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Most of us are very familiar with God’s process. We know that His process can take months, years, and sometimes decades to be completed.  However, there is another side to the kingdom of God. God is also the God of suddenly and immediately. He can make something happen when in the natural, it should have taken a long time. Sometimes, God works through miracles and something happens that humanly is impossible to happen so fast.

Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” John 2:6-10

In the above scripture,  Jesus turns the water into wine. For the wine to ferment, it would take at least months. Some wines take years to become rich in flavor, but Jesus was able to do this Immediately. His miracle allowed water that is clear and flavorless to become wine that is rich in color, flavor, and potency.  

Sometimes, when we look at the circumstances of our lives, we see ourselves without flavor or color.  We perceive ourselves as incapable and unskilled. For instance, we may desire to apply for a job but don’t feel qualified. At other times, we may feel pressed for time. It feels like the resolution to the problem is impossible in a timely manner. For example, we may desire to have children but we are getting too old. We may desire to see a miracle in a situation, but time is running out.

God is the master of impossibilities. He has the power and capability to work suddenly in your situation. What naturally may take months or years to see a resolution, God is able to do immediately. Praise God that we have a God who works miracles on behalf of His children.

Today, submit the problem to Him. Recognize that He is bigger than your situation. Give thanks for what He already has done in your life, and trust Him for His miraculous touch upon your situation.  

So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” Exodus 15:24

The Israelites found themselves without water, and they complained to Moses about it. Moses was in the same predicament as the people were, but somehow they were demanding water from Moses. Every time people complained about something, Moses went before the Lord to get an answer for their issues.

If the Israelites had prayed to God and sought Him for their needs, it would have helped them to take their focus off of their leader. Moses was not their savior only a leader appointed by God. He had never been to the Promised Land, neither did he know the troubles along the way. The journey was new to everyone. Moses was wholly dependent on God’s provision every step of the way as they were.

We have a similar problem. We see this in our expectations of government. Every time there is a lack or ill in society, we look to our governmental leaders to have an answer to the problem. At the same time, people insist that there is separation of church and state. The Lord is involved in all of our affairs and He is not separated from any aspect of society. He is the only one who has truthful and sure answers, but most of us are willing to settle for short-lived political decisions to ease our anxiety for the moment.  Instead, we should humble ourselves before God and seek His face for the solutions He has for our society and our nation.

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:31-33

When Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt, they were supposed to come out to worship the Lord and to seek Him. However, they wasted most of those years being worried about their lack and complaining about their lives. 

Sometimes the journey may be full of unexpected twists and turns, but we should remind ourselves about the purpose of the journey. What are we seeking? Are we seeking to worship the Lord in the midst of uncertain situations? Or are we waiting to arrive to our destination before we celebrate God?

Faith is the evidence of things not seen. We need to live in such a way that our lives hold on to the evidence of what God has spoken to us until they are materialized in reality. Otherwise, we will continue to live in the desert of doubt and anxiously wonder if God is going to come through for us. 

The Bible does not tell us that any of the Israelites died from dehydration or starvation, but many of them died in the desert due to doubt, unbelief, and disobedience.

Today is a good day to seek the Lord, worship Him, and trust Him in the midst of your situation. 

Uncertainty Can Lead to Retreat

In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Exodus 16:2-4

The Israelites were slaves to the Egyptians and the living/working conditions in Egypt were horrible. Yet, they continued to grumble about leaving Egypt.  Suddenly, Egypt looked very appealing to them, and they preferred the pain of slavery in Egypt rather than depending on God in uncertain conditions.

Uncertainty has a tendency to make us retreat to our past familiar circumstances. The past circumstances may have been horrible, but we would rather be in painful familiar places rather than unnerving and unfamiliar new circumstances.

Sometimes, we wonder why people go back to abusive relationships or return to their addictions. Sometimes children follow their parents’ bad patterns while they may have promised themselves not to ever follow. I have it heard it being said that it is easier to leave Egypt than to let Egypt leave your heart. 

Since we like to be in control of our lives, our flesh has a tendency to draw to familiar and controlled environment rather than allowing the spirit man to take the lead in unfamiliar and uncharted territories. 

I have been guilty of this quite a few times in my life. I have stayed in bad situations out of the fear of the unknown.  I want to live my life differently. I desire to trust God in uncharted territories rather than leaning on my own understanding of the situation.

