October has been designated a month where we give respect
and honor to those who have taught us something that changed our lives.
In the first part of the month,
we bestow affection and give rewards to educational teachers from around the
world.
The latter half of the month we honor our pastor’s and spiritual leaders.
The latter half of the month we honor our pastor’s and spiritual leaders.
I’m tremendously blessed receiving from both areas, but
I’ve also been on the other side of the platform as the student. This is where
the lessons learned weren’t always ones I wanted, especially when it brought difficulty,
hardship or misfortune. It's also where I learned about the tests through adversity.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.Welcome new friends this week from:
New on DFB – Ireland; Milan, Lombardia, Italy;
Ljubljana and Kranj, Bohinj, Slovenia; Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India;
Worthing, Berkhamsted and Hemyock, England, United Kingdom; Sevastopol,
Ukraine; Zurich, Lucerne, Luzern and Bern Switzerland; Dhaka, Bangladesh;
Lubeck, Schleswig-Holstein and Neustadt in Holstein, Schleswig-Holstein,
Germany; Riyadh, Ar Riyad, Saudi Arabia; Manila and Quezon City, Philippines;
Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico; Vietnam; Bahamas; Thailand and Jamaica.
USA – Spotsylvania, VA; Ballston Spa, NY; Honolulu, HI;
Woodstown, Pitman, Livingston and Mullica Hill, NJ; Clarksburg, MD; Wilmington,
DE; Greensboro, GA, Chicago, IL and Hartsville, SC. Thank you for your
continued support.
I hope I didn’t leave anyone out; thank you for sharing
this Outer Journey on Daily Favor. (DFB
- Daily Favor Blog)
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).
Back
to the Classroom
 |
| Do you run from challenges or bury your head in denial? |
They will stretch, challenge, push and encourage you to reach farther than what you are capable of at that moment, forcing you to take that step of faith.
Over the past weeks it seems that adversity, tests and
trials have been constantly pounding on my door. They aren’t always because I
messed up or even from the devil, but from my favorite teacher – Jesus. Bummer!
“In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity
consider that God has made the one side-by-side with the other … (Ecclesiastes7:14a AMP)
Even more frustration came once I started acting on what
God said, “Ask Me
for Favor.”
You remember that from last week’s lesson and know that I’m
walking this path as well.
Once again I took God at His Word and kept on asking,
pressing harder with each new “event” that came … and boy did they come. What I didn't always keep in mind was that God is watching how I'm handling all this adverse stuff in my life.
Give
Me A Brake!
(Yes, I know the spelling is wrong; it’s a play on words.)
(Yes, I know the spelling is wrong; it’s a play on words.)
Last Friday my husband wanted to go into work so he could
see what had piled up over the month he had been gone. He wasn’t there long and called to say he was
coming home.
It had been some time since his call. I was getting a
little concerned (OK we all know I started to worry), because he should have
been home over an hour ago.
On the way home he needed to stop for gas. Pulling up near the pump, he pressed his foot
on the brake pedal and it went all the way to the floor. He couldn’t stop and
had to turn back out into the parking lot to avoid running into the gas pumps.
We know that God
didn’t cause the brakes to fail, but protected my husband so he wouldn’t run
into the gas pump. Yes, that day of adversity was made by the Lord, and
sometimes He allows it to come for a greater purpose but it won’t be to destroy
His children.
Pumping the brakes he was able to get a little back and
drove home ten miles an hour, pulling over when there was a car behind him.
Now we had another problem. The next day was Saturday and
there was only one garage open in town.
Instead of waiting there all day, he kindly brought my husband home and said he would return to get him when the car was done.
Hours went by and still no word. “Call
the man.” I said. Reluctantly he did
and the car still wasn’t ready.
By mid-afternoon we tried again, but this time there was no answer. The shop closed at 5:30 pm, and it was nearly that time. What’s going on, and where is our vehicle?
