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So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.  Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”  So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of  Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. 1Kings 19:13-19

After forty days of silence, Elijah heard God’s still small voice asking him why he was in hiding. Elijah was sad and discouraged that despite his zeal, he had not seen the fruit of his labor. He was afraid of Jezebel who had threatened to kill him. He also felt all alone as a righteous prophet of God. The Lord did not join his pity party but gave him several instructions that were going to be the answer to his distressing situations. 

1. God told him to return to where he came from. Elijah had unfinished business to take care of.  This would require faith and courage to return to a hostile place.

2. The Lord instructed Elijah to anoint Hazael as king over Syria.

3. He needed to anoint Jehu as king of Israel.

4. He was also going to anoint Elisha as his successor.

5. Finally, God told him that there were seven thousand Israelites who loved Him and were consecrated to the Lord. Elijah was not alone in serving the Lord.

While Elijah did not anoint Hazael and Jehu to be the future kings of Syria and Israel respectively, He did place his mantle on Elisha as the next prophet. In due time, Elisha anointed Hazael and Jehu to be the future kings of their respective countries.

These were important steps that changed everything for Elijah. In time, the Lord’s instructions resolved all of Elijah’s issues. Elijah was able to mentor Elisha and release the ministry to his capable hands by passing on the baton to this man of God.  Furthermore, Elijah was concerned that the Israelites had walked away from the Lord, and they were worshipping others gods.  God used Hazael, a disdainful king, to punish the Israelites for their disobedience.  Finally, Elijah had fled because he was afraid of Jezebel who had been terrorizing his life. God blessed Elijah by not allowing Jezebel to touch him, and he was taken up to heaven by a chariot of fire (See 2Kings 2). The Lord also placed King Jehu as the future king of Israel who became instrumental in killing Jezebel. 

The Lord has amazing and unexpected ways to resolve our problems. Sometimes it looks like the issues will never go away, but God is behind the scenes putting it all in place. He plans the steps that will bring about the breakthroughs in our lives and resolve the issues so much better than we can ever think or imagine!

casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1Peter 5:7

If there are issues today that seem unresolvable, cast your cares on the Lord!  You don’t have to carry the burden. The Lord knows, and He cares about your problems. He is working on them. It may take a while before you see the resolution of the situation, but trust God that He is at work.  Allow His peace and joy to fill your life. Go about living your life and doing the things that you have the privilege of doing today. When He gives you instructions obey Him. Someday, you’ll look back and see the situations resolved better than you expected. 

And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

 So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 1Kings 19:9-12

Elijah fled from Jezebel’s hands, and God graciously fed him even though He did not tell him to run away. While the Lord provided food and drink to Elijah,  He did not discuss what was distressing to Elijah. He waited for forty days.

After forty days, the Lord asked Elijah why he was hiding in a cave. Elijah’s response was one of pity. He felt sorry for himself that he had been faithful to the Lord. He was dismayed with God’s people and how they had forsaken their relationship with the Lord to the point of  killing God’s prophets. Elijah may also have been disappointed that all his hard and courageous work on Mount Carmel did not eradicate idolatry from the land. 

This is one of the challenges for God’s messengers. They can earnestly seek the Lord and do what God calls them to do. However, not everyone is happy with the person’s message nor do the majority of Christians desire to walk the narrow path. This can cause discouragement and loneliness for God’s servants. 

Elijah may have felt lonely, but he wasn’t alone. The Lord ministered to him in the time of His need while he was in hiding. Then the Lord told him to go stand on the mountain before Him. The last time Elijah was a on a mountain was when he challenged the prophets of Baal and called down fire from heaven. He may have expected that the Lord’s presence was going to come in the fire again and do something spectacular. However, God had a different plan.

The Lord was not in the wind, earthquake, or the fire. The Lord chose to show up differently. He came in a still small voice.  He revealed a different side of Himself to Elijah. This was the place of quiet fellowship with Elijah. Elijah was not expected to perform or call down fire from heaven. All he needed to do was to be still, so he could hear the still small voice of the Lord.

