We are encouraged in the Bible many times to not be afraid. It seems an easy statement to make but as we all know, it’s not so easy to do. The reality is that when challenges come our way, many times our first response is fear and that can be a very difficult feeling to shake off.
    I recently spoke with someone who had just received the results from an ultrasound they had done. They could not even fully understand all of the words on the paper. They shared it with me and asked me to pray for them. Their next words were, “I’m scared.” Can anyone relate? I guess all of us can. Whatever the negative situation might be, that feeling of fear is usually most prominent. 
    There are many verses in the Bible that encourage us to not be afraid. “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). “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage, do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). These are just two verses but there are so many more! Yet, in each of these verses, we see the common reason why we need not be afraid - God is with us. We may not always feel His Presence and we may even feel at times as if He has abandoned us but I assure you, He has not and will not.
    I am reminded of a song sung by Positive entitled: “You Are Everything.” The songwriter lists several things God is to him all of which give a sense of security. Hence in the pre-chorus he is able to say: 
    No fear in You, all my doubts are gone
    I’ll keep my trust in You.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we can always feel this sense of security no matter what comes our way? The problem isn’t God of course, but us and our choice to either trust Him or to be afraid. 
    I am reminded of the story of Jairus and his daughter (Mark 5:21-24, 35-43). Although he was able to get Jesus to come to his home to heal her, news of her death, while on their way to his house, must have discouraged him. It did not seem to make sense anymore to let Jesus come to his home. Yet, I love Jesus’ words to him: “Do not be afraid, only believe” (v.36). Have you ever heard Jesus say those words to you? Maybe He has. I know He has to me on various occasions. 
    It is not easy to trust when the facts are facing you, when the situation seems impossible, when others around you are telling you to give up. That is what Jairus was encouraged to do when the news came to him that his daughter was dead. “Why trouble the Teacher any further?” (v.35) In the human mind, it did not make sense to ask Jesus to still come to heal her when she was already dead. In their minds, it was over, there was no more hope. But I love the fact that Jesus overheard the comment and stepped in. He had the final say, not the messengers who brought word of her death, not even death itself and He encouraged Jairus to basically trust Him. I am sure Jairus was glad he did, because Jesus restored his daughter to life.
    We don’t have to be afraid, when God has the final say. I know that’s easy to say, not so easy to do. But one thing I am learning, is to stand on God’s Word no matter how bad things look. God’s Word is not something we read every day to feel holy and righteous. It’s alive and God expects us to use it, allowing it to work in our lives in powerful and mighty ways. We trust God when we stand on what His Word says and use it to help us deal with various challenges and situations in life. So, fear not. As His child, God is with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you, He is right there with you in every situation that you go through and He will bring you through.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God does not want you to live a life of fear but of trust in Him. Don’t let fear have the final say. That’s God’s job. He has promised to be there and He will never let you down.

    Don and his friend, Steve, were looking forward to an evening of power paragliding. Don attempted to take off but ran into some problems so decided to start over. Steve went ahead, lifted off and waited for him. However, when Don finally lifted off, he was flying too low. He found himself heading towards some trees. He banked to the right to avoid them but instead found himself, with the help of the wind, heading straight towards some power lines. Steve watched helplessly as Don connected with the power lines and turn into a ball of fire. He was certain that his friend was dead. 
    Steve landed as quickly as he could and while he ran to his friend, called 911. When he got to him, he was amazed that Don was conscious and appeared unhurt. Don even talked with him. Don was able to recall what had happened. When he connected with the lines, his world turned into a ball of fire. He felt himself falling and the next thing he knew he was on his back on the ground, looking up at the sky. He could not believe he was alive. He thanked God because he knew he survived because of divine intervention. 
    His wife, Karen, rushed to the hospital, praying the entire way. She learned that he had suffered second and third degree burns over more than twenty-five percent of his body. He had a long road to recovery ahead beginning with skin grafts. His wife texted people to pray for her husband’s healing. Two days later, however, when his doctor began skin graft surgery, he noticed something amazing. His skin had begun healing itself! They went on to apply pig skin to enable the skin to heal on its own. Don was not surprised because he knew a lot of people were praying for him. As the weeks went by, he experienced painful waves through his arms and legs. He closed his eyes and was able to see those waves as hands caressing his wounds. He felt it was the prayers coursing through him. 
