The book of 1 Samuel 17 recounts the story of David and Goliath. The Israelite and Philistine armies were at war and they each formed their battle lines against each other. A giant from the Philistine army came forward and challenged the Israelites. If one of their men could fight and kill him, the Philistines would become subject to the Israelites. However, if he, Goliath, killed the Israelite, the Israelites would serve the Philistines. This challenge was presented for forty days, morning and evening.
    David was not a soldier in the army. In fact, he was a shepherd boy, faithfully tending his father’s sheep. One day, his father sends him to the Israelite camp to carry some food for his three oldest brothers who are soldiers in the army and to find out how they are going. When he gets there, he overhears Goliath’s challenge but he notices something else - when Goliath issues his challenge, all the Israelite soldiers run away in fear (v.24). 
    A few things came to my mind when I read that line in verse 24. These soldiers were trained for battle yet, they were running away in fear whenever Goliath issued his challenge. The sad reality is that if we allow it, fear can cripple us and prevent us from being who God has called us to be and from doing what He has called us to do. We can all testify of those times when fear crept into our lives and we felt paralysed. We could not see anything but that fear and that fear started to dictate our thoughts and actions. 
    In my own life, I have allowed fear to play an all too important role. Many years ago, I realised how much fear can and was crippling me and preventing me from being and doing my best for God. Even today, there are times when I still battle to prevent fear from dictating my life. How many of you can relate? These Israelite soldiers were trained for war. Any of them could have taken on Goliath but because fear was blinding them, they kept running away from the challenge instead of facing it. 
    Another thing that comes to my mind is the reality that if God gives us a job to do, He will equip and enable us to handle it. As I said before these soldiers were trained for war. On top of that, they had God on their side to fight their battles for them. Unfortunately, all they could see was Goliath’s size and hear his defiant words striking fear into their hearts. They couldn’t see what they needed to see because their focus was on the wrong thing. 
    God has enabled us to handle what He has called us to do. Just because circumstances and challenges come our way, does not mean that we are unable to handle it. Maybe all we need to do is shift our focus. Take our eyes off of the challenge and reposition it to where it’s supposed to be in the first place - on God. The battle is still His … but the job is still ours to fulfil. 
    David was not a trained soldier but he knew his God and what his God was capable of doing. He witnessed God helping him to kill the lion and the bear that had come to attack his sheep. He knew that this same God would not allow Goliath to kill him but would instead deliver him into his hands. When David went out against Goliath, he faced him with a slingshot and five smooth stones. David was equipped to do the job but the battle was still God's to fight and win.
    So right where you are, be who God has called you to be and do what God has called you to do. He has equipped you, He has enabled you. Don’t let fear stop you from being and doing your best for Him. The battle you may be facing is still His, but what He has called you to do and who He has called you to be, is still yours to fulfil. 
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God has not given you a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Simply put, God has given you all you need to carry out His purpose and plan for your life. You don’t have to be afraid, you just have to trust that your God will see you successfully through whatever comes your way.
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    There is an interesting story in 1 Kings 17:7-16, about a widow God uses to provide food for the prophet Elijah. But, here is the interesting part: this widow did not have what was required but when she chose to be obedient, God used her and blessed her abundantly.
    It so happened that the prophet Elijah had declared a drought over the land. God sent him to Zarephath where he met a widow who was gathering sticks. He asked her to bring water for him to drink and some bread for him to eat. She in turn responded that she did not have any bread. All she in fact had was a little flour and oil with which to prepare a final meal for her and her son. After this, she expected to die. Elijah, however, encouraged her and insisted that she first make a small loaf for him and then also for her and her son. He added that the Lord promised that her flour and oil would not run out until the day that He sent rain on the land. She obeyed and the Lord did as He promised and she was able to feed Elijah and herself and her family all the days of the drought.
    What comes to my mind with this story is the fact that the woman was preparing to die. Because things seemed hopeless and a turnaround impossible, she simply gave up and prepared for her and her son to die. How many times do we feel the same way in challenging situations? We don’t see a way out and our attitude and actions show that we have given up. Yet, when God steps into our situation, there is always hope and there will always be a way out or even through our challenge.
