Month: November 2025

Answered Prayer

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Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

Taylor Sheridan in his epic western series, “1923” wrote, “God provides three answers to prayer;

Yes, Not Yet, & I Have A Better Plan.”

There is so much truth laden in this quote it’s hard to put into words. Looking back over my life God has never said “no” to something I prayed for. For what man would interpret as God’s “no” should more correctly be summed up as “I have a better plan you.” Living out the words of Jesus when He taught us to pray “Thy will be done” is not always easy in the moment, but becomes easy when you live out a lifetime saying these words. Give it a try, and not just for a day or two. I can promise you that living your life asking God to be in control is the most satisfying and fulfilling life you can lead.

Not To Worry

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God said, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.” Isaiah 43:1

Taylor Swift once said, “I think fearless is having fears but jumping anyway”. In other words, don’t let fears get in your way. Yet, the question really remains, is life, absent fear, possible? I’ve reviewed the Bible cover to cover, and one thing that continues to amaze me is how many times the topics of “fear and worry” appear. God repeatedly says, “Fear not”. And yet our response over and over seems to be, “Nah, thanks but, I think I’ll worry anyway.”

Fear and Worry Will Steal Your Hope

Nothing in life is simple I’ll grant you that. However, our minds are amazing creations capable of all kinds of choices. Why not choose to believe the promises of God? These promises come embedded with something called courage. You could very well surprise yourself in the days to come. Jesus said “fear not”. Why not take him up on his offer.

Unexpected

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God said, “For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

Famed mentor and motivator Samuel Chand once wrote a book called, “Who moved my ladder?” The premise being that we climb ladders in life only to find out that when we reach the top of our ladder it’s not where we wanted to go.

The Unexpected Shakes Hands With Everyone.

As time passes I have found myself spending less time trying to craft long term plans and more time waiting on the Lord. Every day is a day to celebrate what God has planned, even when we don’t know exactly what those plans mean for us, or how we fit into them. We just have to trust God’s promise that His loving plans for us are just what we need, right when we need them.

New

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“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19

Change is a word we do not like. Oh we may speak glowingly about it when the change is exactly what we want, but if you really stop to think about it, how often is that really the case? Nothing changes exactly like we wanted, or planned, or hoped for. However, what if we began to think of change in a new way.

What If We Trusted God?

Jesus said in Matthew 6:10 that we should pray, “Thy will be done”, meaning ‘God, have it Your way’. What would happen if we trusted God with our daily needs, our future, our jobs, our living conditions, our health, our relationships and so forth ? Do you really think that the same God who created the heavens and the earth and daisies and roses and puppies and pandas would choose to respond to your trust by bringing you strife and turmoil? We already do that to ourselves. Why not let God have His way with your life. I’m believing the “new” He brings to you will be breathtaking.

Covering

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“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1

Picture a day in your life. You feel as through you are standing in a field while rocks and boulders are being hurled in your direction. As you fight them off, a second and third line of attack comes at you from your left and from your right. There is just seemingly no way to fend off the all-consuming onslaught.

Enter The Secret Place

Psalm 91 makes us a promise. If we dwell with God, entering His presence in prayer, praying and then trusting His protection over our lives, we shall then find rest simply being in His shadow. When God provides cover for you, the problems you face soon begin to pale in comparison. This is not theoretical, this is a commanded blessing directly from scripture that you can receive each and every day of your life. Life works when you place your trust in Almighty God.

Unlimited Blessings

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““Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.” Deuteronomy 28:6

Care to guarantee unlimited blessings in your life? I’ll let you in on a little secret. You can find the recipe by reading one of the most powerful of God’s promises in the Bible. Live it and

Watch Your Blessings Multiply.

Deuteronomy 28 says, “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.“

Blessings

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“He (God) refreshes my soul.” Psalm 23:3

God has a wonderful way of providing just what we need, right when we need it. It may be through a phone call or hug from a loved one or furry friend, or through His still small voice encouraging us when no one else can. You see, God can and will use any means possible to refresh us, and those many means are

A Thousand Little Miracles.

The next time you are convinced that God’s not paying attention your needs, perhaps you should take a breath and start to realize the thousand and one ways God blesses you every single day. The time has come to say “thank you.” Thank you God for Your blessings, even when I don’t recognize them.

Tomorrow

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“being confident of this, that He (Jesus) who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” Philippians 1:6

The musical “Annie” took broadway by storm in 1977. After all, who could resist an inspiring little orphan girl singing, “tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow, you’re only a day away!” Thankfully,

God Has All Your Tomorrow’s In His Hands”

Paul tells is in Philippians 1:6 that what Jesus has started in your life He will carry through to completion. Translation: when you put your life in Jesus hands He forgives your past so yesterday is indeed gone, He is carrying you today so you can open your eyes and see things in a different way, and He has a plan for your future so just think what tomorrow will bring! You have a beautiful tomorrow on store, you have a Savior who loves you.

Trust

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“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Author and pastor Max Lucado once said, “The meaning of life. The wasted years of life. The poor choices of life. God answers the mess of life with one word: Grace”.

“God’s Grace Is Sufficient.”

God is saying to us stop toiling and spinning over this problem or that, and hand them all to Me. We have to understand that while we are weak, He is strong. Strong enough to deal with whatever mess you find yourself in. Hand your issues to God and say “Lord, I trust you.” then be content with how He works it out. His solution may not be your solution, and that’s where the trust factor comes in. Trust in God.

Supply

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“My God will supply all your needs…” Philippians 4:19

19th Century English minister Charles Spurgeon once said, “We have all things and abound; not because I have a good store of money in the bank, not because I have skill and wit with which to win my bread, but because the Lord is my Shepherd.”

God Is Our Supply

We don’t always know what we really need in life, but God does. There’s a trust factor that has to be implemented in our lives in order for us to be truly satisfied and fulfilled. Trust that God, who knows you better than you know yourself, has your best interest in mind every minute of every hour of every day. Perhaps that’s why Jesus when he taught us how to pray puts “Thy (God’s) will be done” at the top of the list of things for us to ask for.