FAITH CAPSULE: Give to praising God in the midst of challenge

2 Chronicles 20

It is the grace and mercy of God that have brought you this far, not because you know how to live life.
Many were standing yesterday, but were not able to stand.
Praise be to God!
Glory be to God!
In your God given new day and days to come, praising God is enough to bring your enemy down for you to the glory of God.
Psalm 48:1-2 records “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth…”
“For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.” (Psalm 96:4)
Do not submit to fear, but submit to God, praising His greatness regardless of stubborn enemies.
Jehoshaphat received a message of fear as stated in 2 Chronicles 20:2-3, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.”
Is there any great that is greater than the only greatest God that is above any other gods? Absolutely, there is no other god greater than the Ancient of Days.
Concerning enemies, the Lord that is great and greatly to be praised is not going to look over your sincere understanding praise; He will deliver you.
With the message of the enemy against Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat sought God and received a message to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
In the coming days of this year, praise God to stand still and see the hand of God on your behalf.
Stand still, see and know that the same God of yesterday, today, and forever will not fail to deny you.
Give to praising God in the midst of challenge, stand still, see, and know that God is with you.
The word recorded how Jehoshaphat stood still and saw in 2 Chronicles 20:21-22, “…he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: Praise the LORD For His mercy endures forever. Now, when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.”
With praising God, victory is certain and undeniable.
Let no man prescribe how you are to praise Him, but take the prescription of the Psalmist praise as stated in Psalm 150:1-6, “Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbre and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!

Prayer for today: Ask God to let your praise worship be acceptable before Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Complaint does not have a place before God.

The Israelites failed to separate the multitude.
Israelites allowed a mixed multitude wrongly.
Wrongdoing will result in a wrong gain.
The documentation of Exodus 12:31-51 and Numbers 11:1-15 will provide knowledge when there is understanding.
In every journey of life, there will always be a crossing over.
Are you at a point of crossing over in the journey of your life?
Jesus went on a journey with His disciples, a cross-over experience.
Mark 4:35-36 states, “On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.” Now, when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.”
In any cross-over journey, multitude should not be encouraged as an associate of any form.
The children of Israel allowed a multitude to journey with them.
Exodus 12:37-38 records, “Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. A mixed multitude went up with them also…”
As the journey continued, the multitude revealed their negative color among the Israelites.
Mixed multitude should be a company from any cross-journey.
As the journey continued with the Israelites, Numbers 11:4 records, “Now the mixed multitudes who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: ‘Who will give us meat to eat?”
With mixed multitudes, a complaint started among the Israelites before God.
Complaint does not have a place before God.
In the place of complaint is to give a compliment to God for all He has done, for all He is doing.
Where there is a complaint, rebellion is accompanied.
With the complaint, rebellion became the portion of the Israelites.
Are you on a cross journey with mixed multitudes?
Mixed multitude must be uprooted out of your cross-over journey if there is a desire to get through to the expected end of the journey.
A mixed multitude can be an unwanted, unnecessary burden associated with anyone.
With the multitude of challenges, a complaint was in place.
Jesus, with His disciples, experienced a windstorm challenge.
Mark 4:37  states, “And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
The presence of Jesus in the boat with His disciples was not evidence that the storm would not show up. However, with Jesus in every cross-over journey, there shall be assurance for safe deliverance.
In your cross-over journey, learn to discharge your mixed multitude just as the disciples did in their journey with Jesus.
In a journey, do not underestimate the effect of mixed multitude.
The Israelites allowed the mixed multitude and were disallowed arrival at the promise of God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace not to accommodate or align with mixed multitude in your cross-over journey.

FAITH CAPSULE: Doing right always ends in right.

Genesis 41

Dundeon is a dark, usually underground prison.
Anything or representative of prison is not fun nor comfortable.
An unwanted situation is crowding life.
In your life, is there any situation of a dungeon that is crowding you?
The life journey of Joseph was like a journey in a dungeon that turned out to be the avenue to the center of divine assignment.
Joseph embarked on a journey to become prime minister after spending time in the dungeon of life.
The story of Joseph changed from bad to better when the Chief Butler mentioned him before Pharaoh.