    The other thing that comes to my mind is the fact that that widow had very little to offer. In fact, all she had was just enough for her and her son. When Elijah came along, she was not trying to be selfish or rude. She knew that what she had was not enough for him also. Yet, when she chose to be obedient, God did the miraculous for her and her family. 
    It’s the same with us. When we are going through challenges, we may feel as if we have nothing to offer. We may feel too sick to be of any help or use to anyone; our resources may be too low or non-existent to be of any assistance to someone else; we may feel too discouraged and overwhelmed to be able to offer strength and encouragement to someone who needs it. Yet, the reality is, we may not have the strength or resources to help someone else, but God does. And, when we choose to give the little we have to Him, He is able to multiply it and use what we have surrendered to Him to be a blessing to others. 
    At the same time, God is not blind to our sacrifice. When we give what we have and do the little that we can, God will make sure that even what we need is supplied. It may be the extra strength to keep going; it may be much needed resources we did not have before. Whatever we need, God will provide because of our simple act of obedience to be a blessing to someone else. 
    In my own life, there are times I may not always feel that I have enough for myself and others. Recently, I prayed for someone when I myself would have loved for someone to pray for me. Yet, I was able to identify with what the person was going through because I was going through pretty much the same thing. I could have left them alone, after all they did not ask for prayer. But, I felt the Lord directing me to pray with them for the exact same thing I desperately needed myself. When I obeyed and prayed, God also provided what I needed even though I did not get prayer for myself. 
    God is not blind to what we are going through. He sees, He knows, He cares. Yet, there may be times when He will ask us to give when we feel we don’t have enough or do some task we don’t feel equipped to handle. Yet, God is faithful. When we choose to obey Him, He will enable us to handle the task and bless us in ways we did not expect.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God will never ask you to do something or to give something He has not enabled you to handle. When you choose to obey, He will meet your needs in ways you would never have dreamed or expected.
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    I recently finished reading the Book of Ruth. I was excited to read it knowing that in spite of the challenges and pain at the start of the book, the story ends on a note of hope and joy because of God’s restorative power.
    One can’t help but notice the bitterness and pain at the beginning of this story (Ruth 1). Naomi, her husband, Elimelech, and their two sons, leave their home town of Bethlehem because of famine. They settle in Moab where they hope to experience a better life. Unfortunately, Naomi’s husband dies. Her two sons marry Moabite women but then her two sons also die. Naomi is left alone with her two daughters-in-law. When she hears that the famine in Bethlehem has ended, she decides to return home. One of her daughters-in-law, Ruth, insists on returning with her. The people in the city are excited at her return but she is so bitter in spirit that she insists that they call her “Mara” which means “bitter.”
    I think that there are times for many of us, when we are faced with challenging situations that make us bitter and discouraged. We may feel completely hopeless and helpless and can’t even see the light at the end of the tunnel. We may blame God, we may blame others, we may blame ourselves. But at that point, we may feel as if we are in a pit with a cover and we can’t get out, no matter how hard we try. 
    Thankfully, this was not the end of Naomi’s story or Ruth’s. God was writing their story and He had a plan for all that He had allowed to happen to them. It’s the same with you and me. As children of God, God is writing our story. That being said, it means that God has a purpose for every negative thing that has come and that will come your way. That situation does not have the final say in your life. Naomi’s negative situation was not the end of her story either.
    As it turns out, Boaz, a wealthy and generous close relative, becomes a kinsman redeemer. In so doing, he is able to protect Naomi and Ruth and when he marries Ruth, he is able to continue Elimelech’s family line (Ruth 4). Naomi’s bitterness turns to joy, especially at the birth of her grandson, Obed. Her husband’s family line has not ended after all because God had a better plan for all that she had been through.
