The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God

Devotional Reading– The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God is available as a podcast on Spotify.

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. Proverbs 3:5-6

Self-reliance among post-modern Christians has escalated to an all-time high. The reality is that we are affected by the world’s environment. Satan uses the baby steps of subtle distractions to chip away at our faith and trust in God. He chooses the gateway of least resistance: avenues that produce self-trust from self-accomplishments. Our talents and careers are the paths that give us happiness. The artistic gifts that develop into a self-employment business or jobs that provide prestige and empowerment give us financial stability and usually boost our confidence and trust in ourselves.

Money is Satan’s most valuable weapon because he is an expert on human behavior. Human behavior is quite predictable when the opportunity arises for us to increase wealth. But the question remains, Who is the giver of the gift? God blesses the righteous with abundance to help their brothers and sisters in need. The great deceiver gives to those he knows will accumulate, and keep all for themselves as they watch their assets grow. How will we see the difference?

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)

God’s blessings do not require the compromise of our morals and Christian values. Nor does He pour out blessings on those who refuse to help others. Perform a self-check to determine if you continuously bless others. Your answer will reveal who the giver is.

This is not an attack on money which remains a necessity of life. Still, Jesus says that we cannot serve two masters, either we are loyal to God or money [Matthew 6:24]. Truthfully, we feel confident, relaxed, and happy when our financial portfolio shows abundance. It is then that the Domino Effect occurs. Self-confidence produces self-reliance which produces trust in our abilities!

Satan’s goal: We feel on top of the world because all is well. We pray less, skip Bible studies, and our conversations reveal less praise for the goodness of God.

If you doubt that you trust yourself above God, perform an honest self-evaluation by reflecting on your recent thoughts and lifestyle changes. Are you focusing on yourself and future accomplishments? Are all of your activities directed toward self-gratification? Has serving God become a burden? Do you have head knowledge of the Scriptures but your once faithful dedication to Christ has slipped away?

God is aware of every temptation we face because spiritual warfare must be approved by Jesus before Satan attacks us. Remember that God placed restrictions on Satan regarding Job–“you cannot touch his life.” God knows that some of us will fail when we receive monetary blessings. Even so, as our Heavenly Father, in His infinite love and mercy, He unleashes the plan to save our souls even if it requires Him to take our blessing back.

The story was told by a faithful church member in women’s ministries whom God allowed to start her business. Within a month, her attendance at important church planning meetings declined and she began to ask other members to take her program dates because she was overwhelmed with the responsibilities of an entrepreneur. When reflecting, she confessed that it was not too much for her to operate the business, but as her bank account grew, she lost her desire to put God first.

God’s Divine Intervention: Within six months, her successful business was no more. She also lost her home and luxury vehicle. Her testimony revealed much regret. God had given her warnings through sermons and the Scriptures of misusing her blessings. No, God did not abandon her–she returned to her previous employer, participated in ride-share, and had just enough money in the bank to acquire an apartment. God used corrective action to safely guide her back to Him. She confessed that her feelings changed from humility and trust in God to pride in her accomplishments during her short bout of success.

Once we are sidetracked, sadly, we usually have to endure loss before we agree to return to God and fully trust in Him. Yet we only have to acknowledge, confess, and repent of our waywardness. In His mercy, we are completely forgiven, and our Father continues to love and diligently care for us.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart And saves such as have a contrite spirit. (Psalm 34:15, 16, and 18)

“The Lord will work for all who put their trust in Him. Precious victories will be gained by the faithful. Precious lessons will be learned. Precious experiences will be realized.” E.G. White

We need God to give us wisdom and discernment against the spiritual warfare of self-gratification that we constantly endure. Intentional trust in God is a covenant decision that requires daily renewal. Consistent worship, praying, and studying the Bible are the spiritual weapons that shield us from losing our relationship with Christ and our protection against humanity’s greatest enemy.

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.” –Proverbs 3:7. But what do we do when we are our own enemy?

The human effort of praying and surrendering our will every day to God reveals our desire to place our complete trust and obedience in God. Humbly, ask God to search your heart. It is then that God pours out His Divine Intervention [through the Holy Spirit] to reveal the character traits of self that we need to change.

Bible Study: Psalm 34 and Proverbs 3

Prayer: God, we confess that we have lost our way by trusting in our abilities. And for this sin, we ask for forgiveness. Please search our hearts and reveal the things that we need to change. We surrender ourselves to You from this day forward. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.


Prayer Increases Faith and Courage

Devotional reading–Prayer Increases Faith and Courage is available as a podcast on Spotify

Have you ever had a life-changing decision to make that threatened your peace of mind? Or an unexpected life event that produced a financial deficit or health issue?

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow worry about itself it’s on things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34

Our average Floridian temperature in the 70s plummeted to 30 degrees on Christmas day. I had an unexpected health issue arise when I turned the heater on. Fumes and smoky residue flooded my apartment from the AC/ Heater unit triggering the smoke/ carbon monoxide detector, and I had an asthma attack immediately following.

My first response was to quickly set up my nebulizer rescue medication and open the door for the frigid fresh air to enter and clear the toxic environment. Thankfully, I was prepared with a couple of wintry throw blankets and clothing from a previous life that included winter weather.

As the tears fell from my eyes and thoughts of Christmas day being ruined, I began to pray, God, help me. From my short, desperate prayer, I received immediate comfort from the Holy Spirit. But then something unusual happened I had increased mental and emotional strength. The air cleared, the smoke alarm stopped, and my small backup tower electric heater began blowing hot air.

But most importantly, my respiratory system reached homeostasis. I whispered another prayer of thankfulness because God’s Divine Intervention took control and safely guided me through and out of harm’s way.

