"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:31 NKJV
Waiting on God in this verse isn’t referring to ‘serving’ God, it literally means to be waiting, lingering and expecting. So often we run around frantically doing things like completing our to-do-lists, cleaning the house, taking kids to sports, or even just pleasing people. These things aren’t all necessarily wrong, but what if instead of running around frantically, we chose to follow Jesus example by stopping and waiting first on God? Father wants us to just sit a little while with Him, waiting with Him, talking with Him, worshipping Him. As we do, He begins to talk with us. He communicates His plans and desires to us and beautifully begins to recharge our weary spirit. We begin to hear from Him, learn from Him, and relax in Him. Our stresses begin to trail away and we begin to recharge. If your prayers are short because life is frantic, then change your routine. Spend time waiting on your Father and you too will see yourself being restored and soaring like an eagle, seeing things with new perspective and running with new strength. Declaration Starter: “I declare that God is my primary focus above and beyond the demands and expectation of people. He knows what I need to do today, so my first priority is to wait on Him. I choose not to be stressed, but to trust Him. As I follow His leading, He will renew my strength. I will soar like an eagle and I will run with endurance. No matter what I go through, I will never grow tired, because my direction comes from the Lord…”
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"But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me." - Psalms 31:14-15 NKJV
How do you feel about trusting God orchestrate your times? All too often we have things on our own agenda that we want to do and we see that we see as important, but allowing God to orchestrate our times means putting our plans aside and letting Him lead as He wants and according to His agenda — not ours. One of the problems that often arises if I am not putting Father as my first priority and if I’m not allowing Him to orchestrate my time is that other things suddenly start keeping me busy. The enemy will certainly make it his priority to ensure that I’m too busy to do what God wants. When I choose to put my Father fist, He seems to bless my time, I get more done, I actually feel more productive and my day isn’t as stressful. Stress has never been God’s plan for us. Have you ever noticed that Jesus was never stressed? He was never in such a hurry to get somewhere that He missed the important moments along the way, moments like the ‘Bartimaeus moments’, or the ‘woman at well moments’, or the ‘Zacchaeus moments.’ Because He only did what He saw His father doing (John 5:19), He always had time to catch the God moments along the wayside that others would have missed due to their schedules. Let’s not be so busy doing our own things that we miss the special God moments with those around us, especially those we love and are called to minister to before everyone else - our family. Declaration Starter: “I declare that my trust, my reliance and my confidence is on You Lord. I choose to place my times in Your hands…” "For our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers." - 1 Timothy 4:10b NLT
Have you ever imagined what it would be like to be permanently blind? Imagine not knowing how to read, being able to drive a car, or seeing colour, or enjoy watching your children playing. Imagine what it would be like to have to get around with a white cane or a seeing eye dog? I can only imagine the benefit and support something like a seeing eye dog brings someone who is blind. The dogs don’t just keep them company, they become their eyes, they protect them from unseen dangers and so much more. There is a huge amount of trust placed in those dogs, and there needs to be as the person’s life is in the hands of the seeing eye dog. Well, how different would our lives be if we placed our trust in Father God like that? How many bad decisions could we have avoided if we sought out Father’s advice first. Our Father doesn’t want us to pray only when things are going wrong and we are desperate. He wants to walk with us every single day. He wants us to lean on Him, to trust Him and seek His advice in all we do. Imagine He made an appointment to meet with you tomorrow morning. What questions would you ask as He sits in the chair opposite you? Why not make a list and then tomorrow just ask Him. Let your trust be in Him daily. He will never lead you astray. Declaration Starter: “I declare that my hope is fixed on the living God. He is my Saviour, Preserver, Maintainer and Deliverer because I believe in Him, I trust in Him, I rely on Him and I adhere to Him…” "The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." ‘ - Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV
