W"He that dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty."                  Psalm 91:1

So how are you doing? Did you get off to a good start this year? 2021 ended with a bang for many of us and rolled right into a New Year with much of the same. Everyone is wondering if things are going to get better. We wonder if it will be a 'Happy New Year'.

Well one thing is for sure; problems and challenges will always be there no matter what year we are in because this is life, period. God's Word encourages us to walk by faith and trust God for everything we need. We can have a happy 2022 regardless of the Pandemic, challenges, trials, or anything else that comes our way.
 
The above verse mentions the word 'shadow'. The shadow of the almighty God is something to think about. A shadow is defined as a shape that is produced by a ray of light cast on it. God's shadow is cast about us, protecting and securing us from all harm and danger. No one can enter that space because it is reserved for His children only. Satan comes to threaten us and to rustle us out from under that shadow, but he cannot enter there. As long as we commune daily, meditating on His Word, we will be safe and sheltered there physically, emotionally and psychologically. All of this is provided for us, and it's within a shadow. Imagine that.

Many are wondering and hoping for happiness this year. We want this Pandemic and its variants to leave our world and be gone. We all want to get back to the way things were, not that the world was in any better condition, but we were healthier. We want to resume all the activities that we were previously enjoying. Will it happen? I don't know the answer to that, but God does. The best advice I can give is to walk with God, by faith, and rejoice in the Lord daily. God is the source of our joy, our contentment, our peace of mind and our happiness. A relationship with God satisfies, gratifies, and keeps us stable and safe.

Take advantage of opportunities to fellowship with others via Zoom, What's app, and phone calls. Let people hear your voice or see your face as you communicate. Face time your Christian friends who you haven't seen in a while. Keeping in touch with others who are in pursuit of God is key. 

I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to this year being a happy year for me and my family. I am trusting God for His help as I continue to enjoy His many blessings. Remember, He loves you more than you know, He will carry you through each day and He will never leave you nor forsake you. All you've got to do is trust Him by obeying Him and follow where He leads.

I could sit here and give you a bunch of bible verses and tell you everything is gonna' be alright and not to stress it. The reality is this; problems are burdensome, and stressful and frustrating. You will feel the strain of it all and get angry,  mad, and sad.

I have experienced a lot in my life before I became a Christian, and certainly after becoming one. In this life we will have all sorts of difficulties. There will be trials and afflictions that we will have to face and endure. It ain't gonna' be easy!!!

God has promised us in Jeremiah 29:11 that He has a plan that would give us hope and a future. "For I know the plans I have for you (the thoughts that I think toward you), says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." God is a God that cannot lie!
So, what happens in between? How do we cope under the pressure of it all? Who's going to pay my bills, give me a job, help me as a single parent or divorcee, how can I face the bad news I've received?  The answer is, GOD WILL! God has resources you and I know nothing about. Didn't he pay the outstanding bills for the widow in 2 Kings 4:1-7? She was also a single parent with two sons that were going to be taken from her because of her debt. The man of God, the prophet Elisha, told her what to do! Go to God and tell Him what's going on, and He will do something about it!

The Christian life is a rewarding life, but the path is paved with trials and tribulations. The bible says, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers out of them all (Psalm 34:19).

God allows what He allows for a reason and it will never be easy, but what I can say based on my own experience is that God has always come to see about me! He never left me alone to come up with solutions to my problems. When my money grew thin, I never lost a roof over my head, neither me or my family. I can tell you some miracle packed stories. When me and my family faced dark moments, God showed up with a blessing that we could have never imagined. When the roof over our heads was being threatened, God showed up 30 days later with an entire house! We never asked for a house, but God forced us out of one living situation to show us that It was time to move into what He had for us. Had that not happened, we would have hunkered down and stayed in our apartment and continued to pay higher and higher rent!

God is wise and omniscient (all-knowing). When we are faithful and obedient to Him, He guides us through. Even in the trial, He is there guiding us through. It may not seem like it or feel like it, but He hasn't left you. He knows all about the situation you're in. He knows about the deadlines. He knows all about what you need. God is always in the details, so trust Him, ask Him to help your unbelief. Tell Him how hard this is for you. He has 'Grace' which helps us to keep the faith in the face of it all.

