It was evening, Jesus and His disciple were on a boat, sailing across the Sea of Galilee to the country of the Gadarenes. In the course of their voyage, there was a great windstorm that troubled the water violently and large waves emerged and were breaking into the boat such that the boat was becoming full and they were in danger of sinking. The disciples set to work, trying all they could to save the boat and their lives. But their effort did not pay off and the danger of their sinking was obvious to them.

However, Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And Jesus woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Afterward, He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mark 4:35-41; Matthew 8:23-27, Luke 8:22-25)

You and I most likely would’ve reacted the same way the disciples reacted in that boat if we were there. However, here a few lessons the disciples most likely learned and we too can learn from their extreme sailing experience:

1. God has a solution for every storm in life.
2. ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).’
3. Faith enables us to tap into God’s supernatural power to overcome any storm that will rear its ugly head in our lives.
4. Even though Jesus is with us, we aren’t immune to problems, challenges, and unexpectedness.
5. God knows and sees the storm before they occur in our lives but, we must call (pray) on Him to respond to the storm.

My brothers and sisters, Jesus already knew His disciples lacked faith hence the reason He took them on that very wet instructional journey. He wanted to use the event of the storm to teach His disciples about faith because He knew that in order for them (including us) to lead their lives as Christians they would need faith to propel the gospel message and to withstand the wave of persecution that was yet to come.

I pray this message helps someone today who is presently in the middle of storm and if that’s you remember that faith doesn’t always take you out of the storm, faith reminds you who has the power to calm the storm.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#FaithInTheStorm

Faith doesn’t always take away the pain, faith gives us the ability to handle the pain!

I betcha I didn’t get a whole lot of amens after reading this statement, but l wanted to remind you (including myself) that God never wastes pain. Meaning, the Lord always uses the pain of our trials, struggles, failures, heartaches, and adversity to accomplish His ultimate will, plan, and purpose.

Here’s something else to remember, our greatest good and God’s glory are not mutually exclusive: that is, God does not allow us to suffer for His benefit alone. Rather, our greatest good and God’s glory are mutually inclusive: consequently, if the ultimate emphasis is not God’s glory, then it cannot be for our greatest good; and our greatest good cannot be achieved without ultimate emphasis on God’s glory. I believe Paul hit the proverbial nail on the head in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

The pressing reality of everyday life is that yes, pain hurts, but only a gracious God who is in complete control of all things can bring out a transcendent good from pain, hurt, and sorrow. Subsequently, because God is sovereign, the Christian’s hope is that no pain ever escapes from God’s control, and thus, suffering is never for nothing.

The Christian’s encouragement is that no pain is ever random or meaningless; instead, God only allows what He wills, and He only wills what is for our benefit. After all, it is only the God of the Bible who can make dry bones breathe again, bring existence out of nothing, and light out of darkness. Additionally, let us never forget that God does not delight in afflicting and grieving His people; rather, He delays as long as the honor of His name and the safety of His people will permit. Psalm 34:18 reminds us that, “God is near to the broken-hearted and He saves those with a crushed spirit.”

If you or someone you know is going through the fire please encourage with these words! God doesn’t waste our pain, grief, or heartaches. Romans 8:28 should uplift all of our spirits because it reminds us that, “God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#FaithIsNotPainless

Life was never meant to be easy. The truth is the older we get, the harder life gets. Nobody on this planet has life figured out completely and nobody gets through life easily. We all have struggles, heartaches, backaches, and headaches. Granted, we may not have the same struggles, but we all have our own things to get through. We deal with sickness, loss of loved ones, financial problems and so many other things and it is never easy. We all have to go through school and graduate and find jobs and try to figure out what we want to do with our lives and who we want to spend it with. We often worry about the future and we attempt to predict what the future holds, but that is impossible and something that only God knows.

The only real certainty that we have as followers of Christ is that we never fight our battles alone. Before Moses led the Israelite across the Red Sea he too had to be reminded of this fact confirmed in Exodus 14:14, “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

I get it and I know that at times life’s challenges can be so dire that we come to the absolute end of ourselves, unable to see a way through. But we have a saving grace in our God, who hears our cries and is mighty to save. I Peter 5:10 reminds us that, “…after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you”

At the end of the day, in every life situation, good or bad, we have to learn to trust God. When life is good and everything is going right, we often forget to thank God for what He is doing in our lives and giving us the good things. The moment that things take a turn for the worst or we run into obstacles, we go running to God asking Him for help and pleading for Him to lead our path. Instead of doing this in difficult times, we should be running to Him at all times, no matter if they are good or bad, this will strengthen our relationship with Him. Therefore, I encourage you today not get discouraged when times are tough. Always remember that anything is possible with God, He will get you through the hard times if you let Him. Continue to trust in God and don’t forget that faith doesn’t always take you out of the problem, faith takes you through the problem!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#GodIsWithYou

Father God, You are in control over everything and nothing is impossible for You. You transparently see every infinitesimal detail of my life, and You and only You can redeem every part of my earthly and heavenly stories. Holy Spirit, I freely invite You to fill me with Your limitless strength, stamina, power, and save me from my emptiness, weariness, and brokenness. Do what only You can do in me and through my life. In Jesus’ name who can do exceedingly and abundantly above all that I could ever ask or think through the matchless power that resides in me. Amen and amen!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#PrayerIsOurWeaponToWin

It’s not a coincidence that listen and silent are spelled with the same letters. I heard it said that, “God gave us mouths that close and ears that don’t… that should tell us something.”

