Last week, I shared on the song “God Only Knows” by For King and Country. The reality of the immensity and intensity of God’s love for me is truly a source of encouragement. The fact that He is not moved by who I am, what I have done or what I am going through, gives me the strength to keep going even when I may feel like giving up.
     In the song’s Outro, the lyrics are simple yet very impactful and profound.
    God only knows where to find you
    God only knows how to break through
    God only knows the real you
    There’s a kind of love that God only knows
I once again look at Jesus’ ministry in the New Testament. Jesus never waited for people to come to Him. He went to where they were because He knew what He had to offer - healing, deliverance, hope, love, eternal life. He knew what they needed and understood that need. He chose to offer His help, not because they asked, but because He had compassion on them. He knew He had the answer, and in fact, was the answer to their problems. 
    The first two lines of the Outro reminds us that God knows where we are and exactly how to get to us. We may feel lonely, isolated, even forgotten, but God sees and knows and He never forgets. Each of the people Jesus healed or delivered, were trapped in their circumstances. They needed to be set free, but no one seemed to know how to make that happen. For many, they simply resigned themselves to their life of bondage, not expecting anyone to be able to help. Then Jesus stepped on the scene and all that changed.
    I think of the story of the demon-possessed man that Jesus delivered in the region of the Gadarenes (Mark 5:1-20). But I don’t necessarily want to focus on his story but on what happens before he is introduced. At the end of the preceding chapter (Mark 4:35-41), Jesus tells His disciples that they are going to the other side of the lake. While in the boat, a storm rises up and the disciples become afraid. Jesus, however is asleep in the boat. They wake Him up and He simply rebukes and calms the storm, much to their amazement. 
    What catches my attention here is that they are on their way to an assignment. The storm arises as if to stop them from carrying out this assignment. Yet, Jesus is confidently asleep in the boat. He is not worried by what is coming against them to hinder them from their assignment. Jesus is not moved by the storm. In fact, He is willing to go through this storm just to get to their destination. Someone needed Him and He was going to get to them, no matter what! 
    It’s the same with us. We may feel trapped. We may feel as if there is no hope but, there is. God is not moved by the obstacles that may be in the way of our deliverance. He knows what sometimes we forget - He can and will push His way through any storm, any obstacle, any difficulty that may try to hinder our deliverance. His goal is to reach us where we are. When we cry out to Him - and sometimes when we don’t - He is focused on reaching out to help us. It may seem as if nothing is happening. It may seem as if He is silent, as if He is doing absolutely nothing. But that’s not true. With God, things are not always what they seem. 
    The demon-possessed man never knew that Help was on the way. He never knew what Jesus had to go through to get to Him. He didn’t know that Jesus had to go through a storm to get to him. He didn’t know that Jesus was not turned off by the storm but still chose to push His way to him. Similarly, we don’t know what God is doing, what He is shifting, moving around or out of the way, even rebuking or calming, just to get to us. God knows how to break through the difficult places to get to where we are, where we may feel trapped. And He knows how to break us out.
     God can and will deliver you from any prison!
   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 that can keep God from getting to you to help you. He will push through, He will get to you to deliver you. So, be encouraged! God will find His way to you, just to help you!

    I recently heard a song by "For King and Country" entitled “God Only Knows.” Just the words alone, “God only knows,” speak volumes and truly impacted me. I find myself thinking about the reality that many times, God sees, knows and understands when no one else does. That’s His job after all. We may feel lonely and misunderstood at times; we may even be afraid of what people might think about us and how we might be treated. But God knows and understands the heart when no one else can and He loves us anyway…
Part of the chorus of the song says:
    God only knows what you’ve been through
    God only knows what they say about you
    God only knows the real you
    But there’s a kind of love that God only knows
    I think here about different people in the Bible, specifically in the New Testament. The woman with the issue of blood comes to mind (Mark 5:25-34). She spent twelve years in relative isolation because of her blood condition. Imagine being consistently rejected and misunderstood. She was human like everyone else after all, and with feelings, but most would have been more concerned with the reality that she was ceremonially unclean. As a result, loneliness may have been her portion for years. Yet, when she touched Jesus’ clothes, He did not shrink from her like others might have done. He called her out but not to embarrass her. I believe that was His way of publicly removing the veil of rejection and isolation she had been submitted to. God knew and saw way beyond her ceremonial uncleanness. He saw a person who needed love just like everyone else. 
