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The gift of life isn’t the only thing we take for granted, health is another. The sick can not enjoy life the way they would if they were healthy. Ask Steve Jobs. No amount of money can make up for poor health. Sickness robs one of the enjoyment of life and the ability to do those things one loves. Jobs can afford the best treatment on earth but even money has it’s limits. There are things even the richest of men can not buy, yet every day God makes this gift available to us. We can move about, eat whatever we like, do whatever we like. It’s no big deal because we take it for granted, it’s just a given that we will wake up tomorrow, eat, drink, work, play, whatever. Maybe once in a while occurrences like a near-car accident or the flu remind us what precious gifts we have but most times it’s just not something we focus on.

 

Once I saw a very pretty woman, probably in her late 30s or early 40s. She was begging for alms in front of a store. She wasn’t the typical beggar. She looked clean, neatly dressed, beautiful skin but…yes the but, she was seated in a motorized wheel chair, with a trach to support her airway. If I hazard a guess I would say under her neat clothes were an indwelling catheter to drain urine from her bladder, and a colostomy bag to collect feces from her intestines. Her leg muscles were more than likely on the way to atrophy since I doubt she used them much. I could go on analyze her situation but what I’m getting at is this: here was a young woman in the prime of life but sickness had held her back, and she would never experience life like she would if she were bubbling with health. I guess, with a high degree of certainty, that the weight of her medical bills is what led her to begging for money. Nothing bankrupts a person faster than those medical bills. Sickness not only steals life but steals one’s financial blessings too. Yet we take the gift of health for granted.

 

When was the last time you really sat down to consider what a blessing it is that you’re not stuck going through the revolving door of debilitating illness and hospital stays? I’m not talking about the occasional visits to the doctor; after all we still live in a flesh that has been condemned with sin. We will not be perfect till we shed this earthly body, as we age, our bodies will become frail and the typical wear and tear will occur. I’m talking about sickness so debilitating that a person’s quality of life is significantly depleted, and the person cannot contribute to life and society at full or near-full capacity. I know I’m guilty of not fully appreciating how good I’ve got it when I get a little under the weather, take a few pills, and I’m good to go.

 

There is so much to be thankful for. If we look around us, the list is endless. Lungs that inflate and deflate like they should, a heart that beats an average of 60-100 times a minute from the day we are born till the day we die– do you know how many beats those are? The same eyes we are born with are the ones that we use for the 70-100 years we live, and they may weaken but they still work. The brain is so complex in the way it works, and any one glitch can send us to the far ends of the spectra of consciousness, cognition, and sanity yet we bump our heads every now and then and we’re still okay. God is so good. How many accidents has He saved us from? How many tests has be helped us pass? How many car notes get paid so that we don’t have to give up our rides? Are we any better or more righteous than the homeless? Yet there’s a roof over your head, and mine. If God stopped adding benefits to us daily, it would still take us a very long time to appreciate all He has already done.

 

The next time I get on God for the few things He has not done, I pray for the grace to remember instead the gazillion things He has already done for me.

 

 

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits; the God of our salvation!” (Psalm 68:19, NKJV).

 

“Bless the LORD, O my soul and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems you life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103: 2-5, NKJV).

 

How easy it is to forget the good things God daily loads us with. So many great and marvelous things He does go unnoticed by us because we are so used to them, we take them for granted. It’s not like we do it on purpose and decide to be ungrateful but sometimes familiarity breeds forgetfulness.

 

I was reminded of this forgetfulness when I went to the dentist some days ago. My experience with my previous dentists was lacking to say the least. Until I found a better dentist I had no idea how absolutely atrocious this woman’s skills were. Her work was so crappy we had to halt treatment because I could no longer continue to subject myself to her ineptitude. Over a year passed before I gathered enough courage to see another dentist. I was so terrified of what my procedure might entail. Having that drill in the mouth is like submitting oneself for torture but instead of getting hit frequently and predictably with pain as one would expect in a torture session, this one was like playing Russian roulette with the drill– I never knew when it would hit a nerve and send my flying out the chair. As my new dentist drilled away, I kept reciting scripture to myself: “God has not given me the spirit of fear but of love, of power, and of a sound mind.”

