Surely the Lord is with you

I have been going through a few things lately that have tried to derail and to make me fall. Every day we can be subject to attacks from the enemy. He has traps all around us and he is waiting for the first believer who will get caught in his traps. One of his traps is the one of our negative confessions. I talk about it often. The enemy loves it when we speak negativity and doubt. He loves it when he gets believers to doubt God and to distance themselves from Him. I am learning a lot about the Lord and my knowledge is becoming dangerous to the enemy. Friend, when you grow in knowledge and in wisdom, the enemy gets very annoyed because you can really wreak havoc in his territory. You can jump over his traps and you can walk on solid ground. One thing that you understand is that surely the Lord is with you. Surely He accompanies you and He stands by you no matter what you are going through.

The Lord has been reminding me of His precious presence and of His love that won’t let me fall. The other day I was driving and I kept getting images in my mind of the Lord holding me up. He was holding me above my problems. He was holding me up so high that there was no way any problems could reach me. That is what He wants us to realize. He wants us to know that He is holding us in the palm of His hands so high that nothing can destroy us. We can look at the difficulties from above but we can’t embrace them and adhere to them. We can’t say that the problems will be the end of us and that we won’t make it. We should thank the Lord that surely He is with us supporting us and blessing us. He won’t let anything harm us. He will stand there and guard us when we stay in faith.

Surely the Lord is with you today, friend. He is there to protect you and to see you through. He is there to wipe your tears and make you smile again. With Him you are guaranteed to smile again. I know that sometimes life can be too heavy and too difficult to deal with. Some people go through atrocious situations and I can understand their tears and their fears. There is no doubt that pain and suffering are real. There is also no doubt that Jesus and His indestructible love are real as well. They are more real than our problems and our circumstances. Our problems will go away eventually but Jesus never will. He will surely keep us company and stay with us on this journey called life. Life happens. Problems arise but our Lord Jesus rises up in us through His Spirit and we can face anything.

I find so much comfort in the presence of the Lord. I don’t have to feel Him or see Him. I know that He is there and that He will surely do something amazing for me. All I have to do is persevere in faith and keep going. I have to hold on to Him and keep walking. Nothing can separate me from the love of the Lord and that truth goes for you as well, friend. Jesus is surely rejoicing over you and He has a plan to get you out of your predicament so cheer up. Cheer up and change your sad song into a song of praise. Cheer up and keep your eyes on our wonderful Lord. Cheer up and remind yourself that surely the Lord is with you. You don’t have to sense Him and you don’t have to see Him. All you have to do is praise Him, thank Him, celebrate Him, follow Him, talk to Him and listen to Him. His goodness endures forever. Things are going to get better and they are going to turn around in the mighty name of Jesus! May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Zephania 3:17; Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5

Into the ring of fire

When trials and tribulations are all around you, you might feel like you are in a ring of fire. You might feel like everything is burning around you and you have. No way of getting out. You might think that all the good things in your life are going up in flames. Have you ever been in that ring of fire? I am pretty sure that the answer is yes. I have been in that fire many times and the truth is that I am going to be there again. I am not being pessimistic. I am quoting the Bible. In Psalm 34:19, we are told that “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” Jesus Himself said that in this life we would have many tribulations. We are righteous and we are children of God and we are not immune to problems. That ring of fire is real but it doesn’t mean that we are going to burn up. It doesn’t mean that there won’t be relief and we won’t come out of it.

What we need to do is bring Jesus into that ring of fire. You are probably thinking that Jesus is always with us and He is but our faith has to reach out to Him and help us connect to Him. Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him from them all. It is because we believe that the Lord delivers us. We can easily load up our thinking with all sorts of negative thoughts that distance us from Jesus who is right there with us. We can easily go with the fire and let our hope burn and crash. We have to bring Jesus into that ring of fire and declare that our Lord won’t let us burn. Our Lord is going to deliver us from that fire and we are going to make it. Jesus said that He had conquered the world. That is the truth we need to bring into that fire. That is the wind of change we should expect.

