In search of God

Judges 16: 16-20 16  And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him,  so  that his soul was vexed to death,  17  that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I  have been  a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any  other  man.” 18  When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.  19  Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, [ a ]  and his strength left him.  20  And she said, “The Philistines  are  upon you, Samson!” So he awoke ...

James 1:12, 'Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.' When we are born again and surrender our life to Christ, there is a struggle between the soul that wishes to please the self and the Spirit of God deposited within us that wishes to please God. The Devil through trials, tries to cause us to loose faith in God, to remove our trust in Him who conquers all and to trust ourselves. But those that love Him are called to stand firm, never loosing heart but trusting in Him who is the author and perfecter of our faith that He is faithful and will complete the work He has began in us. Jesus tells us in John 14:23 that we display our love for Him by living in obedience to Him, keeping His teachings that will lead us to life eternal that He gave unto us through His amazing grace at the cross. So despite all the enemy, who steals, robs and kills, might bring your w...

Job 53:15-21, ‘But those who suffer He delivers in their suffering; He speaks to them in their suffering. He is wooing you from the joys of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food. But now you are laden with the judgment due to the wicked; judgment and justice have taken hold of you. Be careful that no one entices you by riches; do not let a large bribe turn you aside. Would your wealth or even all your mighty effort sustain you so you would not be in distress? Do not long for the night, to drag people away from their homes. Beware of turning to evil which you seem to prefer to affliction.’ Suffering causes discomfort to us and we try as much as possible to avoid it. But we should not despair when faced with suffering because suffering brings perseverance and perseverance builds hope and hope gives us joy in the Lord Jesus Christ that though we suffer now, it is only for a short while and our reward awaits us, those that ...

Job 34:2-9, ‘Hear my words you wise men; listen to me, you men of learning. For the ears tests words as the tongue tastes food. Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good. Job says, “I am innocent, but God denies me justice. Although I am right, I am considered a liar; although I am guiltless, his arrows inflicts an incurable wound.” What man is like job, who drinks scorn like water? He who keeps company with evildoers; he associates with wicked men. For he says, “It profits a man nothing when he tries to please God.” Most of us think that we are generally good people, we go to church on Sunday, we pay our tithes, we support charity, are kind to others, do good and therefore believe that this should automatically give us a pass to heaven. But when most of us are faced with persistent hardships and trials, injustice, persecution and challenges, we tend to start grumbling, complaining to God that we do not deserve what we are going through and that He...

Psalm 27:13,14, ‘I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.’ We are by nature impatient expecting what we want when we want it, but God in His divine wisdom, having seen the beginning from the end knows what is good for us and when it is good for us. Therefore our time might not be God’s time. For some of us, we allow doubts and worry to creep into our minds, making us sad and miserable. We stop believing in the promises we have received from God and then try to make it on our own, do things our own way, often leading to pain and suffering. Abraham and Sarah had to wait for years to receive the promised son, but somewhere down the line, they got tired and tried to do things their own way that brought suffering for them. Let us learn to be patient and faithfully wait for God to fulfill His promises to us.

Habakkuk 3:17,18, ‘Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crops fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. Our current circumstances might be dire, we might be facing imminent death, destruction might be upon us but at that moment, we should not be overcome by fear or despair but we should rejoice in the Lord. Why? Because He lives and He is our Savior and it does not matter what the situation is, He is going to save us. When the world seems to against you, your friends betray you; your enemies surround you, rejoice in God, shout and sing songs of praise. Do not allow yourself to cower into a corner in despair and self pity but rejoice in the Lord for your salvation is at hand. Just like Paul and Silas who were in prison in chains, in pain, when they rejoiced in the Lord, their chains fell off, the chief ja...

Habakkuk 3:16, ‘I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. It takes great trust to patiently wait for a disaster that is fast approaching us when the Lord asks us to but this is what we ought to do in the face of trouble. We need to cast our cares upon him, place our hopes in Him, even when we are overrun by fear of death, and trust in Him that we shall overcome and get to see the end of the calamity facing us. We should face our problems not only when we are courageous but even when in fear, our knees trembling, our heart pounding, and our instincts telling us to run because we are not alone and trust in Him just like Joseph and He will bless us with His Grace no matter our current circumstances

Habakkuk 3:2, ‘Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. Often when we are faced with tough times, trials and tribulations of this world, we feel forsaken by God lamenting and crying out to Him, asking why He has forgotten us. We focus so much on the current crisis and the darkness enveloping us in the pit we are in that we forget about the crisis that we had faced in the past and how the same God we are crying out as having forsaken us helped us then and lifted us out of the pit that we were in. The God we serve is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever and therefore if He has saved you once He will do it again. All we need to do is be patient and trusting. Whenever we are faced with these situations and we feel despair creeping in, remind yourself of the times past, that you have seen the saving arm of the Lord in your life. Our God is a merciful God and He will show...

Isaiah 40:31, ‘…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.’ For those of us who trust in Him, God is our source of strength for He renew us, giving us a new birth spiritually in Christ Jesus and then our heart and mind follow and then physically we are able to withstand, survive all hardships that are thrown up against us. O how I rejoice in the assurance that my hope is not in vain because He is my redeemer and my salvation.

Hebrews 12:1-3, ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you do not grow weary and lose heart.’ As believers we know that the physical realm is not the only one in the world, but there are powerful and forces, both good and bad, in the spiritual realm that are watching us live our lives as we try to accomplish the purpose and will of God for our lives. The evil one, the great deceiver Satan, tries to dissuade us, divert us, confuse us, blind us so that we may lose our way in disobedience and rebellion to God’s will and not finish the race before us. The righteou...

Hebrews 10:32-39, Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in an earlier contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. For in just a very little while, ¨He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if He shrinks back I will not be pleased with him.¨ Habakkuk 2:3,4 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe are saved.´ All who accept Jesus and His Lordship over their lives face some sort of persecu...