His Word, My Victory

With God on our side, is it possible for us to be defeated?  Even when the odds are stacked against us?  Do we trust him, even when it looks absolutely impossible?  When realty looks the opposite of what he has told us, can we still believe for him to work a miraculous change?

"And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods. Have ye not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are not gods. But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the Lord, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business: And they burn unto the Lord every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the Lord our God; but ye have forsaken him. And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper." II Chronicles 13:8-12

Judah had 400,000 valiant men but Israel had 800,000 mighty warriors.  The king of Judah told the king of Israel - “hey, don’t mess with us because we have the Lord on our side.” (my wording)  Exactly like satan, the king of Israel didn’t listen.  In fact the men of Israel set up an ambush by surrounding King Abijah and the men of Judah.  So here they are surrounded and outmanned - it looked like sure defeat.  Has that ever happened to you?  Is it happening now?  So what did these valiant men do?  Before the battle cry went up, they cried to the Lord. (II Chronicles 13:14)  The Bible says “…as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.”  That tells me that when our reality looks like sure defeat that we just need to cry to the Lord and he will fight the battle for us.  It doesn’t matter what happens today, we just have to continue to trust in the Lord for he is on the scene waiting for our cry and the perfect time.  We need to understand that sometimes God allows our reality to get to be absolutely impossible so when the miracle comes he is the one that gets the glory.

It would have been better for the men of Israel to acknowledge the power of God and not go to battle with Judah.  As such, anyone that is standing in the way of God fulfilling his promise to you will bow or be moved.

His Word, My Death

"Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed tthe Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore the sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick." Luke 11:1-3

"When he heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was." Luke 11:6

"Then when Jesus camee, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already." Luke 11:17

"Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw hi, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." Luke 11:32

"Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of hi that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh:for he hath been dead four days. Jesus said unto her, Said I not unto you thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone fro the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always:but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth," Luke 11:39-44a

Not only did Lazarus die but so did the hope of Mary and Martha. Once their brother had died, instead of requesting a miracle, they instead spoke of what could have been... if only Jesus would have shown up earlier. For them, and probably for Lazarus also, a healing was all that was required. This is such a familiar story to most of us but would we have heard about it if Jesus would have merely healed him like he did thousands of others?  Would we have miraculous hope if Jesus would have hastened to Lazarus and spoke the words of healing rather than words of resurrection?

I think that Lazarus and his sisters would have been among the countless others that were healed but are nameless in the Bible. There wouldn't have been skits and songs today if Jesus hadn't waited to go to them. Sometimes God waits until our hope has died and we are left with just the ashes of what could have been. His desire isn't to punish us but to strengthen our foundation of faith and give us a testamony that will benefit the kingdom of Heaven. So when your situation looks impossible and your hope is taking its last breath, take joy in knowing that this is exactly where Martha and Mary found themselves. It took the death of their brother and the death of their hope for Jesus to do more than the ordinary. It took the situation being impossible for God to do the extraordinary. "For with God nothing shall be impossible." Luke 1:37

His Word, My Wait

"Why sayest though, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? has thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the eart, faintet not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles: they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:27-31

There are times when we are going through struggles in this life and we wonder if God even knows the pain that we are suffering. We are mistreated or cast aside and we cry out to God asking if he sees what the enemy of our soul is doing to our lives and families. When we are so weary of the struggle that we do not think we can take another step or even lift our head, our heart wonders if God even cares. In that moment of despair and weakness, we must simply wait on God. It may seem a bit contrary but weariess is not in the waiting but in the battle of trying to do it on your own or in trying to "help" God.  "Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee." Proverbs 20:22  Though we have been hurt, betrayed or misused, just wait upon the Lord and he will bring you out. Scripture after scripture tells us to just simply wait upon the Lord and he will provide strength, salvation and abundant blessing. 

"Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exat thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it." Psalm 37:34     

"For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth." Psalm 37:9 

"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." Psalm 27:14

Today I want to encourage you to just wait on the Lord and allow him to do the heavy lifting while you gain your strength.

His Word, My Cry

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Jeremiah 33:3

What a powerful and wonderful promise God gives in Jeremiah 33:3. Call unto me and I WILL answer thee. He didn't say that you might answer, he will think about answering but rather that he WILL answer. David tells us in 2 Samuel 22:7 "In my distress I call upon the Lord and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter his ears." Over and over in the Word do we hear that God hears our cry. "He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them." Psalm 145:19 This continues in the New Testament also with Jesus responding to those that cried out to him. "And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way." Mark 10:47-52 Sometimes we, like blind Bartimaeus, have to cry out a great deal more but take comfort in knowing that he will stand still and address your need. So keep crying out to the Lord. Keep making your voice heard on high. Keep taking your petitions to the throne of grace. Your cry has entered the ears of Jesus.


This is another thought inspired the Word as preached by Bro. Phillips. (First Church in Cookeville, TN puts their sermons on podcasts so you can download and listen to them any time. Please feel free to check them out for your supplimental spiritual food. If you live or visit in the Cookeville area, I highly recommend that you visit them, you will not be disappointed.  First Church Podomatic

His Word, My Memorial & Trial

"There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band call the Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, what is it Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God." Act 10:1-4

Memorial: Something that keeps remembrance alive

Have you ever prayed something and then the moment of stress or heartache leaves, though the answer to your prayer did not come, you forgot what you prayed? Have you prayed fervently and continuously for something and seemingly instead of getting the answer you get a trial in your life. Have you prayed for years without seeing the fruits of your prayers?