    What about blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52)? He tried getting Jesus’ attention when he heard He was passing by, but the crowd tried to shut him up. They didn’t think he was important enough to be noticed by the Master. But Bartimaeus was desperate. He was persistent and went after his healing. Jesus could have ignored him too. But He didn’t. Bartimaeus was important enough for Jesus to choose to notice, even when others tried to make him invisible.
    Imagine if the woman with the issue of blood had given up on her healing and not bothered to try Jesus. She would have missed it and her story would not be in the Bible to encourage others. Imagine if Bartimaeus had allowed people’s words and attitude to shut him up. He too would have missed his healing and lost the opportunity to encourage others with his testimony.
    Imagine if you were to listen to others, to your situation, to the challenge you’re facing, there would be no victory, discouragement would continue and you would have no testimony with which to encourage someone else. But, imagine if you were to keep your eyes on Jesus, the One who knows the real you, and who loves you anyway. Then, the  impossible could become possible. In Jeremiah 32:27 God says: "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" God is not moved by our imperfections or scars or challenges. In fact, these are what He uses to show who He really is, to show His power and ability to handle the greatest of difficulties. 
    So, no matter what you may be faced with today, just remember that God only knows... He alone sees and knows what’s really going on on the inside of you. He is not turned off by who you are or what you may have done. There is no battle you’re going through, that will be too difficult for Him to handle. God is too big, too powerful, too loving a God to reject anyone who comes to Him. Just like the father running to meet his long lost son on his return home, just so God is eagerly reaching out to you to love you, to encourage you, to help you. After all, as the song says: But there’s a kind of love that God only knows…
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God loves you. Period. God is not turned off by who you are, what you have done or what you are going through. God sees, knows and cares and is more than willing and able to take you through anything you may be facing. 

    God’s not done with you
    Even with your broken heart and your wounds and your scars   
    God’s not done with you
    Even when you’re lost and it’s hard and you’re falling apart
    God’s not done with you
    It’s not over it’s only begun…    
    "God’s Not Done With You" (Tauren Wells)
The above song, I think, seems to capture the struggles that many of us may face time and again. We all go through challenges, that’s a part of life but sometimes, we may feel as if it’s the end. The nice thing is, when we may think it’s over, God doesn’t think the way we do or see things the way we do. We may see an end but God sees a beginning. 
    Throughout the New Testament, we see various people bound by sickness, disease, infirmity. Before their encounter with Jesus, I am sure many felt as if their life was over. They saw no hope, no way out, no help. The woman with the issue of blood spent everything she had to be healed of her blood issue but to no avail. Those who were blind most likely resigned themselves to a life of blindness with no hope of healing. Many others did not expect to come out of their life of infirmity. Yet, when Jesus stepped onto the scene and people saw and heard what He could do, things started to change. People had hope again. The woman with the issue of blood, went so far as to push her way through a crowd, not to touch Jesus Himself, but the very edge of His clothes believing that that was enough to heal her. She was not disappointed (Mark 5:25-34). Blind Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus to help him even though the crowd tried to shut him up. He was not disappointed (Mark 10:46-52). And many others pushed through to reach Jesus believing that they would be healed. They were not disappointed. The thing is, it was not over for them. They saw hope when they heard about Jesus. They saw a new beginning and no longer believed that it was over. 
    There’s a short verse in the song that says:
    There’s a light you don’t notice
    Until you’re standing in the dark
    And there’s a strength that’s growing
    Inside your shattered heart
I love this verse because it reminds me of the reality that we may not like going through difficult situations but at the end of the day, these are what God uses to bring about good in our life. Light is even more poignant in dark places and we never know how strong we truly are until we are going through challenges. In fact, I think challenges help make us stronger. It’s also at these times when we may tend to reach out to God even more because we realise no one and nothing else can truly help us. This is where our relationship with our Heavenly Father grows and matures. And that is definitely a good thing. 
    He’s got a plan this is part of it
    He’s gonna finish what He started…
No matter what comes our way, God has a plan and purpose for each of our lives. He is not moved by the negative things that may come our way. They are not able to stop His purpose for us … unless we allow it. In fact, God is well able to take all the challenges and negative situations that come along our path and incorporate them into His plan for us. At the end of the day, He uses all of it to give us a full and purposeful life. We may not be able to see it of course while we are going through, but that is what God is doing. According to Romans 8:28, He is working all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. So, no matter how bad things get or look, it’s not over, it’s not the end. God is still working, and He is doing all that He can to give you a beautiful and fruitful life.    
