Victory In The Wilderness

We all go through wilderness experiences in life. These types of experiences are times of trial and molding of our character. We may feel like these experiences are solely an attack by the enemy and we get into fight mode. But Jesus has given us so much insight into the wilderness experience. After Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit immediately drove Jesus into the wilderness. Jesus then fasted for 40 days. At the end of the fast, satan came on the scene at a seemingly vulnerable time for Jesus. He tried to tempt Jesus three times. Each time Jesus shot back with the Word of the Lord, the Sword of the Spirit. Satan had no chance. Jesus was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Luke 4:13 says, “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”

But the story does not end there. Luke 4:14-15 says, “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.” The wilderness experience was a place of battle and victory. That victory was then carried out into the world to set people free. So our wilderness experiences are crucial for our own spiritual growth but also for others. The wilderness experience is a temporary place. We are not meant to remain there permanently. When we submit to the Holy Spirit and His Word, we come out of the wilderness in His power and authority. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I submit to You in this wilderness experience. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Put Your Word in my mouth to overcome the evil one. Cause my life to shine with Your Glory to be a witness for You in the earth.   

The Weapon Of Peace

The Bible gives us an example of the power of God’s peace. Peace is a weapon of warfare. When chaos and trouble is around us, peace is our goal. We want things to settle down. We want the situation to be resolved but we also want our emotions to be calm and in control. In Mark 4, we see a situation brewing. Jesus and the disciples get into a boat and set off to cross over to the other side. While traveling, a big windstorm came and water started getting into the boat. The disciples are panicking but Jesus is sound asleep. They awoke Jesus and asked if He cared that they would perish. Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭39‬-‭41‬ ‭says, “Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Shalom is the Jewish word for peace but it also means harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility. The disciples had Peace Himself with them. They had the One who had all authority to push back the chaos. We have the Prince of Peace inside of us through the Holy Spirit. We have His authority to declare peace over our lives and every situation. He expects us to exercise His authority of peace over every storm in life.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for peace that surpasses understanding. Your supernatural peace fills my soul and I am not moved by anything.

The Righteousness Of Christ

As we seek to be closer to the Lord, we will walk more in the Spirit and less in the flesh. The blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us of sin and the righteousness of Christ shines through us. However, the  flesh can be very sneaky. We can start to take pride in our good behavior and look at others with a judgmental eye when they are struggling in their walk with Christ. We may start to forget that without Christ we would be lost. We may lose sight of the fact that we had a rough beginning in our walk with Christ. 

‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭23‬-‭26‬ says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” It is the power of the righteousness of Christ in us that causes us to do good and have pure intentions. Our flesh is constantly at war with the Spirit. Even if we do good deeds in the flesh, our intentions may be unholy. ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭64‬:‭6‬ says, “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.” We have no pure goodness and righteousness apart from Christ. It is humbling to acknowledge this truth and it brings us back to the Cross, where our spiritual journey began. He made a very unfair exchange for our benefit. He gave up His life so we could have eternal life. He poured out His mercy and righteousness, through His blood, so we would not have to face eternal damnation. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the righteousness of Christ. Thank You for Your divine plan of redemption and filling me with Your righteousness by the blood of Jesus.

The Desire Of My Heart

I used to have a one-sided understanding of ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37‬:‭4‬, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” I always thought it only meant that God would answer our prayers and petitions and give us what we desire. But the more I seek the Lord, the more I realize that He puts His desires in us, so our petitions line up with His perfect will. 

Now I find myself asking God to fill me with His desires. He desires to give us a hope and a future. He desires for us to walk in perfect peace. The more we seek His heart, the more we let go of fleshly desires. The petitions of our hearts are no longer earthly and carnal.  Our petitions become a yearning for more of God’s presence. We desire to be closer to Him. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, fill me with Your heart’s desire. I want everything that You want for me. I want my heart to be one with Yours.

Riches In Glory

One of the issues of life that we all face is needing financial security. Regardless of our socioeconomic status, financial security is a human need. We need to pay our bills, put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads. It can be so easy for that basic human need to evolve into unhealthy patterns of behavior. Some become obsessed with money to the point of workaholism. Others resort to lying, cheating and stealing. While others fall into a victim role and seek dependence on other people to meet their needs. 

God’s initial plan in the Garden of Eden was that we would have all that we need in Him. We were to flourish in every way in abundance. The Fall of Man derailed us off that perfect plan. But God made a way back through Christ. Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ says, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Apostle Paul was talking to the believers in Philippi and thanking them for their generosity towards him. He reminded them that God is their supplier of every need. We, as believers, are blessed by the God of all creation. There are no limitations or lack in God. 

Prayer 

Heavenly Father, fill my heart with increased faith by Your Holy Spirit. I want faith to believe You for all that I need and not put my faith in other people.

Redeeming Love

When we hear the word love, we all have something, a concept, that immediately comes to mind. Some may think of love as a good feeling toward someone. Others may say that love is doing good deeds for others. However, these are byproducts of love. God’s idea of love goes beyond our human understanding. Sometimes God’s expression of love seems to confuse our carnal mind. We may think that God is good, so He will give us everything we ask for because He loves us. But God loves us too much to give us everything we ask. He knows that we sometimes ask for things that will lead us away from His perfect will for our lives. We may even ask for things that will result in being a snare of the enemy. 

