SETBACKS OR SET UPS

Psalm 100:5 NIV For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Our circumstances may change from day to day, but thankfully our God does not. We need to always be reminding ourselves of that otherwise we might be tempted to listen to the enemy’s doubts and fears because of things that happen!

Sometimes we have what looks like setbacks but in God’s hands they become setups for Him to show up in a greater way in our lives. Joseph was a great example of constant setbacks in his life which seemed so unfair and would have messed most people up, but he remained faithful to God even when he was rejected by family, sold as a slave and later put in prison for something he didn’t do. The hardships and humiliation he must have endured can only be imagined but his God constantly showed him favour even in the worst of circumstances.

We read how the favour of God was on him and we read the same thing about us, that the favour of God is on us because of Jesus, even in our setbacks. It’s because God always has the last word if we keep our trust and focus on Him. When we say, “I don’t understand why these things have happened, but I trust you Lord”, we are opening ourselves up for Him to set us up for restoration and blessing.😊

So be encouraged today to know that when God is turning things around, which He has promised to do,  it’s always for our good, and we can rest in that truth whether it’s the middle of a dark night when we can’t sleep, or we’re in the thick of a difficult day.

God is a good God and He is faithful to us because He loves us beyond measure and nothing can change that wonderful truth. Thank You Lord. Amen.😊

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

WELL STIRRED

2 Timothy 1:6-7 NKJV Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Every Christmas around this time of year we had a tradition of making our own cake and then each member of the family would help to stir up the mixture to make sure it was well and truly stirred. Happy days!😊

The Apostle Paul in this verse though is talking to Timothy and reminding him to stir up the gift that was in him and I used to think it meant a particular gift he had been given but discovered the Greek says, to stir up the ‘grace’ of God. 

In 1 Timothy 4:14 he uses the same word for gift which is also the ‘grace’ of God. We’re also being told to stir up the grace of God inside us.😊

We have all been given the grace of God in order for us to be saved and we need it every day of our lives to walk in all God is wanting to give us. We know His grace is undeserved favour, it’s all of God’s riches given to us because of Jesus’ sacrifice, and we can’t do anything to earn it but we receive it by faith. Romans 5:17 (NKJV) reminds us that those who receive the abundance of His grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life. I think we’d all like to do that, don’t you?😊

Now we may, or may not have received the laying on of hands but we have all been given His grace and one of the benefits of His grace is knowing God has not given us a spirit of fear, but He did give us His spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind, but we have to receive it all by faith. We accept it as an accomplished fact. It’s ours, it’s yours and it’s in abundance. The enemy will try to tell us differently but we don’t have to listen to him any more. Jesus set us free from his lies and tyranny of fear.

So, I’m here today to encourage you to stir up the gift of grace, of God’s favour, in your life. Declare it out loud to yourself wherever you are throughout the day, grab a hold of it, and start stirring yourself up knowing it is a gift of God already placed in you.😊

We have it, so we can put it to work and agree with God’s word that we are a child of God saved by grace through faith; we refuse the spirit of fear and we stir up the grace of power, of love and a sound mind already inside of us. It’s all ours in Jesus name. Thank You Lord. Amen.

Photo: Annie Spratt on Unsplash