I know what it looks like and feels like, but God has a plan that is tailor made for your set of circumstances. Keep trusting Him, and don't let go of His hand!

I share some of my pot of Gold (trials) in my book, 'Rich Beyond Measure' on Amazon.

1 Chronicles 28:9-10
"As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it."

There is so much advice floating around out here about how to be a success at whatever you are doing. Before technology came in, people who were looking to establish a business went the route of taking classes and consulting those who were successful business persons. Today, we have the powerful wheel of 'Social Media' and the encouragement to generate as many followers as possible in order to put yourself out there with the hopes of landing it big. I'm not disputing the fact that there are some testimonials of people who did make it big via Instagram, however, social media will consume you and cause your emotional state of mind to go up and down depending on numbers and clicks. It's an absurd way to judge 'Good Success'. It is fleeting, unreliable, and used by the enemy (Satan) to rob us of our confidence and faith in God's promises to us. It is designed to keep believers from focusing on God.

As a Christian, do you have on your key ring the main key that opens every possible and impossible door of success, or are you following the steps dictated by society? Does the world's view on success and how to achieve it fit the believer?

Unfortunately, one size does not fit all. In the above scripture text we read of King David advising his son Solomon on how he (David) achieved success as Israel's second king. The admonition he gives to Solomon is the same for us. In a nutshell, David says that the key to his success was in his relationship with God.

Often, as Christians, we overlook the obvious, or the thing that seems to be simple. Sometimes those are the very key components to achieving success in whatever
we 're doing. 

There are many voices out there that are willing and ready to dictate to us how to become successful, but if the premise from which they are working does not include God's instructions, the strategy won't work!

A solid, personal, sincere relationship with the Lord Jesus is necessary; for it is the Lord who knows exactly what path you need to be on to achieve anything successfully.  I'd rather follow the Lord's opinions and thoughts than taking a shot in the dark at something that supposedly worked for someone else. God's plan to give you and I a good future is an individual plan. One size does not fit all! Long before we accepted Him as our personal savior, He had a plan for our lives already laid out with everything we needed in order to be victorious and successful. Our responsibility is to simply follow His guidelines and trust the He knows what is best for us.

So, when someone comes with a strategy or plan that 'They' think you should follow, run it by God first! Wait long enough to get the 'Go Ahead' from Him before you leap. Remember, anything God doesn't bless will always bring more drama and problems into your life. There will be losses you'll suffer and regrets that cannot be changed.

Remember what King David told his son, Solomon! Your success if dependent upon your relationship with God!

The word 'Provide' is  in the word Providential. It means 'To Look After, or to take care of, or to give that which is needed; to sustain and keep, to preserve and to protect (this goes beyond our temporal needs for food, shelter, clothing, finances). It takes in account our spiritual needs such as: temperance, patience, and godliness.

God's Providential Face:

1. Sees the need (present and future)
2. Discerns what is needed
3. Decides when and how He will take care of what is needed

God's Providential Face is marked by three things.

1. Fore site  2. Wisdom  3. Good judgement

He is a God who who makes provisions for our present and our future. He is not a God that does things only for the here and now (the mean time). 

The Face of Fore site: He Sees

We see things, but mostly after the fact, in hind sight. God is seeing what is to come. He sees what's up ahead. He has the ability to see what's ahead of us in every situation and circumstance in our lives.

It is difficult sometimes for us to understand why things or situations fall the way they do. We, in our own strength may even try to turn the tide (direction) of a thing to avoid it or change its course somehow; and then against our will and even to our surprise, things take a different turn. In God's fore site He sees that, "All things work together for our good" (Romans 8:28). Not some, but 'ALL'. All for His divine purposes. We don't know the inner workings of a situation (all the finer details and events and what they may lead to). Only His fore site knows that. It is in God's fore site that He makes the promises He makes to us. He has the divine ability to see ahead. Before we even go through a testing or a trial, He's telling us what the end will result in, i.e. 'Our Good'. We can't see up ahead, but we can have the confidence that it will end good. We will benefit from the experience (trial, affliction, burden, crisis, hardship). 