    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 finished with you. It may look like it’s over, but it’s not. God still has a beautiful plan for you and He will use everything, both the good and bad in your life, to bring about what is unique and good just for you. So, if you think it’s the end, it’s not. God still has a plan and this is all a part of it.
​

     I have been reading the book of Genesis for the past few weeks. I am presently on the story of Joseph (Genesis 37, 39,40). He was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. He was favoured by his father because he was the son of his old age (Genesis 37:3). His brothers hated him because of this. It did not help that he had a dream of his family bowing to him (vv. 5-11). When his brothers got the opportunity, they tried to get rid of him by selling him to some Midianite traders who in turn sold him to an officer of Pharaoh named Potiphar.
    But, God was with Joseph and He caused him to prosper in his master’s house (Genesis 39). However, one day, because he resisted his master’s wife’s efforts to seduce him, she accused him of attempted rape. He was put in prison where, once again, God showed him favour and he was put in charge of all the prisoners. Joseph finally saw a glimmer of hope when two of Pharaoh’s servants, the butler and the baker, offended Pharaoh and were put in prison (Genesis 40). They had dreams which Joseph accurately interpreted. He asked the butler to remember him when he was restored to his position. Unfortunately, when that time came, the butler forgot him. It took two years before Joseph was remembered and finally released from the prison.
    As you read Joseph’s story, you can almost feel his sense of frustration. He was constantly being put in unfair situations. It seemed as if he had no control over the negative things that happened to him again and again. Sometimes, we may feel like that. We are trying to do what is right, yet, negative circumstances seem to keep coming our way. That can be frustrating and you may feel like giving up. Yet, the interesting thing is that God was with Joseph every step of the way. No matter the situation he was thrust into, God showed him favour. When he was in Potiphar’s house, God caused everything that he did to prosper, to the point where his master noticed it and gave him charge and authority over his entire house. When he was unfairly put in prison, the keeper of the prison saw God’s favour upon him and put him in a position of authority over all the other prisoners. I am sure this was not common treatment for a slave, but then, Joseph was no ordinary slave. He belonged to God and God made sure that he prospered even in difficult circumstances. 
    It can be difficult to see God’s favour in negative situations, but the reality is that God is in that situation with you, just like He was with Joseph in Egypt. God did not leave him alone and God will not leave you alone, no matter how alone you may feel.
    It must have been painful for Joseph when instead of remembering Joseph when his dream came true, the butler forgot him. The reality is, people may forget us, even fail us, but not our God. God never forgets. The thing is, Joseph was not forgotten. It was simply not God’s timing. Perspective can be an interesting thing. How we look at a thing will determine our attitude as we go through. I am sure Joseph felt forgotten and abandoned. He watched his chance for freedom slip out of his hands. Yet, it was not the right time. He could have been released then and there but he might have missed the greatness that God knew was coming his way. 
    Sometimes, we can become so impatient as we wait for deliverance from a bad situation, as we wait for circumstances to change in our favour, as we wait for healing to come, as we wait for a promotion. Whatever you may be waiting for, the wait can be difficult but, rest assured, when you choose to trust God, even when it doesn’t make sense, He will work it out but in His time. Isaiah 60:22 says, “At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen” (NLT). In short, God knows when is the perfect time to bring it to pass. 
    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 a perfect plan for your life and a perfect time to bring that plan to pass. God also sees and knows what you may be going through and will bring you through when the time is right. God is never late and He will not fail you!​

    To be honest, I struggled to find something to share this week. I wanted something different but could not put my finger on exactly what I wanted to share. While searching through material, a song kept playing in my mind, “Better” sung by Jessica Reedy. The chorus simply says:
    Life it can leave you so bitter, bitter, bitter, bitter
    But you must believe that it gets
    Better, better, better, better…
Many of us can relate to those lyrics. I have shared a number of testimonies from people who have faced tragic circumstances. They could have easily chosen to be bitter and thus consumed by their situation. But, from the moment they made the choice to turn to God and cry out to Him for help, He did not disappoint them. For those of us who have made that choice also, we can relate. 
