joseph4inspiration

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(Isaiah 43:2)

Sometimes it seems like the very things God says we won't experience are the very things we are experiencing. Sometimes it seems like when we have to face the deep issues of life we are doing so alone, or when the rivers of difficulties grab ahold of us, they do overtake us. Or when we face those fiery trials that life throws at us, it can seem as if we are consumed by the flames that seem to never go out. But just because it seems and feels a certain way doesn't mean we should stop believing that if God brought us to it, He'll get us through it. God wants us to believe that just as much as we believe in how things may seem. It's only when we stop believing and give up that we then are overcome by circumstances that only God could have gotten us through in the first place. So don't give up! Take a chance and trust God over your own understanding of how things seem.

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(Numbers 13:31-32)

When God told Moses to send spies to the land of Canaan, it wasn't done to see if they would be able to take the land, it was done to see if they would trust God enough to give them the land as He had promised. But when the spies came back, they gave a report based on fear; saying, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are."(Numbers 13:31)

Their report discouraged the people because it caused them to take their minds off the power of God. The biggest challenge wasn't the people of the land of Canaan, it was the testing of their faith, and because the people chose to believe the report of fear, God got angry with them and vowed to Himself that they will never enter His promise.

The children of Israel were a bunch of hard-headed people who didn't deserve the blessings of a holy God in the first place (none of us do), but it wasn't their hard headedness or constant complaining that caused God to get angry enough to keep them out of the blessing, it was their lack of faith that really ticked God off.

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(1 Corinthians 15:9)

God used the life of the Apostle Paul for many great things. But I believe one of the greatest lessons we learn from the life of Paul is that God doesn't see us the way we do. Paul viewed himself unworthy to even be called an Apostle, but yet, it was him God made the greatest of the Apostles. Sure God could've used James or Peter, or Jude to write most of the New Testament, but He didn't - He used Paul. He used the man with the MOST destructive past to write MOST of the New Testament. God did that for a reason.

In God's eyes, you are NOT who you were! In His eyes, you are not your greatest mistake. Holding on to what you did or to who you were, is NOT holding on to God. That's why it's just as important for us to forgive OURSELVES as it is to forgive others.

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(1st Peter 5:7)

One of the greatest battles Christians will often have to fight is the battle against frustration. God's ways are not like ours, so there are times we find ourselves frustrated with His ways because we don't understand what He's doing or why He's doing it, except for the fact that it's for our good. Frustration is also the vehicle in which the things we're struggling with ride in on. In Numbers chapter 20,

we saw how Moses' anger rode in on his frustration with his people in the wilderness. His frustration with the people caused him to sin against God, and as a result he was not allowed to enter into the Promise Land.

Frustration has the ability to change our whole attitude if we continue to walk in it. The longer you stay frustrated, the more fed up you will become. That's why it's very important to realize when frustration has taken the driver's seat in your mind and deal with it by giving whatever it is that has you frustrated over to God. You don't wanna keep dealing with it because if you had the solution to that issue, you would never have gotten frustrated in the first place.

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(Psalm 37:7-8)

Rushing God's plan is never a good thing. Not only does it show impatience on our part, it can also lead to us passing judgement on God when in all actuality we have no idea what we're talking about.

The Bible tells us to judge nothing before the appointed time (1st Corinthians 4:5), but when we're tired of waiting or when it looks like God isn't moving we begin to murmur, complain, and even becoming aggravated with God as if it's us instructing Him on what to do.

That's why it's so important we learn to watch what we say to God and about our situation while we're waiting on Him. The verse above says to rest in the Lord, now for some they might think that means to relax in His presence, but it doesn't. It actually means "to be silent" - to rid yourself of complaining, murmuring, and of any other act of the will that questions the sovereignty of God.

That's why the next verse tells us to stop being angry. Anger can be your closest friend while waiting on God, if you let it. God does not want us waiting on Him with an angry heart that says "about time" when the blessings come, He wants us to have an attitude of expectancy and gratefulness not a heart that's pissed off and bitter because it had to wait.

So if God has you in wait mode, the best thing you can do is wait without complaining and without anger. If you do find yourself complaining or angry, then chances are God wants you to notice that so you can work towards submitting your will completely to Him.

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(Exodus 14:15)

This is probably one of the most interesting verses in the Bible. God knew how things looked to Moses and the children of Israel he was leading out. They had an army bent on their destruction behind them, and the Red Sea before them. God brought them to an impossible situation, and asked Moses why he was crying about it. God heard Moses say, "The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace" (Exodus 14:14). Now God wanted Moses to move forward in full assurance that He would indeed fight for them. Moses didn't have to pray, praise, or offer a sacrifice; he just had to move forward, that's it.

I believe God wants to remind His people that when all hell has broken loose, and everything seems impossible, you need to remember the One who fights for you. Stop worrying about what could happen. Stop worrying all together! Before you came into existence God already declared ALL THINGS will work together for your good. Not only because He loves you or you love Him, but also because you're called for a purpose. God intentionally brought Moses that route. Not because He wanted Moses and the children of Israel to be afraid or feel hopeless, but because He wanted them to see that NOTHING, not even those situations that look impossible, is a challenge for Him. Remember that! Confess that! Move forward!

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(1st Chronicles 28:7)

When God starts opening doors in your life and starts lining things up, be mindful to remember that He's also the one who keeps the path a blessed one.

It's foolish to believe God will continue to bless a person whose heart has departed from Him.

God wanted David to know that as long as his son, Solomon was willing and obedient, his kingdom would be established. But we shouldn't read this and conclude it only applied to Solomon - God is talking to us as well.

God's promises to bless His people will always remain true, but our hearts in His blessings must remain true as well.

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(Jeremiah 1: 5)

There are so many Christians walking around feeling as if they are failures in the eyes of God. They feel that after they've sinned, God no longer loves them or that they are a mistake or may even be thinking about walking away from the faith because of self-condemnation. Before you continue to think like that, there's something you should understand:

You are no failure to God nor did He make a mistake in calling you into salvation!

Before He formed you, He knew you, and from the perfect knowledge He has of you, He decided to set you apart for Himself. He was not out of options when He called you. He didn't make a mistake when He called you. He knew exactly what He was getting Himself into when He called and set you apart.

God knows where you're headed, and He looks at you with joy. The Bible says in Psalm 37:23, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way." The Lord delights in the way of those who footsteps He orders. He's not looking at you through the lens of condemnation, but through the lens of joy.

Your ways pleases Him so much that He decided to ordain you for a heavenly purpose.

If you've been dealing with self-condemnation then you need to do away with it. You may not be perfect but no one perfects salvation, salvation perfects you.

If you're doing wrong in the sight of God, stop it! If you're struggling, bring it to Him! But don't see yourself through the lens of condemnation. God's eyes are not focused there.

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