    Two weeks later, he was well enough to go home. He was healing quicker than expected. He went back to his chores on the ranch and six months later, he was fully recovered. As he looked back, Don is thankful to God for a number of things. The power lines he hit carried 140,000 volts of electricity. When he hit the lines, the explosion knocked the breath out of him. Had he inhaled that super heated air, it would have seared his lungs. The electricity surrounded him instead of going through him. The gas and the battery did not ignite or explode. The fifty foot fall should have been fatal but was not. He landed motor side first instead of face first. Had it been the other way around, the eighty-five pound engine would have crushed him. All of these miracles have convinced him that he is blessed and that he experienced divine intervention. He should not have survived but he did.
    Psalm 107:1 says, “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” God is a God who performs miracles. He comes through for us when we least expect. He is merciful to us when we know that we don’t even deserve it. I love the fact that Don is able to be thankful to God and to give Him all the credit and all the glory because he chooses to acknowledge that God brought him through his harrowing experience. He knows he should have been dead, but he is not. The fact that he is able to itemise each of the miracles and be thankful shows a heart and life full of gratitude for what God has done for him. 
    We too need to be thankful, not only when things are going our way but when they don’t. With God, there is always something to be thankful for, even in negative situations. I love the fact that Don can be thankful, not because the accident did not happen, but because it did, and he is able to see all the little and big miracles that took place through it. He has chosen not to focus on the negatives that came out of that experience but on the bigness of his God in the midst of it. God showed up and showed out big on his behalf. God overturned man’s expectations.
    What can you be thankful for today? It can be so easy to focus on the challenge, and on all the pain and frustration that it brings, that it is easy to forget that God is still in control in the midst of it all, He still has the final say. What little or big mercies are showing up in spite of what you are going through? How is God sustaining and keeping you as you go through? Sometimes, we just need to refocus and see that God is right there with us, we are not alone and He is doing and working more for our good than we can imagine. With God, the blessings will turn out to be greater than the pains. Just keep your eyes on Him!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. Life will have its challenges, but God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He is right there, working little mercies for us in the midst of our challenging situation. Thank Him for His goodness. Thank Him for His mercy. Thank Him for sustaining and keeping you in the midst of it all. 

    At the age of seven, doctors discovered a tumour in Abram’s spine and believed that it was terminal.    The paediatric neurosurgeon who would perform the surgery to remove the tumour, felt that there was a chance that it was benign. However, even after removing it, his parents were warned that he could be paralysed. His mother reached out for prayer support from as many people as she could. During surgery, the doctor discovered that the tumour had spread throughout Abram’s spinal cord. However, the surgery was successful and the sample sent for testing showed that the tumour was indeed benign. 
    After surgery, Abram was able to move his arms but his legs were paralysed. He gradually got movement in his legs and two months later, after being in rehab, he was released to go home. He refused to be wheeled out and instead convinced the staff to allow him to walk out with the help of a walker. During the next five years, Abram continued to improve thanks to continued rehab and prayer. 
    In September 2022, at age twelve, he and and his father decided to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, Africa. The scripture that they meditated on and used to motivate themselves as they climbed was: “Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit,” says the Lord of Hosts (Zechariah 4:6). After six days battling freezing temperatures and fatigue, they were able to finally reach the summit. His father was thankful to God and proclaimed that God was a God of miracles. After all, his son who had been paralysed, had just climbed to 19,341 feet!
    This testimony encourages me because it is not just a testimony of healing. It’s a testimony about standing on the Word of God and trusting Him to help you do the impossible. At the age of seven, Abram chose to not be wheeled out of the hospital in a wheelchair but to walk out. Though he could not fully walk, he found a way with the help of a walker. He was determined to dictate his outcome. And, as if that wasn’t enough, five years later, he decides to climb a high mountain, daunting for many, and he succeeds in his attempt. 
    The Bible says: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). I believe it’s about where you put your faith - in the situation you are facing or in the God who can help you do the impossible. I believe God enabled them to fulfil their challenge because they chose to stand on His Word. They understood that it would not be their might or power but God’s Spirit. God would give Abram the strength to accomplish such a mammoth undertaking. 