    Just like Naomi and Ruth, we can’t always see the end of our story. Things may look so bleak and hopeless that we may think that it’s the end. The beautiful thing with God is that when we allow Him to take over, especially at the point where we cannot continue, He turns things around in a way that we would never expect. No matter where you are, or where your story is at the moment, God is still able to write an ending of hope, beauty and joy. God is a master at restoring what looks hopeless and bitter. When you and others might be saying “it’s over” God is saying “No, it’s not.” What you think you may have lost, God is able to restore. He can restore your health, He can restore your relationships, He can restore whatever is broken in your life. 
    So, no matter how hopeless things look, I encourage you today to turn your eyes to the God who is able to do the impossible. What is impossible for you and me is possible for Him. 
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God is interested in your story. He truly desires the best for you. Though negative situations may arise, God is able to turn things around and create a story of hope, redemption and restoration.

    “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10)
    I read various versions of the above verse but this particular version spoke volumes to me. It tells me that even if everything around me fails and falls apart, God’s love for me will not. Just as God Himself never fails, His love for us also never fails.
    I am reminded of numerous stories in the Bible of God’s love for us. First and foremost, Jesus’ choice to die to pay the price for our sins so that we don’t have to face the consequences that we deserve, is testament of His unconditional love for us. The woman caught in the act of adultery deserved to die yet Jesus chose to publicly forgive her and release her from the judgement she so justly deserved (John 8:1-11). What about the woman with the issue of blood? She secretly touched the hem of Jesus’ clothes and was healed, yet Jesus chose to publicly acknowledge her healing and so reinstate her into a society where she had previously been rejected because of ceremonial uncleanness (Luke 8:43-48). 
    However, there is one story that catches my attention - that of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). The younger of two sons chose to take the inheritance due him and leave his father’s house to go off into a far country. There he squandered it on wild living. When the country was faced with a famine, the only job he could get was to feed pigs. He was so hungry that he longed to eat the pigs’ food. No one offered him anything. When he came to his senses, he decided to humble himself and return to his father’s house. He planned to ask for forgiveness and was willing to become one of his father’s servants. He made his way home and while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and ran to him and kissed him. Even though he asked to become one of his father’s servants, his father refused. Instead he reinstated him as his son, gave him a robe, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. He ordered a fatted calf to be killed and held a feast for him. His father loved him so much that he treated him as if he had not done anything wrong. 
    This reminds me of God’s love for us. God knows we are not perfect. Even when we don’t love and treat Him as we should, God does not hold that against us. The fact that He allowed His Son Jesus to die for us even before many of us were even born, is testament of His love. He put things in place not just for those who were alive when Jesus walked the earth, but for those who would come after. 
    My own life is not a perfect one. I remember when years ago, I chose to walk away from God. Yes, I enjoyed being out in the world but interestingly, I was not truly happy. I had moments of happiness but I had no peace. I was depressed and initially didn’t know why. Then I realised that it was because I had moved away from my God. I knew I had to make my way back to Him but it was difficult. But God loves me so much that He did not leave me to come back to Him on my own. He knew I needed His help and He helped me come back to Him. That was in 1992. I have not turned back since. God’s love for me has been and continues to be unconditional, amazing, and quite frankly incomprehensible at times.
    It’s the same with all of us. No matter how far we may have gone or we may go, God, like the prodigal son’s father, is waiting with open arms for us to come back to Him. And maybe you have not strayed from Him. Maybe you are just struggling in some particular area, or maybe you are going through a season of testing that makes you feel as if God is far away. He isn’t. He’s right there. One thing God assured me of when I rededicated my life to Him is that He will never leave me nor forsake me. That same promise applies to you. We may turn our back on God, we may even reject Him or take Him for granted at times, but God will still continue to love us. According to 1 John 4:8 & 16, God is love. God cannot be or do anything less than who He is…LOVE.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. Nothing can separate us from God’s love for us. It doesn’t matter what we are going through or what we have done, God loves us. Period. That has not changed and it never will.

    There is an interesting story in the Old Testament in the book of Joshua. Israel had crossed the Jordan River into Canaan, the Promised Land. They defeated and destroyed the cities of Jericho and Ai and the nations around became concerned. One such city, Gibeon, became fearful and made a treaty with them. When the king of Jerusalem heard that they had made this treaty, he enlisted the help of four other kings to fight with him against them. 
