Learning to Trust Him

Years ago, I spent every hour I had every day to update a web site and make people who came there aware of the evil being perpetrated on our own people by our own government. I spent so much time doing it, in fact, that I lost track of what I was doing it for.

When I finally started longing for the things I was missing -- time with my family, smelling the roses, appreciating the stars in the sky, just simply taking time out to commune with God and His creation -- I gave it all up. I even gave up television and radio. I didn't want to hear the news. I didn't want to see it. I wanted relationships with real people, real things, real life. I wanted to get to know what I was fighting for.

I spent ten years doing nothing but living. During that ten years, I lived. For the first time in my life, I found myself alive. I got to know people. I learned to love the differences in people. I learned to love as God does. I owned several businesses. I worked in several different places. I travelled the 48 states. I joined a church.

At one point, I found myself homeless and learned that God was watching me, wondering how much faith I still had in Him. I never waivered. I remained positive. And, over and over again, I saw Him bless me.

I met some really great people with nothing. I met some really great people who had everything. I learned that material possessions have nothing to do with a person's character. I learned that only those who knew how to give were the ones who were really living. I learned that the ones who took without ever giving back were the ones who were most ungrateful and bitter with their lives. They were not living at all.

The whole ten years was a lesson on stewardship. In the end, I came to understand that God had given me chance after chance in this life. If I took the opportunities and used them wisely, I was blessed. If I failed to use those opportunities to work with-in His will, what little I had was taken away. My patience, my sanity, and my faith were tested over and over during this time, until I had learned well what it was He wanted me to learn.

Each time I failed, I went to the Father and inquired as to why? I sought to understand where I had gone wrong. I dug into His word, and stood tall on my knees declaring that I would not stop believing, and that I would trust Him, no matter what. I had a lot to learn.

Finally, I came to the realization of what it means when it says to completely trust in the Lord. I now understand that I can do nothing. He is really the one who does all things through me. When I take over, I fail. When I let Him take over and lead me, I succeed.

For the first time in my life, I am fearless. I know that no matter what I am going through, God will provide for all my needs according to His riches in Glory. If I have no food, somehow, He gives me food. If I am bored, somehow He stimulates my senses. If I have no clothes, somehow, He clothes me. If I am without shelter, He protects me. I have never done without, and I know now that He will never let me. All I have to do is keep trying, keep working toward whatever goals He sets for me, and keep seeking to be more like Jesus every day.

He does not do all this because I deserve it. He does this because I am His child. He does this because I believe in Him. He does this because He loves me. The most precious thing He has ever given me was His son, Jesus. If He would give me His only son, who died so that I could live, and then turn around and adopt me as His own child, how can I not fully trust Him?

My journey is far from over. There is still a lot my Father wants me to learn. This is evidenced by the fact that I am still here, on this earth, with you. Each experience I have brings me closer to Him, and teaches me to be a better person to you. I look forward to where He will take me next and what experiences I am destined to have. I hunger to see His every day miracles, and how they will affect me, which will in turn affect you. This is what the "abundant life" is all about.

Finally, I invite you to take this journey with me. It's simple: all you have to do is trust in Him. Let Him lead the way. Listen to what He says in His word. Live according to the example of Christ. Learn from your failures. Thank Him for your blessings. Give Him credit for where you are and who you become without blaming Him for your mistakes. Accept the offering that He made for you in His son, Jesus. Then, let Christ live through you.

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Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 11

When Athaliah heard that her son, Ahaziah, was dead, she killed all of his sons. Joram's (late king of Israel) daughter was Ahaziah's (late king of Judah) sister, Jehosheba. She took Joash, Ahaziah's baby son, and hid him from Athaliah in a bedroom with his nurse. She hid him for six years. Jehoiada the priest knew of this.

So, when the child was seven years old, Jehoiada called all of the military leaders together for a meeting. He made them swear an oath of allegience and then he introduced Joash to them. Then, he assigned all of them a station to protect, as Joash's bodyguards, charging them that if anyone comes within those perimeters without permission, they should be killed.

Then, they all went to the temple and made him King. Jehoiada put the crown on him, gave him the testimony of the Lord to keep, and they all shouted, "God save the king!"

Athaliah heard all the commotion and went to see what it was about. She was not happy at all when she found out what was happening. She rent her clothes in mourning and cried, "TREASON!" to them all.

Jehoiada commanded the men to take her outside, and slay her outside the House of the Lord. He did not want to desecrate the temple with her blood. They took her to the king's house and killed her there.

Jehoiada then made a covenant with the King, between the Lord and Joash the king and the people, that he would lead them according to the Lord, and that they would be God's people. Then, all the people went and tore down the house of Baal, and then they praised the king, and lived in peace.