    What is stopping you from accomplishing great things for God? For Abram, it was what he had been through with paralysis and afterwards facing Mt Kilimanjaro. For you, it might be challenges with your health, your marriage, your family, your job or even your own fears that keep telling you that you can’t. Everything does not have to be perfect for you to accomplish something great. God’s Word says clearly: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). It may be difficult, it may even be downright impossible, but God knows how to make a way even when there seems to be no way. The children of Israel faced a Red Sea (Exodus 14), yet God made a way through and they were able to escape their enemies. What was an impossible situation for them, was an ideal opportunity for God to show His might and power.
    So, be encouraged. No matter what you may be facing, no matter what may be standing in your way to hinder you, to stop you, even to destroy you, God is more than able to accomplish what is impossible for you. He is more than able to do great things in and through you - even when your circumstances are not ideal or even perfect. It’s about God’s ability not your own. He still has the final say - not your challenge, not your shortcomings, not your fears. It’s not over until God says it’s over!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. There is no mountain too high or challenge too great that can stop God’s purpose for you, that can hinder you from doing great things for Him. God will make a way. He will never leave you alone. He will help you accomplish what you cannot accomplish on your own.

    In Numbers 22-24 we come across the interesting story of the prophet Balaam. He is hired by king Balak of the Moabites to curse the children of Israel. Balak is terrified of the Israelites because he has heard how they have defeated the Amorites. He therefore hires Balaam to come and curse the Israelites in the hopes that he will be able to defeat them and prevent them from destroying him and his people. He had heard, after all, that whoever Balaam blessed was blessed and whoever he cursed was cursed (22:6).
    Initially, Balaam refuses to come when the king sends for him. God does not give him permission to go with the messengers sent to get him. However, when king Balak sends more messengers with the promise of great honour, Balaam suffers a conflict of interest. When he enquires of the Lord a second time, he is allowed to go with them but is only allowed to say what God tells him to say. When he reaches his destination, he is able to do nothing less than bless the children of Israel much to king Balak’s distress.
    There is one verse in particular that catches my attention. Chapter 23:23 says: “For there is no sorcery against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘Oh what God has done!’” I was encouraged with this story and in particular with this verse because it is a reminder to me that no matter what comes our way, as children of God, it cannot prevail against us! In this case, even though Balaam was hired to curse the Israelites, he could not. Three times, he could only do what God directed him to do - bless Israel! It tells me that no matter what the enemy tries against us, it cannot and will not prevail against us. Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper and every tongue which rises against you in judgement you shall condemn.” In short, efforts may be made to destroy you, to sabotage you, but that does not mean that they will succeed against you. 
    After the second blessing, when Balak becomes frustrated with Balaam for not doing as he had asked, Balaam reminds him that he had told him that he could only say what God told him to say (23:26). As a child of God, God will cause even negative efforts to submit to His perfect plan and purpose for your life! The enemy may try to bring you down, but at the end of the day, whatever is tried, God will use it for your good. We may be fearful at times in the face of what comes our way; we may be afraid many times that those negative situations will get the better of us. They may seem bigger than us and even more powerful but they will never be bigger than nor more powerful than the God we serve. God knows how to take big problems and make them small before us; He knows how to make those mountains in our lives like level plains before us. 
    It does not matter what is coming against you - sickness, disease, financial challenges, marital issues, problems on the job - none of these things have the final say in your life, God does. According to Proverbs 16:33, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” The situation is what it is but that does not and cannot determine God’s final decision. And, as His child, that challenge that you are facing is not writing your story - God is. As God’s child, you are in the palm of His hand and He is responsible for every detail of your life - every line, every chapter of your story. Things may not always go the way you want it to go, but everything will certainly work out for your good (Romans 8:28).
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. There is no greater privilege than to serve a God who will cause even your enemies to bless you. God will take care of you. No matter how challenging the situation may seem, it does not have the final say in your life, God does. And you can be confident that whatever the enemy sends to destroy you, God will use it instead to bring about good in your life!