When the three Hebrews were in the fire, the Lord was with them. They didn’t burn. They didn’t perish. There were four people in the fire and not three. Friend, you are not alone in the fire. There are two of you. You are in the ring of fire with the Lord. Bring praise into that ring of fire. Start dancing in the fire. Start celebrating Jesus. There is no better place than wherever you are to celebrate the Lord. Lift up your hands in the middle of the fire. Sing praises and give thanks to the Lord even in the fire. That ring of fire will go away. The fire will stop burning. Your problems will get resolved. You are not going to be in that ring of fire forever but be sure to bring all your A game into it. By “A game” I mean the powerful combination of prayer, praise and thanksgiving. Don’t be intimidated by the fire. Hold on to Jesus in the fire. Hold on to the promise that the Lord is your refuge and an ever present help in times of trouble. That ring of fire is a time of trouble. The Lord is protecting you. Stay strong. Stay in faith. You are going to come out of the fire. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Psalm 34:17; 2 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Peter 4:12-13

Your strength in your weakness

Some days we are stronger than other days. We all have moments of weakness. We are human and it is normal to go through weak times. For me it is when I haven’t slept enough or when I haven’t eaten enough that I experience moments of weakness. When it happens, there seems to be holes in my faith and it is easier for me to bend under pressure. However, God says that in our weakness He is our strength. Take a moment to meditate on what that means to you. Every time you are weak, God is still strong. Every time you have holes in your faith, God is still God. Our weak moments don’t change God. God changes us during those moments. He remains steadfast and He remains faithful. God is God all the time. It is a very simple and yet a very powerful reminder. Your God is God almighty 24/7. If you are experiencing weakness today, I want you to remember that God is your strength. Your weakness doesn’t define who you are. You are still a child of God and God defines who you are. You have all the strength you need to face today. You have all the strength you need to stand and to keep going. Don’t look at how weak you are feeling. Look at how strong the Lord is. 

Stand on 2 Corinthians 2:10. It says “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul wrote this chapter and he was under a lot of pressure. He was persecuted and he faced a lot of adversity. He knew what trials and tribulations were all about. He had problems and difficulties all the time. Yet he knew that when he was weak, he was strong because Jesus was his strength. Jesus was the power behind him. Jesus was the fuel that kept his engine going. Jesus was the cornerstone on which he was built. Jesus was the Savior that gave power to the powerless. Paul wasn’t strong because he had a special power. He was strong because he had Jesus and during those hard times, Jesus was still with him. You have Jesus, friend. He is your strength when you are weak. Just like Paul, declare that when you are weak you are strong. Declare that Jesus is all the power you need. Declare that you are going to make it. Declare that you are made strong by the One who can do anything. 

Problems can make us sick and they can make us sad. Problems can take your peace away and give you internal turmoil. Problems can weaken your faith and leave you empty. You are not going to be able to avoid problems but what you can do is face them with Jesus. Face your difficulties with the problem solver. Hand your problems to Him right away. Don’t stay in a state of perpetual wondering and doubt. Don’t let your weakness get the best of you. Give your weakness to the Lord and He will make things better. Keep turning it over to God. Do it multiple times. Keep doing it until your faith in His strength is stronger. He is there with you and in you. His strength is there. What you need to do is unearth it and let it take over. Let it take over your mind and take over your heart. You have the power of God in you and trust me, His power is sufficient. His grace is sufficient. His love is sufficient. I declare that Jesus is my strength when I am weak. Make the same declaration. Don’t let the enemy dominate your thinking with his lies. You know the truth. The truth is that when you are weak, God is still strong and He keeps you strong. You are blessed and you are favored, friend. This hard season will pass and you will go through it with the power of God. Stay strong! May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Exodus 15:2; Isaiah 41:10; 2 Corinthians 12