 

Even though I felt no pain, I still found tears running down the side of my face and into my ears. I must have confused the heck out of my dentist (you should have seen his face lol!!!), shoot, I was confused myself, at least the last time I cried the dentist was actually horrible but this time I was like: Why the heck am I crying?!!! I’m a grown arsed woman for crying out loud! And the more I tried to make sense of it all, the more those idiot tears came running down. Talk about being embarrassed. Sometimes I think I need to take myself into a corner and whip some sense into me about embarrassing myself at the dentist’s office. I think I was just so relieved that God answered my prayer and there was no pain that my body decided: What? We got the tears reservoir ready for nothing? Aw heck naw, I’mma let these tears flow no matter what! Crank up the tear ducts! We go’n shed these tears ta-day!”

 

Anyway, as soon as the procedure was over, I skipped along on my merry way to shop for earrings before class. It was about an hour later I realized, I never thanked God for making my experience at the dentist’s a good one. *Deflate merry balloon here* I felt so bad. When things were back to being great, I took it for granted that God knew I was thankful. I immediately asked Him to forgive me, and then I thanked Him; better late than never. God is so merciful, cos I promise you if I were God, I’d be like: Oh it’s like that? You’re just going to skip along after I’ve done this for you? Here take that *nerve shock* and that *throbbing ache.* Thank God I am not God.

 

There is so much to be grateful for. If God stopped adding more benefits to our lives beyond what He has already done, we would still be in a great place. We set alarm clocks to wake us up, taking it for granted that alarm clocks can not raise the dead. We sign off checks and set up auto-payments, taking it for granted that only those who are alive, and well, and have income can pay bills. The dead aren’t worried about bills. So many things seem all-important, and they loom over us with their weight on our shoulders but if one were to die today, debt, bills, problems, and all those deadlines lose significance at least for the deceased.

I immediately thought of Job. He’s the only guy I know who let an irrational fear destroy his blessings. I went back to the same Google and looked him up. I found an article that explained that when God said everything Job had was in Satan’s hand, the only way they got there was through fear. Everything he had fear about was fair game for the devil. Everything that had the taint of fear, the enemy could have.

 

If the devil can deceive me with an irrational fear that I know is not true, and make me believe with my heart what is not backed by soundness of mind, then I would confess into being a sentence that would only have power because it was pronounced by me. If he could deceive me that I had this phobia, this irrational fear, I would be directly contradicting 2 Tim 1:7 that God has not given me the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. And my mind would be fair game. No way!!! No way!!!

 

God is so gracious, so kind. He saw me going downhill fast and had to bring the truth of His word to me. He sent His word to heal me of my destruction. Psalm 107: 20. The truth hit me like a thunderbolt (hence my reason for typing as fast as it came, saving editing for later): the devil has no power to put anything on me, but if I allow him to deceive me to the point where I believe it with my heart, then I would confess it with my mouth (for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, Luke 6:45), and only then would the lie take life and be established. For God’s word can never be broken. He has said that I shall decree a thing and it shall be established (Job 22:28a), whatever I loose on earth is loosed in heaven, whatever I bind on earth is bound in heaven (Matt. 18:18). The bible doesn’t pick and choose and say whatever good thing I bind or loose, no it says whatever as in whether positive or negative. Which is why we’re admonished in James 3 to control what we say as children of God.

 

Wow!!!

 

It is possible to be beloved of God and not truly understand His word or how He works. When the devil tempted Adam and Eve he used the word of God: “Did God say…?” When he tempted Jesus he used the word: “Is it not written…?” When he tempts us, he will use the word, and try to twist it to deceive us into either misunderstanding it or misusing it. If he can not use a direct approach like quoting the scripture to you, he will deceive you banking on the infallibility of God’s word that we have power in our words, when we command, it will happen. If he can trick us to speak into being what is not true, we essentially begin to inhabit a prison we’ve built with our own resources. Talk about a deceiver and a cheat! The devil is completely shameless and useless.

 

As God’s children, created in His image, inhabiting a place of authority and dominion in God’s scheme of things, we’ve got to be on our toes. We can’t be chilling like the folks in the Garden of Eden, letting a liar and thief come rob us with our own ammunition. No! Like Jesus we’ve got to be discerning and on standby to give an effective counter-attack with the truth of God’s word. I know it isn’t always easy, but Jesus has promised that He has overcome the world (John 16:33), the devil is already a defeated foe and just like the host of heaven, we can overcome him by the blood of Jesus and… you guessed it… the word of our testimony (Revelations 12:11). Jesus has promised and given the Holy Spirit to step up for us when we need help. Were it not for Jesus the devil would have messed me up big time, and kicked me around like a foot ball.

 

God is good y’all. God is so good! Like my pastor says, “If it ain’t good, it ain’t God.” God is faithful, and He hasn’t given up on me… or you.