    Gibeon, in turn, cried out to the Israelites for help. The Israelites responded to their cry and fought against those kings and their armies at Gibeon. As they fled, the Israelites pursued after them. The Lord even threw hailstones down on them and killed many of them. However, Joshua, Israel’s leader, seemed to realise that they needed more time. He spoke to the sun and the moon commanding both to stand still. Both heavenly beings stopped. The sun did not go down for about a full day until Israel was able to avenge itself on its enemies. God had listened to Joshua and made the sun and moon stand still. He was indeed fighting for Israel (Joshua 10).
    The obvious miracle in this story grabs your attention. However, it’s not just about God’s miraculous ability to do impossible things, but about the reality of what God will do to take care of His own (v.13). Think about it. God changed the course of nature just to give His people the extra time they needed to fight against and defeat their enemies. On top of that, when the sun and moon stood still, they were not the only ones affected. I am sure people around the world were wondering what in the world was happening. God changed the whole course of nature not just to prove His might and power, but to prove His love for His people. 
    We may not always realise it, but God will go to some amazing lengths just for you and me. If you were to reflect on God’s goodness in your life, you may be amazed at the kind of things God has done just for you. We may sometimes take Him for granted not realising the heights and depths He has gone to just to deliver us from that situation, just to encourage us when we needed it, just to give us hope when everything around us seemed to be falling apart. 
    I recall some years ago my struggle to have children. I started using the doctor’s medication prescribed but then decided that I was just going to trust God to do for me what He had done for Sarah, Hannah and other women in the Bible. Some may have thought that I was crazy to make that choice, but I wanted to prove God. He did not disappoint. He not only opened my womb and blessed me with children, but they came in His perfect timing. To me, that was two miracles in one. 
    We love to say that God is the God of the impossible. He is. His ability far extends beyond our wildest imagination. Yet, God doesn’t just do the amazing things He does just to prove who He is, or what He can do. He does them because He loves us and He needs us to know that He will go to any length just for us. God is good. God is faithful. God loves us.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. Serving a God who can and will do the impossible just because He loves you is indeed a privilege. Nothing is too hard for our God. Nothing can stand in the way of His love for you.

    While yesterday I was feeling anxious and a bit stressed, today I found myself feeling unusually thankful. I found myself actually thanking God for a number of things one after the next. During the course of the day, God allowed me to see and to be reminded that He was in control, that He saw everything I was going through and that He cared. I watched Him remove the stress as He showed me that I did not have to worry. He was working things out more than I realised. Interestingly, the day before, He told me very clearly through someone to not be afraid. In short, He was working it all out although I could not see it at the time. He had my back and He has me!
    I am reminded of 1 Thessalonians 5:18 which says, “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Simply put, no matter what we may be facing, we need to choose to have an attitude of thanks to God. We need to trust that in any and every situation, God will deliver, God will rescue, God will sustain us. He will bring good out of any situation and knows how to use both the good and bad in our lives to bring about something good for us. We may not always feel thankful, but it is important to choose to be thankful no matter how we might feel.
    I am reminded of the story of Daniel in the Old Testament (Daniel 6). King Darius placed various leaders over his kingdom to help him rule. Daniel, a Hebrew, was one of them. Daniel, however, had such a spirit of excellence on him, that the king desired to make him ruler over the entire kingdom. In their jealousy, the other rulers tricked the king into signing a decree that anyone who prayed to any other god or man but the king, within a thirty day period, should be thrown into the lions’ den.
Interestingly, when Daniel heard about the decree, he chose to go to his room where he prayed and gave thanks to his God three times a day as he was accustomed to doing (v.10). He knew he could be thrown into the lions’ den if he was found out. Yet, he went to his room, and with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he prayed and thanked his God. 
