Has the devil interfered with the plans God has placed on your heart to pursue?If so, I’d like to give you a word of encouragement to keep going no matter what is trying to come against accomplishing your vision.
When you are praying for God to help in following your dreams, the enemy is going to do everything he can to stop it from coming to pass.I once heard a prominent pastor say that every goal he has achieved over the years of his ministry, came with a battle and a huge fight with the enemy.He also said that just when he felt he would give up God prevented the schemes of the devil from prevailing over his work and efforts.His part was to keep going and not quit.
The devil isn’t about to give up on his plans to steal, kill and destroy anyone who has a desire to follow after God.He will do whatever it takes to get you to quit and walk away from living out your dreams and vision.I’m encouraging you to stay in faith, believe what God put in your heart and keep going anyway – especially when things look impossible!
God knows that there will be obstacles along the way to prevent us from achieving our vision, and that’s why we need to consult Him in moving forward to accomplish everything that He has for us.He is the One who inspires the dreams of His children and has promised to help throughout the entire process of what He placed on your heart.
The Lord wants to help, but cannot do that if we don’t include Him on a regular basis.I know things may seem impossible right now, but with God all things are possible to those who believe.
Sometimes living the Christian life can be hard and we’re not always at our spiritual best. God knows and understands our weaknesses.He wants us to lean on Him when we’re not strong. He will be our strength and friend to help us carry on, not humans as mentioned in the song written by the late singer Bill Withers. Nice concept, but only the Holy Spirit can give us everything we need, every time.
It’s during our weakest moments that God’s power is revealed through His unmerited favor and grace.
“But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you (all you need; sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully); for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in (your) weakness.
Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 AMPC)
Use the weapon of prayer against the enemy to continually live by faith.Ask the Lord for the strength you need to KEEP GOING ANYWAY and finish the vision.Hang in there.Live with the peace of mind that your vision will come to pass in His timing, and it will be better than you could ever imagine.
“The LORD will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace.” (Psalm 29:11 NKJV)
Until next time, pray for favored strength to endure!
“I will favor you with My strength and peace.” Jesus Christ
Note: The words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him no place in our lives.
Disclaimer: Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I know, but would like to have this kind of favor in your life also. Click on the above tab “Tell Me About Jesus” for more information on becoming a child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy. Scripture reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Bible Gateway.
Image credit: Google Images Creative Common License if not specified. Image 1 Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
Labels Believe in God, Favored1, Faith, Daily Favor Blog, Wisdom, Patience, Favor, Strength, Endurance, Frustration, Testing, Promises of God, Prayer, Vision, Christian Living
“Dear Lord, I haven’t been a really good sheep today, let alone a
shepherd. I’m tired, feeling a bit out
of my league in knowing what to do. I
need your help. Strengthen my hands for
this task; give me wisdom so I cause no harm …”
That’s the prayer I spoke first thing one morning as I tried dragging
myself out of bed after a little sleep.How can I do all that has to be done, with so many things being #1 on
the list?
Will I ever accomplish the
vision that is in my heart when it keeps being lost in the daily grind of life?
I’m pretty sure a prayer similar to mine has come out of the mouths of many
people, especially this year.Have you
said something along those lines over the past months in dealing with frustrating
changes and uncertainty in life?
Just when things were starting to calm down something unexpected happened.For the past two months we’ve been dealing
with a virus epidemic among the pet population in the community that’s similar
to COVID-19, but it’s not.It’s been
round the clock care in syringe feeding, IV and medication treatments with not
enough hands to meet the needs of all the animals.
As soon as it looked like an animal was getting better, the cycle
repeated itself and spread to other pets.We’ve never dealt with so many seriously sick animals at one time who
needed such intensive care.
It didn’t take much to recognize that this is the work of the enemy and
was pushing us to the limits of our knowledge and abilities.My early morning prayer was a plea for
literal physical and emotional strength, not just to care for animals, but
carry on with the vision in my heart and manage regular living (which seemed
impossible at the time).
Ministering medically to domestic or untamed animals can be exhausting. However, when it comes to cats … they’re in a category all by themselves and I think they know
it!They instantly turn into an octopus
and you almost need full body armor to handle them.I’ve been pounced, kicked, scratched,
punched, bitten and knocked down, but not beaten!