By mid-afternoon we tried again, but this time there was no answer. The shop closed at 5:30 pm, and it was nearly that time. What’s going on, and where is our vehicle?
Finally he showed up at our house at 7:30 pm to pick up
my husband and take him back to the garage.
When they pulled into the parking lot the man’s wife was waiting and had
a rather fierce look on her face. I
guess she was wondering why her husband wasn’t home.
Trying to help the man save face, hubby got out of the
car singing praises of how her husband was so kind. Her demeanor changed immediately.
When my husband returned with the ruptured brake line
fixed, I inquired about how much this cost since he had the car ten hours. I’m
excited to share that we got a break on the brake … this stranger showed us
favor.
He replaced the brake line and bled the lines down. They charge $55 an hour, but only charged us
$50 total. The man said he wanted to “help
us out” and we never even knew his name!
The
Voice in Adversity
The Bible tells us in Job 36:15 that “He (meaning God) delivers the afflicted in
their affliction and opens their ears (to His voice) in adversity.”
The Lord
directed us to this person who wasn’t the man we normally use. Listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit put
us on the path for favor from someone we didn’t know.
Sure we would
have probably gotten a good deal from the garage we use, but they were closed.
God knew we would need someone else. The
Lord was teaching us that adversity sometimes goes side-by-side, with Him
working in our behalf to show us favor and blessings. He’s still God, all the
time and is ready to deliver us when we listen to His direction.
The Power is Available
There will
never be a time on this earth when adversity isn’t something we’ll face, at
least not until Jesus reigns anyway. God
has promised that even when you are in the midst of harsh conditions of
uncertainty, He provides the power of the Holy Spirit to keep us calm. Take a look.
“That You (God) may give
him (us) power to keep himself calm in the days of adversity, until the
inevitable pit of corruption is dug for the wicked.” (Psalm 94:13 AMP
Why is it
important that we listen to our teacher Jesus through the Holy Spirit, when
things seem to be going out of control?
Solomon tells us.
“If you faint in the day
of adversity, your strength is small.” (Proverbs 24:10 AMP)
Showing that
verse to my husband he said, “Oh I’m not
fainting, I’m ready to fight.” See
if the devil knows you aren’t staying in faith, he’ll get you to faint, quit
and give in until you have no strength left to fight. He’s expecting you to fail, and wants you to disregard
the power of God to help you overcome adversity by not listening to your
spiritual teachers.
This Week’s Challenge: Listening in Adversity
These past few
weeks in our journey we have been bold in approaching the throne of God through
asking for His favor, while seeking His perfect will for our lives.
Let me ask you,
did adversity and frustration creep in when you started praying like this? Do not be discouraged, there is hope.
“And though the Lord give
you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will
not hide Himself any more, but your eyes will constantly behold your Teacher.”
(Isaiah 30:20 AMP)
In other words,
God’s not going to let us go through this without His help. We can tell He is visible in the situation because
favor is measurable.
Our challenge
and part is to continually look to Him for the answers and what we are to do in
each situation. This is often hard,
because we think we handle it on our own.
Even if you
think you know what to do, don’t assume it’s the thing God wants. My husband knew to call our mechanic, but
that’s not where the favor was. By praying and asking God for wisdom, the Holy
Spirit led us to the other side of town.
Although we may
not always be taken out of a situation, we can always overcome it by listening
to God while in adversity. We are strong and getting closer to our goals. This is a defining moment along our journey,
not a time to get lax or quit.
As long as we fix
our eyes on the World's Best Teacher, the Lord will help us to stay calm as he shows us the
moves we need to take.
by Christian Kalambaie
Until next time, listen to the Teacher and favor will find you.
“Go this way, I’ll be there with you.”
– Jesus Christ
My Book Review: Encouragement for Life Devotionals
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.
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Scripture reference was
taken from the New King James Bible Version provide by Bible Gateway.Image credit: Google Images or Dreamstime Creative Common License if not specified.
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Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