Joash, the new king of Israel was only seven years old.

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What we have learned...
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Joash was the answer to the predicament that Judah had found herself in by following other Gods. He represented innocence, and newness. He was God's way of "starting over". Being so young, he was easily influenced by the priest of God to do what was right in God's eyes, and having no other man around to be his role-model, Joash depended on Jehoiada for instruction and advice.

When God doesn't like the direction something is going, He initiates a cleansing. With this cleansing, He raises up a shepherd to guide the people in His ways. He never leaves His people without a leader.

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Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 10

Ahab had seventy sons. So, Jehu wrote letters to Samaria, and to the rulers of Jezreel and told them, "You have all of Ahab's sons with you. So, when you get this letter, choose one that you would have as king, then get ready because I am coming to fight you."

Those who received the letters were afraid, seeing that Jehu had already killed two kings. So, they wrote him a letter back saying, "We don't want to fight you. We will let you rule over us as King. We will be your servants."

So Jehu wrote them back and said, "If what you say is true, then I want the heads of all seventy of Ahab's sons in Jezreel by this time tomorrow."

So they took Ahab's sons and cut off their heads and sent them to Jezreel. A messenger went to Jehu and said, "The heads have arrived." Jehu told him to put them at the gate of the city in two heaps until in the morning.

In the morning, Jehu went to the gate of the city, where the heads were and said to all who were standing there, "You be the judge: Yes, I conspired against my king and slew him. But, I didn't kill these. Who did? God told Elijah that these things would happen. Nothing God says ever fails to come to pass."

Then Jehu killed all that remained, the servants and priests including, that were a part of Ahab's house there in Jezreel. Then, he left to go to Samaria. On his way, at a shearing house, he met up with two-hundred and forty of Ahaziah's brothers who were going to see the king and his family in Samaria. Jehu ordered them taken alive, then killed them at the pit near the shearing house.

When he left there, Jehu met up with Jehonadab. Jehu asked, "Are you still my friend?" To which Jehonadab answered, "Yes." Jehu took him by the hand and pulled him into his chariot and said, "If that is true, come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord." So, Jehonadab, having no choice, rode along.

When he got to Samaria, he killed everyone who was anything to Ahab.

Then, Jehu gathered all the people together, and in trickery, he said, "Ahab served Baal a little. I want to show you how a king REALLY serves Baal! I have a great sacrifice to make. I want everyone who follows Baal at the temple of Baal for a solemn assembly." So everyone throughout the kingdom who served Baal came to the temple. Jehu ordered that all the uniforms and supplies for serving Baal be brought to him. Then he set forty men outside the temple and ordered them not to let anyone leave or escape, or it would be their heads. Then after the sacrifices were made, he killed everyone in the temple. Then he took all the images and things that pertained to Baal and destroyed and burned them, and tore the temple down.

But, Jehu left the golden calves that Jeroboam had built.

God was happy with Jehu for what he had done, and told him that his seed would sit on the throne up until the fourth generation. But, Jehu followed Jeroboam in his sin with the golden calves, and God began to cut Israel short because of it.

Jehu ruled for twenty-eight years, then his son, Jehoahaz, took the throne. They buried Jehu in Samaria.

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What we have learned
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I have always wondered how it is that someone can give God credit for events and victories, yet refuse to keep following Him. It doesn't make sense why anyone who knows the power of God would not let God be the King of their lives.

In verse 10, Jehu says, "Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the Lord hath done that which He spake by His servant Elijah." (KJV) And yet, in verse 31, "But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin." (KJV)

Perhaps, if he had followed God with his whole heart, God would have given him the same promise he gave to David, that his seed would forever rule the throne, that there would always be a place for him in His kingdom.

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I'll Make It

This poem was written by me in 1984, when I was 14 years old. It was later published in "Field of Dreams", a compilation of poetry for a poetry contest, which I didn't win. It was rewarding, however to see it published.

I'll make it throughout it all;
I'll be just fine, you'll see.
This won't be the first time I fall
And get a bruised and splintered knee.
But, mom, you can't keep holding on;
You've got to let me go.
If I don't try life on my own,
How will I ever know?
The older I get, the tougher life seems
But if I don't make mistakes,
Faster turns and broken dreams
Will be the only turns I take.
If I don't make them all right now,
They'll be there later waiting;
And I'll be tempted to jump right in
Without even hesitating
Please, mom, try to understand,
I don't want to see you sad;
But the more you keep on holding my hand,
The more I make you mad.
If my life will ever be
The success that I intend,
I must have a moral support
Only love can comprehend;
But, mom, you can't keep holding on.
You've got to let me go.
If I don't try life on my own,
How will I ever know?

