IF YOU FAINT! Click and read.

 If thou in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. (Proverbs 24:10)

I have known this scripture for a very long time and so many of us quote it with ease but the import of this verse will hit you once you find yourself faced real adversity that challenges you. As short as this verse looks it clearly points in an interesting way that adversity is a sure thing that will surface at some point or points in our life. Notice the “if” in the verse; if you and I faint in the day of adversity then our strength is small. This should also suggest that before the adversity era of your life appears it is expected that you should have built strength over time. I dare say that that is rarely the case.

Nobody wants to consciously prepare for adversity after all; the bible clearly assures us that surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives (Psalm 23). The truth is that as we all go through life there are experiences that stare us in the face waiting for how we will respond to them. Some of us stand up and respond rightly while others miss the mark. There is a popular saying that no knowledge is wasted. The reason is that the fact that you do not fully understand why you are going through a hard time does not negate the fact that there exist lessons to be learned in that hard time.

I have known this scripture for many years and in recent years when my mother fell seriously ill; this was the first scripture that jumped at me. At first it was a shock because we all expect a more encouraging scripture to pull us through our challenges but for some reason the Lord sent me this one. Friend I tell you this, if you have never had some tough times you would not appreciate certain things. Adversity in life is one of the ways that God allows the strength in you to be formed on the outside. It is God that works in us to do of His good pleasure but we will also work out our salvation with fear and trembling sometimes.

If you never see a situation that pushes you beyond your usual comfort zone you may never know your endurance threshold. Everybody likes it when things run smoothly but even a little toddler will experience falls while learning to walk.  When you are in the enjoyment zone of life it is easy to declare your trust in God very easily but when you are in a state of lack or major tension that spans for months and even years; that is when the Lord can affirm your trust in Him. If you can praise the Lord in your major pain then you are truly one that trusts the Lord and can declare that you love God and that His is a just God. 

God boasted with Job and is still interested in boasting with you because He knows what He has put in you. God believes in you so do not disappoint Him or yourself. Rise up and prove God right. In everything give thanks, yes in the good and bad times. It is your attitude that determines how long you will be able to pull through. Our unwavering trust in those harsh times will eventually draw God’s attention.

WAIT PATIENTLY. Click and read.

I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.  Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor turn aside to lies.  (Psalm 40:1-4)

Today we look at the testimony of David the after God’s heart. The first thing you will notice is David’s reference to the way he waited on the Lord. He declares it was a patient wait not a wait filled with impatience. Is it not funny how we often get impatient with God when we make our requests known and he does not answer us immediately? You know the race is not to the swift or the strong but time and chance happens to them all. The Lord is the originator of time and he has said that there is time for everything and a season for everything under heaven. Because we do not have full understanding of how the Lord’s clock functions we often blame Him for being too slow but we must understand that he is always right on time. 

“And he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” Did you notice something in the verse? David said he waited patiently for the Lord and the Lord inclined unto him and heard his cry. It seems to me that we can conclude that patience is the magnetic attraction that draws the attention of God towards us. I think we should glean a major lesson from David the man after God’s heart. The Lord’s eyes see everything around even straight into the heart and he has a criterion for inclining unto His children. The criterion revolves around our ability to be patient as we walk with Him along life’s way.

“He brought me also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings”. The result of patiently waiting on the Lord is that deliverance is assured and proper establishment is also guaranteed. Notice the Lord brought David out of a horrible pit and out of miry clay. Sometimes in life what we experience can be a horrible pit of some sort but be rest assured that God will always come through. “And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” The Lord will establish your goings so that all glory will be to Him causing a new song of rejoicing to spring forth from your mouth. When God does a thing it is evident so many will see it, some will fear it and it will trigger of trust in the Lord.

 
“Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor turn aside to lies.” The man that maketh the Lord his trust is blessed. Notice the word “maketh” and that suggests that it is a process. Trusting the Lord grows with knowledge so hang in there and you will be blessed.

FAVOUR HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! Click and read.