Our carnal understanding  is dependent on our past knowledge. We like to depend on our past experience because it makes us feel confident and in control.  On the other hand,  our spiritual understanding is dependent on God’s revelation, which gives us fresh experience with God. However, this is the place of vulnerability and dependency, which our carnal nature tries to avoid. 

When restlessness, grumbling, or anxiety enter into our hearts, it is a signal that we have begun relying on our carnal nature. It is time to evaluate our thoughts and reject those thoughts that come against the knowledge of God. The uncertainty will try push us back and keep us bound to the past, but we don’t have to come into agreement with it. We have a choice to make by declaring and decreeing who God is for us and what He has spoken over our lives. 

Are you in uncertain new circumstances right now? Are you able to seek the mind of Christ in this situation?  Are you able to make yourself vulnerable before God?

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional. 

How do you respond when things don’t turn out as you expected? We all seek to reach our goal or destination with least amount of resistance, but sometimes there are giants along the way that need to be slain.

Discontentment leads to blaming the leaders

All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”  So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.” Numbers 14:2-4

Moses’ life was at risk just like everyone else. As a young man, he gave up the palace to identify with his own people. Later on when God called Him, he risked his life several times by going to Pharaoh repeatedly and asking him to free God’s people. He was subject to the same risks that they were. Moses didn’t know how the journey was going to look like, but that didn’t make him a bad leader. 

We have a tendency to think that the leaders should always have the answers to all our problems. In reality, they are following God just like the rest of us. Sometimes, they don’t know what the next step is until the Lord makes it clear to them. God has designed it that way, so we can always look to Him rather than seeking our leaders. 

Uncertain Circumstances can lead to unbelief

What is worse is that the Israelites questioned God’s integrity and accused Him of bringing them out of Egypt to die by the sword of the Canaanites. Why would God want to kill them by going through the process of freeing them from the hands of Pharaoh? He sent several plagues to Egypt and parted the Red Sea to rescue His people. The Israelites had allowed their fearful emotions to paint a false picture of God for them.

We can praise God for His faithfulness and at the next uncertain moment, wonder of God’s intentions towards us. In uncertain times, it is imperative to overcome our emotions and believe God’s goodness and kindness toward us. If faith takes us to experiencing God, our faith will grow. If we wait to experience God before we develop faith, we will tend to be at a deficit of faith in uncertain times. 

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional. 

What would make you satisfied and content? 

Sometimes, we have contradictory desires. On the one hand, we want to be adventurous and go out and save the world, but on the other hand, we want to be sure that we have our creature comforts. In addition, we do not want to be too far from my loved ones. Some of you may be in child rearing years, and you are looking forward to seeing your children become adults and independent. Those of us who have reached that season already miss the child-rearing years. What does it take for us to be content!?

The Bible shows that as much as God came through for the Israelites, they quickly became discontent and even angry at God and His appointed leader.

Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.  So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.  And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them. Exodus 2:23-25

God was merciful to His people and heard their cry. The Lord allowed Moses’ life to be saved as a newborn in order for God to use His life for the purpose of delivering His people from Egypt. However, the Israelites were not happy about leaving Egypt.

Read Numbers 13:26-33

Moses sent twelve spies to scout out the land and bring report of what they observed in Canaan. All men observed the same thing, but ten of them came with the report that the people living in Canaan were giants. The ten spies saw themselves as grasshoppers in comparison to the Canaanites. The other two spies, Caleb and Joshua, focused on God’s will in their lives. They had the faith that they can possess the land and overcome the so called giants.

Faith will stretch you

All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”  So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.” Number 14:2-4

It’s amazing how forgetful we can be. We can pray for months or years for something, but once we get it, we begin to doubt God because it is not what we expect it to be. Every new door of opportunity will have some stretching. We cannot remain comfortable and grow at the same time. Not every stretching is necessary nor is it from God. On the other hand, just because things get hard, it does not mean that God is not in it.

Taking new territory will have opposition

If we want to take the steps of faith, there will be opposition to it. The enemy will not sit on the sidelines and allow us to take over a new territory for God. Just because things get hard, it does not mean that we are incapable. At times, we will feel like grasshoppers, but we cannot entertain those lies if God has led us in certain direction. 

