Despite our unexpected stormy trials, believers are never alone. “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Trials, sorrows, and difficulties are designed to give us spiritual growth and increase our dependency on God. We were not created to live without God’s divine intervention. It’s normal for our emotions to intensify when we feel our hardships are drowning us. If we allow our emotions to control us, our faith diminishes and we risk losing our confidence in the love and strength that God provides.
Take the time to separate yourself and pray for help. Pray an honest prayer. “God, I am feeling overwhelmed and disappointed. I need your help. I know that you love me and will bring me victoriously through this situation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” Praise God and thank Him in advance for His Divine Intervention. Prayer does not take away our trials. Consistent prayer allows us to receive strength and guidance from the Holy Spirit.
Study the Scriptures every day. Include time for quiet meditation. The Holy Spirit is our Comforter. As believers, we can hear God’s voice through different means such as our thoughts, reading scriptures, listening to sermons, or hearing another believer’s testimony of victory. Sometimes, God communicates through spiritual dreams or a fellow believer who may not even know our situation. However, it’s important to note that God’s answer always aligns with the Holy Scriptures. Through daily worship, we learn to recognize the voice of God.
When the disciples were in the boat, fearing for their lives, Jesus appeared to them by walking on the water. “Be of good cheer! It is I, do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27). Remember, we are never alone. Jesus is with us in every stormy trial. The human effort of faith and trust along with Divine intervention always ends in victory! During the challenges of the raging storm, Jesus says, “Come to Me.” Take the giant leap of faith and “Go Ahead! Walk on the Water.”
We are in the 11th week of 2026. What spiritual changes have you made since January 1st?
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Every day, I am definitely praying more, having little talks with Jesus, asking for His guidance, wisdom, and the strength to slow down, which is required for patience, a Fruit of the Spirit.
Lord God, we thank You for bringing us safely through this week. We ask You to give us a much-needed spiritual blessing, and help us to slow down. As we continue to persevere in our spiritual journey, we also pray for more patience. In faith, we ask this prayer in Jesus’ Righteous Name.
In 2017, I was in West Virginia and attended prayer meeting with my cousin. Her pastor told us the story of a young man, who received a substantial prison sentence, and after serving many years, he was given a reprieve, which gave him his freedom. Yet, with fear, he stated, “I don’t want freedom, I want to serve the rest of my sentence.”
Although this story sounds unbelievable, sadly this scenario of the prisoner who refused freedom is also our mindset when we choose to stay in marriages, family relationships, and associate with people who do not have the love of God in their hearts, as evidenced by their continuous disrespect and abusive mistreatment of others.
“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment And the second is like it:bYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” (Matthew 22:37-39).
“We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19).
God is Love! Jesus created us from love and gifted us with the ability to love and honor God, and to love and respect others. We were also created to receive Jesus’ spiritual gifts of joy, peace, and happiness.
1 John 3 is the letter the Apostle Paul sent to Gaius, his friend; “‘…as your soul prospers’ indicates that spiritual health (right thinking, choices, and relationship with God) is the foundation for [our] overall well-being.”
To love God is to love ourselves!
For us to enjoy God’s love, and optimal mental, emotional, physical, and most importantly spiritual health and prosperity, we cannot reject God’s Agape Love, replacing it with the abusive behaviors from those who reject God’s love and His commandment to love others.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3). Jesus died to give us freedom, not only from sin, but also to deliver and heal us from mental despair and emotional wounds.
Remaining in abusive situations, prevents us from loving Christ as He deserves, and blocks our spiritual growth and the transformation of our character required to receive Eternal Life.
“When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?'” (John 5:6).
Jesus also asks us, “Do you want to be made well?”
If our answer is yes, then we use our faith, and through His love, the Holy Spirit empowers us with the courage to leave every demonic situation that is a roadblock to embracing Jesus’ Abiding Love and His gift of Spiritual Peace. Yes and Amen!
Lord God, we thank You for Your Amazing Love and creating us with the ability to love. We live in a world permeated with sin and compromised values that allow us to tolerate the abusive mistreatment of others, who You created in Your image. Lord, we pray, and ask You to strengthen and empower Your sons and daughters to take a leap of faith and to embrace the freedom of healing that only You can offer us. In faith, we ask this prayer of deliverance and healing in the Powerful Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.” (Isaiah 26:3-4).
Every day, we decide if we will enjoy Jesus’ gift of Perfect Peace. Total dependency on Christ produces lives that are peaceful, calm, and enjoyable. If we choose self-reliance, then our lives are comparable to a boisterous, troubled river.
“As drops of water make the river, the little things make up our River of Life.”
When we encounter challenges, many of us tend to categorize them into two lists. First list: We exclude God from our daily struggles, trying to handle the small issues that interrupt our busy schedules with quick answers. Second list: We temporarily let go of self-reliance, using God as a last resort because we realize that we are facing major adversities that human effort cannot resolve.
But it is often the little situations, the ones that appear to be easily resolved, that can unexpectedly change the watery flow of our River from peaceful to raging rapids.