When we go to Him in prayer, it is to help us seek His Providential Face as well as prepare our hearts in faith for the provisions He's already made for us.

Our prayers move the hand of God because He takes great delight in His children calling on His name, and not because He will have to now find what He will do for us.

In God's fore site, He says to Jacob in a dream, "And behold I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places where you go, and will bring you again into this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken to you of" (Genesis 28:15).

Here was God looking and seeing what was up ahead. He was looking out for Jacob before He even set foot in those places. God's fore site had already provided protection and was ready to preserve and keep and sustain Jacob wherever he went.

In Genesis 50:20, Joseph tells his brethren that all that happened to him was God orchestrated to the end (purpose) that many would be saved alive. Joseph went from the pit to the palace and became a Prince (and Governor) of Egypt. God's Providential Face followed Joseph through all of the injustices he suffered, the lies told on him, and the imprisonment, all the way to the king's palace. There is no one better qualified to look after our affairs and interests than the Lord God. Once again, we see the protection, preserving, sustaining, providing, keeping hand of God over Joseph. What magnificent fore site!

In the book of Esther 4:14 we read "For such a time as this."  Mordecai encourages Esther with this thought. She was placed in this strategic place for the saving of the Jews. This trial led to prayer and fasting for three whole days. She put her life on the line. The Jews were saved and Her uncle, Mordecai, who looked after her all her life, was elevated. What incredible fore site!

God told Elijah in 1 Kings 17:9-12, "I have commanded a widow woman to sustain thee." In God's fore site, He was looking out for His servants needs. Provisions were already being made for Him to be sustained, kept, preserved and protected. We should trust in His fore site for whatever situation we find ourselves in. For the end can only be for our blessing.

The Face of Wisdom: He Discerns

We don't have the ability to know the deep inner details of a situation. We can only see 'wisdom' unfold by connecting the dots through our lives and circumstances. In the case of Joseph, one would wonder if God possessed any wisdom at all. Why permit such sorrow, hurt and pain and loss for a 17 year old boy who had done nothing but obey his father's orders? God's divine wisdom showed itself in him being sold to Potiphar, in his elevation, even in prison, in his ability to interpret the dream of the baker and the butler and subsequently, the king of Egypt. God is truly a wise God!

With Esther, another would say that Esther's reign as Queen was not one of beauty on display (as she enjoyed being the best looking woman in the kingdom). We certainly don't read of her basking in the lime light or throwing around her power and position like Queen Elizabeth, but we do see God's wisdom in making her Queen at that particular time in the history of the Jews. The Jews were going to be annihilated, including Esther. She was in the best possible position for God to do His work. He put  one of His own  in a powerful position to act when the time came. Not only was she a beauty, she possessed brains and courage!

Elijah and the widow of Zarephath's story makes you wonder what was God thinking! What kind of wisdom is this? He sends His servant to a widow woman who was poor, down and out, with a gloomy doomed outlook, ready to eat her last meal and die. On the surface it seems to make no sense, but to God, He took care of what these three people needed all in one act. In making a cake for the man of God using her last, she exemplified great faith. She received a blessing. She and her son were preserved, sustained, kept and provided for. God certainly looked after them using Elijah. As for Elijah, he too was sustained and kept as he continued to be used of God during a difficult time in Israel's history.

Remember, faith is the ability to see God in the dark. In God's wisdom the way had been prepared in advance for us. He is a wise God. He can be trusted with all of our circumstances.
He is wise and He knows the way.

His Face of Good Judgement: He decides

If we decide on our behalf, the spiritual lessons would be incomplete or missed all together. God makes divine decisions on our behalf. He has carefully weighed everything concerning us. He has decided how long a situation will last. He has decided the depth of the waters and the temperature of the fire we pass through.

