God is always in control

Yesterday I woke up in the middle of the night. It was about 2:30 am. I knew God was trying to get my attention so I prayed. A few minutes into my prayer, a very encouraging message came through. The Lord reminded me that He was always in control. We get out of control but He is always in control. It was a reminder that I have heard through the years and it stirs up my faith every time. I prayed so I could get deeper into that message. God brought me back to a time when I would wake up in the middle of the night with stomach pain. It was awful. I had to get out of bed and walk around. The only thing that helped was praying while walking around. I would pray in the name of Jesus and command the pain to go away. It always worked. The pain would come back night after night and I would say my prayer every night. I believed in long term healing and it took a few doctor’s appointments and an endoscopy to find out that I had acid reflux. It is very much under control now. Remembering that time helped me see that indeed God is in control even when we are in pain. What we need to do is bring Him into the scene. When things are not going well, calling on the Lord is not always our first resort. Why? We think that we have lost control and we try to get it back on our own. The whole time that we try to figure things out and we try to fix the problems, God is still in control. We have no idea what to do but He has it all figured out and He is not losing sleep over our circumstances.

God is always in control. What we ought to do is get on His wavelength. We need to change our perspective and let Him influence our thinking. When things are out of control, our minds are racing, trying to find the best exit but going around in circles with no way out in sight. Our sight should be on the Lord. He has what it takes and He can change everything. He can’t just change some of the things we go through; He can change all of them. There is nothing impossible to Him and nothing can stop Him except for our minds when it wanders down the valley of overthinking and stress. The Lord showed me when I was praying the other night that calming ourselves is key when things are out of control. We have to start working with the inside and then we will see good results on the outside. When things are tough, our minds need to be tougher. There is a peace and a serenity from the Lord that can make us see life from a different angle. From the angle of the Lord. His angle allows Him to only see positive results, solutions, victory and peace. If your life is out of control today, get into the mindset of God’s peace. Take a step back and let God direct your steps. I suggest isolating yourself and being still in front of the Lord. You can also say a chant. It is not an actual chant but a few sentences that give you a boost. Keep saying them. You could say, “The Lord is always in control. He is in charge of my life and He won’t let me down. Things are going to get better. God is on my side. I have nothing to worry about and nothing to fear in Jesus’ name.” Make it whatever works for you but say it a few times in your moment of isolation.

God is always in control. This means that in the middle of the night or in the middle of the day, God is active, caring and protecting us. It doesn’t mean that bad things won’t happen though. It implies that even when things are bad, God is good and He is acting on our behalf. The enemy doesn’t want you to think that God is in control. He wants to depict a picture of a God who is at a loss and who can’t help you. He can always help. Help is always available. God’s love is always available. God’s peace is always available. God’s joy is always available. God’s plan is always available. When I don’t know how to act or what to do, I say “Lord, Your plan is better than mine and it trumps the plan of the enemy. I trust in Your plan and I praise You for loving me and for seeing me through all the time. You always win. Your plan always wins.” It is not those words exactly but something similar that declares that God’s plan is the best plan and it is working. You see, the enemy wants you to think that God’s plan has holes in it. He wants you to think that it is broken. A bad break and bad circumstances don’t change God. God changes them so hang in there. God is always in control and that beautiful sun you have been waiting for is shining beyond the clouds and it is coming your way. Stay encouraged. Great things are coming because God is always in control and you have nothing, absolutely nothing to worry about!

Suggested reading: Isaiah 55:8-9; John 14:27; Hebrews 11:1

Put on the Word of God every day

Yesterday morning when I was praying I saw myself putting on Jesus. I was putting on a robe that was Jesus. I didn’t see His face or anything but I just knew it was Jesus. I was getting dressed and my outfit was a robe of Jesus. What was also very interesting is that I was standing there and someone was dressing me up. I saw pages of the Bible dressing me up. I was standing there smiling and the Word of God was doing all the work. It was one of those powerful visions that warms your heart and that gives a boost to your faith. I continued to pray and I heard “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” The Holy Spirit has a beautiful way of reminding us of what the Bible says. He is also the best at giving us the messages we need to hear. There is power in the Word and when we stay in the Word and the Word is what we put on every day, we can walk in faith, in love and in confidence that the Lord is faithful and true. 

 

God makes everything so much better when we remain in Him. Putting on Jesus implies dying to self and letting Him be in charge. It means not putting on anything else but Him. Not accepting anything else but Him. It’s letting the Word of God cover us and comfort us. It’s giving the Word priority and trusting that it is supreme in our lives. When you put on an outfit, you usually put on something you like and something that fits you. When the Word of God is your spiritual outfit, you like to wear it because you enjoy it and it fits you. The Word can fit anyone. You are no exception, friend. God is for everyone. Jesus died for everyone. Today I want to encourage you to make the Word of God your daily outfit. Put on Jesus and let go of the outfits the world wants you to wear. Let the Bible dress you up with love, peace, patience, joy, self-control, meekness, long-suffering, hope, dedication, perseverance and other good fruit. When Jesus is all you wear, you don’t need to put on anything else!

 

It does look funny when you see yourself putting on the robe of the Word of God. I saw writings and I saw peace and love in both sleeves. I can’t explain it but it was so real. I love how the Holy Spirit speaks and I love that He always directs us toward Jesus. He said that if we keep the words of the Lord in us, we can ask anything and it will happen. Keeping His words is also staying in line with His words. It’s being in tune with His truth. Now, we need to know the Word in order to be able to let it remain in us. I try to study the Word daily. I know how important it is. Not spending any time in the Word of God is like opening ourselves to wrong doctrines. We won’t have the ability to judge what is from God and what is not. If you are supposed to read a book for school and you don’t read it, you will guess the content based on the title and based on what you have heard about it. 