Joshua and Caleb wouldn't give up...

Today I feel like I am Joshua or Caleb when they went to scout out the promised land. Ten men were sent. Only two came back with optimism. No one wanted to hear it, so God let them wander in the wilderness for forty years until someone finally listened.

This is how I see it:

We now have four years of fighting to do. We have to make sure our Representatives in the Senate and House are doing their jobs. We have to publicize every time the President picks up his EO pen to write, and we have to watch his every move with scrutiny and common sense.

If we fail to educate the public about what they have done, they will be just as careless if there is a next time. There will be, and next time is going to be a whole lot nastier on their part, because they got away with it this time.

As a mother, I'm a firm believer in "nipping it" in the bud. So we need to show them that no matter who is president, WE THE PEOPLE still rule this land!

Who cares if the main stream media doesn't want to publicize the truth. Social media has already proven to be a viable competitor. We build on what we have. And, we work on creating our own networks. Sources? I got plenty of them. It doesn’t take much, just the effort. The main stream networks are already worried about their ratings due to social media.

We can do this. Don’t doubt. God is with us and He has provided a way. AND...you cannot assume God’s will in this. God has never told anyone to give up. God has never said, “Well, it’s lost, so don’t try”. He has said “Wait.” and “Watch” and “Do not fear” and “they will know I AM THE LORD!” So, let's show those anti-God pansies that our God is faithful to do all He has set out to do.

Whatever you do, giving up is giving in and letting them have it. God will not tolerate that. He will punish us even more if we do that. But if we stand for righteousness God will bless our efforts in the end. We are called to endure, to fight the good fight. To let the world know that our God is God and He will not be mocked. We do that by keep fighting, until we are called home if need be.

None of this is new. We’ve done it before. We create alternative media sources and we advertise them. We build our own lists, we start our own newspapers and we network with alternative media personalities: anyone who has a web site, talks on radio, owns or writes in a newspaper or magazine, or books. We supply them with information, they get it out, and we promote them. That’s how it works. It CAN BE DONE. I’m telling you, STAND. God is still with us. We may be in the wilderness, but HE IS STILL IN CONTROL.

Bad Day? Praise God!

by Shonda M. Ponder

It is so much easier to praise God when things are going right. But, when things are going wrong is when we should praise Him the most. It is when things go wrong that we should be most assured that everything is in control. We should have faith that God knows what He is doing, and we should let God be God and do what God does.

When the Israelites were travelling to the Promised Land, they would sometimes worry and fret. They worried about food. They worried about water. They worried about their potential enemies. If there is one thing that gets on God's nerves, it's a child, who is supposed to be His, who worries.

Every time the Israelites would whine to Moses, Moses would tell them, "Why are you whining to ME? I'm not God!" It doesn't do any good to whine about things to other people. All that does is show other people how little faith you have in your God. But, the people demanded that Moses get them out of the situation that they perceived he got them into. Moses could never make them understand that he didn't get them into that situation, God did. God was leading the way. God was holding the reins. God was in the driver's seat.

God gave Moses the task of leading His people out of bondage because Moses did understand that. Moses may have felt inadequate, or insecure, or unsure of how to proceed or what to say at times, but he knew who was in control; and, he knew where to go when things got tough. The people saw that Moses was always calm (except when he got angry with them, and he had a temper!), always collected, and always willing to do what it took to get where he was going. So, naturally, they came to him when things went wrong. And, because he was something they could see, touch, feel, and talk to and listen to audibly, they blamed him when things seemed to go wrong.

Moses did what he was supposed to do, he pointed them to God. He gave God the credit for all that happened. He directed them to follow God's instructions. However, Moses didn't like repeating himself over and over again, and God is a God of patience. God will do anything for as long as it takes to see to it that His children are safe and cared for. So, when Moses lost his temper with them, God punished him by letting him see the Promised Land, but not letting him enter it.

When things seem to be with-in your grasp, but somehow alluding you, it is always best to reflect on how you are acting and what you are doing wrong. Maybe it's time to make a change in your own attitude, and praise God for getting you as far as He has, and be patient with those around you who don't understand the pressure that you are under to stay with-in God's will.

Psalms 100:2 says, "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. " God wants you to serve Him joyfully, not in contempt or bad humor or impatient grumblings.

Remember, your job is to lead by example. If you are worrying and fretting, you are not a Moses. You are an Israelite. Try to be a Moses, with your feet going forward, your head held high and, remembering that the Great I Am is leading the way, "I can" should be your motto.