The story of Joseph in Genesis chapters 37-50 reveals God’s Chosen Path every believer must travel to have steadfast faith and spiritual growth. Having faith in God gives us courage and confidence despite what our situation looks like. God is a God of impossibilities!
“But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” —Matthew 10:29-31 (NLT)
Do we believe that we are more valuable than a bird? Sadly, we forget the promises of God to never leave us or forsake us. Jesus paid with His life to ransom humanity from the wages of sin. “…Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (Jeremiah 31:3).
” ‘To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?’ says the Holy One.” —Isaiah 40:25
Keep striving to follow God’s plan for your life. Through daily worship, we learn to hear the Voice of God. Remain faithful and focused! Maintain your relationship with Christ through much prayer and Bible study. Do not waver in your belief of God’s powerful Divine Intervention. Pray, Wait, and Be Still until the Holy Spirit reveals the answers. God always leads us on the Path to Victory!
No adversity or temptation can crush us like grapes in a winepress. We place all of our hope in God because He never fails us. If God said it, then He will do it! By remaining faithful and focused, we persevere because God’s Divine power always brings us victorious outcomes.
Scripture Reading: “I would have lost heart [courage], unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” —Psalm 27:13-14
Weekly Bible Study: Genesis chapters 37-50
Prayer: God, we thank You for giving us real-life biblical accounts of faithful heroes like Joseph who remained steadfast and focused on Your Power. We desire to have a closer relationship with You. Lord, we thank You for loving us with an everlasting love. Teach us to recognize your Voice of Instruction. In Jesus’ Holy Name, we pray. Amen.
“Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us—none can compare to You—if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I can count.” —Psalm 40:5
For the past two days, I have deeply reflected on the blessings given to me by God. As I praised and prayed words of gratitude for the two most recent supernatural miraculous gifts, I know that our Father is Love. Not from an intellectual perspective, but from the depths of my heart, I understand that God is Love.
We pray for many things, yet, we must pray in faith that His will be done. God’s plans always give us victorious outcomes. But something usually happens when we receive His blessings, we focus on the blessing instead of the Giver of the blessing.
Reflection: Do we praise God every day with spoken words of adoration and appreciation for our lives? Even if we have not made thankfulness a habit, we can begin today. Our blessings are too numerous to count. Our breath of life is enough to make us shout out loud words of gratitude to our Loving, Heavenly Father!
God’s Declaration of Love: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you [I have been faithful and shown you mercy].” —Jeremiah 31:3
God’s Promise: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” —Jeremiah 29:11
Our Response: “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.” —Psalm 34:1,3
Prayer: God, we thank You for being a loving, gracious, and merciful Heavenly Father. We give You the honor, the praise, and the glory for sustaining our lives. Forgive us for the many times that we resembled the nine lepers who never thanked Jesus for their healing. Lord, we know that You have covered our lives with Your Unconditional love. We love and thank You! In Jesus’ Worthy Name, we ask this prayer. Amen.
The Issue with Worldviews in Choosing a Marriage Partner, Devotional Reading August 26, 2023
Copied from an FB post
When you choose someone, make sure you are choosing them for real and not because you are lonely, or need a rebound or some sort of support. Make sure that person complements you emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Make sure you have the same values, beliefs, and standards and are from the same school of thought. Make sure this person is someone who fits into where you are going to and not where you presently are. Make sure this person is someone you can look at years from now and still be happy you chose him or her. Don’t settle in love because of what might be happening in your life right now. Be happily single till you find someone that you have no doubts about. However, while you look for that person, be sure to work on yourself too, and make sure you are also a good fit for the kind of person you desire to attract and end up with. Love yourself well enough that you set the bars yourself on how you want to be loved by others. In everything you do in life, never settle for less love than you Deserve
Although this is an honest and honorable assessment of the vital concepts necessary for choosing a life partner [husband or wife], based on human wisdom, this is impossible.
We are severely limited in our knowledge of others especially when the emotion of love is involved. There is only one way to have a righteous outcome and that is to fast, pray, and ask for direction and the blessing of God before your emotions bind you to a person whom God never intended for you to marry.
Prayer: Lord, we surrender our hearts to You and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us in our earthly journey. Teach us how to hear Your voice. We ask this prayer, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
“I will bless the LORD at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1
At some point in our lives, we will reach a crossroads from a dilemma that only God’s Supernatural power can resolve. Our response to tribulations is dependent upon our relationship with Christ. If we live with the mindset of, I can do nothing without Christ, then our steadfast faith will automatically flood our mind with the utmost confidence in God.
Living courageously is possible! We can have peaceful, happy, and healthy lives when surrender and daily worship is a lifestyle. Strive for spiritual growth and development by faithfully trusting in God in all circumstances. Seek Him in prayer several times a day and you will receive Divine strength and victory. Yes, trusting in God brings happiness to our lives.