I wonder how many of us are used to hearing God only in a certain way. Some of us may be used to hearing Him only during worship at church. Others are only open to hearing Him when they have their Bibles open and are reading the word of God. Some can only hear Him when they are walking or running by themselves. Some are used to calling their friends or mentors, and only those particular voices have the ultimate authority of God’s voice in their lives.

The truth is that the Lord can talk to us at any moment of time if we have ears to ear Him. He may speak to us when we are grocery shopping, driving, or cleaning our home. The Lord also may use our children, spouses, or a new believer to deliver His word to us. We all need to take off the limitations that we put on God. The Lord is not bound by a place or technique to talk to us. All we can do is to seek Him and humbly be open to hearing Him when He speaks. 

Elijah was about to experience his breakthrough, which will ultimately led to the resolution of the matters that had been distressing to him. I will continue with this subject in the next devotional. 

In the last devotional series, I shared about weariness and the importance of resting in God when we don’t know the next step. The good news is that weariness does not last forever. This devotional series is about God giving us breakthroughs when we least expect them.  The Lord is gracious and compassionate, and He moves in our situations in awesome ways!

And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”  Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”  So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.1Kings 19:1-8

Elijah was bold and courageous when he fought the prophets of Baal. He had a momentary success as a prophet of God until he heard Jezebel’s dissatisfaction and anger towards him. She vowed to kill him for killing her prophets. This caused great fear in Elijah’s heart to the point of fleeing town and leaving his servant behind.  The very courageous and fearless prophet ran away from Jezebel’s fury! He was bold as a lion in one moment, and in another moment he saw himself as small as a grasshopper! 

The truth is that all of us can experience this contradiction in life. We can be bold, strong, and courageous in one moment, and a few hours or few days later become fearful or anxious about a situation. Those are the moments that remind us that without Him we do nothing! While God can use us in mighty ways, we are always dependent on His mercy, grace, and protection to carry us through life.

In his bout of fear and anxiety, God graciously fed Elijah with water and cake. This lasted for forty days and nights. It’s important to notice what God did and did not do for Elijah in this period of time:

1. An angel was dispatched on Elijah’s behalf showing that the Lord was with him.

2. The Lord provided for him in his moment of distress and anxiety with food and water without rebuking him. 

3. God was quiet about Elijah’s situation for forty days.

When we are going through times of stress or weariness, God provides for us what we need. While we may feel weak or anxious, the Lord does not necessarily rebuke us. At the same time, He does not solve our problem right away. He shows that He cares about us without rescuing us out of the situation. 

God had already provided for Elijah in a miraculous way by feeding him for forty days, but Elijah was too focused on his pain and perplexity to see and appreciate God’s hand in his life. Now Elijah was about to experience a major breakthrough!

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.  You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.  And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.  Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. 2Timothy 2:1-7

The Lord gives His children the grace to remain strong in the midst of weariness. Paul gave Timothy the analogies of a solider, an athlete, and a farmer in explaining our spiritual endurance. While those roles are very different, one thing that is similar in all of them is that they all must finish their assignment or it doesn’t count. 

A soldier leaves the comfort of his/her home and family to go to unknown places and fight in battles with no guarantee of success. That’s hard work and many times the conditions are very tough. While things may get difficult at times, they have to get back on their feet and go out there and fight again. They have to endure day after day and month and after month until their assignment is finished. Sometimes they may feel like it will never end, but their family is cheering them on and praying for them. They all have the hope and expectation that when the assignment is complete they can embrace their loved one again.

An athlete has worked for months and years to compete, but all the training does not count until he/she finishes the race and does a good job in the process. He/she does not have the time to complain, quit, or feel his/her exhaustion. It must be done, and it must be done with everything that is in them.

A farmer has worked for months and possibly years for that good crop to come forth. Regardless of the season, he/she must go out there and tend the ground and face the elements. They have control over the weather system or pests that could ruin the crop. There is no guarantee that the storms won’t ruin their crop. Nevertheless, it is part of the job to spend time and energy with the hope that they will have good crop. They need to give their best until such a time that the crop is harvested. 

