Pastor Stephen Dedman

Category: Encouragement

God Desires Only The Best For You

Encouragement

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭84:11‬ ‭

God desires to see you succeed and be prosperous. If you are walking in obedience and seeking to please Him, you can be assured that God will give you the best.  God can only do good. 

The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus proves how much God loves you.  And because God loves you, He desires to give you the best.  God will not withhold any good thing from those who seek His righteousness.  

God can only give good and perfect things because He is holy.  So when you ask God for something, believe that He will give only the best things.

With this concept in mind we must also know that if God does not answer our prayers the way we expect, it is for a reason.  God is all-knowing.  He knows what will happen in the future and will only give accordingly if it is what He wills for you.  

A “no” from God is ultimately a good thing.  If He knows it is not good for you, He will not give it.  This is great within itself.  We can trust that God will do what He knows is right.  

Sometimes it is a blessing to be told “no”.  When our priorities or mindset is not set on the things of God we need to be adjusted accordingly.  And by not giving us what we ask could eventually be a blessing.  

Do you remember a prayer that you were praying and God did not answer the way you expected?  Wasn’t it for the best?

Pray

Lord, I want my prayers to be aligned with Your will and way.  Holy Spirit reveal to me what I need to be praying. Thank You for answering my prayers.

Abide In The Shadow Of God

Encouragement, Faith, Trust

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:1

Has there ever been a time that you felt the Lord abandoned you in a difficult situation?  Rest assured that He has never left you nor has He ever forsaken you.  He can’t and He won’t.  

As long as we belong to Him this promise remains forever.  His love is too great to abandon us.  He desires for His children to rest in His presence.  

He is the One to turn to when in we run into trouble.  He is our safe place as this 911 verse promises.  The word “dwell” means to to take up residence. We live in the presence of God and seek Him as our shelter.  

The shelter of God is our protection.  This verse reminds us that He is continually looking over us and keeping us safe.  In the shadow we find relief from the heat.  Staying in His shadow guards us from disastrous elements.

Remember that as a child of God you will never walk alone.  Even though your struggles may seem hard and heavy, you still have the stronghold of God Almighty at your side.  Your difficulties are strengthening you for your next assignment from God.  

The entire chapter of Psalm 91 is packed full with the power of God.  It reminds us that He faithfully works all things together on behalf of those who love Him.  Allow God to fight your battles and use your circumstances to make you stronger in your faith.

Pray

Lord, help me to rest in Your presence and seek Your protection in all my situations.  Place me right where You want me to be. I will praise You in my storms.

Finding Favor With The Lord

Encouragement

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.  These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
Genesis 6:8-9

According to a former Walmart employee in West Palm Beach, FL, a man entered Walmart and stole a large screen TV. When he walked out of the store he discovered that his truck had been stolen. Needless to say, he encountered a bad day. 

Even the ones who are causing evil will encounter evil as well. We live in an evil, sinful world.  Every where we look we see all kinds of evil taking place.  It’s everywhere.

Noah lived during a very corrupt time.  The Bible says everyone and everything around him was evil continually.  He faced a crisis during his day in time.  It’s hard to imagine a world worse than it is right now, isn’t?  

It is interesting to note that Noah was found righteous and blameless while living amongst such evil people.  Noah did what was right.  Scripture says he found favor in the eyes of the Lord.  God was pleased with the way he lived his life while being exposed to such evilness.

We all choose if we will do what is right or fall into the temptation of evil.  We live among evil people who get away with a lot of crime but that does not mean that we should. As Christians we are to be different from the rest of the world.  

It’s difficult to live righteously in a sinful world but if we look at Noah we see that it is possible.  It is not possible to be perfect but we should strive to be.

Pray

Lord, help me to strive for holiness and righteousness.  Help me to overcome any temptation that I face. Let me set an example to others of what You expect from every Christian.