Waiting...

"One day some Aramean soldiers raided the land of Israel and took a young girl captive who became a servant to the wife of Naaman." - 2nd Kings 5:2

As the days in your life pass you by, do you ever feel like nothing changes and instead you're always waiting for something? To meet the right person, a new job, or maybe for a certain problem to go away? I remember telling my friend that life sometimes feels like I'm swimming along the shore of a quiet beach with still waters, waiting and waiting for the right waves to come, but other times, I'm caught in a bad storm and the waters, like for Peter, can't calm down soon enough. But during all these times, when nothing seems to be happening, we're still praying and we're still asking God for certain things to come our way, yet there seems to be silence. It feels like for all of the years we've lived, there are few days that stand out as memorable like our graduation, meeting our first love, getting our first job.

Yet, I have to remind myself how limited my vision is. I only see what I can perceive and am completely in the dark as to what God is doing. Naaman, the man mentioned in the verse above, was the commander of the Aramean army. He was an extremely powerful and prideful man but had been sick with leprosy for a while. By the power of God, Naaman was healed with the help of the prophet Elisha in the Jordan River. It was a day that changed and restored his life, but that single day doesn't sum up all the work God put into it. While Naaman was sick with leprosy in Aram, a young girl was born in Israel and grew up believing in God and seeing the work of His hand through Elisha. When the Aramean army raided Israel, they took this young girl captive and she landed precisely in Naaman's house to work for his wife. It was then that this girl saw her master's illness and spoke about the power of God to this family. This motivated Naaman to visit Elisha and become healed.

God knows what you are waiting for! Even though it feels like nothing changes, God may even be planning on uprooting people, like with the Israeli girl, just to come into your life and bless you! Give it time, the master of the universe is at work and His works are seamless and perfect. Until then, try to wait with hope and peace, awaiting that one day God is ready to show you what He had been working on all along.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, I want to thank You for all of those things You're doing behind the scenes. I pray that You grant us patience and perserverance to wait it out and to never ever assume You're not paying attention. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Remember

"Remember what happened to your ancestors. Who has ever trusted in the Lord and been confounded? Who has persevered in fear of the Lord and been abandoned? Who has called upon Him and not been heard?" - Sirach 2:10

As I was telling you on Sunday, I was very upset about something and felt a lot of pain because I realized that my faith wasn't as strong as I thought it was if I was letting my anxiety get the best of me instead of trusting in God. I should have been more calm but while going through it, I decided to give thanks to God for what He had done for me in the past. I had to keep reminding myself that God has gotten me out of binds before and has come to my rescue time after time. As a matter of fact, there hasn't been anything I've asked Him for that He hasn't given me. Some of those things have come in the way I expected, while a lot of my prayers were answered in different ways which He used to show me how He knows best. Ultimately, what is getting me through is to remember this verse above. Who can ever say that they trusted in God and been let down? Who, when really trying to follow God's ways, can say that God didn't hear them, abandoned them? The only people who I have ever heard say this, are people who have never really realized that the will of God should be their will because His ways are higher than our ways. I heard a preacher say that it is our faith that activates the power of God and although you might see yourself suffering unjustly and stuck in a situation you can't stand, memorize this verse and hold it in your heart. If you hold it in your heart and repeat it to yourself, then you will have hope, and when you have hope, your faith increases, and it is your faith that will let you see the power of God!

Today's Prayer:
Lord, You gave Abraham a child in his old age, You parted the Red Sea and brought Your children out of Egypt, You sent us Your son to die for our sins, and all my life You have been there to show me Your love. Help me to remember You now and Your works when I am weak. Let this memory fill me with the hope and faith I need to wait for Your deliverance. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Look and See

"A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but nothing shall befall you. Look and see how the wicked are repaid." - Psalm 91:7-8

Sometimes in our lives we have to face people and obstacles that come at us really hard. There seems to be no help nor a way out. Imagine the obstacles faced by the psalmist to say that in life, you may see a thousand fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand…you may see all kinds of problems from financial to health issues pile up on top of you, and out of no where, get slammed with even more. But even when this is the case, if you have made God your strong hold, the One in whom your trust lies, nothing will happen to you, no matter what you see happening around you. That's what true faith in God does. The bigger the problem(s) is, the bigger the protection and hand of God, the Almighty.