Because small challenges can quickly escalate and detour from what is expected to happen, the outcomes of human strategies are always unreliable; even our best interventions can lead to unexpected consequences.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes…” (Proverbs 3:5-7).
Trusting our thoughts always requires that we redirect our faith and trust from Christ to ourselves; not only are we carrying burdens that we were not created to carry, but our beautiful gift of Jesus’ peace has been replaced by a raging current of anxiety, worry, and sleepless nights.
Jesus is a Loving and Protective Shepherd who tells us to pray and bring “all” of our challenges to Him: “Casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. (1 Peter 5:7, Amplified Bible).
Even when we have trusted ourselves and things are messy, we can always approach the Throne of Grace, repent, and ask Christ to help in our time of need. “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 13:8, NIV).
“The peaceful waters of God focus on rest, restoration, and Divine guidance, most notably in Psalm 23:2, where the Lord leads believers to ‘still waters,’ restoring [the peace within their] soul. These waters symbolize safety, spiritual nourishment, and trust in God’s provision.”
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.” (Psalm 23:1-3, NIV).
Lord God, we confess that we have excluded You by not asking for Your help, and we ask You to forgive us for the sin of self-reliance. We are feeling anxious because we are facing circumstances that we did not anticipate. Lord, we desperately need Your Divine Intervention to restore our peace and resolve our adversities. And we ask You to give us the strength to persevere through our hardships. Thank You for hearing and answering our prayer that we ask in the Worthy Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over [g]all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth…'”
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them…” (Genesis 1:26-28).
Humanity was created with a Spiritual Purpose: “God, Jesus Christ, created human beings to worship and honor God, the Father. [We are called] to dedicate all personal capabilities, influence, and talents to Him as a sacred trust.”
“…life is not a random, mechanical process but a purposeful design, and encourages viewing oneself as God’s workmanship.”
“Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” (Isaiah 43:7).
Isaiah 43:7 emphasizes that we are:
Created for God’s Glory: Humans are designed to reflect God’s glory in all aspects of life.
A Sacred Trust: Life, talents, and capabilities are entrusted by God and should be used to impart His grace to others.
Individual Ownership: God calls His people by name, and as “new creatures,” [we] are set apart for Him.
Purposeful Formation: Being “formed” by God means each individual has a Divine purpose, countering the idea of chance or fate.
Transformation of Character: The process of being God’s people involves trials that refine character and remove dross
Jesus developed a Righteous Character through constant prayer and faithful obedience to God, the Father. From His example and through Jesus’ Divine Strength, the Holy Spirit empowers us to live as righteous overcomers.
Lord God, we praise your Holy Name and give You the honor and reverence that You deserve. We ask for wisdom, discernment, and the strength to overcome our desires and the temptations designed to separate us from You. Please reveal anything in our lives that is against Your will and plans. In faith, we ask this prayer in the Holy Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the Throne of Grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16, ESV)
In John 16:33, Jesus explains our spiritual journey and His promise to take care of us:
“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished]. [Amplified Bible].
In Mark 11, Jesus says that if we have faith and ask anything in His name, we can move mountains. No, it is not literal mountains; Jesus is referring to the hardships and vicissitudes of life.
We start our day with optimism and the intent to accomplish our plans. However, it is the unexpected daily challenges and life-changing adversities that human effort cannot resolve, which threaten to rob us of our joy and peace.
Jesus tells us to be confident; every aspect of our lives is known by our Heavenly Father: “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'” (Isaiah 46:9-10, NIV).
Despite the present obstacles, knowing God’s promises and reminding ourselves that God loves us alleviates the burden of trying to figure out an answer. Trusting God is the only way to enjoy our spiritual gift of Jesus’ Perfect Peace.
Consistent Prayer keeps us connected to Jesus Christ, our High Priest and Intercessor, who receives and answers our prayers given to Him from the Holy Spirit. Yes, studying the Holy Scriptures gives us knowledge of God’s Character, but it is using our faith to believe that God is who He says He is that pleases God.
“I Am That I Am” (Exodus 3:14) is a declaration of God’s Eternal, Self-Existent, and Unchanging Nature. God is Omniscient, [All-Knowing], Omnipotent [All-Powerful], and the Absolute Sovereign Authority of this universe. Yes and Amen!
“Behold, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27, Legacy Standard Bible). Following Christ means that we use our faith to completely trust Him with every aspect of our lives.
When facing challenges, we must fight the urge to divide our obstacles into two lists: “The situations I will resolve and the situations I will give to Jesus [because I do not have the ability to resolve these issues].”
“Behold, God is my Helper; the Lord is the Upholder [ Sustainer] of my life.” (Psalm 54:4, ESV). We should never limit the love of God and His commitment to perform miracles. God is interested even in the little details of our lives.
Fight against the thought of, “What am I going to do?” We redirect our faith and focus from ourselves back to God and immediately pray, asking Jesus for His Divine Help and Strength.
I can recall being mentally fatigued at my new job and wondering if I would be able to make a long-term commitment. I whispered a silent prayer, and the Holy Spirit instructed me [through my thoughts] to take my lunch break alone that day.