    I feel sometimes like I have exhausted the story of David in the Bible but I guess I love the way he consistently chose to turn to God even in the most difficult of circumstances. When he and his men returned to their home in Ziklag, they discovered that the Amalekites had invaded it and burned it with fire. As if that was not enough, they had taken captive their wives and children. David’s men wanted to stone him, blaming him for what had happened, as they grieved for their families. David too was grieving but he also chose to encourage himself in the Lord. Bitterness I am sure was rampant among them that day and it was understandable. But, David trusted in his God and turned to Him asking what they should do. The Lord, in turn, instructed him to go after their enemies and He promised that they would recover all that they had lost. And they did. (1 Samuel 30:1-19)
    David’s hope was in his God. He could have allowed himself to be consumed with bitterness and anguish of spirit, just like his men. But he did not. He turned to his Hope, the only One whom he knew would have the answer and God did not fail him or his men with him.
    Life can certainly move us to bitterness and frustration of spirit. We can be motivated to give up and simply allow negative circumstances to dictate our destiny. But it’s at these times that God wants us to trust Him more than ever, when things seem as if they would never turn around. As the rest of the chorus states:
    It’s alright dry your eyes
    Send a prayer to the sky
    I know it’s hard to fight
    But you must believe that it gets better.
It’s about having hope, not in yourself or in your ability, but in a God who is able to do what seems impossible to you. It’s about believing that when you connect with God in prayer, He will hear and He will answer. The answer may not come as quickly as you would like or even in the way that you would like, but it will come. God is faithful.
    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 truly faithful. He will never leave us nor forsake us when we are down. He is and will always be a present help in trouble. Trust Him to deliver, trust Him to turn things around, trust Him to do what he desires and is able to do for you. 

    When Stephen was eleven years old, his mother, a crack addict, left him and his brother in a hotel and never returned. He and his brother found themselves in foster care. He felt unloved and worthless. At the age of seventeen, he was selling drugs to pay for college. He pulled a gun on a police officer investigating a crime in the neighbourhood. He was shot. While lying on the ground bleeding, he remembered one of his foster mothers who would read the Bible to him and made him feel wanted and told him that God wanted him. He told God that he was coming home. He asked Him to save his soul but not to allow him to live. God answered only one prayer. He saved his soul and He allowed him to live. 
    He lost forty percent of his right lung as well as two ribs. One bullet remained lodged in his spine. This left him confined to a wheelchair. He spent four years in prison where he read his Bible and spent time getting to know God. His past however plagued him and he had little hope of being healed. When he left prison, he got married and had two daughters. He was unable to work because of his disability and this left him depressed. His wife had to work to support them. He began writing and took care of his daughters. He began martial arts classes to strengthen his body and for self defence.
​    One day, his instructor prayed for him to be healed, something he had long given up on. When asked, he told him that he saw God as a harsh task master and that he was a tool in His tool kit but not a very well kept one. His instructor’s wife corrected him and told him how much God loved him. Her words registered with him. Suddenly, he was able to lift the cane in his hand high above his head and the pain was gone. He was able to walk upright and no longer needed the cane. When he became fully mobile he began working at the studio. He continued writing and his wife was finally able to stop working and stay at home to take care of her family.
    Three years later, he went to do x-rays. The x-rays revealed that his right lung which was forty percent removed was more robust; the two ribs that were supposedly removed were more robust than the others. The doctor explained to him that his spinal column had calcified around the bullet. It was as if it had been re-born and was now stronger because of the bullet.
​    Today he continues working as an author and prays for others to be healed. He and his wife encourage others to trust God’s love for them so that they can receive His miraculous touch.
    I was encouraged by Stephen’s story. He went through various challenges in his life and reached so far as to tell God to let him to die. It was interesting and encouraging that God chose not to answer his prayer and let him live. Sometimes we too can become so discouraged that giving up seems our only option. You can become so tired with the mess in your life that you just want it to be over. But, God still has the final say. If He wants you to live, you will live. If He wants you to get up and try again, He will give you the strength to do just that. 
    God does not give up because we do. I think that he likes when we reach the end of our rope and feel as if we can’t go on. That’s when He knows we are ready for Him to step in and do something miraculous that only He can do. Stephen was finally ready for God … only when he had reached the end of himself.
    What also catches my attention, is that bullet that was left lodged in his body. That same bullet was what made his spinal cord stronger than it was before. Many times in life, the very thing that seems so much like a negative, is what God uses to make us stronger and an even more useful tool in His hands. 