 

Father I bless Your name for Your work of deliverance. I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that I am free. I am convinced that Jesus has set me free, and I am free indeed.

 

P.S. After typing this epistle, I went back to read that article but I couldn’t find it. I kid you not. I tried over 10 variations of my initial search criteria, hoping desperately to find it. Nothing. Nada. It was gone. It was as if God dropped a quick note for me that (like in Mission Impossible) vaporized in 3… 2… 1….

This economy is going through a lot. No news there right? What amazes me is how I and my family, and those around me have been able to make do with what God has been kind enough to provide. Even in these hard times of financial challenges, by God’s grace we still have roofs over our heads, bills paid, and food on the table. That is a great testimony! Glory to God. It’s amazing how God used times like these to point out areas of waste we never paid attention to, and aspects of our lives we could be more diligent with. I for one found out last year that I could live quite comfortably in a tiny apartment compared to the sprawling one I always thought I needed for all my junk. By God’s wisdom I was also able to  muscle the apartment complex management into giving me a lease deal that saved me hundreds of dollars. I found out yesterday after looking at my cell phone usage history that I was paying too much for very little usage, and by God’s grace cut out the unnecessaries– and thus my cell phone bill in half. I am learning that tough economic times are not all about bad things, they’re about learning, and adjusting, and looking up to God even more.

 

Recently a friend told me that a former work place had closed because of decreased customer patronage. My first thought was for all the people–and families by extension–who would be dealing with the cut in that work place. It’s just disheartening. As I did my devotion this morning my prayers were work-place-laced. I thanked God for His provisions and His faithfulness, and I prayed that He would reach out to these people as only He can. There’s only so much we as acquaintances, friends, and extended families can do in the short-term but for the long-term sustenance of the families, we need God-level help. Mortgages, tuition, those kinds of expenses are heavy duty and, more than half the time, beyond what neighbors and friends can handle long-term on behalf of a family.

 

I read Psalm 23, and that passage had such renewed meaning for me. The very first verse touched me. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want” (NKJV). Because God is in charge of me, I will always be provided for. That means so much in these trying times. I always say, it is the grace of God that keeps me from the streets. Take away the grace of God from my life, and I am done for. His grace is the only thing that stands between me and a life of destitution. When people see me and see something good, they’re only looking at me through the covering of God’s grace. Remove that grace, and I ain’t so pretty, my life ain’t all that, I am nothing without God’s grace. I am so humbled that He chooses to keep His mercy on most unworthy me. I am amazed at how He spreads whatever I have so that it covers what needs to be covered. It’s like the 5 loaves and 2 fish that refused to finish until everybody had eaten and had leftovers. It’s like the jar of oil and the bowl of flour that never ceases. I am so humbled Lord. Thank You.

 

The shepherd always knows before the sheep when the current supplies will run out. So when the shepherd says it’s time to move to another spot it’s time. Even if it looks like that path ahead is not as good as what they’ve got going, trust Him, He knows. By the time the sheep get to the appointed place, they will arrive at harvest time. No matter how rough the trip, the destination is a place of provision. The sheep shall not want.

 

When you look back on your past experiences you will realize our darling Shepherd knew that the supplies of yesterday could only be sufficient for so long. Whether you’re just moving from your starting point, far along in your journey, or right at the spot where you can see your Canaan in the horizon, hold on to the Shepherd’s word, and walk close beside Him. Trust Him, He knows what He is doing.

 

Why don’t you take some time to focus on the good things the Shepherd has done for you this year. You’re alive– that’s the most important thing because these words: grace, and mercy and provision only apply to the living. What has God been gracious enough to afford you? Food? Clothes on your back? A job? Whatever it is, let us just appreciate God for it. I find it’s easy to take grace for granted when it seems like nothing is going on in our lives. Have you ever considered how much God is putting into that peace and quiet that surrounds you? You know that the enemy is out to frustrate us, and is ever busy trying; can you imagine how much spiritual warfare is going on on your behalf to keep things quiet, the same, “ain’t nothing happening?” They say no news is good news right? Let that have a deeper meaning for you today.

 

Let us take some time to recognize our ever faithful Shepherd who is always working in the background for our good, whether it looks like it or not. Let us not take His grace for granted.

 

Please pray with me:

 

Heavenly Father, King of glory, God of mercy, blessed Shepherd, thank You.

Thank You for all You do. Thank You for all You provide.

Thank You for the breath of life that still dwells in me.

Thank You for where I am, and where You are taking me.

Thank You for the promise of Your ever-abiding presence.

