Drew, a Korean, was adopted by American military parents when he was a child. They moved often and this, along with the reality of being given up at birth, left Drew longing for a sense of identity. At the age of fourteen when his parents retired, Drew was so desperate for friends and for a sense of belonging, that he got involved with the wrong crowd. His attitude and behaviour changed. He started smoking weed, drinking and got involved in small criminal activities.
    At the age of seventeen, he left home. He turned to cocaine and he became even more involved in criminal activity. He felt invincible. He felt that people took him more seriously and respected him more because he was on this drug.
    One day, some men invaded his home, attempting to rob him, and he was shot in the face. The bullet lacerated his brain instead of going through it. When he awoke days later, he felt broken and helpless. He could not hear out of his right ear and he couldn’t open his mouth to speak. He was told that he had gotten shot at almost point blank range and that he should not be alive. A nurse was assigned to his care. Everyday, she sat by his bed and read the bible to him and prayed. He wished he could tell her to leave but he could not. She did this for ninety days. She also spent time encouraging him, letting him know that he should not be alive but that God had a plan for his life. Her consistency caused her to earn his respect and trust. She was able to make him promise, at the end of his stay in the hospital, to find a church. 
    He did, and when he went, he found what he had longed for all his life. As he wept, he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour and felt a weight lift off of him. He was set free from cocaine and found a sense of identity as he immersed himself in the bible and his church community.
    He is grateful for the second chance at life he has been given. His relationship with his parents has been restored, he is married and is a youth pastor. He is so thankful that Jesus stepped in and made Himself known to him, when he would never have even made the effort to go after Him.
    I love how Drew ends this testimony. Among other things, he is thankful that God came after him when he was not even making any effort to seek God for himself. He didn’t cry out to God. He tried to fix everything on his own but God stepped in. This is one of the things I love about God. He doesn’t always wait for us to ask for His help. He simply steps in because He knows we need Him.
    I also love the reality that God chose to give Drew another chance at life. He should have died but he did not because God had a plan for his life. When it seemed like it was over, God stepped in and showed him a life way beyond anything he could dream or ask for. I am reminded here of Jeremiah 29:11, “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.” 
    A new year has begun. You may look back over the year that has passed, and feel as if it’s over. You can’t see a new beginning, you can’t see any hope or even a future. But, the reality is, God still has a plan! It may seem like it’s the end but it’s not over. In Isaiah 43:19 God says, “Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth. Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Only God can bring good out of impossible and hopeless situations. Trust 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 not finished with you! He still has a plan; He still has a purpose for your life. Trust Him with all the good, all the bad and all the in between, and watch Him heal, restore and give you a life beyond what you could ask for or imagine.

    Angie was enjoying time with her family some days before Christmas, when she started experiencing stomach pain. She took the medication her doctor had prescribed but it had an adverse effect. Immediately, her youngest son put her in the car and took her to the hospital. On the way, she began foaming at the mouth and having seizures. She stopped breathing and her husband pulled over while her son performed CPR until the paramedics arrived. In the ambulance, she went into cardiac arrest multiple times. At the hospital, the emergency team began doing chest compressions but she kept seizing. Several times, her heart stopped beating for up to fifteen minutes. One of the emergency technicians prayed that God’s power would flow through him to help bring her back.
    While friends and family came together to pray for her, her husband, Bill, cried out to God. He reminded Him that she was a good person and that their family needed her. He begged Him not to take her. Bill felt a surge of energy and knew that she was going to be okay. After a few hours, her pulse became steady but doctors warned Bill that she might have severe brain damage and might never be the same. In spite of the news, Bill kept praising God. He chose not to give in to doubt. The technician who had prayed while attending to her, met Bill and Bill hugged and thanked him. He told him not to thank him, but to thank God for what He was getting ready to do. Her family and friends continued to pray with expectation. On the sixth day, she was awakened from her medically induced coma and taken off the ventilator. She was asked a number of questions and was able to correctly answer every one of them. Doctors were shocked. Medical staff called her the Christmas miracle. She continued to recover and eleven days after her ordeal, on Christmas Eve, she was released from the hospital, with no long-term health issues. In fact, she feels better than she did before.