If we just desire to safety and security in our little tent, we will retreat in times of challenge and uncertainty. Our starting point in every undertaking should be ensuring that it is led by the Lord. If God has led us into a new direction, then we must trust His provisions on this journey. He will unfold what we need when we need it.  God wants to show Himself strong on your behalf and allow us to see His hand in the midst of reaching Canaan.

 I will continue with this subject in the next devotional. 

At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

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 11:25-30

Jesus’ call goes out to all of us who are weary and burdened to come to Him for rest. The world has no rest to offer us, and the cares of this world can overwhelm the strongest of us. The issues that we cannot control or change can become a yoke that are difficult and heavy to carry. There is no rest when we are overburdened by those cares, but Jesus knows our condition. 

He invites us to come to him with child-like faith and trust Him that He has the power and the answers to resolve our problems. He calls us to a lifestyle of humility and dependence on Him. This positions us for rest rather than restlessness. To have a child-like faith, at times, looks foolish and unwise. This is a spiritual battle that must be fought by living a lifestyle of humility and dependence on the Lord. 

Some of us have a tendency to take on more responsibility than we should. We think that the success of most situations depends on our hard work and ingenuity. We are used to making things happen. When we are successful in achieving our goals, it reinforces our view of hard work and self-effort. If we are not successful, then we attribute it to not doing our best. Some of us equate rest to laziness or having no purpose. 

We need to admit that we are addicted to “doing” and that we will find every excuse for self-exertion. This is a stronghold that must be broken in our lives. We cannot try to control our lives and, at the same time, take on God’s yoke and enter His rest. 

I had a few anxious and restless days lately. Last night, I found that when I just focused on Him and declared my trust in Him, I regained my peace and rest. There are things that we may not have answers for right away, but God is still on the throne, and He has a plan. We can rest in Him and trust our heavenly Father. 

Rest is our privilege as the Children of God! My prayer is that we are not burdened by cares of life and that we experience His rest, peace, and joy!

While the Bible does not speak about stress, it addresses anxiety and burdens of life. Some stress is generated by lack of prioritization in life. Nowadays, everything seems to have equal importance, which raises the level of stress. We overcommit our time and finances, and that adds to our level of stress. We generally do not look down upon stress because it is culturally perceived to be associated with success. However, the Lord sees it differently. He expects His people to enter His rest.

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.  For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; Hebrews 4:1-4

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.  For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Hebrews 4:9-10

Rest requires faith. One of the great blessings of our relationship with the Lord is the privilege of having God’s rest. The message of the Gospel is about entering God’s rest. Rest is one of the benefits of our salvation. The Lord told His people that rest was available to them. However, people chose not to enter His rest because they did not believe the Lord. They thought that they have to do works to be accepted by God. God considers it disobedience when people choose not to enter His rest.

There are Christians who have come from works denominations or backgrounds, and it is very difficult for them to believe that they can just receive the love of God without having to work towards it. God has works for us to do, but they are done on the foundation of rest and acceptance. It is not about striving or trying to earn God’s favor. 

Without the rest of God in our lives, we will return to our old nature trying to make things happen through self-effort. We will become performance driven and assume that everything depends on our actions. It will be difficult to surrender our will to the Lord because we would feel responsible for making things happen. If we don’t have the rest of God, we will begin to lose His joy as well. The rest of God keeps us in tune with His ways and His will. Without His rest, we are operating with our soul and our senses. When was the last time you heard a message about restlessness being considered disobedience!?

This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord.

The Lord created everything in heaven and earth and brought order in a chaotic world. However, sin changed everything. Sin began a turmoil in people’s hearts, and relationships began to break down. Destruction and chaos became intertwined in God’s perfect plan of creation. Therefore, God’s resting place on the earth was lost due to the Fall.

In His model prayer, Jesus prayed that God’s Kingdom and His will would come to the earth. It is God’s desire to have a resting place on the earth. The Lord is not looking for a building, but He is desiring to rest on His people. He is seeking those who are humble and wholly dependent on His grace. God is looking for those who have given up controlling their circumstances, and instead, they have chosen to take God at His word!

There are many choices and voices around us. Sometimes, it is very difficult to discern what we are responsible for. We may have a tendency to take on issues that are not ours to fix, which cause great stress. In addition, there are areas in our lives that cannot be fixed by our continual intervention. Instead, we need to surrender them to the Lord and allow Him to change them in His timing. 

