Tag: God’s will

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God’s Got You!

The Manna Chef

God’s got you!  Look, I know that is not grammatically correct, but I need you to really understand that today:  God’s got you right where you are!

God has been speaking to me about supernatural provision and His ability to take care of His children.  Surprisingly, He didn’t send me to Exodus with Moses and the children of Israel or to Elijah and the widow in 1 Kings.  He sent me to a passage that seemed odd at first, and I wondered, “What does this have to do with what You have given me, Lord?” 

But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples.  Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss.  But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!”  And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear.

But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.  Luke 22:47-51(NLT)

First of all, let me give you some context here.  This passage describes for us the moment Jesus is betrayed and arrested.  Judas, one of Jesus’ own disciples, led a crowd that included soldiers and temple guards to capture Him.  They carried blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons as they arrived at the olive grove looking for Jesus.  Judas walked over to Jesus and kissed Him to identify the Man they were seeking, and chaos ensued.  The disciples were ready to throw down to defend Jesus.  Peter even drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant, Malchus.  But Jesus shut it all down, and He healed the man’s ear.  He didn’t condemn the soldiers.  He didn’t yell at Judas.  He didn’t run away.  Before willingly allowing the soldiers to take Him, He performed a miracle and healed Malchus—a man who was there with the crowd to arrest Him.  Even when it seemed as if the enemy was winning, Jesus stopped everything and showed us Who He really is. 

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Stuck in the Mud

The Manna Chef

Have you ever experienced a time when you couldn’t seem to move forward? You prayed, fasted, studied the Word, heard from God, believed what He said, but you still couldn’t seem to move, even a step, forward? And I’m not talking about the waiting period before the promises of God will manifest, which is its own battle. I mean that moment when you wonder, “Is there a disconnect, because I heard clearly from God and still seem to just be stuck right here?”

I have experienced moments when I have been bombarded with so many thoughts, ideas, and plans that I didn’t know where to even begin. And that state of inactivity when I was trying to figure it all out caused me to become frustrated. First of all, I didn’t need to waste the time trying to figure everything out. I just needed to follow the steps that God had already ordered for my life. But I’m me, so I spent a great deal of time trying to figure things out, and that caused me to become discouraged. I had heard clearly from God, and what He revealed was going to be a blessing for His people. I received His word and believed it wholeheartedly, but for some reason, I couldn’t seem to act on what He said. And this wasn’t a timing issue (as in Eccl. 3:1-8); it was a matter of position. I was stuck.

I studied more, prayed more, and really sought God—but still there was no movement. I was just stuck in the mud. I had an awesome plan from an Awesome God, and I was stuck in the mud. I had a willing spirit with an available heart, and I was stuck in the mud. Yes, I was a true believer of the Most High God, and I was still just stuck right there in the mud. It actually caused me a great deal of despair.

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Sometimes the Answer is No

The Manna Chef

We think of God as a genie who functions by giving us all that we desire.  We have goals and dreams, and we tell God how we want Him to move in our lives. However, God doesn’t operate that way, and it’s important for us to understand that sometimes the answer to our requests before God is “no.”

Think about times you felt that something was God’s plan for your life, but then it is stopped and God reveals, “That is not My plan.  It’s a great idea, but not My plan for you.”

That’s hard to hear, especially when you really believe the plan is a good one that will benefit the Kingdom of God.

David was a king.  He was a musician, a writer, a psalmist, a praiser, but he was also a man of war. 

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Immediately vs. Eventually

The Manna Chef

It is important for the children of God to learn to move when God instructs us to do so.   Our blessings are awaiting our arrival!

(2 Kings 5:1-13)

There was a commander of the army of the king of Aram, and his name was Naaman.  He was a great man, highly regarded because he had been victorious in battle.  He was a brave soldier, but he had leprosy. 

  • Even when others perceive us to be great, we are flawed individuals who are dependent on the One true and living God.

There was a young girl who’d been taken captive from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife.  One day she said to Naaman’s wife, “If only he would go to see the prophet in Samaria, he would be cured.”

  • God places people strategically in our paths to lead us to where we need to be.  It’s important to be obedient to the Spirit of God and to treat others with respect.  You may be carrying the key to someone’s deliverance in your mouth (and they may be carrying yours).

Naaman told the king what the young girl had said and the king told him to go.  He said, “I will send a letter with you to the king of Israel.”

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