    It is easy to be thankful when circumstances are favourable, when we are not faced with challenges. But when we are in the midst of trials, that’s the best time to give thanks to God. Choosing to praise and give God thanks not only changes us but it has a way of turning negative situations around as well. Daniel was of course caught and thrown into the lions’ den. But God was faithful and prevented the lions from harming him. His choice to continue giving thanks to his God, even when he knew he could be killed for it, brought about a miraculous deliverance for him. As if that was not enough, the king gave an order throughout his kingdom that the God of Daniel should be honoured. 
    Having a heart and attitude of thanksgiving towards God is more powerful than you can imagine. God sees and knows what we are going through, but I believe that He appreciates when we make an effort to be thankful even when it is difficult and the situation is not ideal. At the end of the day, God not only answers prayer but He responds favourably to the choice to be thankful in difficult circumstances.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. Choosing to thank God when it is difficult, can change circumstances, turn situations around and bring favour in impossible situations. 
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    These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
    Jesus had just shared with His disciples about His imminent departure from this life (John 16:1-32). They did not fully understand at times what He was trying to say. Yet, He wanted them to be assured that, in spite of what was coming, they were going to be alright. He had them. 
    The above verse is a verse that gives me a sense of encouragement. I am reminded that as a child of God, His peace is mine. Yes, trouble will come. Jesus Himself rightly said so. Trouble is and will be a part of our walk on this earth. Yet, the assurance is that, in spite of the presence of trouble, we can be at peace because God has overcome it all. 
    Some time before this talk with His disciples, they were on their way to the other side of the lake. Jesus comfortably fell asleep. A storm arose and water began to come into their boat. The disciples became afraid. Yet, while all this was happening, Jesus remained comfortably asleep. They finally woke Him up wondering if He wasn’t concerned that they could drown. But Jesus remained calm and simply rebuked the wind and the sea. I love His words: “Peace, be still.” Jesus spoke peace into that stormy situation, and the wind and the sea obeyed! (Mark 4:35-41)
    Jesus was comfortable during the storm because He is the Prince of Peace. He knew that no storm could stand in His way. Hence the reason He was able to sleep through it so comfortably. His disciples, on the other hand, were terrified. They still did not understand the Power they had on their side. We, too are like the disciples. When challenges come, we become afraid and discouraged. The problem seems so much bigger than us, and it usually is, and we begin to panic. Yet, like the disciples who had the Power and Authority in their boat with them, we have that same Power and Authority living inside of us! I think that, many times, this does not register in our minds and hearts. So, when challenges come, yes, it is so much easier to panic and become afraid.
    Jesus said to His disciples: “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b) Imagine, Jesus is saying to us, “Be encouraged,” “Be happy” because I am more than victorious over any situation you may face! The key thing is understanding that we are His. We are actually in the palm of His Hand and nothing or no one can take us out of His hand (John 10:28-30). We are safe. Isaiah 49:16 also says that we are inscribed on the palms of His Hands. God has us covered more than we realise. 
    At the end of the day, God does not always calm the storm in our lives but He gives us peace in the midst of it. Our greatest fear may be the possibility of being destroyed by it, but God knows that will never happen because we are in the palm of His Hand and nothing can pluck us out!
    So, be encouraged today. You can be at peace in the midst of your storm. Unfortunately, it does not mean that it will be less painful, less stressful, less discouraging or even less frightening. Yet, God’s peace can function quite effectively no matter how difficult the challenge or discouraging the situation may seem. I guess that’s why in Philippians 4:7, it is described as a “peace which passes all understanding.” God’s peace is a peace which simply does not make sense to the human understanding.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. As God’s child, you have the God of peace living inside of you. No matter what He allows to come your way, He knows that it cannot overcome you because He has already overcome it!​

    “Fear not for I am with you. Be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
    In recent times, this has become one of my favourite and most relied on verses in the Bible. As I have faced various trials and tests, I have learned more and more, with God’s help, to stand on His Word, to trust Him even in dire times. With this verse, God has been reminding me to not be afraid, to expect that in troubled times, He will strengthen and enable me to make it, and He will hold me up when everything around me is trying to push me down and keep me down. God is faithful and He is able.