    We may not like the negative things that come our way, but, if God allows it, it will always be for a good reason. When He says that He will work all things together for our good, He means it. He will take both the good and the bad and use them together to bring about good in our lives. Our lives will become more fruitful, more valuable than we can ever imagine. After all, anything put in the Master’s hands, He will shape into something beautiful.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God knows how to take a mess and create something beautiful out of it. Even when you may want to give up, God knows how to take that hopeless situation and give you the hope and the future you never thought possible.

    Diana, a Christian oncologist, has been a source of hope to many of her patients. She chooses to never decree death over her patients or tell them how long they have to live. 
    She believes that words are alive. As a child, she wanted to become a doctor and a teacher and she decreed this over herself. She has fulfilled exactly what she said she would become. She is a doctor and as a doctor in oncology she teaches patients everyday. When she began practicing medicine, she saw it as a ministry, the opportunity to guide patients through the physical and spiritual aspects of healing. She trusts God to guide her in what to tell her patients. Her office is filled with framed Bible verses, an inspiration to her patients when they visit her. She believes that you must offer them hope to motivate them to want to live. 
    She prays with her patients and encourages them to put their hope in Jesus. She believes that prayer is the essential for life and it changes things. She has been practicing medicine for twenty-five years and treated thousands of patients and has one of the highest survival rates in the country. She attributes this to the power of prayer and a healing God. She believes that God never changes and to her it is an Ephesians 3:20 day everyday: “Now to Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us.”
    I was inspired as I listened to the story of this doctor. To hear her choose to allow God to have the final say and to speak His Word over her patients is truly inspiring. She could be practical and “real” but she chooses to motivate them to have hope and to trust in a God who can do the impossible.
    I am reminded of a song sung by singer Tobymac, “Speak Life.” One of the verses states: 
    It’s crazy, amazing,
    We can turn a heart through the words we say
    Mountains crumble with every syllable 
​    Hope can live or die
I believe that’s exactly what Dr Diana does for many of her patients. She chooses to speak words that destroy the negative, debilitating thoughts in their minds. In this way, she motivates them to want to live and to fight to live.
    We too can be like Dr Diana. The Bible says that death and life are in the power of the tongue. When we take this seriously, we can choose the words that can bring life to someone who is discouraged and wants to give up. We can even do like David and encourage ourselves in the Lord by speaking words to motivate ourselves to want to live, to want to get up and try again, to want to make it. We don’t even have to wait for someone to speak it over us. We can speak God’s Word over our lives for ourselves. We have the authority to do that. As children of God, we do have authority over all the power of the enemy. With that in mind, we can remind the devil and ourselves of what God’s Word says to us and about us. We can choose to speak in such a way so as to will ourselves to live and not die!
    I will insert here the story of Peter and John (Acts 3:2-8) and their encounter with the lame man at the temple gate, Beautiful. They had no money or medical help to offer him but they had the words of life. When Peter commanded him to walk in the name of Jesus, he did just that. Peter chose to speak the Word of life, in the name of Jesus, over his lame body and his body was healed and his life changed from that day forward. 
    Even Jesus’ words to Jairus when they were told that his daughter was dead were words that brought encouragement and hope. Jairus believed that it was over but Jesus told him: “Don’t be afraid, only believe” (Mark 5:36b). When Jesus said that, it gave Jairus hope to believe for the impossible.
    Words are indeed alive as Dr Diana said. We have to be careful therefore with what we say. We can be the ones to either hinder or encourage our progress. We also have the power to cancel any negative word spoken over us or about us. People’s words don’t have the final say, God’s Word does and when we choose to let our words align with God’s Word, powerful things can happen.
    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 you to live an Ephesians 3:20 kind of life. He wants you to have hope when there seems to be none and to trust that if He says it, He Himself will bring it to pass.

    Jamie was a martial arts expert and a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) coach. He was in control of his life, or so he thought…
    When he was born, he was abandoned by his parents and his grandparents adopted him. Feeling extremely hurt by the sense of abandonment by his parents, especially his father, he found his identity and a sense of control in martial arts. He developed a successful career which led to coaching MMA fighters and his induction in the US martial arts Hall of Fame. Even though he achieved a lot, it was still not enough and he was always searching for more. Sadly, all of this became nothing when his wife, who had a long term heart condition, died in his arms. It did not help  that his daughter watched him trying to resuscitate her but without success.   In spite of all he had achieved and how much he had felt he was in control, it devastated him that he could not save his wife or protect his daughter from her pain. Over the next year, he began abusing alcohol and prescription drugs. He began leading a double life. On one hand, he was a mentor to his martial arts students and a coach to the men who fought for him. On the other hand, he was miserable, empty and self-destructive. He believed in God’s existence, but did not believe that God was good. 