Filling your heart with God

I love how God sees our hearts. I love how He knows everything about us and He is after our hearts. It doesn’t matter what we have done and what we have said. He wants to fill our hearts. Not for selfish reasons but for love reasons. He loves us so much and He wants each and every one of us to have Him in the middle of our hearts. It is to our benefit to have Him there. It is in our best interest to have the Lord in our hearts. What we value, we keep in our hearts.Valuing the Lord is the best thing we can do. He is the best treasure we can have and the most precious One. There is no one like God. There is no one as good and as loving as God. Just imagine what we are like when He has filled our hearts. We are filled with goodness and love and we can deal with this life with Him as our source, our resource and our strength. When Jesus is our Savior, He puts love into our hearts. He gently deposits His character and His traits in our hearts. It is up to us to accept Him and to embrace Him. There is a door that guards our hearts and it is easy to keep it closed when we have been hurt, when we have doubts and when we don’t understand the ways of the Lord. 

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”* What do you treasure the most? Is the world your treasure? Do you have more of the world in your heart or more of the Lord? It is a tough question to answer. I know I always want to say that the Lord is everything to me and He fills my heart. My reality is a bit different at times. I am assuming responsibility for the amount of the Lord in my heart and I am working on having Him be my treasure and my priority. How am I doing this? I often talk about taking the time to be with God, taking the time to talk to Him and to listen to Him. Spending time in the Word is crucial and it is wonderful but I have one on one time with God. When you lean and listen, you realize that He has a lot to say. That is how He fills my heart. His words fill my heart. His love fills my heart. His encouragement fills my heart. His peace fills my heart. When I turn away from the world and I fix my eyes on Jesus, my heart gets filled.

We have room in our hearts for God. Our hearts can expand and they can contain more of God. You see, when we let Him in, He makes our house bigger and He extends it. There is only so much of God that we will get to know but we might as well try and know as much as we can. I find out more about Him every time I pray and every time I praise Him. The Bible explains that God inhabits the praises of His people and that is such a powerful truth. Praise brings me closer to Jesus and His presence is made known to me. He touches my heart and He fills it when I praise Him. It is an amazing time. I love praising Him. Praise wipes away the pain and it gives me strength and hope. Praise does a lot. If you are looking for a way to make room for God in your heart, make praise a habit. Sing to Him. Walk in love for Him and through Him. Get the fruit of the Spirit going in your life and He will fill your heart.

“Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid”** said the Lord. Before making that statement He had said that He would give us peace, not the way the world gives peace. His peace surpasses all understanding. His peace is above the peace of the world. When we keep filling our hearts with Jesus through prayer, communion, praise and thanksgiving our hearts don’t get troubled. We have the assurance that the Lord is with us and in us and there is nothing to worry about. A full heart is a heart filled with faith when Jesus is in it. Friend, keep filling your heart with Jesus. Keep filling it with His hope and with His message of hope. He loves you and he wants to be in your heart as much as possible. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Matthew 6:21*; John 14:27**; Philippians 4:7

Through good times and bad times

Through good and bad times God is with you. It is easier to believe that God is there when everything is going well . Through good times we are confident that God is present and we have faith and hope. We are filled with happy feelings and our emotions are in check. Through bad times, God seems far. We lose sight of Him and we don’t understand why He has abandoned us. We focus on the pain and on the problem easily. We feel left out and we feel rejected by joy and peace. We overthink and we get stuck in this endless cycle of negativity and despair. We can get very hopeless through bad times. Bad times have a way of turning off the light of hope that we believed would never go away. 

During the bad times, the enemy’s ugliness is on display and we can get to a place where we are defeated. Bad times are the enemy’s glorious days. He brags about his power and his hold on our lives. It doesn’t have to be that way. We don’t have to buy his lies. We don’t have to follow his lead in our minds. We don’t have to give up and give in. We don’t have to listen to him. Through bad times, God is still with us. Through bad times the Word of God doesn’t change. Through bad times we can still have good times.

The Bible invites us to rejoice all the time. The Bible tells us to thank God in all circumstances. That includes bad times. We can rejoice in bad times. We can be thankful for what we have even if it’s little. The Lord wouldn’t tell us to rejoice in hard times if it were impossible. Friend, the God of the good times is still God in the bad times. Your bad times won’t get the best of you. Jesus is the best One in your life and He will make those bad times better. If you are going through bad times today, take a minute and pray. Take a minute and praise. 