    Justin would go to church as a child and strum his Bible as if it were a guitar. His parents recognised his interest in the guitar and got him one by the age of fifteen. Unfortunately, it was around the same time that he got his first job and he began to hang out with the wrong crowd. He started to lead a double life. He would go to church and be with his friends from the youth group and lead in worship, but on weekends, he would spend time with the wrong crowd. He began stealing and by the age of eighteen he was standing before a judge facing the possibility of going to jail. In his heart he felt conviction because he knew that was not how his parents had raised him. 
    The judge chose to give him a choice - he could choose to go to jail or do community service after which he would join the army. He chose the latter and saw his hopes and dreams for music gone. Within two years of joining the army he was sent to Iraq. While there, his grandfather passed away and he was angry with himself because the poor choices he had made had caused him to miss the opportunity to be with his family at that time. He felt led to go to the chapel. The chaplain asked the small group gathered if anyone had experience playing the guitar and leading worship. He raised his hand. God was putting the guitar back into his hands. 
    On returning home, he expected that he could hit the restart button and start his life over. Unfortunately, that was not the case. His traumatic experiences in the army, caused him to battle with anger, depression and PTSD. He returned to alcohol and the addictions he had before he joined the army. He started working again. One day a co-worker invited him to a music studio. The engineer invited him to record something. As he was leaving the session, he handed him a CD of what he had recorded. When he got home, he threw all of his alcohol down the drain and he lost his desire for it. He has not had a craving for it to this day. He began rebuilding his relationship with God and started writing music again. One day, God directed him to do a night of revival and worship at his home town at the same courthouse he had found himself in years earlier. He was reluctant at first but when he obeyed, it was a personal revival for him. 
    Justin sees God’s love as the ocean and himself as the shoreline; he sees God’s love as being in relentless pursuit of the shoreline. He wants to be submerged by God’s love and never lose sight of what He has done in his life, of how He has brought about his story of redemption.
    This testimony truly moved me. I felt encouraged as God reminded me of what He has done in my own life. I love the way God chooses to hit the restart button when we don’t know how to or we simply can’t. God gave Justin more than one second chance. He chose not to give up on him. God ’s pursuit of him was indeed relentless no matter how many times Justin failed.
​    God is in hot pursuit of you too. When He says He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5), He means it. On our good days, He is there and on our bad days, I think God is more than there, even though we can’t feel it. God does not go back on His Word, we do. What I especially love is the fact that when we can’t get it right ourselves, God is right there to put things in place to get us back on the right track. 
    Isaiah 44:22 says, “I have swept away your offences like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me for I have redeemed you.” I think this verse sums up God’s love for us. He will not allow anything or anyone to stand in the way of His love for us. He wants us and loves us more than we will ever know.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. There is nothing you can do to stop God from loving you. He loves you even when you can’t love yourself. God’s love is infinite, passionate, relentless…

    When Tonya went to church with her husband and parents one Sunday morning, she was not expecting the word that the Lord would speak to her through their pastor. The Lord told her that He was holding her in the palm of His hand and that she was going to face some problems in her life that she was not even aware of. Her family had various opinions on what those words could mean. None of them could guess what would happen twenty-four hours later. 
    A few years earlier, Tonya had been diagnosed with diabetes insipidus, an uncommon disorder that causes the imbalance of fluids in the body. The day after the Word from the Lord, Tanya got up not feeling well. On top of that, her doctor was concerned with some lab results and wanted her to do another test. On her way home, she became extremely ill and could barely move. She called her father and told him that the doctor had diagnosed her with water poisoning and that she needed to get to the hospital which was an hour away. It was a matter of life and death. The doctor had given her one hour to live. On the way, her father prayed for her, remembering that God had her in the palm of His hand. Psalm 91:1 came to mind and confirmed this in his heart. Her father got her to the hospital in twenty-five minutes. 
    At the hospital, doctors discovered that because of her diabetes, Tonya’s sodium level had dropped dangerously low. This had caused her brain to swell and a loss of consciousness. The family were told that no one with her condition had ever left the hospital alive. The family earnestly prayed and believed God for a miracle. Her husband remembered their pastor’s words and this gave him some comfort. Within three days, her sodium levels came back to a safe range and she was on her way to recovery. 
    Tonya knows that God spared her life. She is grateful for the encouraging word God spoke that offered hope during a challenging situation. She acknowledges that God loves her and spared her life for a reason. She knows that her life is in the palm of His hand and understands that what she went through was all for His glory.