Listening for God involves quieting our minds and muting out the noise of this world so that we can give our full attention to what God wants to tell us. This reminds me of when Jesus spoke to a tumultuous storm on the Sea of Galilee. He quieted all the noise with the simple words “Quiet! Be still!” Mark 4:39 NIV.

In reality, there is no magic formula when it comes to hearing God’s voice. Listening to God’s voice comes by focusing on our relationship with Him and not the world. If we are only going to Him for answers when we are facing a crisis, or need guidance on an important decision, we may be too frustrated, angry, or flat
out exhausted to clearly hear His voice.

Now don’t get me wrong, we often seek God’s presence with our worries, our desires, and our frustrations because He expects for us to bring it all to Him. God truly wants us to lay all these things out to Him so that He can speak through our circumstances, conversations with others, our thoughts, music, books we read, beauty in nature- the list is endless. But one thing will always hold true- His voice always stands up to His word aka the Bible!

Undoubtedly, God wants us to know Him. He wants us to hear what He’s saying to us so that we can live according to the perfect plan He has for our lives. We will never understand everything God is doing or saying, but we can learn to trust Him in all circumstances by knowing that He is always trustworthy.

Because of that, we can begin to live a life in a way that enables us to hear Him, but first we must start from the presumption that He loves us and wants to communicate with us. My brothers and sisters,
thank God for choosing to make Himself known to you! Invite Him to remove the noise of this world and teach you how to hear His voice. And then wait patiently for Him to speak.

God wants your relationship with him to deepen over time. The more you approach Him, the more you will get to know Him, trust Him and recognize His voice.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#WhenGodSpeaksWeListen

We all face challenging situations that should hold us back. Sometimes, what’s in front us appears bigger, taller, wider, and stronger, and it’s easy to become intimidated and live in fear, thinking that we can never overcome it! But the Scripture says and I paraphrase, “Because you belong to God, He has already defeated the enemy” (1 John 4:4).

Undoubtedly, our God is greater and what stands against us has already been defeated. God is not in the heavens fighting with the enemy, trying to free us, heal us, deliver us, promote us, elevate us, or favor us. The battle has already been won two thousand years ago. When Jesus rose from the grave, He defeated death and everything that was created by the enemy. He cleaned the slate once and once and for all. The writer of Hebrews says, “He rendered the enemy powerless” (Hebrews 2:14). Another translation says, “He brought him to naught,” which means zero. It wasn’t even close. It was a shutout and shutdown battle!

Here’s some more good news, when you know your God and what He’s done, that He’s already defeated the enemy, that He’s taken away his power, that He’s brought him to below zero, you’ll be strong, confident, and courageous. You won’t be moved by opposition, you won’t fall apart when trouble comes, you won’t give up because somebody did you wrong. You know it can’t stop your purpose or your assignment! You’ll not only possess supernatural strength, but you’ll do great exploits in the power of Christ that compels you! Believe this, you’ll take your family to a new level, break addictions that have held you back, and accomplish dreams that are bigger than you could ever imagined.

My brothers and sisters, garner this perspective: Whatever enemies you face–enemies of fear, discouragement, depression, addiction, sickness, suicide, anger, or insecurity–have already been defeated. Therefore, when the enemy comes roaring do yourself a favor; ignore the frivolous roars! Don’t believe his lies. When those thoughts starts to circulate, take them captive (I Cor 10:13) and give him the thumbs down 👎🏾sign. Remind him that he has no power over you. He has already been defeated. Because you belong to God, you will walk in victory. You will live and not die. You will prosper and succeed and you will reside in God’s presence, purpose, and peace in the midst of any storm, trial, or circumstance! God has never lost a battle and He’s not about to start with yours! His record is flawless and yes, He is undefeated!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#TheEnemyIsDefeated

Beloved of God, when we enter God’s presence with praise and thanksgiving, He enters all of our circumstances with Power.
When God enters the scene, miracles happens and the greatest test of faith is when we don’t get what we want, but we’re still able to say, “Thank You Lord.”

Psalm 100:1-4 says, “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”

Gratitude is an often overlooked virtue we should cultivate. If thanksgiving is how we respond to God’s goodness in our life, gratitude is what we feel in the depths of our heart even when things aren’t the way we planned. Gratitude is the well by which we can draw authentic expressions of thanksgiving.

Let us all simply thank God for carrying us through all of our worst days and our best days.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#gratitude

Beloved of God, when we enter God’s presence with praise and thanksgiving, He enters all of our circumstances with Power.
When God enters the scene, miracles happens and the greatest test of faith is when we don’t get what we want, but we’re still able to say, “Thank You Lord.”

Psalm 100:1-4 says, “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”

Gratitude is an often overlooked virtue we should cultivate. If thanksgiving is how we respond to God’s goodness in our life, gratitude is what we feel in the depths of our heart even when things aren’t the way we planned. Gratitude is the well by which we can draw authentic expressions of thanksgiving.

Let us all simply thank God for carrying us through all of our worst days and our best days.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#gratitude