Take a minute and be thankful. Take a minute and declare Jesus King over your life. That is a major key. Jesus is still Lord during the bad times. We have to impress that upon our minds and let that truth blossom and bear fruit in our lives. The bad times can seem like they will last forever but the Lord will put a stop to the madness. He is with you and He is for you. It doesn’t matter who is against you. Jesus is your protector, your healer, your defender and your Savior through good times and through bad times.

Today doesn’t change who Jesus is. Today doesn’t strip the Lord of His ability to bless you and to help you. Times change but the Lord’s faithfulness doesn’t. Get back to where you have no doubt that the Lord is still sovereign. Go up the ladder of faith today. Those bad times are stepping stones and with your faith you will not only overcome them but you will crush them with hope and joy. Faith is very powerful. Even a tiny seed of faith can produce miracles. Declare that you have enough faith today despite how you are feeling. It is not about how you feel. 

It’s about what God says and He says that your mustard seed of faith is sufficient. Take that seed and plant it in every part of your life. Plant it in the areas where everything is fine and plant it in the areas where things are not going well. Faith will grow through the weeds of distress and through the bushes of hope. Jesus is the author of your faith. Trust the author and let Him write the story He has for you. In His story you make it through the bad times and you are able to stay hopeful and to have joy and peace through those miserable times.

God is good today and He will be good tomorrow. His love and blessings for you are always around you. You are highly blessed and highly favored. Bad breaks happen to all of us but they don’t determine our standing with God and they don’t dictate how many blessings we are allowed to receive. God determined that a long time ago and He decided that since Jesus is our Savior, we can rejoice and be glad every day. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: 2 Corinthians 6:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:16; Philippians 4:4

The God of more than enough

If you are lacking anything today, I am here to remind you that God is a God of provision and increase. Not only can He give you what you need but He can give you more than you can imagine. He has provisions for everyone and He never comes short. God is not broke and God doesn’t lack anything. I want to encourage you to develop your faith in the God of increase, the God that is more than enough, the God that can give you much more than you can dream. God will supply your needs according to His riches in glory. Those riches are not earthly. He is not relying on the world’s resources to bless you. Think about that. God is not limited by natural resources and by the world in general. The state of the world today doesn’t dictate what God can do for you. God dictates the state of the world and puts an end to what gets in the way. The prices of gas are going up everywhere but that won’t stop the Lord from supplying the gas you need. He will make a way and He will give you what you don’t have. The food chain is going through a crisis right now. It can sound worrisome but that crisis is not going to interfere with the Lord’s plan of provision for your life. He has more than enough and He is not subject to the rules, the conditions and the circumstances of this world. Meditate on that and let your faith grow in the amazing abilities of the Lord.

I am learning that all my needs will be met and I have to keep the faith. I am not supposed to lose hope. I am not supposed to focus on what I don’t have. I am not supposed to feel sorry for myself and have a pity party because the Lord will certainly not join me in that party. I am learning that God is faithful and He stays true to His Word. However, the timing of His provision is often not the same as mine. I have my agenda and my planner and the Lord has His own agenda that is always better than my plans. Sometimes I don’t understand why God is late. The truth is that He is never late. I am often in a rush. I show up too early for my blessings when there are things that need to be worked out. I wait at the wrong door. I expect the wrong outcome. God is the God of more than enough and His intervention in my life is at the right time. Friend, God has more than enough for you and one thing He is asking you is to trust Him and to be patient. I know it’s not easy but it is always worth it. The right doors are going to open for you. The right people are going to walk into your life. The right amount of money is going to come to you and God will give you more. Don’t limit Him with your thinking. Increase Him in your mind and He will give you an increase in your life.