    What brings me a sense of comfort and encouragement is the reality that, as children of God, our lives are in the palm of God’s hand. God will never allow us to fall out of His hand. He will never allow the enemy to snatch us out of His hand either. We are safe. Psalm 91:1 says: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most Hight, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” This is the verse that came to Tonya’s father’s mind and it was so appropriate in that season. 
    Being in God’s hand does not mean that bad things won’t come our way. In fact, when they do come, we are safe. God will take care of us and take us through. The situation may look so much bigger than us and we may feel fearful but our God is bigger than the biggest giant that may come our way. Nothing is too big for our God. There is no situation that is too big for Him to handle. 
    When we think of the story of David and Goliath, David was a tiny, insignificant thing before Goliath (1 Samuel 17). He was a mere boy in comparison to the soldiers in the army. Yet, because He allowed God to go before him and fight for him, there was no way that he could be defeated. His life was in the palm of God’s hand and not even the great, big Goliath could pluck him out. It is the same with us.There is no Goliath of sickness, disease, financial trials, relationship issues, that can prevail against us when we are in God’s hands. God’s got us. And nothing or no one will be able to have their way with us when we are dwelling in His secret place and abiding under the shadow of His protection.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God wants to be your Protector and Deliverer. When you commit your life to Him, you are safe in His hands. Nothing and no one will be able to have their way with you when you are under His covering and care.
​

    Dawn was walking towards a co-worker when she fell. From that day, it seemed that her body began to degenerate. She started falling for no reason and even started experiencing bladder incontinence. Her husband took her to the doctor and she was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal. Some symptoms include among others, back pain, weakness and numbness in the legs and incontinence. Unfortunately, she was told that there was no cure. All she could do was physical therapy and hope for the best. 
    As her condition deteriorated, she became depressed and found it difficult to depend on her faith in God. She reached the point where she did not even want to pray. She felt dark and unfortunately, in spite of treatment, her condition grew worse. 
    One day, she was watching Christian television when she received a word of knowledge. The announcer called out her condition. She was shocked. God told her that he was healing her. He was healing her from the pain and discomfort of the condition and fixing everything that needed to be fixed. She was encouraged to get up and dance and she did just that! No pain! She has not experienced any relapse of her spinal stenosis symptoms. She has been an encouragement to herself and those around her to believe God for their own miracles. 
    She says it was as if a bright light shone on her and that God was saying that He had heard her all along. He had just wanted to give her more. He wanted her faith to increase. She felt as if God was telling her that He knows her body and her mind; He knows when she is weak and when she is strong and He wanted her to know that He loves her.
    I am encouraged by Dawn’s candid admission of her emotions. She admits that she felt depressed because of her condition and that challenged her faith in God. Even as Christians, we may face times when our faith in God is challenged. It’s easy to believe God when things are working out the way we hope but when they don’t, we can begin to doubt God. We may even become angry at Him wondering why He is allowing bad things to happen to us. The reality is, challenging situations don’t always bring out the best attitudes and responses in us, yet, God is faithful. 
    I remember when, several years ago, I honestly told God how I felt about Him because of something I had experienced. I half expected God to strike me down for being so brutally honest, but He did not. I think that’s when I realised that God knows, He understands and He cares. He understood what I was feeling and did not condemn me for it. That’s how God is. He understands our emotions and fears during painful and difficult seasons. He does not expect us to experience positive emotions all of the time. In fact, He created those emotions that we feel. But, He is right there to help us process it all and to make it through that dark season.
    What is also interesting is that Dawn reached the point where she could not pray. I love the fact that although Dawn’s response to her situation was not the nice “christian” one we might expect, that did not and could not motivate God to stop loving her. He reached out to her when she did not even want to reach out to Him. He touched her when she least expected it. In fact, He admitted to her that He allowed her to go through that difficult time because He wanted to develop her, He wanted her to grow.
    God never allows anything bad without having a good reason for it. His Word says that He works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). It means that He will allow bad things to happen but for good reason - to make us stronger and more mature in Him. We may not like the negative things we go through, but because God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours, we can rest assured that He knows what He is doing. At the end of the day, He is doing more good for us than we can ever imagine.