    One day, while target shooting out on his property, his mind became flooded with guilt and thoughts of condemnation. He put the gun in his mouth deciding to end his life. When he pulled the trigger it clicked but nothing happened. With the click of the trigger, he realised he did not want to die. He dropped to his knees and had a serious conversation with God, giving his life to him and admitting that he did not want to live the way he had been living anymore. Something happened on the inside of him that he could not explain. He had experienced religion before but now he experienced the Holy Spirit. He was flooded with joy and peace. A moment later, while clearing the gun, the shot fired. He knew that God had miraculously spared his life. He finally found freedom and a new identity. He now has a new purpose and new desires and wants to follow God full time. He is remarried and involved in ministry encouraging others to find their peace, purpose and identity as a child of God through Jesus Christ. 
    It’s nice to feel a sense of control, to make every effort to protect yourself from hurt, pain and tragedy. Unfortunately, our efforts to protect ourselves don’t always quite work out the way we might expect. Jamie’s desperate need for control was born out of the hurt from his parents’ abandonment.  He needed to protect himself from the trauma that that had caused. Sadly, instead, he only made things worse. It was only when he allowed God to take control that he could experience peace and joy. It’s the same with us. When we relinquish control to God, the stress and frustration of trying to do it all on our own ceases and we can be at peace knowing that Someone bigger and more capable than we are, can and will handle it. 
    I recently spoke to some students about identity. I told them that as soon as they asked Jesus to come into their life, the Holy Spirit would come in and they would now have a new identity in Christ. They would belong to God and have the privilege of going to Him whenever they needed to. 
    It is indeed a privilege to belong to the One true and living God. According to  Ephesians Chapter One, being His child means that, among other things, we are forgiven and redeemed (v.7), adopted (v.5), sealed with His Holy Spirit (v. 13b) . In short, we are covered. 
    So, no matter what comes your way, you have a heavenly Daddy who will take care of you and protect you from all harm and evil. He may not stop negatives from coming your way, but He will certainly ensure that they do not have the final say in your life.
    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 you to belong to Him because He has such a beautiful plan and purpose for your life. He doesn’t want you to be stressed with trying to control it all but to leave the control to Him so that you can enjoy His very best for you. ​

    Phillip became a bodybuilder from the age of thirteen. He valued strength and was always trying to get bigger. He used many supplement drinks but these damaged his liver. On top of that, a tattoo needle made things worse. Doctors  did blood tests and discovered that the needle had Hepatitis C in it. He had liver cancer and would need a liver transplant. On hearing this news, he attempted to break up with his girlfriend. He did not want to drag her through his ordeal. But, she knew how to turn to God in prayer and did not give up on him. They finally exchanged vows. He had the prayer support he needed. 
    When a liver was found, he told God that if things went wrong, he would come to Him. He flatlined on the operating table because of complications. He had a supernatural experience with God and God told him that it was not his time, he had to go back, he was going to be okay. It took three and a half minutes to resuscitate him. The operation went on to be a success and he lived a normal life for thirteen years.              One day, however, he felt a shooting pain while playing basketball. It was discovered that his liver was failing. Doctors would have to remove and replace, however, not just his liver this time, but his kidney, his pancreas and his upper and lower intestines. He cried out to God wanting to know if this was it for him. God reminded him that he had died for three and a half minutes. He had not left him then, He was certainly not going to leave him now. He felt a calm come over him. He felt confident that God was going to do it for him again. 
    When a donor was found, his wife rallied prayer support for him. It took two surgeries over two days to transplant the five organs. After the surgeries, Phillip was up and about in a matter of days, something that was uncommon for patients who had undergone this type of surgery. He felt healthier and happier than ever before. He now takes opportunities to tell others how God and the power of prayer saved his life. 
    One of the encouraging things about this testimony is the fact that even when it seemed like it was over for Phillip, God stepped in and came through for him. When he died during the first operation, God came through for him and let him know that it was not over for him. Sometimes, as we go through challenges, we may feel as if it’s over. We may not feel motivated to get back up and go again but, that might be a good time to ask God His opinion on it. You see, what may seem like the end to us, may not be in God’s eyes. What looks like a full stop to us may in fact be a comma to God. God still has the final say.