Some people have had a poor image of Father God, because their earthly father did not adequately model a life that accurately reflects a loving, gracious and compassionate Father. His goal is not to beat down on us at every moment, but for us to have an incredible relationship together, and for us to be so in love with Him that we point people to Jesus simply through how we do life. None of us would want to live our lives to honour a God that hated people and I’m glad to say that we definitely don’t have to. The opposite is actually true. God loves us and we are blessed because of and through Him and it’s important that we know that. From this verse it is obvious that Father’s desire is to bless you and keep you. That word ‘keep’ is a reference to protection. He wants to bless you, He wants to protect you. He wants to make His face shine on you, to be gracious to you, to let His presence remain with you and to give you His peace. That isn’t an angry God — that is a God who is deeply in love with you. I love the picture of God’s love that this verse portrays. If you have ever had any doubt, put that aside. Let every person that has modelled a father to you be measured against God rather than the other way around. He loves you! So smile. He wants you as part of His family, because you matter a great deal to Him. Yes you do! Declaration Starter: “I declare that I am blessed and that God is happy with me. He rejoices over me with singing. I accept His blessing and I receive everything that comes…” "Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days." - Proverbs 19:20 NKJV
Have you ever considered the different stages in our lives when it comes to making decisions? As teenagers we’ve all thought we know so much, but as we get older, we learn the meaning of, “The older I get, the more I realise the less I know.” As we grow up, our desire to prove ourselves seems to outweigh the humility of seeking advice from others. There is something inside many of us that says, “I’ll work it out on my own” and we struggle through life learning what works and what doesn’t. Some decisions are prudent whilst others bring pain. However, I love watching younger men and women seeking advice from those who are older, and then seeing them apply that wisdom to their own decisions. It’s not that they are able to make better decisions than others, it’s because they are smart enough to seek out wisdom from others who have gone before them rather than thinking they know better. Proverbs 4:7 simply says it this way, “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom.” None of us have all the answers. That’s why Proverbs, the book of wisdom, instructs us to ‘listen to counsel and receive instruction’. Learn to listen, and you will see a growth of wisdom in you that others will begin to notice. When they ask how you got so wise, you can simply say, “God taught me to listen.” Declaration Starter: “I declare that wisdom is growing in me. I choose to hear counsel, to receive instruction and to accept correction, because my desire is to pursue the wisdom of God…” “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” - Matthew 6:34 NKJV
What will your day look like today? Some people are so filled with worry and anxiety that they have preplanned what will happen when it comes to certain events and people they will encounter during their day. Their thoughts tick over and over… “He’s going to do…” or “She is going to say…” Well, what if you are wrong? Too often we plan the whole event out in our mind before it happens, and if we were asked how often our forecast is right, we would probably say, “Rarely”. So let’s begin to think differently and think the way Father tells us to. Philippians 4:8 tells us to think on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely and of good report. It also says, “If there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Allow your thinking to be faith filled instead of being filled with things like worry and fear. We have control over our thoughts, so today choose to think differently. Ask Father to lead you, even in the way you think. He knows what our day will look like and He wants us to let Him be in control instead of us. Ask Him to help you see things coming up the way He wants you to see them. Then speak words of faith and life over them, and see how Father will turn things around for you in a very different way. Declaration Starter: “I declare that anxiety and worry will not be a part of my day! As a child of God, I choose take control of my thoughts and I choose to focus on things that will stir life and hope…” "Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the Lord." - Psalms 105:2-3 NLT
As we read through the Gospels, we see that Jesus performed an incredible number of miracles whilst He was on the earth. Most people today get excited if they pray for someone with a cold and they are healed, but Jesus performed miracle after miracle. If they were all recorded, the Apostle John says, “I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” That’s an abundance of miracles, but the exciting thing for us is that Father hasn’t stopped doing the miraculous. You and I are empowered with the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Mark 16:15-18 specifies a number of things that will follow those who believe, and one of them is that “they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” If we look around us today, we still see evidence of Father’s work as believers are laying hands on people and praying for the miraculous. Marriages are being restored; the sick are being healed; addictions are being broken and lives are being changed. Let’s keep believing for the miraculous and continue telling of the mighty works of our God. As we do so, we will stir faith in others to believe for the miraculous and in addition, we will be exalting His mighty name. We can rejoice in Him and celebrate His faithfulness, for He is indeed worthy of all of our praise. Declaration Starter: “I declare that God has done many, many wonderful and amazing things. I will worship Him and tell of his wondrous works! I give glory to His holy name…” "The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning." - Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT
