Let me start by praying in the name of Jesus that we will not be challenged in life more than we are able to bear and that with every difficult challenge that comes, God will show us the way to overcome it. It is written: Whatever the problem you are facing and however difficult it may be, please have an open mind that God may have brought you to this article here and now to show you what you need to do to resolve it. Note: There are certain issues in life that will not stop until God is involved. Don't let anyone deceive you by suggesting otherwise, because that may only increase your suffering. For example, there is a story of a woman in the bible who had a problem with an issue of blood for 12 years! You can read her story in the book of Mark Chapter 5 Verses 25-34. She consulted many physicians, but they could not solve her problem, but rather added to her suffering. Money also could not solve her problem - thinking it could, she spent ALL that she had, but despite all that she spent, she grew worse. Then one day she heard about Jesus and sought after Him, and her story changed. She was completely healed, but not before she came to Jesus. Your story too can change for better from today! Through the word you are hearing today, your turnaround too can come. Whatever the problem you are facing, God knows what to do to solve it. You may be puzzled by the problem, but I can assure you that God is not. This is the way God puts it through the mouth of prophet Jeremiah: The question is this: In order to have that problem solved, are you prepared to seek God for the answer? Jesus gives us this assurance: Are you willing to rely on God and ask Him for the answer? In addition to hearing what God has said about Himself, knowing the sort of problems that He has helped people to solve in time past should help you to see that nothing is too hard for God and if you can get Him involved He will show you the answer. So, look at another example from the book of Daniel - Daniel Chapter 2: Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.” They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.” The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.” The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel. So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said: “ Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. “ I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.” In this situation, the life of Daniel and other wise men in Babylon was in real danger because the king decreed that if they could not tell him a dream that he had and its interpretation they were to be destroyed. The king was the one who had the dream that he could not remember, but he demanded the wise men to reveal it, and not only that but to also tell him its interpretation. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Can you imagine how difficult this problem was - for a person's life to be at stake against such an impossible odd? How difficult is the problem that you face compared with this? How ridiculous was this puzzle compared to the puzzles you have ever been confronted with? If it was someone else other than the king that had the dream, you could say it would be a matter of finding a way to get that person to tell you their dream which would then give you a chance to see if you could come up with the interpretation, but it was the king who dreamed and could not remember his dream that was asking for the revelation of the dream as well as its interpretation. Naturally, you will agree this seemed an impossible problem to resolve. Well, this may be the way you feel about the problem you are facing presently. You may think it is grossly unfair and that the odds against you are insurmountable. What I want you to see is that with God, nothing is impossible so you do not need to give up. Your case is not hopeless. There is sound counsel and wisdom for you too, but you need time to seek mercy from the God of heaven. You may not think you are responsible for the problem that you are going through, but ask for God's mercy all the same. After all, it was not Daniel who had the dream that he could not recall or interpret, it was the king; but Daniel asked for TIME to seek mercy and revelation from God. Make time to seek God. If you have companions facing a similar challenge as you, get them involved in seeking God with you so that you will not become victims of pain or death. Sometimes it may not be life that is in danger because of a puzzle in life - it may be your ministry, possession or a valued relationship. Know that God can intervene with His help in these situations as well, if you would seek Him. If like Daniel you believe God to be the source of wisdom and might, then tell Him so, and approach Him in prayer with all the trust that He deserves. Finally let me remind you of this word of assurance from the scriptures: You need time, so start seeking God TODAY! You will succeed in Jesus’ name. Peace from God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Rev Ola Stevens |
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