At the end of the above passage, Paul prays that we may have understanding of those things that he had just mentioned. In seasons of weariness, the Lord has revelation and understanding in store for us. Everything in life including being a solider, an athlete, and a farmer points to God. All of creation declares His glory and gives us a glimpse of His ways in our lives.

God is faithful, and “He is the rewarder of those who seek diligently Him” (See Hebrews 11:6b). He is our Father, commander, ruler, and provider. He has brought us this far, and He will not leave His children in the desert. His goal is to mature us in our love relationship with Him. He desires for our joy not to be dependent on whether we get our way or not. He has peace and joy available for us  in the midst of weariness.

The scripture tells us that “The joy of the Lord is our strength” (See Nehemiah 8:10b). When we feel down, we need to look up to the Lord’s face and experience His joy. When He is joyful, it gives us the strength and the assurance that it’s all going to be ok. The story is not over. He has more open doors, provision, blessings, and breakthroughs in store for us.  As we have sown faithfully, someday God will give us the increase!

After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself:  Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.  Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”

They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.  But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.  Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”

They answered Him, “No.”

6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. John 21:1-6

Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. John 21:11-13

There was a time in Peter’s life that he was very sure of what God was doing. Jesus had touched his fishing trade once before, and he had seen Jesus’ miraculous word bringing an increase. That was the time when Peter knew Jesus was calling him to be a fisherman of men (See Luke 5:1-11). However, this time it was different. Since His crucifixion, Jesus had appeared to them a couple of times, but things were not the same anymore.  They didn’t have the assurance of Jesus’ presence, and neither did they know what was next for them. 

When we are weary, it could feel like we are stuck. We don’t know how to move forward, and we can’t set any new goals. We get antsy and anxious about the unknown. What if people asked us about our plans? It would be embarrassing to tell them that we don’t know what is next. What if they think less of us because things haven’t worked out the way we had imagined? They might ridicule our faith. Will they question our maturity? Will they wonder if we truly heard God? Those are our giants as we step into the unknown. The unknown times can be turbulent to the soul. The enemy whispers in our ears to tempt us out of the will of God. It takes strength and courage to remain and abide in Christ in this season.

Peter naturally went back to doing what he was good at. He went back to fishing; the very thing Peter had put behind him when he decided to follow Jesus. Since there wasn’t anything else for him to do, this could keep his identity intact. Because Peter was insecure about his current state, he preferred to identify with his past rather than feeling the confusion of his shaken new identity. Interestingly, while fishing was his past profession, he was not able to catch any fish. Jesus had to speak the word before they could bring the increase. Jesus appeared to Peter to show him that without Jesus he can do nothing! In addition, Jesus restored Peter’s relationship to Him and reaffirmed the call of God in Peter’s life.

Peter wasn’t wrong in hearing the Lord. Jesus had called him to ministry, and he was going to catch much fish for the Kingdom. Going back to fishing wasn’t the answer to his weariness and perplexity.

When we are weary, we have a tendency to go back to what is familiar to us. The unknown is an insecure place to be. We would rather be busy doing something than to look lost and weary. We will be tempted to go back to what has earned us money, success, love, honor, prestige, or respect in the past. However, Jesus is doing a new thing, and we need to let the Lord bring it to pass and allow Him to help us face our giants. He is the one who can eradicate the fear of man. We don’t have to run from our giants nor do we need to cover ourselves with fig leaves to hide our vulnerability. We just need to let Him deal with our internal world, so we can rest peacefully in His presence and allow Him to have His way! We must stand in faith and believe that God is making a way where there doesn’t seem to be a way. 