Every one of us faces unexpected daily challenges that can bring chaos and despair. Changing our response to include God in every aspect of our everyday troubles–great or small builds our faith and gives us a habit of relying on God’s Divine Intervention to help us in every trial.

Forming the habit of consistent prayer changes our perception and awareness that God is an Awesome Heavenly Father. Our minds transition from innate weakness to one of strength and courage. No, we do not let pride give us false confidence in our own abilities, we build a love-trust-dependent relationship with God who is always faithful.

“Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

As Christian believers, we have 24/7 access to the Throne of Grace. Head knowledge of the Scriptures is not enough. Our dependency on God is evidence of a heart-to-heart relationship with His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are preparing now for an eternal life of worship based on the love and faith we possessed in our earthly lives.

Bible Study: Matthew chapter 6

Prayer: God, we are thankful for Your faithfulness. We pray for a closer relationship with Jesus based on faith, trust, obedience, and active communication through daily prayer and study of the Scriptures. Thank You for Your love and Divine Intervention that is always available. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Wait! That Decision Has Negative Consequences

Devotional Reading–Wait! That Decision Has Negative Consequences

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! –Psalm 27:14

God is so good! In our moments of weakness, He provides and protects us from the negative consequences of decisions that we think are the best option. We can live without regrets by listening to God’s voice telling us, No or Not Now.

Surrender is not a trait we are born with, nor is surrender valued as a must-have character trait. If you are a parent or had younger siblings, you have first-hand knowledge of the developmental stage affectionately known as the terrible twos. And most remember going through the teenage stages of a raging rebellion against their parent’s morals, values, and rules. But suppose the child’s behavior was modified by initiating boundaries and disciplinary measures during these two defiant stages. In that case, they will develop into adults that not only accept and respect the answer of no, but also possess the character trait of self-control.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Despite our diverse backgrounds, a change of heart happens when we commit ourselves to God. This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone, and a new life has begun! As steadfast believers in Christ, we cease the natural inclinations to follow our selfish desires or maintain a spirit of disobedience. Nor do we develop little schemes to go outside God’s will to attempt to manipulate His answer of no.

When God created humanity, He gave us everything we needed to serve Him: Free will of choice, biblical instructions, prayer, a seed of faith, a sound mind, self-control, and the desire to stay connected to Him. But then we discovered that we could use our free will to chase after our desires. Yes, we still believe in God, but we have developed a spirit of independence–the same condition that Cain possessed. We place our disobedient desires over God’s requirement for our sacrificial offering–total obedience.

There are two types of Believers, those who almost always obey God and those who make it a habit to disobey and frequently misuse repentance and forgiveness.

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? –Luke 6:46

For the usually obedient group, God disciplines by shaking us. In His mercy, God may shield us from the extreme consequences of our disobedience. Recognizing that we went against the will of God, we readily repent and pray for forgiveness. We know repentance means never repeating the transgression against God for doing it our way. Because we love God with all of our hearts, after the shaking, we thank God for His mercy in not letting us suffer the full consequences of our disobedience.

“…but the way of transgressors is hard.” –Proverbs 13:15

The second group also loves God, but they suffer inner turmoil because they have developed a pattern of disobeying God. They live by the false prosperity message–name it and claim it. Their greatest pursuit in life is to be happy. Yes, all appears to be well–they are reaping a harvest of blessings. And they readily share with others, “God has abundantly blessed me.” Sadly, that is their critical mistake of bringing God’s name into their acts of disobedience.

God will protect His name and reputation!

Then the unthinkable happens, God allows the impact of their disobedience to come to fruition, and the life-changing consequences happen. All because they half-heartedly served God by continuous disobedience. “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” –James 4:17

“The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving wrongdoing, and rebellion. But He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He visits the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.” (Numbers 14:18)

Satan is using the same old tactic that he used with Eve, “Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die'” (Genesis 3:4). He uses false teachers to tell us that we do not understand the true meaning of what God said, and they give their reinterpretation of the Scriptures. Many believers have been deceived by accepting the false belief of Middle Ground Christianity. There is no middle ground! We cannot fulfill our desires and remain in the right standing with God. Either we completely obey God or we are living outside of His will by walking on the path of disobedience.

“If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15).

In the evening, reflect on your day. How many blessings have you received? The big blessings are probably very obvious. Even so, remember to include the little things that worked out in your favor. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

We have a loving God who sustains our lives. The breath in our bodies is from God. Seeking God’s will is the foundation for serving Him. Obedience is such a small sacrifice compared to the incredible love and undeserved grace and mercies we receive. With all that we are given by our Heavenly Father, God is justified in His requirement for us to faithfully trust and obey Him. We must use our sound minds and self-control to stay within the will of God.

“For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,” says the Lord, “plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11, Amplified Bible)

Stop living the hard-knock life full of problems and consequences that belong to the lives of unbelievers!

We can never protect or provide for ourselves as God does. Do we thank God for His protection from the dangers of spiritual warfare [seen and unseen] that the angels, God’s messengers, defend us from every day? God’s protection also extends to shielding us from the terrible consequences of our wayward decisions.

When God says, “No, my child,” trust and believe that He knows the future consequences that would devastate our lives. Today, begin to let praises of thanksgiving and gratitude openly flow from your mouth. Surrender and commit your free will to always trust and obey God. We are truly blessed beyond measure!

Bible Reading: Psalm 34

Prayer: God, we want to say thank you for all that you have lovingly and freely blessed us with day after day. We love You and surrender our will to You. Let Your will be done in our lives. In Jesus’ Worthy Name, we pray. Amen.