Stories that Stir Your Spirit
We all want to conquer the challenges we face in life. These 5 tips from the Bible will help you be an overcomer.
The Bible is the #1 top selling book of all time for a reason. (According to AllTopEverything.com, the Bible has sold 5 billion copies.) The Bible is God’s love letter to us. Among the 66 books of the Bible, one of the many things we find is advice for daily living.
Let’s take a look at one tidbit.
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Last month I wrote about honoring God and how I had failed to do that. Immediately following He began to speak to me about the spiritual seeds I’ve sown.
My initial thought was to read Haggai, but the specific verses running through my mind were Habakkuk 3:17–19. “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights” (NLT).
That day I was feeling like I was there in that barren land. But no matter how fruitless things look in my life, the Lord is my shepherd, and He will take care of me in every way.
After reading those verses in Habakkuk, I still felt led to read Haggai. So I did.
Wow! It fell right in line with the verses from Habakkuk. My harvest has felt exactly like what was described in 2:14–17, falling far short of expectations. The Israelites weren’t planting spiritual seeds, but their spiritual lives were a mess. They had turned away from God. Consequently, their physical harvest fell short.
As I read further, the Lord quickened verse 19, “I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you” (NLT). This answers the dire circumstances of Hab. 3:17–19. No matter how it looks, God takes care of us.
When we plant corn seeds, we expect corn. If we plant pumpkin seeds, we expect pumpkins. Our spiritual seeds work the same. If you need a new job, ask the Lord. Give an offering at church as a seed for that new job. “Jesus, I give this offering as my seed for a new job.” Then trust and activate your faith for the Lord to answer that prayer and grow that seed.
“For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? (Luke 11:10–11 NLT). If you ask for provision to pay the rent, God is not going to make your refrigerator break down. Are you praying for good yet expecting God to bring bad?
A seed contains all that’s needed to create the plant. We do not make it grow; we merely plant it. God makes it grow (1 Cor. 3:6–9). We nurture the seed by watering it, fertilizing it if needed, and pulling the weeds out around it. We nurture our spiritual seeds by standing in faith and proclaiming the verses God has given us that relate to our seed.
“For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous” (2 Cor. 9:10–11a NLT).
Plant your seeds and expect your harvest.
As a follow-up to last month’s post, I’d like to share another revelation moment the Lord brought me shortly after the one I shared last month.
I’ve been a born-again Christian since 1980. I’ve been in the habit of daily Bible reading for a long time. Therefore, during my quiet time, the Lord will often prompt me with specific Bible verses as I seek Him and His answers to my prayers.
One particular morning, I was very frustrated with the level of my books sales. (Few authors earn enough in royalties to pay the bills.) Though I’m fully persuaded in God’s healing power for my life, I admit, I struggle in the persuasion department with His provision for my life. It’s not a question of “can He,” so much as it’s a question of “does He want to provide for me?”
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When I begin my daily Bible reading, I ask God to show me His truths, to open the eyes of my understanding that I might comprehend the Scriptures (Luke 22:45). I want to know Him more. And He is faithful to answer that prayer.
Recently, I’ve been rereading Exodus. I have always wondered how the Israelites could continually doubt God’s ability and provision when they experienced such amazing miracles.
Admittedly, at one point in my life I realized I wasn’t any different. No matter how often God answered my prayers, I would doubt Him the next time a need arose. But I also reasoned, what He did in my life certainly did not have the awe-inspiring element of the ten plagues and deliverance in the wilderness that they experienced.
[Read more…] about Today I Choose to Believe
Last month I looked at some of the subtle lies Satan plants in our hearts without us even knowing it. In actuality, I’m on a cleaning binge. I’m working to clean out the lies I have unwittingly embraced and that have kept me from enjoying the abundant life Jesus promised.
A lie I’d like to peel apart today is “If only one person is changed by _____________, then it was worth it.” You fill in the blank. Changed by:
What would be on your list?
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“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV).
When I was a kid, my parents paid me a determined amount for each A and B I earned on my report card. They saw this payment as a reward for my hard work, but it also motivated me to continue to make those good grades.
My parents were teaching me how the world works. I learned hard work has its rewards, and they weren’t all attached to dollar signs.
But some 20 years later in the 1980s, when I was doing the same for my own children, the popular thought became that this payment was bribery and not healthy for our children. Their (the leading child psychologists of the day, I suppose) contention was that children should earn those grades simply out of their own desire.
But let me ask you, would you work 40 hours a week for a company merely because you desired to work for that company? The obvious answer is no. And you’re probably saying that’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. But is the wage you earn from that company not a motivation for your work?
[Read more…] about Expect God to Fulfill His Promises