    I am reminded of the story of David and Goliath in the Bible (1 Samuel 17). The Israelites were facing a challenge that was literally and figuratively bigger than they could handle. Its name was Goliath. The Israelite army were challenged to provide someone who could fight against and defeat this Philistine giant. The entire army cowered in fear. The challenge seemed an impossible one. Yet, one small shepherd boy, David, rose to the challenge. He trusted in Jehovah, his God and God did not disappoint his faith in him. David defeated that giant and the Israelite army were able to defeat the Philistines. It was never about David’s or anyone’s ability to do the job. It was about having faith that God would win the battle, no matter how hopeless it seemed. 
    Some years ago, Matt, a farmer was reminded of the importance of trusting in his God. He was driving his forty thousand pound combine harvester home when it hit a rough spot in the road and bounced out of control. Matt was thrown through the windscreen and landed hard on the pavement just feet from the large machine’s front tire. Miraculously, the combine stopped without running him over. 
    In spite of various injuries, Matt had no internal bleeding or life threatening trauma. He was discharged from the hospital the same day. When he arrived home, he examined the machine and discovered that three wires had been cleanly cut in half. All other wires had remained intact. Those three cut wires are what had caused the machine to stop and not run him over. No explanation could be found as to why or how those three specific wires had been cut. Matt credits God with this miracle. As he puts it, God is the only one who could defy the laws of physics and stop a forty thousand pound machine moving at twenty-two miles an hour in its tracks. Matt and his wife, Kelly, believe that prayer and their trust in God’s protection is what saved Matt’s life. 
    Trust is a small word that can help us face giant problems. David trusted his God to defeat the giant, Goliath. Matt, in retrospect, learned to trust that his God would protect and keep him in impossible situations. We can all put ourselves in their shoes. We will face impossible challenges that seem designed to harm us, hinder us, even destroy us. Yet, trust in God is key. It’s about trusting in God’s ability to deliver, not in our own ability. It’s about expecting that God will carry out His own Word. It's about trusting that if He tells us not to be afraid, that He will help us and strengthen us,  that He will keep His promise to us. God is faithful and He is able.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God is still a present help in trouble. No matter how big and impossible your problem seems, it’s never too big or impossible for God. As God reminded Jeremiah (Jeremiah 32:27), just so He reminds us: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?”

    Scott had been out hiking when he was bitten by a venomous snake. He made an effort to call for help but there was no cell service. He began making his way out as he felt the effects of the venom in his body. He finally collapsed about four miles from where he had parked his truck. 
    His wife, Nan, had become overwhelmed with a feeling of dread and had gone to meet him at their cabin. She found his trail map and was able to locate his truck but of course there was no sign of her husband. She was able to get help and rescuers began searching the area for him. While she waited, she trusted God and prayed. She also asked family and Christian neighbours to pray.
    While Scott lay on the trail, he prayed and felt God’s presence. He was confident that God was going to be with him throughout his ordeal. After many hours on the trail struggling to hold on to life, he finally chose to surrender to death. That night, rescuers finally found him. He was barely alive. He was taken to the hospital where he received twelve shots of anti-venom and spent three days in the ICU. Days later he awoke and knew that God was with him. Today, he has fully recovered and has no lasting effects from the snake bite. One of the things God showed him is that he is not always in control of every situation but that God is. Scott had to learn to lean on Him and lean into Him to make it out. Thankfully, he did just that and allowed God to lead the way.
    What initially caught my attention with this testimony was the reality of that venom going through his body and slowly killing him. This can be what it feels like when we are going through challenges. While we wait, it seems as if the challenge is sucking the very life out of us. We keep wondering, “God how long?” We may even feel as if we are not going to make it and we may give up in discouragement many times along the way. Like Scott, the pain, the weight of what we are going through may feel unbearable. Yet, it is at those times, that God wants us to lean heavily on Him because after all, He is in control, we are not. He wants us to trust that against all odds, He will bring us through. 
    We may wonder why God took so long to send help Scott’s way. However, if He had, Scott would not have experienced the intimacy and dependance on God that he did. He reached the point where he did not even fear death because he knew his life was in God’s hands. At the end of the day, we may hate the terrible situation we are in. We may hate how long it is taking for God to bring us through. But, God may not bring that situation to an end until we have learned all that He wants the situation to teach us.