He is not cruel. He is kind. "He is touched with the feeling of our situations" (Hebrews 4:15, 16). He has divine sympathy for us. We are encouraged to approach Him with boldness that we may obtain the mercy and grace to help us in our need.

When does God decide 'Enough Is Enough?" Deliverance comes when He has accomplished His will in us.

Joseph's sufferings and losses and hurt and pain produced God's will and purposes for his life. In the end he could say, "God planned it for Good." What good judgement the Lord showed in securing Joseph a place in Egypt in light of a famine and sending his brethren there. God's good judgement put Joseph in the perfect place to help all of Israel.

Esther found herself in a pretty dangerous situation in going to approach the king when he hadn't called for her. Even though God's name is never mentioned in this book, we see Him there in the providential care of Esther and His people Israel. She realized with the help of Mordecai God's purposes in her being Queen, "For  such a time as this." It was all to save the lives of her people Israel.

For Elijah, the Lord had already previously ordered nature to hold back on watering the earth. God was not going to subject His own to suffer due to the impending judgement that was coming. He was going to sustain and keep His prophet and the widow and her son. In His good judgement, He put them in the position to help one another.

Let us learn to trust in God's fore site even if we can't see up ahead. After all, all we truly need is for Him to see what's ahead of us. Remember, faith is the ability to see God in the dark.

Let us lean on His wisdom to know exactly what we need. It may not seem to make any sense to you what you are going through. His wisdom will always do what is best for you and I.

Let us come to respect His good judgement. He will not subject His children to more than what's necessary. It isn't easy, I know, this isn't a cake walk. I have been through things over the years where the Lord has mentioned these very points to me when I sat wondering 'why' am I going through what I was going through. I just know that His grace was all He felt necessary to give me, even though I told Him, "I don't want your grace, I want out!" Looking back, in hind sight (as only the way we see things), I saw what and why God allowed all that He allowed. My life today is the better for it. He helps us to come into a measure of understanding in order to make sense of it all.

Be Encouraged!

Matthew 24:6-13 NIV
" You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved."

These were the things Jesus prepared His disciples for. They were to expect these events to occur and they were not to be troubled or concerned about them. 

The Last Days began when Jesus ascended back to heaven after His death and resurrection. This speaks to a period and time on the earth. Many of us have heard of earthquakes and famines for as long as we could remember hearing of them. There have been wars, religious wars, of all kind over the many years. The Bible tells us that these events are just the dress rehearsal for the end.

We have all been taken by surprise by this Covid-19 Pandemic and now the Delta strain. Pestilences were to be expected in the Last Days as well. "There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven" (Luke 21:11). The Bible tells us that these things will come to pass before the end comes (vs. 9). We can expect these things to become more intense, and happening more frequently. These things are a part of prophecy and will eventually lead into the end.

"But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (vs. 34-36). We are told to pay attention to how we are living during these difficult and dangerous (perilous) times. 

The one thing that we can always count on with God is that He never sugar coats things and He tells us what to expect. He prepares us for life here and all the things that will happen. He not only forewarns us, He lays it out plain and clear how we are to maintain our Christian walk and faith as we wait for His return. Some of us may live to see the 'Rapture', though not a word mentioned in scripture, but the Bible speaks of the catching away, being caught up to meet Him in the air. While some of us may live to experience that, many may pass into the presence of the Lord awaiting resurrection, which will occur first then those who remain on the earth will be caught up (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

So, with those facts in mind, how are you managing in the midst of this Pandemic? It has been a scary time to say the least. So many people died and never got the chance to say good bye to their loved ones. They had so many plans and expectations for the year 2020, only to get Covid-19 and perish. There were also those who survived the deadly virus and lived to tell about it. God called some of His people home via this same Virus. So many things happened that made many wonder what was next. 

For those of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are to hold fast and keep our eyes on the Lord even more. We are to be strong in the faith and trust His Word to us. We are to be prayerful and watchful as we go about our daily tasks. We are to be Salt and Light. Salt not only helps to preserve, it creates a thirst. May we have that affect on all those around us. 

And if you should find yourself worried, or fearful, remember this:
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