    When Jairus’ daughter died, it looked like the end to everyone … except Jesus. He told her father: “Don’t be afraid, only believe.” That must not have made any sense since all could see that she had died. But Jesus still had the final say and He had decided that she should live … and she did (Mark 5:21-43).
    The other thing that caught my attention was the fact that after thirteen years of living a normal, healthy life, the problem returned but worse than before - it was no longer one organ in jeopardy but five! It can be discouraging when you think a problem is resolved only to have it return and to be worse than before. You wonder where God is in the midst of all of this. Yet, God never allows anything that He can’t handle. If we did not have to handle it ourselves the first time, we still don’t have to handle it a second time or thereafter. God is still and will still be God no matter what comes our way or how many times it comes our way! What I love about God is the reality that, if He did it before, He will do it again. God is not a one-time God. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
    So, be encouraged today. No matter how challenging the problem may be, God is able. He just wants us to trust Him; to trust that He is able and that He is not intimidated by any problem. He is not intimidated even if it presents itself again. What He will prove to us is that if He brought us through before, He can and will certainly bring us through again. We serve a powerful God!
    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 be God no matter what comes your way, no matter how many times it comes your way. If He fights for you once, He will fight for you again and again. He is faithful.​

    James was in jeopardy of losing the gift and talent the Lord had given him. He had developed and was enjoying a blossoming career as a voice actor when one day, he woke up and discovered that he had no voice. He and his wife found out that they had black mould in their new home. Blood tests revealed six different types of mould in his bloodstream, one of which was a very dangerous mould. He had been experiencing brain fog and memory loss along with a failing voice. He remembers the day he went to the doctor and was told he had to stop speaking. He prayed, “God please don’t let this be the worst day of my life.”
    James underwent extensive therapy to regain his voice. He went to different doctors who wanted to put him on various types of medication but warned him that his voice might not be as good as before. He decided to take a very pro-active and holistic approach. He changed his diet, his exercise and the way he lived, in an attempt to cleanse his system of the mould. He acknowledged that he had been given a wonderful gift from God but he had not been doing it right. God needed to correct that, even by using what was shocking to his system. However, he was able to retrain his voice to be stronger than it was before. 
    One day, while going through the paper work for the adoption, an interesting detail caught his attention. It turns out that the day he received the news from the doctor about his voice, was the exact same day the little girl they were adopting was born. God had turned things around. He turned the worst day of his life into his best day! God was showing Him that He was always listening and that the things we might think are our hardest journeys are really to build us up and make us stronger for the next journey. He is now enjoying using his voice to share the love of Jesus.
    I am encouraged by this story because we see a man in danger of losing the gift God has given him. Some of us can probably relate to this story. God has blessed you with the ability to do great things for Him and you know it. Yet, challenges, obstacles are coming your way to sabotage, even abort, God’s plan and purpose for your life. It can be discouraging as you wonder if you will ever make it through this season, if you will ever be able to accomplish God’s purpose for your life. 
    I always come back to David’s life. He had been anointed to be the new king of Israel, yet challenges and obstacles way bigger than him, consistently presented themselves, bent on preventing him from doing what he had been anointed to do. He faced rejection, betrayal and even death. He must have wondered many times if he would ever make it. But God…! David learned to lean heavily on God during his trying times and seasons. Sometimes I think God was His only true support and strength. James and his wife must have felt that way at times. They learned to lean on God heavily, relying on Him to get them through that season. God expects the same of us. When our backs are against the wall, God and God alone will help us to make it. 
    I like the fact that James admits that his voice became stronger than it was before. It’s an interesting thing when the trial that we go through makes us stronger than we were before the trial took place. God has an amazing way of bringing us out better than before. It’s as if the gift and talent God gave James, God refined and perfected in the fires of adversity. That’s the kind of thing God does. As James himself realised, tough journeys make us stronger for the next journey or battle that comes our way. I have realised that nothing that we go through is in vain. God uses it all, both good and bad to bring about good in our lives and to enhance this life He has given us. Only God! So, as you go through your challenge today, remember that God is able to and will use it for good!
    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 in the habit of taking away the gifts and talents He has given us … even when challenges come our way. He is well able to perfect that which concerns us as He helps us fulfil His plan and purpose for our lives.