thoughts & encouragements about life & faith
As a son or daughter of God, rest assured that the blessing of being placed in the right place at the right time is yours because of our Lord Jesus! Despite the dangerous times we live in, you can expect Him to protect and deliver you from every snare of the enemy.
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler. Not “maybe” or “sometimes,” but an unqualified “surely.” Not a conditional “He might” but a definitive “He shall.” What blessed assurance we have that our God will deliver us from the snare of the fowler!
What are you hearing today? The word of the world? The word of Wall Street? Or the word of Christ? I want to encourage you today to build a shield of faith around your family. Listen, believe, speak. Would you say it with me? Listen, believe, speak. Listen to Christ-centered messages, believe the Word of God, and speak out loud the promises you want to see in your life.
Our God is such a good God, isn’t He? I trust that you are beginning to see how important it is to invest your time in getting His living and powerful Word into your heart, praying it over yourself and your loved ones, and speaking it out loud.
When we are faced with darkness in any area of our lives today, or trapped in a storm of challenges, let’s not be mired in looking at the problems and despairing. when we are faced with darkness in any area of our lives today, or trapped in a storm of challenges, let’s not be mired in looking at the problems and despairing. We should call forth what we want to see! If we find ourselves caught in a dangerous situation, we should declare, “The Lord is my refuge and my fortress.” Start speaking forth your protection, your health, and your victory today!
Believing begins on the inside. Faith begins on the inside. When the Word of God is preached, faith is the hand that takes. Faith says, “That’s mine! The promises of God’s protection are mine!” What begins inside is then reinforced outside—you begin to speak the Word out loud.
Do you know that Jesus’ name in Hebrew, Yeshua, actually means “Yahweh saves”? It is not “Yahweh judges.” The name Jesus means “Yahweh SAVES.” If you are broke, Yahweh saves. If you are sick, Yahweh saves. If you have enemies that are coming against you, Yahweh saves. Whatever saving you need, Jesus is the answer, for His name means “Yahweh saves.” Hallelujah!
Today you can experience God’s presence in your life. Say to yourself, “The Lord is with me and I have His favor, blessings, and protection.” Sense His shadow covering you. His shadow is a picture of nearness. You are not trying to get into the secret place; you are already there in Christ. In Christ, you can’t get any closer to God.
“I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust’”. The Hebrew word for “refuge,” machaceh, refers to a shelter from storms and danger. This shelter is like the bunkers that many Jews have in their homes in Israel today to shelter them from small-scale attacks. In the figurative sense, when you say the Lord is your machaceh, you are also declaring that He is your place of hope.
The Word of God says that in this world, we will have trouble (see John 16:33). The fact that God declares in His Word that He will deliver us from troubles tells us that we will experience troubles. But God wants us to know that the more we hear preaching on Psalm 91, the more we quote it and remind ourselves of the Lord’s protection daily, the more our faith in His protection will grow.
Unfortunately, when we are faced with problems, whether it is a sickness, an accident, or any kind of trouble, many of us don’t lay hold of and claim the Lord’s deliverance found in His Word. Yet, when you do hold on to God’s Word for deliverance, the devil is so afraid that the Word will become firmly rooted in your heart. That is why he will come immediately to try to steal the Word from your heart.
When Psalm 91 talks about dwelling in the “secret place” of the Most High, that secret place is not a geographical location, but spiritual intimacy with our Lord Jesus. It is you valuing your position in Christ and your close relationship with Him, and being found in that secret place with Him.
The more you grow in your revelation and valuation of how Jesus’ finished work has placed you in Him—in the secret place where you are safe, protected, and secure—the more you’ll find your heart at rest instead of filled with worry and fears. Something powerful happens in your heart and in your outward circumstances when you begin to value being in Christ, in the secret place of the Father’s care, protection, and love.
Remember how Noah was safe in the ark when the floodwaters came? While Noah was not perfect, God saw him as righteous because of his faith in God (see Heb. 11:7). When the flood came, everyone outside the ark died, but Noah and his family were protected and saved. Why? Because they were in the ark, which is a type of Christ, who is our salvation (see Acts 4:12).
The secret place of the Most High is a place where you are in Christ. Wouldn’t you agree that being in Christ is to be in the safest hiding place? How did you get to be in Christ? By receiving the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Once you are a born-again believer, our heavenly Father sees you in Christ. You are safe, protected, and secure in the hiding place!
When we are resting in the presence of El Elyon—God Most High, the possessor of heaven and earth (see Gen. 14:19)—and abiding under the shadow of El Shaddai—God Almighty, the all-sufficient One—all of a sudden, our adversities don’t seem so intimidating after all!
If your mind is entangled with knots of anxiety, perhaps it’s time for you to examine your mental diet. What have you, consciously or unconsciously, been meditating on? Are you ingesting and believing everything you see in the news reports, or are you living by what the Lord Jesus has purchased for you at Calvary?
Over the next few months, starting on this coming Monday 23rd March, we will be sending out this daily devotional at 8:00 am each morning during the week. We will be looking at Psalm 91 using the teaching from Pastor Joseph Prince as our text.
John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things…
If you are asking whom or where you can go to to get the help you need, ask no more. Just turn to God who has already promised you the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom He has sent in Jesus’ name to dwell in you.
The Holy Spirit will teach you all things. Yes, teach you all things! Do you really believe that? Or are you like some who believe that you seek God’s counsel only for spiritual things, but consult “professional” help for all other things in your life?
God does not want you to run to and rely on worldly wisdom. Now, there is nothing wrong with going to a doctor or engaging a financial consultant, but God wants you to come to Him first for counsel and direction. That is why He has sent the Holy Spirit, the Counselor (see John 16:7, NIV), to teach you all things. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and He will guide you into all truth (see John 16:13).
The apostle John said, “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things…the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things” (1 John 2:20, 27).
So the way God teaches you is through the anointing within. It is a continuous anointing. In any particular situation, He is anointing you from within, teaching you by the presence or absence of His peace.
For example, a deal you are considering may sound very reasonable. But if you don’t have the peace in your spirit, don’t sign on the dotted line. Sign only when you have the peace. Be led by His peace and you will find that your heart will not be troubled, neither will it be afraid (see John 14:27).
When you follow that peace which only God can give to you as an inward witness, good things and even miracles will come forth!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2008–2019
All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. (29/1)
Romans 8:31
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Are you faced with challenges in your life right now? Are you having marital problems and financial woes? Maybe your child is going astray or an old illness has returned. What then will you say to all these things?
Do you know what God wants you to say? He wants you to say, “If God is for me, who can be against me?”
If you knew that the President or the Prime Minister was for you, you might believe that everything will be okay. But you have an even better backing! The Bible tells us that God, the Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is for you! What problem can fasten its grip on you when the Almighty God is for you? Can the devil come successfully against you with God on your side?
If God is for you today, if God is for you right now, you don’t have to moan, “If only I had this…If only I didn’t say that…” And you don’t have to worry about the future: “What if this happens…What if we don’t have enough…” My friend, regretting the past and worrying about the future won’t change anything. Look to your heavenly Father, instead. Because He is for you at this present moment, you can be confident that He will help you and provide for you.
Beloved, God sent His Son to die for you. And Jesus gave you a blood-bought right to an abundant life full of meaning and purpose! He gave you a blood-bought right to walk in divine health all the days of your life! He gave you a blood-bought right to His supply even when the economy goes down!
You have all these things not because you deserve them, but because Jesus shed His blood and gave you the right to have them. All these blessings are yours today because God is for you! And if God is for you, who can be against you!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2008–2019
All rights reserved under International Copyright Law