The God of more than enough is always willing to give and He is looking for people who are ready to walk the walk and talk the talk. Our words of faith need to be expressed all the time. We can’t speak faith one day and fear the next day. Fear will come but we should fight it and give it the boot. We can’t let fear sit around and get comfortable in our lives. Fear should have no place to stay. Fear should find all the seats in our house occupied by faith, faith in the God that is more than enough. There is so much you can hope for and believe and it is all centered around Jesus. Believe He can do more than enough. Believe He can bless you in the middle of this economic crisis. Remember that the world doesn’t influence God. God influences the world. When you walk in faith, whatever God says goes. He is saying today that He has your back and He can give you mountains of blessings where there will be no shadow of lack. Thank God for the mountains. Thank God for His provision. The God that is more than enough is your God. No one is bigger or stronger than He is. Enjoy Him and expect the best. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Psalm 23:1; Luke 12:7;  Philippians 4:6

Your firm foundation

What is the foundation of your faith? Who do you believe in the most? Do you have faith in Jesus or do you believe in someone else more than Him? It sounds like a silly question but if you think about who you rely on in times of trouble, you might be surprised to see that Jesus is not your first resort. Let’s say you get some bad news. Do you reach for the phone and call a friend or a relative? Do you panic and try to hide under your desk? Do you thank Jesus right away for being your help in times of trouble? Do you say confidently that Jesus is your foundation and you have nothing to worry about? When I was praying yesterday morning I had a great vision about Jesus being our foundation. The Holy Spirit took me on a tour of a place that looked firm and solid. I saw a ground that looked very nice and very strong. There was something very special about it. I quickly understood that the ground I saw was Jesus, our firm foundation.

When Jesus is our foundation, we can stand on Him and keep standing no matter what happens in our lives. There might be earthquakes brought about by sad news and bad events but with Jesus as our foundation, we can’t sink. We can’t drown when troubled waters invade our circumstances. We can see mud and soft grounds around us but our firm foundation keeps us standing. Friend, if you are a believer, you stand on solid ground. It is time that you and I took a strong stand on our firm foundation. It is time we decided to not be shaken by anything that takes place in our lives. It is time we kept on standing tall. It is time we praised the Lord even when we are facing adversity. We have the strongest foundation there is. Let’s live our lives like we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are on solid ground all the time.

Jesus is not sinking sand or a soft soil. He doesn’t bend under pressure and He doesn’t give up when the going gets tough. We are the ones who give up. He remains strong and firm. We ought to always rely on Him. The real Jesus who can’t be defeated and who can’t lose any battles. How do you get to know Him? Through His Word and through isolated and devoted time with Him. He is a Rock. He is a fortress. He is the winner of all winners. He is the firm foundation that will never let you down. He is the firm foundation that you can count on all the time. Meditate on that. You can always count on Jesus. You can count on Him even when it appears that you can’t get out of trouble. Stand on Him. Walk thanks to Him. Run with Him. Don’t let Him out of your spiritual sight. Follow His lead. Your firm foundation never disappoints.

Jesus is the firm foundation that can withstand anything. He is unbreakable. The enemy might be trying to weigh you down so you collapse and fall off your foundation but Jesus will hold you up. He won’t let the enemy get the best of you. Jesus is so solid that all the devils in hell can’t make Him break. There is nothing and no one that can destroy your foundation. Your foundation is all set. Now, it’s up to you to stand on Him and to let Him be part of you. Let Jesus be the biggest part of your life. He said that if His words remained in you, you could ask what you want and you will get it as long as it is in line with His will. When Jesus’ words are the backbone of your life, you can’t fail. You have the best foundation ever. Let His words abide in you and you will walk on solid ground all the time. Trust Him. Believe in Him. He won’t let you down. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will never leave you!

Suggested reading: Isaiah 28:16; Matthew 7:24; John 15:7

The child of God that you are

I had a very amazing time in prayer yesterday morning. It was one of those prayers when I listened more than I talked. I started like I always do by praising the Lord and by showing gratitude. I quickly got very overwhelmed by His love. I was so excited and so happy like a little kid at a candy store. I opened my heart and let out my gratitude and thanksgiving. There was so much joy because I was just content to be with the Lord. That one-on-one time was more than enough. It was the highlight of my day very early in the day. It felt like nothing could beat that beautiful moment but with the Lord we can always expect more. I prayed for some time and then I got quiet and I knew I needed to listen and to pay attention to what the Holy Spirit had to say. I was under the impression that the Lord was smiling at me. He was smiling back at my gratitude. I paused and I marveled at His presence and at His love that seemed thick and tangible. What He said next touched me to the core.