Parts of me may look like I was in a battle with an abnormal amount of
scratches or bruises, but glory to God I’m getting a good upper body workout!Plus, I’ve gotten pretty quick on my feet in chasing
critters that escape off the examination table or IV cart!
There’s no other way to put it than to say, we’d been living off prayer
– ours and from others as spiritual food to build us up to keep going.It wasn’t solely because of the strange unidentified
spreading virus, but all the other things everyone needed to do in their daily
lives that warranted just as much attention.
The Weapon of Fervent Prayer
Our faith was stretched and tested through this new learning
experience with me stepping out to do things I’ve never done totally on my own before like syringe feed.In the past I’ve always been the second set
of hands that held an animal during feeding, cleaned or bathed them, prepared
the special diets … you get the idea.This time I was the one who needed the extra set of helping hands.
If it wasn’t for the weapon of fervent prayer against the enemy, we
wouldn’t have a prayer of winning, yet we did!God gave insight to new methods and treatments so that everything that
needed to be accomplished was.In the
end, more tears and prayers of thanksgiving filled the heavens than prayers of
petition.
Animals that were not supposed to make it did, surprising the doubters
with how they literally came back to life!Things got done for everyone, and I can’t really figure out when they
did, but I certainly know how – through prayer!God was faithful in answering prayers that had much more than finding
solutions in caring for dozens of furry critters.
“A righteous, godly man (person)
regards (cares for and tends to) the life of his animal, but the tender mercies
of the wicked are cruel.” (Proverbs 12:10 NKJV)
Throughout the weeks I noticed favor came into individual lives because of
the care given in honoring God’s creation of animals.It wasn’t what anyone planned, but we changed
our plans when God allowed the situation to come into our lives.He used the circumstance to bring people
together that wouldn’t have ordinarily even known one another, in order to open
doors for other areas in our lives. That
is so, so cool!
Keep Going Anyway
Has the devil interfered with the plans God has placed on your heart to
pursue?If so, I’d like to give you a
word of encouragement to keep going no matter what is trying to come against
accomplishing your vision.
When you are praying for God to help in following your dreams, the enemy is
going to do everything he can to stop it from coming to pass.I once heard a prominent pastor say that
every goal he has achieved over the years of his ministry, came with a battle
and a huge fight with the enemy.He also
said that just when he felt he would give up God prevented the schemes of the
devil from prevailing over his work and efforts.His part was to keep going and not quit.
The devil isn’t about to give up on his plans to steal, kill and destroy
anyone who has a desire to follow after God.He will do whatever it takes to get you to quit and walk away from
living out your dreams and vision.I’m
encouraging you to stay in faith, believe what God put in your heart and keep
going anyway – especially when things look impossible!
God knows that there will be obstacles along the way to prevent us from
achieving our vision, and that’s why we need to consult Him in moving forward
to accomplish everything that He has for us.He is the One who inspires the dreams of His children and has promised
to help throughout the entire process of what He placed on your heart.
The Lord wants to help, but cannot do that if we don’t include Him on a
regular basis.I know things may seem impossible
right now, but with God all things are possible to those who believe.
Sometimes living the Christian life can be hard and we’re not always at
our spiritual best. God knows and understands our weaknesses.He wants us to lean on Him when we’re not
strong. He will be our strength and friend to help us carry on, not humans as mentioned in the song written by the late singer Bill Withers. Nice concept, but only the Holy Spirit can give us everything we need, every time.
It’s during our weakest moments that God’s power
is revealed through His unmerited favor and grace.
“But He said to me, My grace (My
favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you (all you need; sufficient
against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble
manfully); for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and
completed) and show themselves most effective in (your) weakness.
Therefore, I will all the more
gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of
Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 AMPC)
Use the weapon of prayer against the enemy to continually live by
faith.Ask the Lord for the strength you
need to keep going and finish the vision.Hang in there.Live with the
peace of mind that your vision will come to pass in His timing, and it will be better
than you could ever imagine.
“The LORD will give strength to
His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace.”
(Psalm 29:11 NKJV)
Until next time, pray for favored strength to endure!
“I will favor you with My strength and peace.” Jesus
Christ
Note: The words satan or devil are not capitalized
deliberately, because we give him no place in our lives.
Disclaimer: Article information is not meant to be used as
treatment for mental or physical issues, but geared toward spiritual
awareness.