Not only Jesus enabled Peter to catch fish,  but He also had breakfast with Peter and the other disciples. Regardless of our successes or failures, our goals or lack of direction, Jesus always desires to have fellowship with us. If we have accepted Him to be the Lord of our lives, then we can trust Him with our next step. In the meantime, we can enjoy our fellowship with Him and allow the simplicity of faith to refresh our relationship with Him. In our encounters with Him, Jesus is not looking for a business meeting or an agenda to be accomplished. He is just looking for a genuine and loving relationship that is founded in rest.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

We all go through seasons of weariness. We don’t always see the outcome we desire. Things don’t go always the way we expected. Sometimes, we’ve done all that we know how to do, and now we have no idea how to proceed from this point on. Jesus knew that people would experience weariness, so He gave us all an invitation!

The seasons of weariness are moments that God uses to shape deeper character in us. He is uprooting ungodly expectations, removing the rocks of self-confidence, and softening our ego. Those who have formulaic answers to others’ problems, realize that it’s not as simple. Sometimes, the weariness is not due to sin, neglect, or even mistakes. People are not doing something wrong nor God is not necessarily mad at them.  We can’t measure the approval of God by how well things are going our way. The only measure of the approval of God is His peace and the assurance that He gives us by His Spirit and through His word. If we rely on circumstances, we will have a rollercoaster relationship with God and others.

At times, God uses the situations in life to show us how well we have matured. When we are weary, do we still get temperamental? When we feel burdened and exhausted, do we take it out on our loved ones? When we don’t have answers, do we get insecure and jealous? When we are not getting our way, do we pout or go on a shopping spree to make ourselves feel better? It’s interesting that even when we are weary, most of us desire action more than rest. Weariness should cause us to change course and be willing to do it differently that we have done before. Jesus offers us rest for our souls!

Weariness takes us through a process of transformation. Are we willing to remain quiet before God and let Him have His way with us? We’re not sure what God is doing, but we know who God is and that’s good enough for us. We don’t need to explain, defend, or debate it with anyone. When we lay down our understanding of things, we become lighter in our burdens. We learn to come under the yoke of Christ and go with Him wherever He takes us. If it takes too long, we are still with Him. We are content and safe in His presence.

Life is much more enjoyable when we don’t have to carry the burden of expectation and understanding. When we relinquish our control to understand or explain God, we live a child-like faith. When we are not worried about being forgotten due to not performing, we are being delivered to a new level. When we decide that we have nothing to prove, we enter a new dimension of freedom for we have learned from the humility and gentleness of Jesus!

Today if you are weary, mediate on the above scripture. Whenever you feel frustrated, confused, or insecure, remind yourself of the above scripture and remain under His yoke. The good news is that when you are yoked with Him, you’re remaining very close to Him. One day you’ll look back at this time, and you’ll miss the intimacy and closeness of this season. 

Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:6-10

Paul exhorted and encouraged the believers to continue to do good. He told them to think about the law of sowing and reaping in their lives. He reminded them that God is not mocked, and people will reap what they sow.

Believers can work hard, love extravagantly, and give generously, but they may not see the fruit of their labor for a long time. Some people have sacrificed years in raising their children, but their adult children have strayed away and have no appreciation for the price their parents paid. Others have loved and given generously to family and friends but have found that they could not count on them when they needed something. There are those who have given endless hours in ministry only to find that they were easily replaceable and that their work didn’t appear to be valued much. There are others who have prayed for the salvation of their loves ones for years for years, but they haven’t see much progress.

It is easy to get discouraged and weary when one does not see the fruit of their labor. People can wonder if it was worth it. They may question if they should keep doing the same thing if there are no visible results in their labor. The passage in Galatians gives us a few things to consider in times of being  weary.

1.Did we sow in our flesh with the carnal expectation of receiving from others what we wanted? Paul reminds us that carnality begets carnality, and we need to ensure that we are not sowing in carnality. The truth is that our motives can be a mixture of carnality and spirituality. When we become weary, our carnality comes to the surface. In times of weariness, our expectations get louder, and we begin to discern clearly our motives.