I'm super stressed right now with a new client at work and I have what seems like an impossible mission to complete by Monday. However, I will keep trusting in God to take care of it for me and I know that come Monday, I will tell you about what God did to resolve this. As I was praying right now about the problem, I remembered this verse and how it says "look and see how the wicked are repaid." It feels as though as big as the problems we face are, if we trust in Him, He tells us to just sit and watch as He does all the work for us. After all, what is impossible for man is possible to God. We have to remember that we, ourselves, can't do anything, but everything is in His hands and all the glory belongs to Him. The wicked could be someone who is actually causing you a problem now, or it can be a thing that's being a major problem for you, either way *know* that no matter how overwhelming and hopeless it may feel right now, or if you wake up to even more issues tomorrow, you are in the palm of God's hand if you trust Him, and for your faith, He will reward you by letting you witness how He comes in for your rescue. Just look and see.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are the King of all that exists. You brought everything into being and everything obeys Your command. Help me keep my hope in You and see my faith through until the day You show me how You are to answer my prayers. Thank You, Lord, for Your kindness and goodness to me. In Your Name we pray, amen.

When You Are Weak

"My grace is enough for you; My great strength is revealed in weakness." - 2nd Corinthians 12:9

Oprah had a young girl on her show named Kristen Anderson. When she was about 15/16 yrs old, Kristen lost 4 of her closest friends in suicides and accidents. A year after that, her grandma died and shortly after that, she was raped. Needless to say, she was full of despair. She felt alone, helpless and with nothing to live for or look forward to. One evening, she decided to go out to her back yard which was next to some rail road tracks. After seriously considering ending her life, she decided to lie down on the tracks as a train approached. The train came and rail road cars drove right over Kristen. Amazingly enough, she didn't die. Fully conscious, she looked behind her and saw her legs with her brand new sneakers lying a couple of feet away. The train engineer stopped the train and called the cops. The Kristen Anderson that made it to the Oprah show, however, was a completely different person. She was radiant and all smiles as she pushed her legless body off her wheel chair and onto Oprah's coach. Oprah also had another young adult on the show who also tried commiting suicide after his parents divorced. He took a gun and blew off his face, but somehow survived. After about 18 reconstructive surgeries and 6 months in a drug induced coma, doctors have some what rebuilt his face. David also sat on Oprah's couch radiant. The show was about people who had tried commiting suicide but failed. Oprah wanted to show her audience the warning signs and how to help people in despair who see no way out, but I saw another message in the people's stories. These kids had awful things happen to them and they saw no hope, no help. Somehow after their accidents, they both found God and instead of going on Oprah with sob stories, they both told Oprah that they have found the love of Jesus Christ and despite having severe disabilities, they said they were happier than ever. David is now blind and hardly even has a nose or a mouth and Kristen's legs were cut off right above the knees, but in God, they are more full of life than most of us are! We let financial problems and relationship problems keep us down and gloomy but these kids have seen worse, tried killing themselves, and now, when the world would see them at their weakest, they are strongest. Happiness and strength doesn't lie in physical strength and beauty, but it ONLY lies in having God in our hearts. For these disabled kids, His grace is enough because when they are weak, they are really the strongest since their faith is firmly and indivisibly placed on God. We need to learn that God's grace is our only strength, and when things are at their lowest in our hearts, in our souls, prepare yourselves because that is when God really shows His strength!

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, forgive me for not allowing You to be God and for You to be my strength when I feel down and defeated. I can't do it on my own. Favor me with Your grace and give me the supernatural strength I need to get through. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Against Us

"If God is with us, who shall be against us?" - Romans 8:31

I think that we don't take enough strength from our faith sometimes. We believe in God, but a problem in our relationship is dragging us down. We believe in God, but money is scarce and we don't see a way out. We believe in God, but now this sickness has come and it could be the end. Put that faith into practice. If you believe in God, then it is God that has allowed whatever problem to enter your life, and for a good reason which He will use to bless you. This is why, although sometimes difficult, you must remember that God is on your side. Therefore, if God is with you, who or what can possibly be against you? God has got it covered! The work that you have left to do is to pick yourself up and have an attitude of victory. Faith is not faith if you walk around depressed until you see your prayers being answered. Faith is faith when although things look very bad, you walk around knowing that God Almighty is on your side and nothing will or can defeat you.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, You are powerful and You are good. Help me to always remember this so that when I feel weak, I know that You are all the strength I need. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Number Your Days

"A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but nothing shall befall you." - Psalm 91:7

My parents were involved in an accident today on the highway that left behind a 6 car pile-up and leaving the car behind them flipped over. Thanks to the grace of God, my parents are ok. It's at moments like these that our faith is tested and moments like these that we see that the power of God and His protection are real. We come and we go during our day without any concern as to whether it could be our last or that in any second our entire lives could change. In Psalms, King David told God to help him number his days so that he could always give thanks to God for each day of his life and to always put Him first since we don't know how long we have. My parents know how to number their days, so day and night and many times in between, they pray to God, give Him thanks and ask for His protection. These verses that I pass on to you every day are not just old scripture, they are the living breathing Word of God…so, when the psalm says that you will see a thousand fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, yet you, who put your faith in the Lord are unharmed because you have the protection of the Almighty God - you better believe that and live your life giving thanks to Him!

