderness.

Brothers and Sisters, Nehemiah reminds us in cho 8 verse 10, “The joy of the Lord is our strength” and when we choose to wait on God’s timing and trust in the finish work of the cross, we will receive from God the gift of unexpected joy.

So, if you have lost your joy this season, or life has dumped its worst on you, turn to God. I can tell you with 100% certainty that He sees you and is already coming to help you, He will hear you when no one else does, and He loves you beyond what you can imagine. Trust Him. He will be there for you, delivering joy in unexpected ways.

The joy of the Lord is my strength simply means that having faith in God’s promises gives strength to those battling adversities. It is God’s promise for a brighter future which gives us inner peace and joy, because we know He never fails to keep His promises.

Unfortunately, we are not privy to God’s exact timeline and I know it can be frustrating when we experience setback after setback. I know some of you are at the point where you believe that you’re overdue for a win because you have taken enough losses. If I am speaking to you through this message, the good news is your greatest blessings are always in front of you and your time is indeed coming!

I get it, waiting for God’s blessings to manifest is not for the faint at heart. Usually it requires a lot grit and in the book of Acts we can certainly learn how to stay in the game by gleaning from Paul and Silas reactions to their pain and suffering. Both of them demonstrated how shifting their focus from pain to hope will usher in God’s perfectly grafted and choreographed blessings.

When they were stripped, beaten, chained, and jailed, they did not cry out to God, but instead rejoiced, worshiped, and sang. They celebrated the ‘in due season’ knowledge that God’s promises to them would be fulfilled despite their current situation.

This supernatural response demonstrated their unwavering faith in God and trust in His word as they anticipated His blessings that were yet to come.

My word of encouragement for you is to stop recoiling during seasons of adversity and start anticipating that God’s promises will manifest and be fulfilled by praising Him for what is yet to come and by remembering these words: “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary” Isaiah 40:31.

Today, make a conscientious effort to turn your right now blues into tomorrow’s blessings by falling into the arms of the God that knows, sees, and cares!!

“All that’s required is that you really believe and do not doubt in your heart” Mark 11:23.

Bestselling author and national speaker Jim George said, “It’s not how you start that’s important, it’s how you finish.” Do you remember the fable about the tortoise and the hare? If so, you know that the hare started the race with an extra measure of confidence and so midway of the race he decided to take a nap. When the hare awoke from his mid-race slumber, he found the tortoise, slowly crawling but steadily, across to the finish line, thus winning the competition.

Let me ask you this, “Are you the over-confident hare or the slow and steady tortoise?”

You know at the beginning of the race it didn’t look too good for the tortoise but the one thing the tortoise didn’t do is quit! With that said, too many people today believe that if it starts bad, it will most likely end bad and they foster this ideology that undoubtedly contradicts scripture. Hebrews 12:1-3 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

When bad things happen, we really need to stop saying, ‘Welp, that’s the end of my story’! God is the One that authored our story (read Psalm 139) and because He penned every detail of our life including the times we’ve messed up and if His indelible grace and undeserved mercy covered us in those times, they will always cover us no matter how bad life gets!

All of this is made possible through the finished work of the cross. We should have posses confidence like the hare, but the work ethic like the tortoise because through Christ we will all end victoriously. Yes, the story of your life has many chapters and guess what—one bad chapter doesn’t mean it’s the end of your story!!

The enemy wants nothing more than for you to think that you’re defeated and you know what—he is a big ole liar. Satan speaks nothing more than partial truths and a partial truth is the worst lie ever told because it’s a mixture of fiction and non-fiction!

So if you are taking a mid-race sabbatical, the whistle is blowing signaling you to get moving! If you’re working slow and steady, but you’re beginning to loose heart think about what Jesus endured and then think about how his story ended or let me say, ‘ascended’. Jesus’ ascension reminds us where our race is headed. Make note that we are not running a horizontal race, our race is vertical!!

When we think of all that Jesus had accomplished, and all that He and the Holy Spirit are doing in us right now we are given a kind of “spiritual second wind” to keep going, in the Lord’s strength.

Looking back at our fable, isn’t it acutely ironic that both of the caricatures in the story exhibited confidence?! However, the hare’s confidence led him to take a mid-race siesta, whereas the tortoise’s confidence slowly but eventually led him to a celebratory fiesta! At the end of the day, both of them cross the finished line. Therefore, it’s doesn’t matter what happens between the start and the finish line. All that matters is that you cross both!

Pray with me:
Father God, we praise You for the finished work of the cross, assuring and securing us salvation. By your Spirit, we are encouraged, empowered, an equipped to confidently keep living and serving until the day You call us home. We thank you O’ God for perfecting the good work You started in us and for helping, guiding, and spurring us towards the finish line of Your perfect reflection!! In Jesus’ name we pray, amen and amen!

Waiting. I’ve never been a fan. But it seems I have a PhD in the art. Waiting for the results of infertility treatments, waiting for an offer for a job, waiting for a change in a relationship, waiting for a change in life.

And recently, waiting for test results that could mean cancer or mean nothing. Once again, I was in the waiting place, and while there, I wrote this:

I find myself here again, in this waiting place. The place where I know God is sovereign. I know He holds my life in His hands. I know He is there. I know He cares. I know the very hairs on my head are numbered… as are my days.

And yet there is a knot in my stomach and my eyes flicker to the phone. Again. And again. It does not ring. Not yet. Of course, not yet.

But I watch anyway. I swallow. And remind myself of all the things I already know.

Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? (Matthew 6:27, Luke 12:25)

When we’re feeling stuck in the waiting place, our culture says, “Get out of that rut! Life’s too short. Stop the excuses. Do something.” You’ll be told to smile more, care less, be happy, and think good thoughts.

Good advice, but sometimes change is outside our control. Sometimes we’re not in charge. Sometimes we’re stuck, just like Abram and Sarai were in Haran. On their way to the promised land, Genesis 11:31 tells us, “Terah took his son Abram… and his son Abram’s wife, Sarai…and arriving at Haran, they settled there.” Haran wasn’t the promised land. But because of Terah, they got stuck there anyway, and Sarai didn’t have the power to choose to continue the journey. God had to remove a barrier before she could move forward. In their case, Terah himself had to die.

If you’re in a waiting place, know you are not alone. God is right there with you. Let’s pray to Him now.