    She thanks God for giving her a second chance. She understands the danger she could have been in because of going without a heartbeat for so long. She gives all the glory to God and encourages everyone to pray no matter how bad the situation might be because she believes that prayer saved her. 
    I am encouraged by this story. What gets my attention is the faith displayed by those who prayed. Angie’s husband received a negative prognosis about his wife but chose to continue praising God. God had given him an assurance and he refused to let any bad news shake his faith in his God. Her family continued praying with expectation, believing that God was going to come through for her. Even the technician working on her in the emergency room encouraged her husband to thank God for what He was about to do. All of this happened before anyone began seeing positive results. I love the fact that, whether they realised it or not, they were all choosing to walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). 
    This is how God wants each of us to live, by faith, not by what our eyes may see. The situation may look impossible - a negative doctor’s report, a failing marriage, a lost loved one who needs salvation, financial challenges. You know the impossible situation you are facing. At the end of the day, however, as a child of God, you are also in the hands of a God who can do the impossible. Your situation may look bleak and may be way bigger than you are, but your God is many times bigger, stronger and more powerful than anything you may be facing. There is no challenge in this world and there is no demon in hell that can defeat your GOD! Philippians 2:10-11 says that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” To me that means that even that negative situation you are facing MUST bow to your God. God still has the final say (Proverbs 16:33), not the challenge, not the devil, but 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 desires to help you. He is there, an ever-present help when you need it. When you choose to pray and trust Him for the outcome, He will not disappoint you. Whatever He chooses and however He chooses to do it, will always be His best for you. Be encouraged!

    Slow down, take time
    Breathe in He said
    He'd reveal what's to come
    The thoughts in His mind
    Always higher than mine
    He'll reveal all to come
    "Take Courage" by Kristene DiMarco
    Anxiety is real. Impatience is real. Frustration is real. When you’re waiting for God to move, it can sometimes feel almost impossible to trust Him. I think we can all relate, especially when you are in those tough seasons that you desperately need to come to an end. Yet, God is never late…even if it may feel like it.
    I like to think that God knows what is going to happen even before it does and He will not allow anything that He has not equipped us to handle. The problem is, we don’t and can’t see around the corner like God. That means that we have to trust Him, the One who can see around the corner, and trust that He will take care of us no matter what lies ahead. 
    When God anointed David to be king over Israel (1 Samuel 16:11-13), David had no idea the trials and challenges that lay ahead. But, as he went through each one, he had to trust that God would still bring to pass the purpose for which He had anointed him. He didn’t know he would have to face a Goliath and so prove himself to his king and the people (1 Samuel 17); he didn’t know that that same king would pursue him relentlessly trying to kill him (1 Samuel 23:7 to 24:1-22); he did not know that he would find himself having to hide in enemy territory just to save his life (1 Samuel 27). 
    Sometimes, God gives us a promise, a Word, but we have no clue what lies between the promise and the fulfilment of that Word. That’s where trust comes in, that if God gives us a promise, all the trials and challenges in between, cannot and will not cancel out His Word to us. 
    Take courage my heart
    Stay steadfast my soul
    He's in the waiting 
    Hold onto your hope
    As your triumph unfolds
    He's never failing 
The chorus of the above song encourages us to trust God and His promise to us because while we are waiting, He is right there. We are not alone while we wait for the fulfilment of His promise to us. While David waited, he kept his eyes fixed on his God. He trusted him through every trial and test and expected Him to come through for him. 
    However, there were times when David became distracted and God stepped in and put him back on track. In the story of his meeting with a rich man, Nabal, and his wife Abigail, David becomes angry because of Nabal’s unfair and cruel treatment of him and his men when they attempt to help him out. He vows to destroy him along with every male in his household. But, Nabal’s wife, in her wisdom, goes to David and discourages him from his mission. She reminds him of the Lord’s promise to him and that it would be unwise of him to avenge himself on her husband and his household. David listens and relents of his intent to take revenge (1 Samuel 25: 28-31). 