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, thank You for Your love and protection. Thank You because my parents know Your Name and give You thanks day and night. Thank You for keeping them safe despite terrible accidents that lurk around them. You are the living God and in You alone I will put my faith and hope for the rest of my life. Help us to always, always number our days. In Your Name we pray, amen.

All Things

"I can do all things in Him who strengthens me." - Phillippians 4:13

What are the problems that hold you down? What are those huge mountains that you see in your way, impossible to climb over? What are those burdens that weigh down on your chest at times, always worrying you about your future and how things will turn out?

Saint Paul was a persecuted man. He traveled among pagans teaching them a radical new belief knowing he would get laughed at and possibly killed. He had no money, no family, no possessions that were really his. All he knew was that he could do ALL THINGS in Christ who strengthened him.

If Paul depended on Christ for his very life, why can't you depend on Christ for your finances? For your future? For your health? For your happiness? You can do all things in Christ who strengthens you because our God is infinitely bigger than that mountain that blocks your vision. So when you're down, when you're sad, when you can't seem to figure a way out, repeat this verse to yourself and make sure you believe it. You will be amazed at how God works it all out for you because you believed. Never worry, He is with you.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, I get nervous but You are victorious. My problems weigh me down but there is nothing I can't achieve with You by my side. Give me the optimism to call on You day and night so I can fulfill the plan You have for me. I know I can do all things in You. In Your Name we pray, amen.

God Will Never Let You Fall

"Place your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you, for He never allows the upright to fall." - Psalm 55:23

I'm a huge worrier. A couple of months ago, when I thought something was going to go wrong at work, I would freak out and let myself get overworked. But the closer I got to the Lord, the more I learned to trust Him. Now, when deadlines are approaching and things don't seem to be going my way, I am relaxed because I just know that some way, some how, the Lord is good and He will work it all out for me. This is something the Lord wants to do for you as well if you give up your trust to Him. Your burden could be your job, your financial situation, health, school, family or your own emotional problems. No matter what it is, if you give it unto God, He will take care of it. You can rest assured. It says here that God will never ever allow for the upright, those who follow Him and pray to Him, to fall. You could see everything going against you - King David wrote it psalms that his enemies were closing in on him, yet no matter how close danger got, no harm ever came upon him. You could see yourself at the very bottom, but the Lord won't allow it to go any further. The key here is to be upright. Look for the Lord. Give Him the time He deserves. Watch your life and do what is pleasing to Him. Do away with the things you know the Lord is against and He will look with favor upon you. Trust in Him for no matter what you're going through, He takes up your burden. He sustains your life. He will never let you fall…never.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, thank You for sustaining my life through all of my trials. You give me life and take care of me. Throughout everything I can never say that You have let me down. I love You, my Lord. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Nothing Will Be Against Us

"What shall we say after this? If God is with us, who shall be against us?" - Romans 8:31

This is a verse of victory through adversity. As you know, I was sad yesterday but thanks to your prayers, I have been uplifted. It's so easy to forget the power of God when we're going through trials and even easier to overlook it when our faith is lacking, but that does not change the truth - if God is on our side, who can defeat us/ what can hurt us? I can see myself up to the neck in trouble, but that's as far as it will go because God is on my side. He protects me for I know His Name. If He watches out for me in the small things, the power of His hand is astonishing in the big things. Nothing can ever hurt us if we cling on to Him, even though in this life, trials occur at every corner. This should be a reason for hope. He is with you to protect you against any evil, any fear, any worry. Rely on Him for health problems, rely on Him for financial problems, emotional problems. Anything, He can and will overcome if you truly trust in Him.

One of my readers wrote me today and told me how she was going through some financial difficulties, and without even asking for it, she was offered a job and she starts on Monday. She told me, "God is good!" She expressed how she just decided to trust in Him and now she has seen His care for her. There is nothing too big or even too small that the Lord Almighty can't deliver you from! Praise Him for He really is good and deserves our deepest adoration.

Today's Prayer:
My Lord, forgive me for not being more grateful for the way You take care of me. Thank You for reminding me that with my eyes fixed on You, nothing can EVER harm me for I am protected by Your love and faithfulness. In Your Name we pray, Amen.