Mary offered up her costly fragrant oil by pouring it on Jesus’ feet (See John 11). She or her family must have worked hard and saved for a long time to have that special perfume, but she did it without the expectation of Jesus giving her anything back. The giving away of the perfume and pouring it out became her act of worship. In times of weariness, we need to offer up our labor to the Lord and ask Him to purify our motives. When our motives and works are pure from carnality, we are sowing in the Spirit, and we will reap in the Spirit. God will reward us. His reward may not come directly from where we expected, but God knows how to reward His children. In addition, we cannot forget that God has eternal rewards for His children. The Lord does not forget our labor of love!

2.Paul encouraged the believers to keep doing good. It’s never a good idea to stop loving God or loving others. It doesn’t mean that we should allow others to take advantage of us. It also doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t set healthy boundaries in our relationships, but it does mean that we need to keep going and persevering in love. In this way, we are becoming like Christ and allowing His nature and character to take greater control of our lives. The scripture is clear that God is the rewarder of those who do good.

3. The law of sowing and reaping shows us that it is impossible to continually sow and not reap anything. The key is that in the Kingdom economy, the sowing and reaping is in God’s hands not in our hands nor on our timetable.The reward in the Kingdom is not like the stock market where experts predict/expect a certain increase in a given timeframe. God gives the increase when He sees fit. Our confidence is that He is merciful, gracious, and just. His reward can come in unexpected ways. We are not called to look to others for the reward but only to Him. He is our way maker, deliverer, provider, and heart surgeon. He is also the one who convicts people of the error of their ways and brings back the prodigals. Thank you Lord!

Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
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 40:27-31

From time to time, God’s people come to the point of weariness. There are times in life that one may feel like an opportunity or a dream has been passed over. People may wonder if God has forgotten them and if they will ever have a breakthrough in an area of life. Some who grow weary, may give up and lose the dream. Others may grow sad and bitter about the loss of opportunities. 

Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” Judges 6:13

Gideon was one of God’s people who had come to the point of weariness and despondency because of lack of change in his situation. He thought that God had forsaken the Israelites and that there was no hope left for them.

In times of weariness, people can create a wrong perception of the Lord and His intentions. They equate unpleasant circumstances with God not caring about them or forsaking them. One of the byproducts of weariness is that it causes man to stop coming up with ideas on how to fix a situation. Weariness is an opportunity to crucify the flesh. It is like fasting for the soul. Finally, the mind, will, and emotions run out of energy and zeal. Weariness is the place for spirit man to become hungry and thirsty for God. We don’t go to the Lord with our long list of what we want Him to do for us. Instead, we just cry out to God and ask Him for help because we are in desperate need of Him.

The above passage in the book of Isaiah tells us that weariness can happen to anyone. Even the youth can grow weary and lose their energy and zeal. However, the good news is that God will renew the strength of those who wait for Him. He allows them to rise up out of their situations and begin to run and walk again. 

When Gideon was in hiding,  the angel showed up and called him, “man of valor”. Not only Gideon did not see himself as a man of strength, but he also saw himself very small and invaluable. However, God had not forgotten about Gideon or the Israelites. The clouds in their lives finally parted, the sun rose again, and new hope was birth because God came to change their situation.

The Lord knows His children will grow weary from time to time, but if we wait for the Lord and remain in Him, He will eventually come with restoration, rejuvenation, and new strength. He will allow His people to soar again. Instead of focusing on weariness, focus on the God who is willing and able to change your situation. Keep looking to Him, and He will begin to change your outlook on your situation. His mercies are new every morning. He has something special in store for you as you patiently wait on Him and rest in Him.

I’m so glad that the Bible deals with man’s various conditions and does not try to gloss over them in the name of being spiritual. One of those areas that the Bible addresses is being weary.

Definition of weary according to Webster’s dictionary: beat, drained, exhausted, drained, and wiped out.

Definition of weary according to Strong’s concordance (H 3811): be tired of something, be impatient, be disgusted, be offended.

