Encourage Yourself!

1 Samuel 30:6 “David was in great distress because the people in their bitterness said he should be stoned…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”

Greetings,

When we are upset, going through troubles, and find our faith failing we are to encourage ourselves in the Lord.  I, thank God, have never experienced people wanting to stone me, but have had moments of great distress nonetheless. The right response is to encourage ourselves in Him.

How do we do that?    

For me it’s all about purposely reminding myself that God has never let me down. He has seen me through every trial, and I am grateful.  He has seen me through loss, and my heart sings because no matter how tough, every single loss is temporary.  He has guided me down the tricky and often confusing paths of being a good mom, and my kids are alive, I am alive, and we all love each other deeply and powerfully. He has steadily led me in those moments when I did not know what to do, and looking back, I can clearly see His wisdom at every turn.

One such season of complete, “What do we do now?” happened when the company Jorge worked for suddenly went bankrupt.  Within a few days our income stopped – came to a dead halt – and both company cars were repossessed.  I am not too ashamed to admit that we never saw it coming, and that my husband actually rode the bus for a while.  It was rough.  The bills still demanded payment, the kids were in private school, and we had a mortgage to pay. 

Night after long night Jorge and I would go to the Lord and freely admit that we needed Him.  We had no clue what to do or where to turn.  Looking back now we can both see the hand of God moving actively in our lives to get us back on our feet again and onto steadier ground.  The decisions made in the aftermath of that trial, were made only after consulting with God about everything and anything.  God has lifted us higher than we could have ever imagined, Jorge is working in a field he loves, he is his own boss, and enjoying God-given success.

In his distress, David encouraged himself in his God, and ultimately, God “delivered and protected him (Read 1 Samuel chapter 30).”  In our distress, God delivered and protected us as well.  He’ll do the same for you.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We encourage ourselves in You today by saying Thank You for Your faithfulness.  You have been and will always be with us each step of the way.  May we sense Your presence more than ever.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Aim Your Slingshot!

Thursday greetings~

David has been such an inspiration to us, and today we will wrap it up with a powerful reminder:

Aim your slingshot at the giants in your life because with God on your side, the giants will fall!

Don’t aim your frustration, fears, doubts, powers of persuasion, or anger.  Aim your slingshot, and by slingshot I mean prayer.  Look what that little slingshot did against a nine foot nine inch monster.  The same that having a little conversation with God can do – it will destroy your enemy and give you victory! 

What are you facing?

Here are a few messes my friends are dealing with right now:

Separation,

Disease,

Unemployment,

Rebellious Child,

Unhappiness,

Anxiety,

Discouragement…

Endless list, perhaps, but then again, I have also said that God’s ability and desire to help us is endless as well!

Psalm 59:9-10 “You are my strength, I watch for You; You, God, are my fortress, my God on Whom I can rely. The God who loves me will help me; God will enable me to triumph over my enemies.”

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You are our strength.  You are our fortress. Thank You that we can rely on You.  You are reliable, You are trustworthy, You love us, and You are the One Who gives us the ability to triumph over our enemies!  Give it to us now, in Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Standing in Victory~

Greetings,

“This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17:46-47)

Last DEVO left us thinking about David’s courageous statement above, and praise God Almighty, that is exactly what happened. 

“As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.  Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.”  (1 Samuel 17:48-50)

David met his nemesis head on.  He did not hesitate, retreat, or surrender.  Those are three “do nots” we should all apply to prayer.

When we do not hesitate to pray, do not retreat in prayer, do not surrender in supplication, our giants will fall.

More importantly, we will be left standing in victory!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, with You by our side, our enemies will fall and we will stand tall in victory.  Help us to have the courage to face every single one of our challenges and to never give up.  A famous author/preacher by the name of Mark Batterson said, “God is always stage right. He’s ready to make His grand entrance. All He is waiting for is your prayer cue.”  Here’s Your cue, Lord.  Enter in and help us!  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

No Such Thing as a Fair Fight~

Ok, I’ll admit it, I watch The Celebrity Apprentice.  I especially enjoy watching someone step up to the plate and say they will be Project Manager.  It’s a leadership role that is loaded with responsibility; more often than not, if the Project Manager’s team loses the task, he or she is the one who gets fired.  At the beginning of each episode, after the task is explained, Mr. Trump asks each team who will lead them.  Sometimes a person volunteers, and when that happens, everyone else on the team is relieved and Mr. Trump will say, “Ok. Get out of here!”

This is what happened in David’s case.  After he confidently states his credentials, King Saul had only one reasonable response: "All right, go ahead," he said. "And may the LORD be with you!" (1 Samuel 17:37).

And without further adieu, David “took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag, and with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.” (v.40)

It is kind of laughable that someone would go confront a man over nine feet tall with five stones and a slingshot, but 1 Corinthians 1:27 explains that “God chooses what the world considers weak to put what is strong to shame.”  

Goliath’s reaction shows he was insulted.  “He looked at David and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him.  ‘Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks? Come here and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” (vs 42-44).

Goliath was looking for an actual fight; he was not expecting this peach-fuzzed face to be much of a challenge.  The truth is both these men were champions in their own right, and to the naked eye, Goliath seemed to have the upper hand.  But there was one glaring enormous difference between them, and I am not talking about their size: “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.” (vs 45-47). 

When God is on our side, there is no such thing as a fair fight.  Nothing and no one can come even remotely close to out powering our Lord.  David against Goliath? Goliath wins.  David, as a humble servant who allows God to fight through him against Goliath? Goliath is going down!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, when we face the messes of life alone, we will lose.  But with You, the Lord Almighty on our side, with You fighting the battle, we have victory!  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

The Teeth of the Lion, The Claws of the Bear, and Philistines~

1 Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him Who gives me strength.”