II Peter 3: 8-9 says “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” God’s love is not a mere feeling or material blessing. God’s love is salvation and redemption. God's first priority is that we don’t perish in our sin or rebellion. So when we don’t get what we ask for, we can be confident in God’s love and thank Him for His perfect will in our lives. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for going to great lengths to reveal Your love through Christ. I receive Your redemptive love. Holy Spirit, transform my heart to experience the deep redemptive love of God.

God of the Impossible

There are issues in our lives or in the world that may seem to be too big for God. We may hesitate bringing it before God in prayer because, in our carnal mind, it seems like a lost cause. We’ve actually lost hope. 

But the reality is that God specializes in impossible situations. He is the God of miracles. ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭32‬:‭17‬ says, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.” When we position our hearts to focus on God’s greatness and power, our faith grows. Our mindsets are lifted above the situation and we can start to see things from God’s view. When we pray, according to His Word, our confidence in Him increases. He may not answer our prayers the way we expect. In fact, He will answer our prayers better than we expect. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your great power in my life. Thank You Holy Spirit for teaching me how to pray according to the Word of God. Increase my faith to believe You for the impossible.

The Heart Of God

I’ve often heard the saying “seek God’s face and not His hand.” It sounds really good. But what does it mean in practical terms? Seeking God’s face is actually seeking to be closer to His heart. It is posturing our hearts toward Him and desiring to know Him. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Seeking God’s hand is not wrong. The problem is when we solely focus on what God can do for us and not the relationship itself. When we only seek God’s hand, we are wanting God’s provision for our earthly needs. Again, that is not wrong. We should seek God first as our provider. But constantly being needs-focused in our prayer life can rob us of the fullness of God. He provides so much more than just earthly material things. God knows what we need. He wants us to draw near to His heart so we know Him personally and be filled with His Spirit. Ephesians 3:16-19 says “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” When we know the unfailing love of God, worrying about needs is not an issue. There is an unwavering trust when our hearts are confident in His love for us. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, fill me with the fullness of Your Spirit and draw me close to Your heart, that I would have an unwavering trust in You for everything.   

Dilemmas

Sometimes in life we are faced with dilemmas. A dilemma is “a problem involving a difficult choice” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Sometimes it may seem impossible to make a decision because the possible outcomes seem to be negative, regardless of the choice. But God’s wisdom is above all of our dilemmas. I Kings 3: 16-28 tells the story of how King Solomon was faced with a major dilemma. Two women came before him arguing about a baby. Both women had their own baby but one of the babies died. The mother of the deceased baby switched babies in the night, so she could have the live baby. The mother of the live baby went to King Solomon to get her baby back and had a hard time proving that the baby belonged to her. 

King Solomon said the unthinkable. I Kings 3: 24-25 says, “Then the king said, ‘Bring me a sword.’ So they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, ‘Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other’.” Immediately the mother of the living child cried out to the King to give her baby to the woman who stole him so he would not be killed. But the woman who stole the baby told the king to divide the baby and let neither of them have him. It was evident to King Solomon who was the real mother and he gave the baby back to the rightful mother. 

King Solomon’s tactic seems counter intuitive but it was actually the wisdom of God to test the hearts of those women. God gave King Solomon a unique divine strategy in that moment to solve the dilemma. When we are faced with seemingly impossible situations, our best option is to seek the wisdom of God first. Not every situation is the same. God will give us a diving strategy and specific solutions for our problems.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me to seek You first in every dilemma. Holy Spirit, fill me with wisdom from heaven, so that I make decisions according to the will of God.

Be Aware

The ways of the world can be so enticing. As Christians, we are aware of the obvious sins such as sexual immorality, lying, cheating, stealing, etc. But the sins of the heart can be very sneaky. Our intentions and motivations can be sinful and lead us down a path of trouble and destruction. Proverbs 9:13:15 talks about the “foolish woman” who  tries to entice the simple and naive who pass by. The foolish woman represents this worldly system that is waiting to pounce on the right victim. 

If we are not aware of our own weaknesses and issues of the heart, we will be easy prey for this foolish worldly system. She tries to convince the person that sin is good but doesn’t tell them the consequences. Proverbs 9:16-18 says, “she says to him: ‘Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant’. But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell.” We must be vigilant and ask the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom to discern every situation and discern our own hearts. I Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” God’s plan is for us to overcome the world through Christ, not be part of it. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, give me wisdom to discern every questionable situation that I encounter. Jesus, purify my heart that I may see things clearly in the light of Your holiness. Holy Spirit, give me boldness to stand for righteousness and do what is right before You.

Ask, Seek and Knock

If we want a life of victory in Christ, all we have to do is ask Him. However, the key is to ask consistently with persistence. Luke 11:9-13 says,  “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Something powerful happens when we set our heart on a goal and pursue hard after it. As with any goal, we must consistently take steps towards it. There may be barriers or opposition but if we want a life of power in Christ, we need to position ourselves in that direction. God gave us the gift of choice and every choice comes with positive or negative outcomes. When we choose to persistently seek the Lord, the outcome is only positive. His promises are sure. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, fill my heart with a desire for Your ways. Holy Spirit, empower me to persistently follow Jesus regardless of the opposition.