    Sometimes, we may become so discouraged by the negatives we are facing while we wait, that we may be tempted to make foolish decisions. Yet, God has a way of sending the right encouragement needed to get us back on track.
    And You who hold the stars
    Who call them each by name
    Will surely keep Your promise to me
    That I will rise in Your victory
The final bit of encouragement, reminds us that if God can keep the stars suspended in the sky and knows each of their names, that same God will keep His promise to you. And if He has promised to deliver you, to bring you out of that situation victoriously, then He will do exactly that. God is still watching over His Word to perform it. He does not make idle promises. He keeps His promises. Period.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. When you choose to serve God, you are choosing to serve a God who keeps His Word. He does not forget, He does not change His mind but makes a choice to fulfil His promise. We can trust Him to keep us while we wait for the fulfilment of His Word. We can trust Him, especially when challenges come to prevent His Word from coming to pass. He is watching over His Word to perform it and will ensure that what He says will come to pass. So, be encouraged.

    There is a song sung by Dunsin Oyekan entitled, “Undignified (Excuse Me).” The title in no way appears to be about worship, but it is. It is in fact a song about thanksgiving and giving crazy praise to God for what He has done. And, here is the reason why:
    Many battles, many struggles
    But God has been there for me
    Fighting for me, winning for me
    He has never lost a fight.
It can be so easy to focus on the battles and struggles and how numerous they are. However, the verse isn’t about the challenges, but about the fact that God has come through for the writer each time and has never lost. The reality is, many times we focus on the battles and as new ones appear, we feel defeated. We don’t feel very thankful. In fact, we may feel bitter and discouraged. Yet, the song writer, by inserting the word “but” after the first line, immediately shifts our focus to God, the One who fights for us and always wins! At the end of the day, it’s not about the battles we face but about the God who is not fazed or intimidated by those battles and who will help us overcome each time.
    I love the pre-chorus which says:
    The number of my scars
    Are the number of my victories
    That’s why my praise
    Can never be the same as yours
Once again, the writer shifts our focus from the negative to the positive. Yes, the scars are real and are a reminder of the pain endured but, they are also an even more poignant reminder of the victories that came out of them. What the enemy meant for evil to destroy us, God turned it around for good! On top of that, it’s also a reminder that the scars may be numerous but so are the victories! In short, there is absolutely no reason not to praise God. God is to be praised in spite of and because of the difficult times we go through. Instead of allowing the difficult times to be a reminder of pain, let them remind you instead of battles fought by God and won! Let them be a reminder in the present season of trial, that the God that won the battle for you before, will certainly also  win this present battle for you!
    We finally get to the chorus where we are introduced to that seemingly contradictory word, “undignified.” 
    Excuse me if I get undignified
    You don’t know 
    Like I know what He has done for me
The chorus brings to my mind the story of king David when he danced before the Lord with all his might (2 Samuel 6:14-22). David had finally managed to successfully return the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem after some setbacks. David and all of Israel are overjoyed at the return of God’s presence to them. There is a lot of shouting and trumpet blowing, not to mention dancing. Unfortunately, his wife Michal, king Saul’s daughter, is not pleased because of the way he chooses to express his joy and admonishes him for debasing himself. David defends himself by saying: “And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight” (v.22a New King James Version) David did not care how he looked or what anyone said. He was happy to have the ark of the Lord back where it belonged and he was going to let the Lord, and everyone, know exactly how he felt!
    Like David, we need to be thankful and be willing to express it. God has been too good and too faithful to us. God has healed us, restored relationships, provided what we needed, protected us, and blessed us in numerous ways. God has been faithful and instead of focusing on the problem, let’s choose to remember all that He has done and is still doing for us. God does not get tired of helping us. He loves us too much. We should not become weary in giving thanks to Him whenever we can.
    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 good. In spite of all we have been through, God is good and continues to be good. Let’s be grateful to a God who works hard on our behalf and who never fails us.

    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!