I went to my vehicle, prayed, and listened to Christian music. By the Holy Spirit, I believed Jesus’ promise of strength. And because of my faith, He strengthened me spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Jesus always replenishes our joy and hope. I finished the day with a smile on my face. From obeying the Holy Spirit to separate and spend time worshiping Jesus, I received the blessings of spiritual encouragement and the energy to keep going beyond my human ability.
“Casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” (1 Peter 5:7, Amplified Bible).
When prayer is our first and immediate response, we eliminate the possibilities of our minds being held hostage by the faith-draining emotions of fear, anxiety, and worry.
In faith, we humbly admit our need for God by going to His Throne of Grace. “Jesus, I need Your help with…” is the invitation He waits for, and with joyful expectancy, we have confidence that He will answer our prayer and resolve every challenge.
“Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the LORD.” (Psalm 27:14). Pray and Wait on God, whose timing will never match our desire for instant answers and resolutions. Every day, while waiting, maintain your faith, trust, and courage by thanking God for His Divine Help.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10). Depending on Christ and waiting for His Divine Resolutions has numerous benefits: Waiting strengthens our faith, facilitates trust and obedience to God, eliminates guesswork, and prevents us from suffering adverse consequences.
I received two miracles this week and can confidently say there is nothing more exciting than receiving God’s Supernatural Blessings, which always surpass our human understanding and strategies.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9).
Lord God, we thank You for Your unfailing Love, Grace, and Mercies, which include intervening and resolving every challenge that we ask You to help us with. We ask You to strengthen our faith, as we wait for Your answer. In faith, we ask this prayer in Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen.
“Jesus Is The Way, the Truth, and the Life: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go, you know, and the way you know.” (John 14:1-3).
Jesus’ promise in John 14 gives us joy, peace, and contentment because our hope is in the fulfillment of His promise of giving the righteous a Forever Home. We have the assurance that the chaos and corruption of this present Earth are only temporary.
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” (Revelation 22:12).
Recently, in an Instagram Reel about Jesus’ Second Coming, over 70,000 people viewed the Reel, and 99% of the responses indicated the individual was fearful.
Certainly, the greatest event of receiving our reward of a Forever Life should not produce fear; still, the acknowledgement that one is not ready is an honest self-assessment that has a remedy: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).
We are rapidly advancing toward the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Do we really believe that the end of all things [this Earth] is rapidly approaching us?
Although I am not fearful and looking forward to Jesus’ Coming, this morning, while studying a Devotional, the Holy Spirit gave me a reality check that caused me to ask myself, “Where do I stand in my relationship with Jesus Christ?”
Devotional Excerpt: “For years, I wore busyness like a badge of honor, packing my days with tasks and commitments. I equated motion with meaning and called it a ‘win’ when I collapsed into bed exhausted — calendar full, soul empty. I was tired and spiritually worn thin. Too busy to pray, too distracted to notice God’s presence, too weary to worship. What was I really gaining from this speed if it pulled me from the One who gives life its meaning?” Sharee Gaiser
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12). This writer’s story is our story. Sadly, instead of participating with the Holy Spirit in our journey of spiritual growth and transformation, we have embraced the unbeliever’s rapid pace of an always-busy, self-seeking lifestyle.
And many Christians are also eagerly pursuing the world’s prosperity and success instead of spending time with Christ, every day in the personal worship of Prayer and Bible Study.
Because God is Omniscient [All-Knowing], over 2,000 years ago, Christ told us that without Him, we would be overpowered by the temptation of seeking earthly prosperity:
Jesus’ Warning: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24).
“Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16). From a global perspective, we know the Apostle Paul’s description of the Last Days in 2 Timothy 3 is now:
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.” ( 2 Timothy 3:1-5).
From reading Paul’s description of people’s behaviors that identify the Last Days, we may think he is describing unbelievers. Still, unbelievers do not have a form of godliness, denying its power.
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise…” (Ephesians 5:15, ESV). The apostle is describing those who believe that God exists, but whose hearts remain unconverted by the Holy Spirit, do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and never experience spiritual growth because they are practicing legalistic worship.
We are living in perilous times, and how we spend our time matters to God and will determine our destiny. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
Time is a precious gift from God that we receive daily. We are immensely loved by God and should never take His Love and Mercies for granted. We put God first by giving Him the first fruits of every new day because we love, honor, and revere Him, not because of fear.
“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'” (Matthew 22:37). God’s command of putting Him first in our lives has existed since the Old Testament: Study Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 6:5.
Spiritual Time Management is a Righteous characteristic, proving that we love God and choose to place our complete faith and trust in Him. The commitment to use our time to honor and worship God is revealed through engaging in personal worship before we begin our routine duties.
Every day, from the moment we awaken, we acknowledge our love, loyalty, and gratitude for our gift of time by whispering a prayer of “Thank You, Heavenly Father, for the mercies of a new day of life.” Hallelujah! Yes and Amen!
King David’s Prayer: “Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His Holy Name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your 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 103:1-5).
Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions 
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