 

Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteousness: yea, let them say continually, let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure of his servant. And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long. (Psalm 35:27-28)

What an interesting start to this verse! “Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteousness:” The condition for shouting for joy and being glad is hinged on the fact that you are a lover of the Lord’s righteousness. The question I would want ask at this point is rather obvious I guess. Do you favour the righteousness of the Lord? On the surface the question looks easy but I want you to answer this question with a sense of responsibility. I love the choice of words in the King James Version in explaining certain stand points. For you to boldly say you favour the righteousness of the Lord, it goes beyond loving it when He brings all the blessings you expect at the time you desire it. To favour something means to prefer something or someone above other existing options.

Favouring the righteousness of the Lord is all encompassing. It entails accepting the Lord’s stand on every issue of your life taking into cognizance of how just He truly is and also the fact that He is Sovereign. The Lord will never put more on you than you can bear. Wow! I know you never really thought of it that way right? Imagine yourself in a situation that looks like you are in the valley of shadow of death. Can you boldly shout for joy and be glad? My dear reader, you have to go through that valley because the word of the Lord to you ensures that He that led you through the paths of righteousness for His name sake has goodness and mercy following you all the days of your life even when in the valley (Psalm 23). Truly our heavenly Father has an amazing sense of humour.

“Yea, let them say continually, let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure of his servant.” I can say it the Lord be magnified. Something or someone that is magnified is one whose size is increased to occupy a much larger space than other things surrounding it. When you find yourself in a situation that is not so palatable you should focus more on the bigness of our God and his awesomeness will fill your sight and your seeming challenge will gradually shrink and cause you to introduce God into your matter and normalcy will return to your life. Remember when the Lord is magnified he has pleasure in us.

“And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.” Because of the experiences and knowledge we have of our God, our tongue shall speak the Lord’s righteousness and praise all the day long. You cannot hide your experiences with God and God’s knowledge without talking about it. If you do then we doubt where you true allegiance lies. David said boldly, O taste and see that the Lord is good!

HIS MERCY AND COMPASSION! Click and read.

 

 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions they fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. (Lamentations 3:22-24)

God is a good God. I am proud to be His daughter. The evidence of His expertise at Fathering and Fatherhood are undoubted. The Almighty is a loving Father. Today we see the evidence in these verses of scripture. The reason why we have not been consumed by the harsh conditions of life is simply because of the Lord’s mercies. That is amazing and truly humbling. It is not because you are too intelligent or too sharp that you have been able to wade through the tough currents. It is simply of the Lord’s mercies.

Notice the sentence in the King James Version. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.” It says it is of the Lord’s mercies that we have not been swallowed up. If something is “of” then it speaks of an extraction from the whole. The size of the Lord’s mercies is really large in fact the size of His mercy is such that it is inexhaustible. The Lord takes out little bits of His mercy in order to keep us safe and preserved. His mercy is like a never ending ocean. His compassion does not have capacity to fail. That is truly amazing. Human compassion can fail because sometimes we can get weary of doing good and reaching to people who may never show appreciation for anything you do. But the compassion of the Almighty is totally dependable. It cannot and will not fail.

“They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” The mercy of the Lord is new every morning. The mercy of God flows endlessly in our direction. The verse says that His mercy is new every morning. That indicates that as a new day dawns the mercy allocation for my life and your life is renewed. Hallelujah to that! Since the Lord’s mercy is new every morning, I am so confident in the fact that the mercy released to me is full of all I need. New things are full of life and vigour. So bear in mind that the mercy God has sent us to enjoy has enough life and vigour embedded in it to see us through life. So when you wake up in the morning be rest assured that your provision is guaranteed in God.

“The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.” I declare boldly that the Lord is my portion. In my portion I find filling, fulfillment, nourishing and all the likes. Knowing what or who is apportioned to me, I have no other choice than to put my hope in my Lord who is my portion. I refuse to stick my nose in another person’s portion because I will end up missing out the benefits I should enjoy from my portion. Think about it.