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I know, but would like to
have this kind of favor in your life also. Click on the above tab “Tell
Me About Jesus” for more information on becoming
a child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not
copy. Scripture reference was taken from the New King James Bible
Version provided by Bible Gateway.
Image credit: Google Images Creative Common License if
not specified. Image 1Image 2
Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
Labels Believe in God, Favored1, Faith, Daily Favor Blog, Wisdom,
Patience, Favor, Strength, Endurance, Frustration, Testing, Promises of God,
Prayer, Vision, Christian Living
Come August I get a bit antsy, that is, eager to get back
into the classroom, doing fund raisers, winterizing the house or yard, and
basically setting my schedule for the New Year.
Well, these days just about everything got in the way of
those “normal” things.If I could use
one word to describe it all, it would be “errrrr."
The game of life got a bit more frustrating.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Medak,
Telangana, India; General Trias, Calabarzon, Philippines; Djibouti; Rejeka,
Primrje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia; Nakambala, Southern Province, Zambia;
Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy; Milan, Italy; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Cape Town, Western
Cape, South Africa; Tel Aviv, Israel; Medak, Telangana, India; Unguja Zanzibar
Urban, Tanzania; Hanoi, Ha Noi, Vietnam; Benalmadena, Andalucia & Toledo,
Castilla-LaMancha, Spain; Nakambala, Zambia; Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom;
Belgharia, West Bengal, India, Benin-City, Edo State, Nigeria; Jessore, Khulna
Division, Bangladesh; Malolos, Central Luzon, Philippines; Mongu, Zambia;
Konya, Turkey; Silsden, England, United Kingdom; Mtubatuba, KwaZula-Natal,
South Africa; Cote d’Ivoire; Colombia..
Thank you for your continued support and sharing Believing
Our Belief on Daily Favor.(DFB -
Daily Favor Blog) Living
my life before God and man, by sharing experiences as I walk out my faith.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below.All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life.Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss
out on this week's challenge (below).
Read updates and visit the Q & A or other sections.
It Was a Break
Have you ever had a week like that? You know, where
nothing seemed to be going right?
Frustration levels have been at a peak this week, all
starting with not being able to make a post last week.For the most part my writing is
usually ahead of schedule, because it isn’t focused on my daily living.
However, Daily Favor really cannot be written
ahead, because it’s based on what God is doing at the moment in my life.Basically, I write as He reveals.
When I realized that Friday’s post wasn’t going to
happen, I got really upset.First with
myself thinking I missed something with God, then fussing about my viewers
being disappointed, and finally, dealing with feelings of guilt (which we know
isn’t of God).
My husband said, “Tell
them you’re on vacation.” … but that wouldn’t have been the truth.Not that he was suggesting I lie, but hoping
people understood and wouldn’t quit following this blog.I wish it were a vacation; it’s been almost
twenty years since I’ve had one of those.
No, it was only a break from writing so I could be with
my husband.So, that’s what I did.Funny how things work out even when you think
they’re a mess.So let me share how all
the foes and foils transpired over my week when I was on a “break.”
Do You Need A Wheelchair?
Hubby was scheduled to be in the hospital last week, so
we prepared for whatever needed to be done.He was already in AFIB and was about to have more testing done on his
heart.
I have no idea how it happened, but earlier in the week I
somehow twisted my knee possibly tearing a ligament.The pain was awful and the best thing I could do was to stay off my
leg.By the time we went to the
hospital, I was the one limping.
After we checked in at the front desk, a nurse came to
get my husband. Observing my limp she assumed I was the patient, and asked if I
needed a wheelchair. Thanking her, I declined the offer and hobbled down the
corridor.
We were thankful that he didn’t have to stay overnight
and all seemed to be fine. The results would be given to us within twenty-four
hours.There wasn’t anything else we
needed to do except wait, so home we went as quickly as possible.
Not Much of A Dream
When we got home I plopped myself on the couch to keep my
leg elevated.Hubby decided to take it
upon himself to make a cake.Not just
any cake, but a Red Velvet Dream Cake.
Not ever having this kind of cake, I bought one for
$3.00. I’ve never spent that much on a cake mix in my life, but I thought it
was a bargain. The package said it
included the icing and a cake pan.The
pan itself I felt was worth that much.Good deal right?