Thank You for being You, and thank you for choosing me to be loved, and cared for by You.

I appreciate You God for all You do. I don’t take Your grace for granted.

Thank you! Thank You!! Thank You!!!

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

Be blessed.

 

I presented my struggle on the issue of dealing with other people’s loss to God, and how complicated it can get– especially when one is an outsider. Here’s what I got:

 

Days have gone by, does anybody remember?

Why does life look like it has gone ahead?

Why does your world still feel as broken as the day it crashed?

Does anybody remember your pain?

Does anybody remember that beautiful smile?

That chorus of laughter that once brightened your day?

Anyone?

 

God says He remembers.

He along with others who loved like you;

Others who hold that memory dear and will never let go.

 

God? You ask. The same God who permitted your life to fall apart?

Why would He comfort now when He could have prevented the hurt?

Why?

 

Despite your anger, this God opens up His hands to hold you.

He beckons you to allow your deep sorrow melt under the heat of His embrace.

Even as your battered soul beats on His chest

And your lips mouth the words “Why?”

The sound of which is drowned by your wrenching sobs.

He opens Himself up to draw you near, to bring comfort only He can provide.

 

Though right now you feel as if you will never truly live again,

He says you will live again,

To sing again,

To dance again.

Though you feel

Like that the hole has been blasted through your heart

Can never be filled,

He says you will be whole again.

And that emptiness will be filled

with His love, His joy, His peace.

 

God says He has not forgotten,

He will never forget.

Though life looks like business as usual,

He is right there with you,

Helping you with the strength to pick up those pieces.

He will never leave you,

He will never forsake you.

He will be there with you

For however long it takes for you

To be put back together again.

You will smile again.

 

There is no guarantee that the hurt will completely disappear;

Sometimes pain is the tribute we pay to the memory of the loved.

There are things on this side of eternity that we will never let go of.

And God will not snatch those memories from us,

No matter how heavy they make our hearts.

 

What He does guarantee

Is everlasting comfort, when those memories bring pain.

His angels will rally around you,

Ministering to the depths of your spirit.

His Holy Spirit, will burst forth with lightness within you,

Lifting you to heights where His peace reigns.

God Himself, will lean over you,

His wings will cover you,

as He sings over you.

He will pour out His essence unto you

So that your countenance will reflect His divine light.

He will hover over you, like a mother over her newborn.

And sustain you, and protect you.

His love will engulf you.

You will live again,

You will sing again,

You will dance again.

God remembers.

 

Have you ever lost someone or something that was very dear to you? A loved one? A friend? A dream? When the loss initially hits, there is an avalanche of pain that washes over you after the denial or unbelief of your world crashing has passed. In that early period, people easily mourn with you. It’s easier to bring up discussions, and stories about that which was lost when it’s still fresh on the surface. As time goes by, the sea of mourners trickles down to a little brook and people slowly filter away to focus on life’s cares. While life looks like it has gotten back on track for everybody else, you stand nursing the wound that hurts just as much as the first day you were cut. Occasionally someone will bring up the subject that fans to flames the pain that ever so slowly ebbs like dying coals in your soul but those times become few and far between. Soon, no one will bring up the topic. You will wonder, has everyone forgotten? Is it back to life as usual? How is it easy for people to move on, just like that?

 

When I came up with this piece, I had a family in mind. They had experienced a deeply painful loss. I have mourned some losses before, and have often asked the questions I posed above. As I thought about them I realized how it may appear like we have forgotten the loss, like we have moved on. I know that I have not just moved on. As I stand on the outside I have come to realize the difficulty of my position. Loss is such a touchy subject, and people mourn in different ways. Some people like to rip a bandage off the skin, while others prefer to take their time with it, the problem is, people sometime have a hard time articulating which method they prefer. How do I bring up the subject without hurting those who care? Should I bring up the subject? What would be gained or lost by bringing up painful memories– are they even memories since they’re fresh on our minds, we just don’t talk about them? This is a confusing place to be in. I want to reach out, but only if I know that my effort will lessen the pain rather than make it worse.

 

How do you deal with someone’s loss?

A good move at the wrong time is just as bad as a bad move at any time. No matter how good your intentions and motivations are, if they do not fall in line with God’s timing, you’re setting yourself up for heartache. A good move in the wrong time is still a bad move. I have often felt that obviously good decisions don’t need to go through the same vetting process as equivocal or unclear decisions. I’ve often felt that if one’s heart is pure and one’s intentions are good, one can just go ahead and make a decision or perform an action– God will be fine with it.