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. Isaiah 11:10

Long before Jesus came on the scene, God had ordained that the true rest will come when Jesus would redeem His people by dying on the Cross.The root of Jesse was a prophetic word about the coming Messiah. Through repentance, people give up their restlessness for the rest of God in their hearts. We are saved from our corruptible self and allow His rest to come upon us. God restored the order of creation through Jesus.

The enemy does not want us to rest, and our old nature fights rest as well. The old nature is addicted to doing to feel worthy and in control. If desire to experience the rest of God, we need to feed our new nature through trust and quietness. This allows the glory of God to rest on us and become visible in a fallen world. God’s children are the conduits of bringing God’s peace to the earth by making their temple (bodies) available for the Spirit of God.

The rest of God is the tranquility that one experiences in spite of circumstances. At one time, Jesus slept on the back of the boat. This was a picture of the rest of God in the midst of others’ anguish. The world is desperate to see peaceful men/women who are not affected or disturbed by their surroundings but allow God’s rest to take away the anguish in their hearts. Are you willing to be that resting place for the Spirit of God?

Lord, please help us to be at rest in the midst of uncertain and chaotic world. Calm our restlessness and anguish.  Help us not to take on burdens that do not belong to us.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. 

We live in a busy world with many demands on our time and attention. In addition, the social media gives us plenty of opportunities to be distracted and waste our time on frivolous and sometimes fake information. While we may complain about our stress level, some of it is generated by our choices.

A few months ago, my back went out, and it stopped me in my tracks. The MRI showed that I have a herniated disk and will take months to heal. I went to a message therapist, who did a great job in bringing relief to my back, but he told me that I am suffering from stress. I have a tendency to begin thinking about the next task or the next assignment, which causes me not to give my body the rest it needs. He told me that I need to rest after completing my work and enjoy what I have accomplished. He is a Christian, and his message resonated with me because it is scriptural.

One of the important things that God spoke to His people in the Old Testament and the New Testament was the need for rest. 

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Genesis 2:2

The Lord who is all mighty and powerful rested from His work on the seventh day. At this point, sin had not entered the world. Rest was part of God’s design from the beginning, and He set the example for us to rest. If God rested on the seventh day, that tells us that we need to rest at least one day a week.

Resting means to cease from doing. God has designed our bodies to rest. He has written the manufacturer’s manual, and He tells us that this is what we need to function optimally. We generally take care of our cars according to manufacturer’s manual, but why do we not take the Bible seriously in His instructions about our bodies!? Many people suffer from various physical, emotional, and mental ailments because they dismiss getting the rest they need. They would rather go to the doctor or take pills than giving their body the care it needs to function well.

Do you set time aside to rest?  Are you getting the rest you need?

We are all prone to not hearing God’s voice from time to time. Our past successes in hearing God are not a guarantee that we can always discern God’s voice clearly and accurately. This challenge is evident when we study the life of Isaiah who was the prophet of God.

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; 12 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 was a bold and courageous prophet. He was the one who challenged the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (see 1 Kings 18:29-46) and was victorious in proving the one true God who is worthy of worship! In addition, after defeating the false prophets, he ensured that every prophet of Baal was executed. This action caused the famine in the land to cease, and God brought back the rain. Elijah had no problem hearing God’s voice clearly and executing His plan. However, after this great victory, Jezebel ( the Queen of Israel) sent a messenger to Elijah and threatening his life for killing all her prophets.

Elijah was shaken by Jezebel’s threats and ran into the wilderness for his life. The above scripture tells us that God approached Isaiah and asked him what he was doing. Elijah had been accurately hearing God, but Jezebel’s intimidation shook him to the point that he ran and hid. He even thought he was all alone in serving God. Elijah discouragement was so great that his fears eclipsed the voice of God. Isaiah was used to miracles, signs, and wonders, but, this time, God did not respond to Elijah with signs and wonders.

God was showing Elijah that he didn’t always speak in the wind, earthquake, and fire. This time God was going to touch Isaiah gently with His still small voice and speak to His prophet. Hearing the voice of God requires becoming still to discern His small voice. We need to slow down from our activities and make room for Him to speak to us. In addition, when we are anxious, it is very hard to hear the voice of the Lord. His voice is so gentle that it requires our attention and surrender. 

The last few devotionals are a reminder that we can have the ability to hear God’s voice, but we can be influenced by pressure, pride, frustration, fear, and discouragement and not hear the Lord clearly. It is in those times, that we need to regain the peace of God before we can hear the voice of God!