While the cake was baking, he moved on to making the
frosting according to the box direction.Only he changed them ever so slightly. Instead of using soft butter, he
melted it in the microwave.The icing
was a flop because he didn’t whip it. Thinking it needed to get cold he popped it in
the refrigerator.
Game Boy
Let the games begin!It was late evening by now. Not being able to move about much I got on
the computer to play a game.What’s
this? A new one … Cake Mania?How
appropriate.
Finally getting to where I understood how it worked, the
internet shut off.This had been
happening all week, right in the middle of work.Hubby came over to see if he could fix the
problem.
After he resolved the issue I suggested he take over and
stop being a back seat cake baker.While
I was playing he kept calling out the moves for me to make (as if I could make
it go any faster).
It’s not so easy now is it game boy?Switching seats, now I was the one behind him
making the calls.The only difference
though was the laughter in the gallery.
Customers keep coming for cakes.Hubby refused to pick up the money so no more
people would come in, then he wouldn’t take their order and started talking
back to them as they got mad. It was hilarious.
I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer, listening as
he whispered all the orders one-by-one while trying to keep up with the mayhem.
“Go ahead, leave.I’m not making
your cake anyway.” And you might as well forget it too. I’m not giving you a
menu either. ”… he spouted off to the "virtual" customers as
they fumed out the door.
“I’m not buying any more supplies.”He said as he trashed all the cakes
that were wrong orders, losing $600 in the pretend bakery. I laughed so hard
tears were flowing down my face, which only ticked him off more.It was a perfect time to make my exit to the
kitchen.
When Dreams Go Bad
Now let me remind you that my husband doesn’t play online
games, or any games for that matter.He
has to really be in the doghouse for him to play a board game with me, if you
get my drift.
He was finally determined to beat this game when the
internet shut off again.Hearing this
sound “awww” come out of his mouth I came into the living room. It was like a bird
told me to say, “You know (little pause
here), it’s funny how” … Right then he interrupted me.
“I know … messing up on the Red Velvet cake tonight.I’m not a baker!”Laughing I replied, “You’re not even a virtual one!”
Seven hours later the icing was still as runny as water!I said, “I
can fix this.”Sitting at the
kitchen table I proudly decorated the single layer dream cake with cream cheese
frosting we had in the cupboard.
Finishing the cake, there was this awful toxic, paint
smell wafting from the container. It was bad.Checking the date I noticed it read November 2011! The Red Velvet Dream
Cake was turning into a nightmare.Apparently neither of us are bakers! (Don't judge me ... who does a date check on the items in the pantry? That stuff is good forever, right?)
It reminded me when Joseph was in prison and interpreted
the baker’s dream! (Genesis 40:16-19 NKJV)
I cut the top off and we ate it plain.Not exactly the outcome we had hoped. Oh, and that free baking pan I thought I was getting ... it was cardboard!
Not so El Taco
On his way home from cardio rehab, hubby stopped off at
the local grocery store to get some taco shells for lunch.He was assembling our culinary delight when he
noticed something; they had expired. What is it with food this week?
Toe Mail
It’s Thursday by now and hubby was attempting to go to work
for a few hours.This would be his first
time to do that, and a good opportunity for me to catch up on writing.About ten minutes after he was gone the phone
rang.Trying to pick up the phone, it
slipped through my fingers and dropped to the floor. Of course it was out of
reach, why wouldn’t it be!
Seeing it was my husband I needed to get to it quickly,
so I tried to answer it with my big toe.In my head I kept hearing my husband say. “Swipe it, swipe it.” Then I
mashed it with my foot trying to get it to answer. A first for me I assure you.
(By the way, it didn’t work.)
I didn’t know if there was a problem.Anxiously trying to retrieve it by sliding the
phone with my foot (remember I still can’t move my leg), I was able to get it
within reach.By the time I picked it up
it had already gone to voice mail, only to notify me that there was no service.
Playing phone tag, we finally got through to one
another.Sharing my dilemma with my husband,
this time he was laughing. He informed me that his game plan changed and now he
was going to the library.
Testing in Progress
These things seem silly don’t they?Sometimes it’s not the big things, but all
the little ones adding up that get us frustrated.They try our patience and cause us to get
anxious, so that when a big problem happens we get thrown for a loop.
The cake thing wasn’t a big deal, but it was time
consuming and a waste of money. Even though I was thoroughly entertained (sorry
hubby), it threw off our “game” for a time.
