God calms the overwhelmed

In Psalm 55, it starts with a constant plea for help, a reminder to God to both listen and answer our prayers.

Troubles come from all sides, in both verbal and physical threats.  It wears on one's mind.  It becomes unbearable.  It becomes overwhelming.  Like the wings from a dove, we wish to fly far, far away to the solitude of the wilderness.

With the Lord on your side, He confuses them, frustrates their plans.  Everything for our enemies falls apart, all thanks to God.

Even though our enemies are plentiful, one should always be careful and mindful for those closest to us, for they can betray us if their heart grows wicked with evil.

The Lord will always rescue us and keep us safe.  He will wage war against our enemies.

In verse 22, it says, "Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you."  I have repeated this myself for many years and it is spelled out perfectly in this Psalm.  Whatever is troubling you, give it over to Him and He will take care of you.

God before people

In the book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 20, Jehoshaphat found himself in the midst of several armies declaring war against him.  The numbers of his enemies were vast and it terrified him.

Immediately, Jehoshaphat begged the Lord for guidance.  To up the ante, he ordered everyone in Judah be begin fasting and seeking the Lord for His help.

He then stood in front of the Lord's Temple and prayed.  This prayer, from verse 6 through 12, is worth reading in its entirety.  First, he acknowledges God and His Divine Nature.  Next, he acknowledges God's actions toward His people before they arrives in Israel along with the promises He made.  After this he pleads for His help against the mighty armies, stating they are powerless without Him.

The Spirit of the Lord spoke through one of his people.  The Lord told him not to be afraid, not to be discouraged.  He ordered them to stand next to the valley the following morning and watch the Lord's victory.

They did as they were told.

Soon, their enemies started fighting among themselves until they were all dead.

In the face of what appeared to be sudden defeat, Jehoshaphat sought out the Lord before others.  In other words, God before people.

When you are faced with adversity, whom to do seek first?  Let it be the Lord.

For the past six months, my wife has been battling one medical complication after another.  First and foremost, I pray to God.  I pray that He will guide the doctor's and nurse's hands, head, and heart for healing.

If this type of trust is new to you, start today.  Put your complete trust in God before anyone else.  You'll be amazed at what He can do.

The proper way to judge others

In the 19th chapter from the book of 2 Chronicles, it starts with King Jehoshaphat of Judah returning home safely from battle with King Ahab against Syria.  One of his prophets met him and asked why he helped the wicked, why he loved those who hated God.  The Lord was angry with him.  However, he sought to commit himself to the Lord and even removed much of the pagan idols from the land.

If you'll remember from the previous chapter, Jehoshaphat was tricked into battle with Ahab through evil intentions.  But Jehoshaphat saw the error of his ways, cried out to the Lord, and God saved him.

Recently, my son did something rather stupid.  It could have ended much more dangerous, but by the grace of God the damage was minor.  I am reminded of my own reaction when I confronted him when I read the first three verses to chapter 19.  I strongly advised him what he did was wrong, and that it could have ended much worse.

Then we embraced.  I forgave him.

In the remainder of chapter 19, the Judah king appointed judges across the land.  His advice was simple: do not judge those to please people; judge those to please God.  Judge with integrity.  Always act with the fear of the Lord.  Take all emotions out when rendering judgement.  Seek out the Lord for the proper punishment.

The Lord's Might

Psalm 54 starts out with a plea to God, to rescue one, to defend them with all of His might.

The Lord is mighty.  Even against those who don't care for God, who attack those who do and try to kill them, they are no match for God's might.

God helps.  He keeps those who believe in Him alive.

God has made promises to His people.  He will never abandon you.

Praise the Lord in His name.  He will rescue you from all of your troubles.

When seeking wisdom, be sure of motives

Continuing on in the book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 17, Asa's son Jehoshaphat became the next king of Judah.  He followed the example of his father's early years by ridding his cities from all images of false idols and ordering everyone to follow God's Commandments.

His strength grew over time as no one wanted to war with Jehoshaphat.  Neighboring countries brought tributes to him and he stored up supplies.  His army became massive.  It is interesting to note that the number of troops, along with who led them, was listed in this chapter.  One such commander was Amasiah, whom it was stated that he volunteered for the Lord's service and led 200,000 troops.  No other commanders were noted as having volunteered.  Just Amasiah.

As we move into chapter 18, Jehoshaphat made an alliance with the king of Israel, Ahab.  They feasted to celebrate this alliance, this joining of forces, and then Ahab asked if he wanted to help conquer Ramoth-gilead.

Jehoshaphat agreed, but only after consulting with the Lord.