    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 not blind or insensitive to the challenges you face. He truly loves you and wants the best for you. Whatever He allows, whether good or bad, He will use to develop you and make you stronger, just because He loves you.​

    From a young age Cristina’s life was filled with pain. She turned to heavy drugs and even self harm in an attempt to numb that pain. It didn’t help that her parents got divorced and she found herself going down a very dark path.
    One day, she was pulled over by the police and they found a significant amount of drugs in her car. She was arrested. When her bail was posted, she returned to her job. For most of her life, she had battled with suicidal thoughts. It scared her now because this time, she planned to take her life on her return home from work that night. While sitting at her desk planning how to carry out her plan, a man tapped her on her shoulder. He told her that he had a word from the Lord for her. He shared with her Jeremiah 29:11 from his bible: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." He asked  if she wanted to accept Jesus into her life. She told Jesus that she didn’t know who He was but she invited Him to come into her heart and to save her and her nine month old baby. After praying, she admitted that she felt weights lifted and knew that chains were broken off of her life instantly. 
    However, she was scared because she knew that she was still facing jail time and the possibility of losing her son. She worried about the kind of life she was giving to him. When she asked to speak with the District Attorney, she confessed that Jesus Christ had saved her and that she was deeply sorry for what she had done. Twenty minutes later, she was released. She immediately praised and gave the glory to God. She was guilty, there was no doubt about it, but she knew that Jesus had wiped her slate clean. She was a free woman. She believes that God takes adversity and dark seasons and uses them for His glory and for our good.
    God knows exactly when to step into our situation. He may seem to be taking long to intervene, but God is never late. In fact, He has a way of being right on time. His timing may not be ours but it is always perfect. Cristina, had had enough and felt that she could not go on. Just when she reached the end of her rope, God stepped in. Sometimes, we may feel as if God is taking long to answer. Yet, God knows exactly when to step into our situation. His timing may not be our timing. He may not step in when we would like Him to, but He will  step in at the perfect time. 
    Sometimes, we just have to go through, so that the lessons to be learned along the way will be well learned. After all, we cannot encourage others if we have never been through difficult seasons. We cannot comfort someone, if we have not experienced sadness. God does not waste a single negative experience in our lives. He uses all of it for our good and even for the good of others. 
    I love the fact that Cristina knew that she was guilty. She does not deny it. So when Jesus wiped her slate clean, it must have been exhilarating for her. She was encountering a God who loved her enough to erase the negative in her life. God loves us enough to look beyond our faults and flaws and to see our need. To Him, that is what is important - our need for Him. Never think that you are too far gone that God cannot reach you. Never believe the lie that your problem is too big for God to handle. God is so much bigger than it all and He delights in stepping in and making each of those big challenges small.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. No matter what you go through, God will always step in at the right time. He sees and knows exactly what you need when you need it. Nothing that you go through is wasted by Him. He will use all of it to bring about good in your life and in the lives of others. Be encouraged!

    Jessica grew up in a Christian home and had been exposed to going to church where she learned about Jesus. Even though she had been taught about God’s love, she struggled with who she was and used her physical appearance to gain people’s attention. Compliments about her small size encouraged her to make every effort to stay as thin as possible. Unfortunately, it soon became an obsession. She began to restrict her diet, even purging after meals until she became bulimic.
    Even though her weight went below one hundred pounds and she blacked out at times and her period stopped, she still had no desire to change her lifestyle. Family and friends finally intervened. Her mother insisted that she seek help at a faith-based treatment centre. Jessica reluctantly obeyed. There, she was ministered to by a Christian couple about God’s love. They prophetically told her that she would have her own children and her own womb. Ironically, the day before, she and another girl had shared concerns about being able to have children because of what they had done to their bodies. She knew the words spoken to her were from God because they personally and specifically spoke to her own fears and concerns. She realised that God saw her and cared about her. She gave her heart to Christ and as she prayed, read the Bible and grew in her relationship with God, she was delivered. 
    She is thankful to God for restoring her. She has been able to have children and she is healthy and strong. She finally believes that she is loved, she is accepted, she is delighted in, she is worthy and she is enough with Him. 