Scripture: ” Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good, Blessed is the man who trusts in him.” Psalm 34:8
Prayer: Lord God, we are so thankful for the privilege of being able to approach you through prayer 24/7. Help us to remember that You love us with an everlasting love. We thank you for Your Divine intervention, love, grace, and mercy. In Jesus’ Holy Name, we pray, Amen.
Staying Courageous in the Stormy Seasons—Devotional Reading, August 23, 2023
Perceiving oneself as blessed should prevent the onset of discouragement and depression when the stormy seasons enter and escalate in our lives. But our human hearts are fragile. When the rains of distress pour on us, often, we share our dilemmas with friends and family who cannot provide the answers or actions to resolve our circumstances.
Yes, we can seek emotional support during the storms [trials], but we need to bring our prayerful petitions for help to God first.
“…But those who seek the LORD will not lack any good thing.” —Psalm 34:10
Trending Social media posts state, “God is silent, He never answered my prayers.” There is a disconnect between our comprehension of seeking God and God’s definition of seeking Him. We desire a God-on-Demand who rescues us immediately from our tribulations. With little time devoted to worshipping God, we do not understand His ways, nor do we possess the willingness to suffer. So we pray once or twice and give up on God because we desire immediate cessation of the storms.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” —John 16:33
Jesus gave us many warnings that we would suffer hardships throughout our earthly journey. Without a firm foundation in the strength of Christ, we easily succumb to the tribulations which bring stormy waves of sorrow and hopelessness. Yet, it is the stormy seasons that build our faith and give us courage.
Not every storm is a trial allowed by God to change our character. Depending solely on our judgment and distrusting others can lead to detrimental choices and substantial adverse consequences in our lives. We agree that busyness impacts most people. With little time left, we are too busy to pray for God’s wisdom and study the Scriptures for guidance.
The Bible is our Guidebook that we use to find out, “What decisions should I make based on the Scriptures?” So instead of feeling blessed, we are overwhelmed from attempting to navigate through life without Divine Help. Excluding God from one’s life produces spiritual unrest, and disconnects us from the Source of life.
Still, we are not in a hopeless predicament. In humility, we acknowledge our disobedience and repent if we caused the storm. Even if we are the cause of our storm, God never forsakes us. We must have steadfast courage and undoubting faith to believe in God and His promises. God is our Source, He gives us the spiritual strength to endure every storm.
Character-changing storms usually have a longer duration and feel as if they will never end. Pray and ask God to reveal the unrighteous behaviors that He is using the stormy season to purge from your character. There are four Chapters—1 Corinthians 13, Galatians 5, Ephesians 5, and James 3—that God expects for every believer to study and measure their characters against. With a prayer of surrender pray for the Divine strength to persevere and endure.
Some storms are the result of spiritual warfare, especially conflict with others. Even so, Christ gives His permission before any trials from Satan are brought into our lives. God will never allow Satan to crush the righteous! Read Job Chapter 1.
During the Stormy Seasons, Pray Often for Divine Help!
David had many troubles but wrote the steps we need to take during the seasons of hardships and also gave us wonderful words of encouragement, God always delivers the righteous!
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.” —Psalm 34:15-16
“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 34:17-18
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.” —Psalm 34:19
Choosing to surrender to God on a daily basis is a personal decision that demonstrates our love for Him. Jesus designed us to have a dependent relationship with Him, built on love, trust, and obedience. These spiritual qualities not only keep us connected to Christ, but also ensure that we are following God’s will.
David’s Petition: “Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.” —Psalm 27:7
The winds of tribulations are harsh, blowing with such force that we fall. We must cry out for Help! Who can persevere through the storm without Christ’s strength? Never forget that God’s goal is to save our souls and give us eternal life.
Spiritual maturity is demonstrated through God-reliance. No one is stronger than the one who depends on God!
Reflect on your lifestyle and make drastic changes if you do not have time to put God first! Developing a lifestyle of worship is intentional and takes concerted action on our part. When our lives are peaceful and we diligently pray and study the Bible every day, our dependency on God acts as a spiritual catalyst to immediately cry out to God when our stormy trials begin.
God knows that building our faith, trust, and confidence and changing our character into the likeness of Christ is achieved in the stormy seasons. Yes, the seasons that make us wish for Jesus to say, Peace be still, are working for our good and His glory!
Even if the intensity and duration of the storm lasts longer than we anticipated, practicing God-Reliance gives us unwavering confidence fueled by our faith and trust in God’s promises of deliverance.
Pray in faith and wait. God’s promises are Yes to which we say, Amen!
Scripture: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” —Psalm 34:19
Prayer: God, we thank You for Your Divine Love. Please forgive our self-reliance and doubt. Lord, we are in a storm and need Your strength to make it through. Thank You for hearing and answering our prayer that we ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions 
You must be logged in to post a comment.