God’s faithfulness is something that I will never cease to be amazed at, because I will never see the end of it. Romans 5:8 is one of many verses that confirm God’s love for us and it tells us that Jesus died for our sins and made a way for us to be in right relationship with God before we ever accepted Him. He chose you and I first knowing that there was a chance we may never choose Him, and yet He died to provide a way for our our salvation whether we choose Him or not. Further demonstrations of His amazing love for us are His mercies. They aren’t ‘stale left-overs’ from last week, they are fresh and new each and every day. Every time we repent, He says He will forgive us and cleanse us (1 John 1:9). There is nothing we can do that will surprise Him or cause Him to fall off His throne and He has in fact promised that He will continue to pour out His mercies on us, fresh and new, every single day. Know that today is yet another day that Father will again pour out His mercies over you. None of us deserve His love, but it isn’t based on what we deserve, it is based on His choice to love us. It’s because of what Jesus did that He thinks the world of you. Declaration Starter: “I declare that God will never stop loving me. His mercy and kindness towards me never cease, but are daily fresh and new every. Every day is a new day and I will face it knowing that I will do it with the great faithfulness of my Saviour…” “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” - Deuteronomy 4:2 NKJV
Is God’s Word final authority for your life or do you prefer to be in control? It should be, because the Bible was written for our benefit. Hebrews 4:12 says that God’s Word is alive and powerful. I know that no matter how many things I write down, what I say never matches the power and anointing of the living Word of God. The Bible is full of God’s instructions for us. If we really believe that He has our best interests at heart, and that His plans for our lives are good, and that He wants to prosper us and not harm us and that He wants to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11), then it makes sense that we would follow what He says in His Word because it is only ever intended for our good. Many people don’t really like change and some things we read or hear from the Word we may not like because after all, change isn’t always easy. In fact, we might prefer to do something else rather than obey what we read, but it is imperative that we recognise that when God commands us to change in an area, or stop doing something, or even to start doing something, He is directing us because He has something good planned for us. Today, as you read His Word, ask Him to speak to you and see what direction He leads you. Then, as He does, choose to obey, because His leading will always be for your benefit. Declaration Starter: “I declare that I will take God at His Word. I trust Him for His Word is enough…” "This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." - Psalms 118:24 NKJV
At the dawning of a new day, some people rise and say, “Good morning Lord”, whilst others say, “Good Lord, it’s morning!” From the moment they get up out of bed, the outlook some people have on the day is one of doom and gloom, but as children of Father God, we have good reason to be happy. Jesus gave His life for us so that we wouldn’t need to die for our sins. If you have asked Him to be Lord of your life, then you are saved, healed and delivered. You have His Word and Holy Spirit to equip you, empower you and lead you, and you are destined to live a life for Him that makes a difference in this world we live in. Our mission is to “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone” and to “Make disciples of all the nations” (Mark 16:15-18; Matt 28:18-20 NLT), so why wouldn’t we rejoice. We get the amazing opportunity to serve our Father. Today is a new day, with new mercies and new opportunities and you have God the Holy Spirit living inside you Who will never leave you or forsake you. You have it pretty good. So, let today be a day you rejoice in Him, and celebrate because you have the incredible opportunity of living your life to honour Him. Think about that in all that you put your hand to today. Declaration Starter: “I declare that today is the day that the Lord has made; I will choose to rejoice and be glad in it…” |
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October 2023
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