 

God doesn’t want us to go by hearsay but by what He says. You might be thinking that you don’t have time for the Word. I suggest making time and rearranging your priorities because the Word of God is life. You can’t do life without the Word. You can’t have a successful life without the Word. You might be chasing millions and making a fortune on Wall Street but without God’s wisdom your riches have no substance. God is His Word. The more you know His Word, the more you know Him. Don’t fool yourself and think you can know God without opening His Word. The God you will end up getting familiar with will be anything but Jesus.

 

What happens exactly when you put on Jesus or you put on His Word? Your prayers are answered because they are in agreement with the Lord and they are said in faith. Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God. When His Word remains in you, you are bound to be living in faith. Daily Bible reading, meditating and praying will guarantee growth of your faith. The other beautiful thing about letting God’s Word remain in us is that it makes us disciples of the Lord. It makes us fervent and dedicated disciples. Jesus said that all of this is to His Father’s glory. Embrace the Word of God and let it become a part of you, the biggest part of you and you will be doing it all to God’s glory. It is when we let the Word sink in and come out of us at all times that we are showing ourselves to be disciples of the Lord.

 

 When the enemy attacks our minds and the Word of God is our natural reply against the attack, we are filled with the power of God. His Word is power. It is a power that bears much fruit as well. When the Lord is in you, you will produce great fruit and you will see that the fruit of the Spirit is growing in you. Putting on the Word of God is also dressing up with love. Love is the best garment we can put on. Put on Jesus and the enemy will flee. Put on Jesus and you will walk in love. Put on Jesus and you will be rooted in the truth. Put on the Word of God every day and you will be dressed for success!

Suggested reading : Psalm 37:4; John 15:7-8; Galatians 5:16

When you are having a bad day

Yesterday was a tough day. I am not going to lie but I had one of the worst days at work in a long time. It felt like everything was coming at me at once. People putting pressure on me acting like they wanted to cause trouble for no clear reason. I had to catch myself a few times as I wondered what was going on. It was no surprise to the Lord that this was happening. Trials and confrontation will always show up in our lives. When there is a strong concentration of opposition, it looks like everything is falling apart around you. That is how it was yesterday. However, the Lord kept knocking at the door of my heart asking me to let Him in. He kept showing me that He was with me in that situation and it helped a great deal. I knew I could face the day. I knew that nothing could change how good and how big He is and I went with that. I refused to side with the opposition and accept the enemy’s lies. I refused to give in. When the enemy gives us a punch, we have to punch him back with love, faith and hope. Of those three things love is the biggest and the most powerful element so I decided to keep walking in love despite the way some people treated me. Some people had twisted my words and caused problems that should not have happened in the first place. It came out of nowhere but it didn’t matter because the Lord was everywhere. He reminded me that He dwelt in my heart and my heart was the source of help I needed to rely on. When the going gets tough, get tougher with love. Don’t let the pressure make you hate and curse. Don’t let the pressure get to your head and make you wish the wrong things. Temptation comes with trials but the Lord won’t let us be tempted above what we can bear when we stay in Him. I was determined to stick with God all day and it was the best decision I made yesterday.

When things go wrong, we go along with them and we believe that they will keep going in a bad direction. At least that is how I used to react a lot. Yesterday was a flashback to some of the hard times I used to face but the Lord wouldn’t let me sink to a low level of despair. I had my Holy Spirit with me. I had my Lord on my side and I had joy in my heart even though my heart was stabbed by the words of those I trusted and considered friends. I couldn’t be bitter. The Lord wouldn’t let me. I wanted to be but He stopped me. He said “Act like Jesus. Don’t act like you don’t know Jesus.” That message alone gave me a boost. Act like Jesus in everything. It is so hard to do when we have a lot going on but it is how we should live our lives. It’s easy to have faith and to praise God when life is a bed of roses but when we have to wake up and smell the roses, it’s a whole different story. I was facing a truth that was not my truth. The “truth” the enemy wanted me to embrace was that I was having a bad day and that bad things would keep happening all day. I gave in for a few minutes but the Spirit pulled me back up. When you build yourself up in the Lord and His mercy and love are your refuge, you can’t adhere to the lies of the enemy. You get so full of the Word that you react with the Word and it gives you the power to face anything. Yesterday I faced anything and everything but the Lord was my everything in all those things. I fell but I got up again. I trembled but I got strong and stable again. I was convinced I was going to have a great Jesus day and nothing was going to spoil it. I kept going and I kept praising. I didn’t praise God for the difficulties; I praised Him for His love in the middle of my difficulties.

You know you can have a celebration in the middle of desperation. You can have peace in the middle of a storm. You can have joy in the middle of a season of sorrow. You can have love in the middle of the dark aisle of hatred and detestation. I chose love. I chose love over retaliation. I chose love over exasperation. I chose love over condemnation. I chose love over frustration. I chose love over rejection. When we choose to walk in love, we choose to walk with the Lord and He can intervene. Love is what got me through the day yesterday. Love is what gave me hope and what made me stay in faith yesterday. Love is what made me smile even when I felt like crying. Love is what gave me the power to walk and not fall anymore. Love is what saved me yesterday and love’s first name was Jesus. Jesus made it happen. Jesus gave me a way through the dark alleys. Jesus lifted my spirit and protected my heart. Jesus kept me warm when it was so cold around me. Jesus saved the day. Don’t ever give up when you are having the worst day. The best is yet to come and love will pave the way there. Yesterday was bad according to the world but the Lord got the final say and He said my day was an awesome day! Thanks to Him it was awesome indeed!

Suggested reading: John 10:28-30; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Peter 2;9