 

I learned a lesson today that has changed that line of thinking drastically. All  decisions must go through God. No matter how obviously good a course of action appears, every decision must have God’s go ahead. In a bid to do good today, I almost got entangled in trouble. My intention was to help out someone who looked like he needed help, little did I know that the person was trouble himself. My saving grace was God’s mercy. Instead of reaching out to the person immediately I saw him, I felt that what I had at the moment was not significant enough to really help him. So I went and got more, and upon returning, couldn’t even find this person. When I finally saw him, I realized why God had allowed me to go away in search of more for him. Reaching out to him would have been a bad move and I could have been mistaken for what I am not.

 

As I drove away, and through out my evening, I kept asking, what is this about LORD? How come I almost got into trouble when all I wanted to do was help? My Father said:

A seemingly good move without My consent is a bad move. No decisions should be taken without a clear go ahead from Me. No move is better than any move outside the will of God. Run everything by Me ALWAYS.

 

Well this is a lesson I don’t need to learn twice. I am reminded of the scripture Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To everything there is a season, A time for every  purpose under heaven” (NKJV). A good move isn’t good if it doesn’t have God in it. Saul had good intentions but he lost favor with God. According to I Samuel 15:15 Saul had the intention for the spoils of war, and animals to be used to honor God but he got in trouble because good intentions will never trump disregard for God’s instructions. Uzzah tried to help God by reaching out to save the Ark of the Covenant from falling but God was not amused and struck Uzzah dead for “his error” (2 Sam. 6:6-7). I suppose Uzzah was not qualified to touch the Ark but he did.  Uzzah didn’t even intend to be disrespectful, and his action was more than likely a reflex but to God he was disrespectful, and was not spared.

 

I thank God for the disposition of grace; I thank Him for His mercies over me. I appreciate the God of deliverance for His favor, and salvation over my life. I could have been entangled, and been a victim of confused identity. I thank God though that my identity, my safety, and my freedom are secure in Him.

 

Glory to God in the highest!

In Proverbs 4:5-9, David admonishes his son Solomon with excellent advice about how to be great. He tells him there is great good in embracing wisdom. “Get wisdom! Get understanding…. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom (Prov. 4:5 & 7, NKJV). He goes on to say, “exalt her and she will promote you, she will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you” (Prov. 4: 8-9, NKJV).

 

This verse has always stood out to me because of the message it holds but until this evening I never saw why David would insist on wisdom. If anything I would think the great Psalmist would advocate praise as the way to greatness. Of course I have come to realize that the purpose of praise is to honor God, the purpose of wisdom is to honor man.

 

As I read 1 Samuel 18: 12-30, I realized why wisdom was so important to David, why he harped on it so much in his teachings to Solomon his son. David emphasized wisdom so much that when Solomon had the opportunity to ask God for anything in 2 Chronicles 1: 7-12, he asked for wisdom and knowledge– and even then, focusing on wisdom brought him so much wealth from God. Wisdom was important to David because it was through wisdom that he was able to gain honor in the sight of God’s people. Positions do not necessarily inspire honor and respect from people, if you doubt me, ask Saul and how he felt about the women singing “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7, NKJV), or you could ask any US president who has been disrespected. Position does not guarantee honor and respect, wisdom does.

 

From the story of David’s early life, we can tell that he was not highly regarded by his family. When Samuel asked Jesse to assemble his boys, he left David out (1 Samuel 16). When David went to deliver food to his brothers in the Valley of Elah, his big brother was not exactly pleased to see him and didn’t have very nice words for him (1 Samuel 17:28). Even when Saul offered to make David his son-in-law, David was reluctant to present himself a worthy suitor because he felt he was “a poor and lightly esteemed man” (1 Samuel 18:23). Even though David had the anointing of kingship, the favor of God, great skills as a soldier, and the praise of the people, he was still a broke guy with some self-esteem issues. He was admired but was not highly esteemed.

 

So what changed David’s story? What was the source of David’s honor? The answer lies in the very last verse: 1 Samuel 18: 30. I have read these chapters before but it was not until this evening that this clicked. Wisdom changed David’s story. Here’s the verse:

 

“Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out , that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed” (NKJV).

 

Wisdom, not anointing, not fighting skills, not good looks, not riches, not praise, not position as the king’s son-in-law but wisdom brought high esteem to David’s life.

 

The result of the manifestation of wisdom in David’s life is the reason why he insisted that Solomon embrace wisdom. “Exalt her and she will promote you, she will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you” (Prov. 4: 8-9, NKJV).