Ahab brought 400 prophets and asked if they should war with Ramoth-gilead.  All agreed.  But something must've felt off for Jehoshaphat because he asked if there was a prophet of the Lord present.  Ahab was reluctant, stating Micaiah was the Lord's prophet and always seemed to disagree with Ahab.  Micaiah was summoned, and even after knowing all the other prophets gave advice toward war, he stated he would only state what God wished.

As predicted, Micaiah advised against war.  You see, the spirit of the Lord told him that the Lord had placed a lying spirit into the mouths of the other prophets.  Micaiah was then arrested and imprisoned.  War against Ramoth-gilead was had, in which Ahab was trying to trick Jehoshaphat.  Ahab dressed as a common soldier.  When Jehoshaphat saw the army advancing toward him--and right for him!--he cried out to the Lord.  And He protected him.

And wouldn't you know it, a stray arrow struck Ahab.  He died that evening.

Jehoshaphat was wise to question the motives of both Ahab and his so-called prophets.  Even though it isn't spelled out in the Scriptures, but he must've had a feeling that something wasn't quite right.  When seeking counsel, pray to the Lord and He will present the right wisdom for you.

Inner Peace

In 2011, my wife was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.  It involved an immediate need to seek treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

She spent most of that year at Mayo, between the Clinic and their temporary residence at the Hope Lodge with her brother, who took the year off from college as I had to work.  By August, she was declared cancer free and to solidify the odds of it not recurring, we prayed and concluded to have a bone marrow transplant.

On September 1st, she had a bone marrow transplant--her donor was a young man from Germany, although to this day we do not know who he is in order to thank him for his Godly donation.  It was successful, however she had complications through graft vs. host.  Like the trooper that she was, she charged forward with great courage.  By October, she developed vision problems, which has increasingly grown worse as the years go on.

Earlier this year, we noticed subtle changes in her behavior.  She has always required a good deal of rest, but it seemed to be worse than before.  My wife and I would cherish the few times we'd be able to go to a movie (the last one was I Can Only Imagine which is one of her favorite songs).  In order to get her places, I'd have to do the "prom walk" with her.  Most nights, we'd watch a few minutes of the local news and then turn it to the 700 Club.  We cherished the positive messages about the Lord as we held hands, and always bowed our heads in prayer when they did.

On May 19, we knew something was seriously wrong.  She was confused on where she was, the time, and even had troubles walking.  We brought her to the doctor the next morning, where they discovered high levels of ammonia from hepatic encephalopathy.  Her liver was starting to fail and was immediately put on medications to assist with this.

Fast forward to the evening of August 24.  By this point, she had already endured three hospital stays and had spent a little over a week at a rehab facility to get her strength back up to near normal.  But things weren't.  On the 24th of August, it was decided to bring her into the ER as the level of confusion was worsening and her ability to walk was minimal.  Since that day, she has not been home since.  She just finished with her 7th hospital stay--a 2-week stay, which has been her longest so far--and is now back at a nursing home facility.

At the beginning of this last hospital stay, a palliative care doctor contacted us.  We knew things were going downhill fast.  How much time did she have left?  But we all knew she was in God's Hands.  One of my wife's favorite poems is Footprints In The Sand.  Even in her confused state, she knows that these are the days where Christ Jesus is carrying her, cradling her in His arms.

What the future holds for her, we don't know.  Will she ever get well enough to get home?  Will she make it through this Thanksgiving and Christmas season?  Or the next?  She has her good days and bad days.  But even in these troubling times, there is an inner peace that comes from knowing God has a plan for our lives and we must give our complete trust to Him.

As troubles come to you, take a moment and read Scriptures from the Bible.  Read devotionals.  Sit and pray.  Give your life fully to Him.

I have.  And God has given me an inner peace.  If my wife passes, I know it won't be easy on me, our three kids, her parents, her sister and brother, her relatives and friends.  But knowing God has a Divine Plan, I trust in Him that our Heavenly Father knows best.

Putting your full trust in the Lord

In the book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 16, we read about king Asa in his final years.

An army invaded Judah, fortifying it in order to prevent anyone from leaving or entering Asa's territory.  In response, Asa removed hordes of gold and silver from the Lord's Temple and gave it to the king of Syria, pleading for a treaty in exchange for protection.  The Syrian king agreed and conquered the army that had invaded Judah.

King Asa then took the fortifications and used them to build up his own cities.  It was then that the Spirit of the Lord came to one of the king's seers and told him how displeased God was for placing his trust in the Syrian king instead of the Lord Himself.  He told Asa what a fool he had been and that he will now be at war.