We have all been there. We have all forgotten some of the prayers that we have prayed. But I want to assure you that God heard and remembers that prayer. Maybe your prayer is a regular prayer and you have not forgotten it but it seems that God has, rest assure that not only has God heard but holds that prayer as a memorial so it is always alive. I know that I have prayed and prayed about things and instead of receiving what I prayed, I have received what seems a trial. There are times when I struggle with it because I feel unheard but God tells me the trial must be in order for me to be prepared to receive the answer. Sometimes our vessel is marred or unable to hold or sustain the answer to our prayer. Instead of God forgetting about the prayers, He allows us to go through hard times so that our vessel is made anew and suitable for the answer. Perhaps if you are a man and praying for God to bring you a wife, you must go through trials that will bring you closer to God so that you can be the leader of your home. Without that trial, your answer cannot come. Perhaps you are praying for financial blessing but instead you find yourself short of funds. In order to handle much, we must be good stewards of little. So each time you find yourself in a trial instead of receiving your answer remember that God is merely preparing you to receive and sustain the answer.

Trust him to bring the answer at the right time and in the right way.

His Word, My Remembrance

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:26

When I was 5 or so my mother went back to school and became a nurse. She was a wife, mother of 7 children and carried a full load at school (she may have worked also, I don't remember). She studied and did all she could to do her best but with all of her responsibilities, I am certain she felt stressed and perhaps a bit under-prepared. Time and time again I heard her quote this scripture. She always added the qualifier that we had to put it in our mind in order for it to be brought to our remembrance. Her stand was that God will not bring to remembrance what we didn't put there in the first place.

As a child, my parents were very faithful to church and when in Sunday School we learned many, many memory verses. I also belonged to Awanas and learned hundreds of verses over the course of years. Through Bible reading, church, Sunday School and Awanas I have been very blessed to be thoroghly exposed to the Word of God. I find that God brings His Word to my remembrance just when I need it; sometimes before I need it so I will be prepared and not overwhelmed. Today was no different.

Today was a banner day. It was a day of devastation and hope. Earlier in the day God brought a scripture to my remembrance. At the time I thought perhaps he brought it to mind for me to write about it because it is a wonderful verse. As my day progressed I received some heart-breaking news and was momentarily knocked off my feet until God brought His Word to my remembrance. As I had my sister read it to me, I realized how powerful and faithful God's Word is. It was in that few moments that God showed me that he had already gave me a word to help me through the trial. It doesn't matter what you are going through, God has the right word for you. "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 It is through studying, reading and memorizing God's Word that we find strength (Psalm 119:), wisdom (Colossians 3:16), faith (Romans 10:17), salvation (Psalm 119:41). His Word is limitless in its application to our situations.

I am so thankful for the faithfulness of my parents and also for God putting a love of His Word in my heart. For I know "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Timothy 3:16

His Word, My Prison

While I was taking my end of year tour of rebellion several years ago, God very clearly spoke to me about that which I was rebelling against. I took the extended trip, not necessarily to visit all those that I visited or to see all those things which I saw, but it was more because I was seeking to avoid being where I didn’t want to be. I have prayed earnestly and sincerely that God would place me perfectly in the center of his will. There are times that I find the perfect, center of his will is not to my liking, it is not comfortable and it goes against my human nature so I have sought equally earnestly and equally sincerely that the perfect, center of God’s will would be somewhere else, doing something different. God hasn’t yet caved to my whining and raging but has shown me his will and gave me the choice to be in it or out of it.

In the final days of this long trip, as I was listening to the Bible on CD, I quite randomly put in Jeremiah 29. As I heard the first few verses, I was eagerly anticipating verse 11 because it is such a faith and confidence builder. But as the reader went on, God brought to my attention verses 4-14, specifically 4-7.

Jeremiah 29:4-14
4.Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon.
5.Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
6.Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
7.And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
8.For thus saith the Lord of hosts, and the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
9.For they prophecy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.
10.For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
11.For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12.Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken to you.
13.And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
14.And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

So many times we long to hear a sermon, words of encouragement, devotions telling us that God is going to set us free of the prison in which we find ourselves. We dig for scriptures that tell us that we are victorious, we have liberty and everything is going to be easier. But sometimes, it is perfectly in the center of God’s will for us to be led captive. Sometimes we must stay some places that are hard, uncomfortable, painful, frustrating, etc. because that is the place God called us to be. When we are in this place of captivity, we cry out with frustration because we do not see our talents being used, we feel cast aside, rejected, and our ministries seeming to go stagnant. Our flesh and perhaps our burning passion of our ministry calls out to God to set us free to be in a place where we can be utilized, someplace where our ministries can thrive and grow. But instead he tells us to stay in this frustrating prison and not just stay but to thrive and grow so that you will be “increased and not diminished.” Joseph was a perfect example of this. He was a much loved son of his father but that love and his God given dreams caused his brothers to hate him. Through each of the bouts of captivity and prisons in which Joseph found himself, he stayed true to God and he thrived and increased. Nowhere in the Bible do we read how he sat down in the dirt and lamented his prison or captivity and refused to do that which he was called to do in the moment. It was through this life of captivity, through the life of bondage, that he was able to save his family from sure death.

Do you find yourself in a place that your ministry is under-utilized? Do you find yourself in a prison where you are spiritually being undernourished? As much as you dislike where you are, do you know without a doubt that God has put you there? Then don’t give up. Ask God how you can increase and not diminish during this season of captivity. Ask God to show you what he would have you do during this time. Just hold on, after this season God will turn away your captivity and will hearken unto you when you call Him. It could be that through your frustrating season that your loved ones are saved or revived. It could be through this period of captivity that God is able to use you in ways He couldn't if you were elsewhere. So rejoice in your prison and pray for the peace of your city.