 

Glory to the God of wisdom!

Dominion International Center Houston is hosting the King of kings, His host of angels, and His beloved children at the Divine Encounter Conference, July 3rd to July 10th, 2011. For those of you in Houston, you are invited! Those who can not make it to the church can watch the services online (you have to sign up for live webcasts on the church website). For any information you might need about the program, here’s the website: www.dichouston.org We have great servants of God coming to share God’s word with us, but most importantly, we have God Himself ready and willing to change our lives through an encounter with Him. Be there!

 

As I was praying in preparation for the Divine Encounter this evening, the message for today’s blog came to me. At some point during the prayer I found myself faced with the question, “I hear you praying for God’s presence, are you or are you not going to ask for blessings along with that?” I don’t know if was being lazy or complacent but I thought to myself, I have been asking blessings of God for a while now. I guess I can make this prayer just about His presence. So I prayed and said “Lord, just bring Yourself. That’s all I need right now.” You know what came to me after that prayer? This:

 

Where God’s presence is, there are blessings whether you ask for them or not. When God comes and we encounter Him, both categories of the things we asked for and those we didn’t ask for get fixed. He has a way of meeting us where we need to be met– whether we realize the need or not.

 

When Jesus met the paralyzed man in John 5:1-9, He asked him, “do you want to be made well?” The man launched into an unnecessary conversation about how when he wants to get into the water after it has been stirred, some random dude out of nowhere does a back-flip and lands in the water before him. A simple “yes” or “no” would have sufficed but I see this problem of answering what has not been asked is not a new one.  Jesus in His mercy allowed the man to finish and simply told him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And the man was healed. Jesus knew what this man needed, brought it up, and fixed it. Nowhere did the man say “Lord I want you to heal me.” Jesus knew he needed healing, and came to him with the mission to heal.

 

The great prophet Elijah had just gotten through the first phase of running away from a power-drunk, idol-worshiping queen who had promised to kill him. In 1 Kings 19: 4, when the great prophet finally prayed to God, he didn’t ask for fire to consume Jezebel, or for some really bad thing to happen to her to teach her the folly of messing with a man of God. No. He asked to die, he was so discouraged and felt so alone, he asked to die.

 

Sometimes it’s great that God doesn’t answer all our prayers. Instead God knew that he needed encouragement and support, and that’s exactly what He provided. First God strengthened his spirit by drawing him real close– He allowed His presence to pass by Elijah (1 Kings 19:11). In Exodus 34 when God did something similar, Moses wasn’t the same when he came back home. His face shone (Exodus 34: 29-35). The glory of God’s presence was so intense that Moses’ face reflected it. I suspect that Elijah’s face shone also. A shining face can also represent a happy, joyful face. Elijah was strengthened and his sadness was replaced with joy. How do I know? Psalm 16:11 says, “in your presence is fullness of joy…” (NKJV).  God also provided human support for Elijah, by informing him that he was not alone– God had reserved 7000 godly people who were not on the enemy’s side– and by providing an assistant, Elisha, who would be faithful and in line with the program of God’s work in Elijah’s life. I don’t think Elijah was ever as lonely as he felt in that dark period in his life. Elisha was such a companion that he followed Elijah’s every move and was there with him till the very end when the chariots came for Elijah. Talk about God meeting Elijah’s needs in a way not even he could have fathomed!

 

There are many more examples in the bible where God approaches His people with an intent to meet their needs whether they know of the existence of those needs or not, and whether they know how to seek help for their needs or not. Prayer is good, and we should ask God for whatever we feel like but the more important thing to keep in mind while we pray is that we should trust God that whatever way He chooses to answer is always for our good. We are not alone in our prayers, and even when our prayers are not in line with His will, He has someone praying for us according to His will. Romans 8:26-27 puts it beautifully, “…For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us…. He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (NKJV). And we know that every prayer according to the will of God gets answered (1 John 5:14-15).

 

As we look forward to Divine Encounter, let us pull back the pressure on asking for blessings, and let us focus more on enjoying the power of being in His presence and encountering His glory. While men like Moses and Elijah never left the presence of God, the bible records times in their lives when they experienced the personal presence of God, His Shekinah– divine presence that settles upon. The Shekinah encounter made a difference that their daily walk with God could not produce. I go into Divine Encounter seeking just that, God’s divine presence. I know without a shadow of doubt that when I encounter that presence, all my needs will be met, my face will shine, and I will be able to testify that I have seen God!

 

Be blessed!