    I love this story of healing and restoration. It is also the story of a second chance, something that God specialises in. We may not always make the best choices and decisions but God does not give up on us and is able to turn any situation around. God loves us and I believe is always waiting for us to come to Him, especially after we have messed up. God healed and restored Jessica, going so far as to give her the children she desired. No matter what she felt she had done to her body, God fixed it all and even gave her what she may have been afraid to ask for. 
    I love what she says about herself at the end of her testimony. These aren’t just her words or her opinion about herself. She was finally able to see herself as God sees her - loved, accepted, delighted in, worthy, enough. This is how God sees us. He doesn’t need us to change and to be someone we are not for Him to love us. He loves us just as we are. And, if anything needs to change, He will help us where we need it.
    In Ephesians 1, as His children, we are described as: chosen (v.4), adopted (v.5), accepted (v.6), redeemed (v.7), forgiven (v.7). God does not look at us or see us through the lens of our or other people’s opinions. He doesn’t see us based on what we have done or have failed to do. God sees us through His eyes. Through His eyes of love, He sees our potential, He sees what He has called us to be in Him. That in itself is a comfort. 
    We don’t have to do this life on our own. We have the confidence that God is right there, ready and willing to help us when we need it. Like the prodigal son who was eagerly welcomed by his father on his return home (Luke 15:20), God is eagerly waiting for us to come to Him. He wants us to bring all of our baggage, all of our disappointments, all of our failures, all of our hopes and our dreams. He is still the only One who can fix, heal and restore.
    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 not interested in a perfect you, He’s just interested in you. He loves you and has a beautiful plan and purpose for you life. When you choose to come to Him, with all that you are, He will transform you and make you into the person He has designed you to be.​

    Although I have shared on this story before, there is always something to be gleaned from God’s Word no matter how many times we read it.
    In Matthew 14:22-33, we read the story of Jesus walking on the water. Jesus had sent the disciples ahead of him by boat to the other side, while He went up to the mountainside to pray. He saw the disciples struggling to row the boat because of the contrary wind and waves. He decided to go to them walking on the water. 
    Interestingly, the disciples never asked Jesus for His help. He saw their need and chose to go to their aid. God doesn’t always wait for us to cry out to Him. He is there ready and waiting to assist when we need it. The reality is God sees us. We may feel at times as if He is both blind and deaf to our problem and cries for help but He is not. And, when we least expect it, He will show up.
    When the disciples see Him, they initially think that they are seeing a ghost. But He encourages them by letting them know who He is. What I find interesting is the entrance Jesus chooses to make. Let’s face it, it’s a dramatic entrance. No one had ever witnessed someone walking on water before. I believe that Jesus chose to be a distraction to the disciples when He walked on the water. And it worked! The disciples were so distracted by Him that they forgot the stormy weather and their struggle to row the boat. Sometimes, God just wants us to shift our focus to Him and take our eyes off the problem.
    The other thing is, Jesus did not calm the storm first then walk on the water. He wanted their attention while they were in their difficulty, not after it ended. He wanted them to see that He was what was important, not the problem.
    The story goes on to say that Peter told Him that if it was really Him, to let him to come to Him on the water. Peter began walking towards Him on the water. However, when he saw the wind, he began to sink and cried out to Jesus for help. Jesus grabbed him and when they both got into the boat the stormy wind ceased.
    Peter was doing fine until he shifted his focus back to the storm. While we wait, it can be easy to shift our focus back to the problem. Discouragement steps in and we start to sink as we become overwhelmed by the reality of what we are going through. Yet, God wants us to keep our eyes on Him because He is the One to help us successfully navigate what we are going through. 
    God wants to do so much more than just “calm the storms” in our lives. He wants to calm us and give us peace while we go through. He wants us to learn to walk on those rough waters - to strive, to prosper, to keep going, to even stand firm, in spite of how tough things are. That in itself is the real miracle - choosing not to crumble, when everything around us is falling apart. He wants us to be steadfast and immoveable as we stand on His Word, knowing that His Word over our lives will keep and sustain us even in the most turbulent weather.
    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 you and He sees what you are going through. He may not fix the problem right away, but He will change you in the midst of it and make you stronger and better equipped to handle whatever comes your way.