Life has situations and circumstances that cause weariness. The above definitions show that weariness can be in our spirit, soul, and body. Some situations don’t change as fast as we like them. There are times that we are impatient with ourselves because we don’t see the progress we hoped to see in our habits and patterns of life. Sometimes we are weary of dealing with certain people in our lives, and we don’t see much change in the nature of the relationships. At other times, we are waiting for God, and we get weary of asking and believing that things will change.

O God, when You went out before Your people,
When You marched through the wilderness, Selah
The earth shook;
The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.You, O God, sent a plentiful rain,
Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance,
When it was weary.
10 Your congregation dwelt in it;
You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor. Psalm 68:7-10

The above scripture tells us that God sent his plentiful rain to a parched and weary land in the wilderness. When the people of God were in the wilderness and there was no water to be seen or to be found, God sent His plentiful rain because He was caring for His people. 

Sometimes we are in situations that look dry, and there seem to be no evidence of hope and change. As far as our natural eyes can see, it’s all sand and dryness. We used to see mirages of water, but those have disappeared too. We come to the end of our ideas and ingenuity, and we have no other ideas or plans left to see the situation change. We have prayed every prayer that we knew how to pray, and we have done all that we know how to do. Now we have grown weary! Weariness has a way of sucking faith and hope out of life and leaves a believer even drier than before.

Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah
To Him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old!
Indeed, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice. Ascribe strength to God;
His excellence is over Israel,
And His strength is in the clouds.
O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places.
The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God! Psalm 68:32-35

In the same above Psalm, David ends by telling us how powerful God is. He is so strong that He moves the clouds with His mighty voice. He is so great that no earthly sanctuary can contain all of God’s greatness. He is the one who comes through for us!

I saw the hand of the Lord in the clouds this past week. We were at my daughter’s graduation, and at first, the forecast was partly cloudy, but later it changed to rain in the afternoon. While we were sitting in the bleachers, we could see the dark clouds pouring rain in other locations, and they were moving in our direction. We even saw a couple of lightening episodes.

I began to pray that God would stop the rain and the lightening and that He would allow the ceremony to keep going without getting canceled. I also called a friend and asked her to pray.  The ceremony went on for another hour, and it was only the last 15-20 minutes that it began sprinkling and then pouring. We were thankful to see our daughter up at the stage  and that they were able to complete the ceremony.

The God, who is so powerful, can keep the clouds at bay and suspend the rain, and He is also the one who sends the rain to the weary land and to the weary souls. In those dry times, continue to press deeper in God. If you have done all that you can, rest in Him and left Him refresh your weary soul.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-” Ephesians 6:14-1

The last part of the armor is taking up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. God’s word is powerful and has many benefits to us. One of those benefits is that it allows us to fight offensively against the strongholds that are erected in our lives and those around us.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

In times of pressure or attack, many people cave into their feelings, and, as a result, they retreat in sadness, anger, or rejection. However, the word of God allows us to wield it with power when there is opposition against our identity and our destiny in God. Jesus was tempted by the enemy to question His identity and to jeopardize His destiny. In the moment of temptation, He did not use His opinion to overcome the enemy, nor did He have a discussion with him. Instead, He used the word of God to overcome and to fight the temptations of the enemy. 

The word of God allows us to measure and examine the truth versus lies.  It also exposes the thoughts and intents of the heart. The beauty of the sword of the spirit is that it is two-edged. It does a surgery on us as it also exposes what is coming at us. It will discern our hearts and the lies that we have believed as well as the lies that others believe about us.

After we put on the whole armor of God, we pray, we watch, and we persevere. This could potentially be the hardest part because the attacks of the enemy can be long and unrelenting. At times, we may wonder if we are doing something wrong because there is no relief from the pressure. However, if we know we are doing all that we know how to do, then we need to stand and wait for God’s deliverance. The prayer, watching, and persevering press us into deeper places with God where we can’t do anything else except to wait on God to show Himself strong on our behalf. 

Make it a habit of putting on the armor of God and allowing God to protect your spirit, mind, emotion, will, and body. Include Him in your battles today and see the difference in your life as you face various temptations.