    I once again turn to the story of the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8:43-48). She spent twelve years with her condition. She initially put her trust in doctors and physicians to the point where she spent all her money trying to get help from them. By the time her resources were used up, her hope was also gone. By that time too, Jesus came on the scene and she heard about the miracles He was performing. Like Scott, she chose to depend on Jesus. He was now her only hope and He did not disappoint her. Had she been healed earlier, God would not have gotten the glory and she would not have connected the way she did with Jesus. In short, she would not have had the intimate experience with Jesus that she did.
    None of us like going through difficult seasons for any length of time. Yet, our timing and God’s timing are usually not the same. While we just want the situation to end, God is concerned about the valuable lessons to be learned. He desires that intimacy with us, that He knows may only come about during those challenging seasons. So, trust Him. He knows exactly what He is doing.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God sees, knows and understands what you are going through. Yet, He cares enough to use even those difficult challenges to draw you closer to Him and to bring about what He knows is best for you.

    “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
    I share the testimonies I share because we all need hope. We all need to know that in the midst of impossible circumstances, as we face mountains that are difficult to climb, the God that we serve will come through for us. It may be impossible for us to achieve, but certainly not impossible for our God.
    I recently listened to the testimony of Shannon who got into a terrible car accident. Her two daughters were with her. They had all been critically injured. While her daughters were expected to make it, doctors felt that even if they saved Shannon’s life, she would be in a vegetated state. Their family and their church got into fervent prayer for them. Jason, her husband, chose to keep on believing, to keep on praying and he encouraged others to keep praying. He chose not to give up. He believed that Jesus was the only one who could change their impossible situation. 
Jesus did not disappoint them. Today, Shannon is a walking, talking miracle of what God can do.
    God is still the God who can do all things, especially those things that we cannot do. It can be difficult to have faith, to have hope in the face of negative circumstances. At the end of the day, many times, we do tend to walk by sight and not by faith. What we can see and touch, has a more powerful effect on us than what we cannot. Yet, God wants us to trust Him. The difficult situations that we do not like, is what God uses to build our faith and trust in Him. As much as we would like that bad things never happen to us, God will allow them because we actually need them for our own personal development. In addition to that, we won’t know what it’s like to have hope, if everything went well all of the time. We need those messy, unpleasant seasons, to instil hope in us and to remind us that God is many times our only hope.
    There are a number of stories in the Bible that can be used to describe this hope. I recall the story of blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52). As he sat begging at the side of the road, he heard that Jesus was coming. He cried out to get his attention but the crowd tried to silence him. He cried out even louder. Jesus heard him. When Jesus found out that he wanted his sight restored, He gave him his request. 
    What I like about this story is that Bartimaeus did not allow the negative response of the crowd to stop him from asking Jesus for His help. In fact, when the crowd tried to silence him, he shouted even louder to get Jesus’ attention. Bartimaeus had a hope, an expectation that Jesus could and would do something for him and he was not going to let the opportunity pass him by. He had most likely heard of Jesus’ miracles and expected that if Jesus did it for others, He could and would do it for him. This hope emboldened him to the point where he would not allow a crowd to shut him up. He wanted to be healed and he was going to get his healing. No one would stop him!
    Do we have enough hope and faith in what Jesus can and will do for us, that we are willing and determined to push past whatever obstacle may come our way? In my own experiences, God has taught me that He is my hope even when I feel hopeless. He has the final say in my situation, even in the face of negative opinions on it.
​    I think sometimes, hope is all we need, and God will do the rest. Sometimes, the only thing we can truly do is to have hope in the God who can do impossible things. I’m sorry to say that we will sometimes have to face negative situations in life. But, I am equally happy to say that our God of hope can enable us to make it through whatever comes our way. We can’t. He can. He will never fail.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour I encourage you to do so today. As challenges come to test our faith and drain us of hope, our God is the hope we need to make it successfully through any situation. We are not alone.