The Bible recorded, “Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed in his clothing, and came to Pharaoh.” (Genesis 41:14)
Living a life of the dungeon can change for good, to the glory of God.
What is not your fun and painful, physically, spiritually, or emotionally, crowding you?
It does not matter how you get into the dungeon or how long you have been in the dungeon of life; God shall bring you out for His glory.
In all challenges, look up to God alone.
Isaiah 45:22 buttress, “Look up to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”
Just look up to God for the termination of your dungeon situation.
In obedience, Joseph went to check for his brother.
The arrival of Joseph at his brothers was a welcome surprise as
Joseph embarked on a life journey in the dungeon.
Joseph was painfully sold as a slave and ended up in prison.
Joseph did not bargain for the entire unfavorable situation that came his way while obeying his father.
In prison, Joseph interpreted favorable and unfavorable dreams for confined Chiefs (Butler and Baker).
The interpretation of the dream came through, and Joseph pleaded to the chief to remember him.
For two years, Joseph was forgotten in prison by the chief.
God will remember His children at an appointed time, but man will not remember man.
Be encouraged!
God is at work on your behalf; the plans of God for your life are intact.
His own plan for you does not exclude your time in a dungeon situation, but is to train you.
Know that such is life, and it is full of ups and downs, but God, who is up, will lift you at His appointed time.
At the appointed time of God, Joseph came out of the dungeon; there was no devil under heaven to deny the deliverance for Joseph.
The dream had by Pharaoh was interpreted by none other than Joseph.
The Chief Butler remembered Joseph before Pharaoh.
The interpretation of the dream by Joseph provokes testimony for the rest of his life.

Prayer for today: Ask God for your appointed time by God for the glory of God to become established.

FAITH CAPSULE: Are there challenges with no solution in sight?

Judges 11

In life, the story of hope is enough to encourage all, even through the most hopeless challenges.
With God is to gain a new lifting story for the glory of God.
Jephthah was illegitimate before his brothers.
Jephthah experienced rejection from his half-brothers.
Judges 11:2-3 records, “Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, ‘You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.”
Jephthah was in a challenging situation, which was not his desire.
His challenging situation was not within his control, but it was beyond his control.
Under heaven, on behalf of man, there is no challenging situation that is beyond the hand of God.
Are you experiencing any challenging situation like that of Jephthah? Today, hold on, trusting and hoping in God.
Wait on God regardless of how painful or challenging the situation is; God will not fail to intervene.
Jephthah, after being rejected by his half-brother, the children of Israel turned back to him for help.
When the people of Ammon confronted the Israelites,
Jephthah approached as a commander.
The elders of Gilead had to go and seek Jephthah for help. Judges 11:6 recorded, “Then they said to Jephthah, ‘Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.’”
Whenever man condemns, God is in a position to redeem the condemned. Jephthah was a mighty man of valor, yet he was illegitimate and not accepted, and eventually helped his people.
Jephthah responded in Judges 11:7, “So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, ‘Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”
God made it possible for Jephthah to rise above and beyond where he was.
Trust and hope to count on God to bring you up above where you were.
God can never be too late or too soon; God will show up in your situation at His appointed timing.
Jephthah accepted the assignment to bring victory for the Israelites.
Jephthah did not just end up as a commander; he became the head after gaining victory.
The story of Jephthah was uncommon and adds to the glory of God,
and changed for good.
God is the only God who is in a position to turn a hopeless situation into a hopeful and glorious situation.
Engage by trusting and being hopeful to see the glory of God concerning your challenging situation.
Wait on God. He turns challenges into celebrations.
He reverses the irreversible.

Prayer for today: Pray to God that your challenging situation will be a triumphant story to the glory of God.

Faith Capsule: Be conscious that God cares for you as a child.

Psalm 8

Have an understanding that God cares.
God is mindful of all more than His creations know.
God cares with His deliverance and preservation for all.
Do you understand how much He cares for you as His child?
Curiously, David questioned in Psalm 8:4-6, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet…”
The curiosity of David revealed the truthfulness of His care for all His creation.
The mind of God is for all the evidence that God is near to all.
God is near to all, but many are far from God in the way of life.
Testimony of Deuteronomy 4:7 is the evidence that God is near, “For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?” Jeremiah 23:23 confirms that God is near, “Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord, “And not a God afar off?”
When God is near, the presence of God is evident.
However, sin will always keep a man from God who is near.
Sin keeps man from God.
Zephaniah 3:2 buttressed that sin will keep man with sin from His presence. It states, “She has not obeyed His voice, she has not received correction; She has not trusted in the Lord, she has not drawn near to her God.”
Disobedience to the word of God, a failure to receive correction, and a lack of trust set one far from God.
God is mindful of all.
God is near to us and cares for all who care to live life by His word.
God does have a position of deliverance for all who acknowledge His care, to live in His presence.
God was near to Elisha, which was evidence of His care for his deliverance.
When the servant of Elisha was not aware of the deliverance of God for their deliverance, because he was not near to God with understanding to know God as Elisha did.
Elisha was aware of God.
The servant needed to understand that God is near.
Elisha prayed, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:18) Living in the consciousness of the care of God is the evidence of faith; the expression of expectation for the divine protection of God at all times.
Having understanding is the key that will deliver one from the ignorance of the wicked world.

Prayer for today: Ask God with desire to live life in the consciousness of His care for your life.