Asa grew enraged, threw him in prison, and then began to oppress some of his people.  In the end, he developed a severe foot disease.  Instead of placing his trust in the Lord, he trusted only his physicians and soon died.

Whom do you put your full trust into?  It's easy to get short-sighted when things go bad.  Over these past six months, my wife has suffered a severe medical complications over and over again, brought about by a failing liver and anemia.  She is currently in her seventh hospital stay since May 2019, and when she isn't in the hospital she resides in a nursing facility for PT and OT rehab.  Even in the past week, we thought we came close to losing her.  But we have put our faith and trust in God.  We do see some improvements, but we also know she is in God's Hands.

The other day, a co-worker asked me how I could function at my daily tasks, knowing what my wife is going through.  I told him that because my faith and trust is in the Lord, He has given me peace in my heart and soul.  I have still shed many tears over what may come, but at the same time I will know she will no longer be in pain and will be standing in the Lord's presence.

Look up MercyMe's hit song "I Can Only Imagine."  Listen to the words.  Take them to heart.  And be at peace at what the Lord provides for us now and also when we enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Spreading His Message to new lands

In the book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 15, the Holy Spirit came to the prophet Azariah.  He announced to King Asa and the people of Judah and Benjamin (lands recently conquered by Asa) to follow the Lord and never abandon Him.  He preached the words God gave him, telling them that God helped to destroy His people's enemies.

Asa then removed all of the idols from the newly conquered cities as he had done with his own cities long before.  This way, no one would be tempted to worship the false gods and anger the One God.  Asa also scarified 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep and goats from the plunger in their battle.  They solidified their covenant with the Lord and all of the people were happy.

Asa even confiscated his grandmother's obscene Asherah pole and destroyed it.  Nothing was left behind.

How fools view God

Psalm 53 starts out by declaring that only fools say there is no God.

Fools are nothing but evil and corrupt in their ways.  Not a single one of them does any good.  Will they ever learn, to become wise and seek God?  They seem to eat up God's people like bread crumbs.

But for those who seek out the Lord, he will scatter the bones of their enemies and restore their fortunes.  Rejoice!  The Lord saves!

Treat idols like addictions and distance yourself from them

Continuing on in the book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 14, we meet the next king of Israel Asa.

Asa pleased the Lord by removing all pagan shrines and smashing all idols of false gods.  He removed them completely as to not tempt anyone to worship them.  Because of this act, as well as seeking the Lord to protect them, God kept all of their enemies away.

Asa built up the cities, fortifying them with walls and towers.  He sought out the Lord whenever he could and there was peace.  Even when an army of 1 million Ethiopian soldiers advanced on their cities, Asa cried out to the Lord and the enemy was defeated.

Everyone knows someone who is addicted to substances such as alcohol or illicit drugs.  Even sex (the immoral kind; not the sex intended between spouses).  The best thing for those with addictions is to completely distance themselves from it.  I know someone who was addicted to meth and told me that he couldn't even drive down certain streets where he used to score--he has been clean for many, many years, has a loving family, and a rewarding career.

What are your addictions?  Give yourself over to the Lord, repent your sins, and ask Him to keep those addictions away from you.  It may not be easy, but with God on your side, you're bound to win.

Reading for the sake of building numbers can be dangerous

I'm currently reading a book as a part of my daily private victory at work, and although I'm about three-quarters of the way through it, I already know I'm going to re-read it once I'm done.  There is just way too much information to absorb at once.

Then, I recalled a YouTube ad where someone had stacked up 52 books and said that great leaders are readers (they are, I'm not disputing that) and that in order to be great you needed a read a book a week.

I thought of how dangerous this was.  Not life-threatening dangerous, like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute or trying to catch a bullet your teeth or walking a highwire when I haven't put in thousands of hours of practice.  But dangerous when it comes to simply recalling information or putting it to good use.

In the past three months, I've been diligent on my daily private victory (see the link above for the YouTube video for more info) and putting in 30 minutes of nonfiction reading five days a week.  So far I've read a book every 1-2 weeks, and some I've even read more than once in a week just because I needed to absorb more information than during the first read--these books were quick reads to begin with, in order for me to read them so fast, as I am normally a slow reader.

It's good to read (nonfiction as well as fiction) but don't sacrifice your time by reading just to check off a task.  Take your time.  Absorb the information.  See how it applies to your life, if necessary.  The same goes with Scripture reading.  There are courses where one is tasked with reading the entire Bible in a single year.  It can be done, but how much are you able to learn by doing so.  In many cases, I've read a verse or two in the Bible and spent the week re-reading it and reflecting on it.  Reading for me is a marathon, not a sprint.  There are far too many lessons in the Bible to quickly brush over them.