The Lord reminded me that I was a child, that I was His child. He took me down the path of great reminders and encouragement. We are His children and we have to remember that we are heirs of the King of Kings. We have inherited the Kingdom of God and we have access to Him and to His blessings all the time. His love is available 24/7 and He is a Father who adores His children and who has done everything for us. He sent His Son for us. His Son came to earth, walked the earth, died on the cross, resurrected from the dead and ascended to the Father. He is now seated at the right hand of God interceding for us. Jesus’ intercession is a powerful truth I had not been focused on. Friend, Jesus is interceding for you with the Father and God rejoices over you, His dear child.

As a child of God, I am blessed and I am favored and so are you, friend. The message of the Lord was a message about seeing myself as the child of God that I am. I strongly encourage you to meditate on that truth and to pray over what it really means. You are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ. It means that you are loved, you are filled with the Spirit of God, you have the fruit of the Spirit in you, you are blessed with heavenly blessings, the Lord supplies your needs with His riches and you are fearfully and wonderfully made. As a child of the King, you have access to Heaven. Not just when you go to be with the Lord but you have access today. What does that entail? It entails access to miracles, signs and wonders. If you don’t believe in them, spend time asking the Lord to show you what they are and to help you develop your faith in them because they are here and they can impact your life in a beautiful way.

Child of God, praise the Father! Praise Him every day. Rejoice over Him because He rejoices over you. Go into your day with the confidence that God is with you and that He cares about you. You are not an orphan. God never leaves you and He never abandons you. You are a loved child. You are very special to God. His love is your strength. His joy is a superpower and His peace is sublime. Remember every day that you are a precious child of God. Remember every day that your heavenly Father makes your life better and there is a collision between Heaven and earth when your faith is active and solid. You are in this world but you are not of this world. You belong with God and you belong with His blessings. Don’t let the problems of this world make you think that you are not blessed because you are. Claim your blessings in Jesus’ name and claim your identity in the Lord. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Romans 8:14; Galatians 3:26; 2 Corinthians 6:18

Protect the flame

A few weeks ago I wrote about the light of the Lord that we have in us. The light comes from the Spirit of God who dwells in us. It is the light of the Lord that shines through us so we can brighten the world. Many people need the light that is in you, friend. Many people live in a dark world where there is no hope and no light to be found. Many people have never seen the light. Many people do not know who the Lord is and what His love, His joy and His peace are like. Many people are waiting for the light in you to find them and revive them. Many people are waiting for that flame of hope and you can give it to them. Now, it is important that you protect the flame. Protect the flame of the light that God has put A few weeks ago I wrote about the light of the Lord that we have in us. The light comes from the Spirit of God who dwells in us. It is the light of the Lord that shines through us so we can brighten the world. Many people need the light that is in you, friend. Many people live in a dark world where there is no hope and no light to be found. Many people have never seen the light. Many people do not know who the Lord is and what His love, His joy and His peace are like. Many people are waiting for the light in you to find them and revive them. Many people are waiting for that flame of hope and you can give it to them. Now, it is important that you protect the flame. Protect the flame of the light that God has put in you. Don’t let it dwindle. Keep the flame going. Keep the light shining. There are negative opportunities for that flame to be blown away. Every bad circumstance and every bad break come with the power to reduce your flame and to hide your light. Keep the flame burning. Don’t let your situation dictate how much light and love you are going to give to the world. Let me light in you show you how much love you need to bring into this world. Jesus is the light of your light as I like to say. Let the Light of your light shine all the time.