Last time we checked, David the shepherd boy had volunteered to fight the giant.  King Saul tried to dissuade him, reminding him that Goliath had been a “warrior” since his youth, but “David persisted.”   He was only a boy but he was a prepared one; even though his title was shepherd and not warrior, David had confronted some things in his past that equipped him to face Goliath. 

I Samuel 17: 34-37 David said, “I’ve been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I’d go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I’d grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. Lion or bear, it made no difference—I killed it. And I’ll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive.  God, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this Philistine.”

Glory hallelujah!  That’s an inspiring response if ever I have heard one! David is so confident because he has a proven track record with God. 

A few years ago I had a friend whose son was being tested for testicular cancer.  She was so calm that it actually unnerved me.  I flat out asked her one day how she could have so much peace, and her response both blessed me and made me feel like a faithless ding dong.  “Yenise, God has done so much for me already that I know He will help me no matter what the diagnosis is.”  Her son, praise God, DID NOT have cancer, but that conversation has stuck with me all these years, and so I ask: Has God ever delivered us from something before?  YES YES YES HE HAS, which is why, like David, and like my friend, we can face any threats that come our way.      

Notice, however, that while David did the wringing and killing, he credits God with being the One who delivered him.  Other versions of the Bible say, “God rescued me,” and “God saved me.  David also credits God for the positive outcome he expects when he goes out to fight Goliath. 

There are things we have to do, and some of those things include facing lions, bears, and Philistines.  But God is with us each step of the way, and He will deliver, rescue, and save us.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that You are a Deliverer, a Rescuer, and a Savior.  We face so many things in our lives, but You equip us to handle it all. The teeth of the lion the claws of the bear, and Philistines are no match for us with You on our side! In Jesus’ name, AMEN~  

But David Persisted...

Hebrews 10:30 “But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.”

How do we overcome the “Goliaths” in our lives? We follow the example of a young shepherd boy named David.  He was the youngest of eight boys, and his three older brothers had already joined the army and were among those who were fearful of Goliath.  David’s job was to tend sheep and run errands.  One day his dad asked him to take some bread and cheese to his brothers and their captain, and that simple request changed the course of the battle.

When David arrived with the gifts, it was just in time to “hear Goliath shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.” (I Samuel 17:23)  David witnessed the Israeli army running away in fright.  He was shocked and asked, “Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” (v.26)

David asks a great question!  How dare anyone or anything, much less a pagan, be allowed to confront, mock, oppose, provoke, ridicule, dishonor, and insult the armies – in our case – the children – of the living God?

And yet, when challenged, I ran away in fear.  Ooops! I mean, they ran away in fear.   Sometimes we do that, don’t we?  Facing the opponent is something we would rather not do. 

Nevertheless, David’s question was so thought-provoking that the king sent for him.  As soon as David meets with the king he says, ‘Don’t worry about this Philistine. I’ll go fight him!” (v. 32)  King Saul replied, “Don’t be ridiculous! There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” (v.33) “But David persisted…” (v.34)

Important truth of the day: When Goliath comes at you, even if everyone around you is running away or telling you it can’t be done, determine in your heart that you will fight anyway.    

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You expect us, Your children, to fight our enemies.  You expect us to stand up to anything or anyone that comes against us or our families.  Renew that fighting spirit within us.  We will not give in or give up.  Thank you that prayer is our number one, most effective weapon.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~  

We Are OVERCOMERS!

I Samuel 17:1-11, 16 (The Message version) The Philistines drew up their troops for battle. Saul and the Israelites came together, camped at Oak Valley, and spread out their troops in battle readiness for the Philistines. A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath. He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor—126 pounds of it! He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds. His shield bearer walked ahead of him.  Goliath stood there and called out to the Israelite troops, “Why bother using your whole army? Am I not Philistine enough for you? Pick your best fighter and pit him against me. If he gets the upper hand and kills me, the Philistines will all become your slaves. But if I get the upper hand and kill him, you’ll all become our slaves and serve us. I challenge the troops of Israel this day. Give me a man. Let us fight it out together!”  When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine’s challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope. Each morning and evening for forty days, Goliath took his stand and made his speech.

Greetings in the mighty name of the Lord!

This passage is a little long, but I think we can all relate to it.  We have all faced battles where our opposition stands way taller than we do and maybe even has superior weapons that seem invincible, we feel taunted and teased, “You’re never going to get better, you’re never going to get married, you’re never going to have victory over that temptation, you’re never going to get out of debt, you’re kids will never amount to anything, you’re never going to have healing in your relationship…”  We do not even want to fight – or pray sometimes – because we are terrified and/or have lost all hope.  And sometimes the fear is prolonged.  How can anyone live in a constant state of fear? And yet we do.

And our gracious God knows this, which is why Samuel 17 is a chapter in the Bible.  It was written to show us that we are OVERCOMERS!  And for the next few days we will explore all the powerful truths that we can apply in our lives from this portion of scripture.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, It’s useless to try and hide how we feel; You know us so well.  We have all faced Goliaths, and many of us are facing one right now.  And for many of us, this giant has been in our face for more than 40 days and nights.  But we turn to You for guidance, protection, and peace, and we thank You that Your Bible is powerful and able to help.  We look forward to nourishing our souls so that we can live with joy and calmness in the knowledge of Your unending care for us.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~