Waiting all week to hear from the doctor made us
impatient, especially when we were told it would take only one day.We’re still waiting.I wish I had that many hours in my “day,”
maybe I’d get more done.
Being immobilized from the leg injury, the internet going
out all week, no phone service, expired food and praying the hospital results
were good certainly challenged our faith levels.
Psalm 139:23 declares that the Lord surely knew about our
anxious thoughts, even though we tried to keep them quenched.
“Search me, O God, and
know my heart;
Testme and know my anxious thoughts.”
“Search me, test me.” Really God? How many times have you
asked God to test your faith? Frankly, I can’t say that one is high on my
prayer request list.
Philippians 4:6 reminds us not to be anxious, fret or
worry over anything. I would expect that means the little things as well, don’t
you? So casting our cares would be right in that mix I’d say. (1 Peter 5:7)
The Game of Life
What we can gain from this is that God is always in the
game plan, and He doesn’t want us to play the “game of life” all by ourselves. If
we refer to the scriptures, God reveals to us through James that there is a way
to go about the trials, tests and struggles we encounter each day, whether they
are large or small.
“… when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it
an opportunity for great joy.For you
know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully
developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2-4
NLT)
Being a perfectionist takes on a whole new
meaning after reading that.Come to
think of it, mediocre doesn’t look that bad with all the trials that come with
growing to be perfect in faith.
Just how
much endurance do we really need?Apparently, a lot if we want God to step in with the playbook.
We Can Still Have Cake
Not everything in life is going to work out the way we
planned or hoped.We don’t always get the
breaks we want, but life isn’t supposed to be placed on hold because of some
set-backs.Hey, that’s why they call it “life.”
That red velvet cake wasn’t what I thought it would be,
but I still had cake … a bit different, but it was just as good.God is willing to give us cake, icing and all
(so to speak). He planned for us to have good things through His loving favor,
but it all has to do with the way we handle bad situations.
Our faith is so precious to the Lord that it is valued
more than anything else, and satan knows that.If he can get Christians to cave on the small stuff, then he already
knows he can trap us when it comes to big decisions. So we shouldn’t be
surprised when a trial passes our way.
“In this you greatly
rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by
various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious
than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise,
honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ …” (1 Peter 1:6-7)
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery
trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.”
(1 Peter 4:12)
Believe You Have What You Need
By faith we have to believe that when we ask God for
assistance and wisdom to get through the trials we encounter, He will give us what we need.After we have prayed, we must believe that help is on the way and we have what we need to
see us to the next step in life.
If we pray and don’t believe God heard us, then we will
get exactly what we expected – and that is squat, nada, zilch, nothing from the
Lord.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who
gives to all liberally and without getting angry at you for asking, and it will
be given to him.
But let him ask in faith believing God will help, not
doubting, for he who doubts is unstable in their faith and will not receive
anything from the Lord.” (from James 1:5-7 NKJV emphasis mine)
This Week’s Challenge:
The Faith Pawn
Coming to the end of this post I told my husband I was
making good headway, but needed the challenge. He replied, “You have me.”So there you
have it.How can I top that?
Life is enough of a challenge, do we need another? No,
this week we’re on a break. Not really, but God will have us work on our faith perfection
and endurance levels.
When it comes to winning in life (over the obstacles that
are thrown along our path), we’ve got the upper hand on strategy.The only pawn we need is our faith.It’s the most precious game piece we
have.The devil knows that, do you?
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments
and His ways past finding out!(Romans 11:33 NKJV)
God declared that the victory is already ours. That means
we’re already winners.Now we need to
act like it.Lots of interference was
thrown our way this week (this post would be really long if I told you all that
happened), but through our disappointments we smiled, laughed and didn’t let it
get us down.We’re patiently believing God for a good outcome.
What’s happening in your life that’s throwing your game
out of whack? No matter what you’re going through, God’s grace and mercy will
see you through if you remain steadfast in your belief.He will grant favor on your life and care for
you, giving renewed hope to your spirit. (Job 10:12 NKJV)
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I
know, but would like to have this kind of favor in your life also.Click on the above tab “Tell Me” for more
information on becoming a child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy.
Scripture
reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Bible Gateway Image credit: Google
Images or Dreamstime Creative Common License if not specified. Image: Life GameFrustrationCake Mania GameCell PhoneMediocreThat's Life Snoopy Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