When I get frustrated, I open the door to emotions that make me focus on anything but the Lord. When I get sad, I have a hard time reaching down on the inside and letting the light of the Lord warm up my heart. However, when the flame of the light of the Lord is high, frustration and sadness have no power over me. When the light of the Lord is vibrant and in full display, negativity can’t get the best out of me. How do I protect that flame? I do it by pumping myself up in the Lord. I pump it up by being excited about the Lord and by lifting Him up. I place Him about everything. When something bad happens, I pump up the joy of the Lord by shouting His name and making Him bigger than my trials. It takes effort but it is a crucial step when we want to protect the flame. That flame can change someone’s day for the better. That flame is hope. That flame is pure joy from Heaven. That flame is the difference that someone might be needing today. Let the flame speaks for itself by expressing the love of God and expressing Jesus.

Our daily prayers and our daily interaction with the Lord allow us to protect the flame He has placed in our spirit. That flame looks different from everyone but it is that unique thing, that special element that warms up an entire room when it is on. We have to keep the flame on. We have to remain positive. We have to walk in the truth of the Lord. That will give the flame a chance to shine. That precious flame in you is that one thing that refuses to give up and that believes in the best all the time. It is the stubborn goodness that won’t go away. Fan the flame every day, friend. Start the day in communion with Jesus and the flame will be on. Pray throughout the day. Be thankful throughout the day and above all let Jesus show love to others through your flame. Protect the flame by constantly giving it a chance to burn for others. The flame of the Lord in you will ignite beautiful moments, brighten up faces that only new frowns and make broken hearts feel at home. Protect the flame all the time. Stay in the Lord and you will shine for His glory. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Matthew 5:14-16; John 8:12; Romans 12:10

When you least expect it

When you least expect it, God can do something that will surprise you and that will bless you more than you know. God is the God of the good surprises as I like to call Him. When you least expect it, your breakthrough is going to come through. When you least expect, the answer to your prayers will come. Don’t lose hope. God can show up and show off when you are not expecting Him. I know it is hard to wait and wait. I know it is easy to get discouraged but the Lord is not going to let you down. He is faithful and He keeps His promises. When you least expect it, you will get what you need. It doesn’t mean that you should not expect God to act in your favor. Keep waiting and keep hoping but keep fixing your eyes on Jesus. Let Him be the One you expect and everything else will come to you.

When I was in the market to buy a house, I had very little experience with the whole process and I didn’t know what to expect. The deeper I got into it, the more challenging it seemed. I decided to go with the flow but I thought it was just going to be a chance for me to see how things worked in the real estate world and nothing else. I didn’t think I was going to be able to buy a house but at least I was going to get some exposure to the whole real estate adventure. It was quite an adventure! I did find a place I loved. I went and saw it with my realtor and with a friend. We had seen about 15 places by that time. The one I fell in love with was unexpected and I just thought I was visiting the place of my dream and it would remain a dream.

 My friend told me that the place was too big for me and he thought I might not be able to afford it. What I didn’t expect was a call from my realtor saying that I had been pre-approved. Then things came together nicely. I could have tried to sabotage the whole thing with negative thinking and with doubt but God had His way and He made it happen. When I least expected it, God gave me a house that I still love. God took care of every part of this adventure. He provided and He gave me more than I had anticipated. I went into it thinking I was not going to be able to buy it and He gave me my dream place.

God can surprise you with a last minute turnaround of events. When you are not expecting anything, God can give you more than you dream of. Stay in faith. Be patient. Your wait is never in vain. God can always do great things. He is God. He is not limited and He is good all the time. God’s goodness can bless your life at an unexpected time. God’s goodness can take you by surprise and you can get a major breakthrough. The goal is not to give up on God. Stay encouraged by His Word and by His promises. He is the God of the impossible so last minute can be part of His plan. Last minute or when you least expect it can be part of His plan. Hang in there. Stay strong. God has not said His final word yet. He is working on your situation and He is loving your faith.

When you least expect it, things will change for the better. You have a God who loves you and adores you and He is going to do amazing things for you. Praise Him while you are waiting. Continue to focus on Him and to make Him your priority. Don’t run after the blessings and the miracles. Run after Jesus and keep following Him. You have seen nothing yet. His best is yet to come. When you least expect it, great things will come. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Ephesians 3:20; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Romans 4:21