FAITH CAPSULE: Are you fighting a battle outside the direction of God?

Judges 7

Jerubbaal (Gideon) with his people camped for war against the Midianites when God spoke to him, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claims glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ Now, therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.” (Judges 7:1-3)
In every battle, there is a need for high numbers of soldiers to emerge victoriously. 
God instructed Jerubbaal to reduce the number of soldiers. 
Without hesitation, the Word of God prevailed as instructed. 
Jerubbaal reduced the number of soldiers from twenty-two thousand to ten thousand. 
The God of battle that does not share His glory with no one called on Jerubbaal after he had cut down the numbers saying, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there…” (Judges 7:4)
If you are Jerubbaal communicating with friends about the instruction that God called to reduce your soldiers, how would you react? 
The obedience of Jerubabel to reduce the number, without doubt, His friends would have considered Jerubbaal as foolish, spiritually insane, overzealous, and unrealistic. 
Jerubbaal led the people to the water as directed by God to have the number reduced the second time. 
At the water, God spoke again, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water.” (Judges 7: 5-6). 
In going against the Midianites, one that considers assigning men that lapped from water over ones that got on their knees to drink water would have been considered foolish. 
Always engage the instruction of God regardless of how foolish it sounds. 
The cut of number went to battle against the Midianites.
Going to battle from twenty-two thousand to three hundred sounds foolishness by human reasoning. 
For any man, it is suicidal to go to war after ending up with such a small number. 
Twenty-two thousand seems to be the right way and not the foolish way. Remember that Proverbs 14:12 states, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” 
Jerubbaal did not take the path of the assumption that seems right but obeyed the instruction of God without complaint nor doubt and went with three hundred men to fight a battle that initially called for twenty-two thousand men. 
Are you fighting a battle outside the direction of God?
No one should replace the instruction of God.

Prayer for today: Ask that the instruction of God shall rule your life.

FAITH CAPSULE: All must continually hear the word of God to be able to fear God.

2 Kings 6

Faith is rooted in hearing the word of God; faith is the source of fearing God. 
Failure to hear the word of God leads to living in fear of evil.
Living as a believer of God is hearing the word of God for keeping the word of God. 
Romans 10:17 informs all, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” 
Without the effect of hearing the word of God to have faith, the evil way will have its place. 
God wants all to hear His word to fear Him. 
Ecclesiastes 12:13 emphasizes the need to fear for God, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.” 
All must continually hear the word of God to be able to fear God.
Evidence of the importance of hearing the word of God to fear God through Moses: “…Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.” (Deuteronomy 4:10)
One must be hearing the word of God to give self to the fear of God.
To fear God is evidence of having faith in God to depart from evil doing. Job 28:28 said it well, “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.’”
Fearing God is taking a position to be experiencing the blessing of God.
Psalm 128: 4, “Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.”
Have a desire to fear God.
Isaiah 35:4 encourages fearing God as a way of life, “Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.”
One with a fearful heart for God is living by the fear of God.
Become hearing and keeping the word of God to have faith to fear God. 
A heart of faith in God will be mindful of God, not of the evil way of life.
With prayer, faith will rise while fear of challenges will subside.
For example, when the challenges confronted Elisha and his servant, the servant was overcome with fear.
With fear, the servant asked Elisha about what to do, and Elisha said:
Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:16-17)
Give yourself to the word of God for you to have faith, not living fear in the rampant fear of the wicked world.

Prayer for today: Ask that the word of God shall become established in your heart. 

FAITH CAPSULE: Listen, watch, and wait to find God that is not far.

Psalm 75

Consistently, make it your way of life to find God, for keeping, to lead you, and preserve you not to become a waste of the life He has given you. 
God is near to all, and none should not be far from Him to be finding Him. 
To find God more is knowing more of God, not just knowing about God.
AMONG WAYS TO FIND GOD:
LISTEN TO FIND GOD
Listening to God will provoke the blessing of God by keeping His ways, hearing the instruction of God not to despise His word to find God.
Blessed is one that listens, while the curse is for one that fails to listen to God. 
Without listening to God, there will be no understanding evidence of not finding God. The word of Jesus in John 8:43 points out, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.”
To hear is not listening, but hearing and hearing by the word of God is one that listens. 
Listening will understand and find God, living life right before God.
WATCH TO FIND GOD
The word of God that sounds in the direction of one to find God demands attention to see or observe God in His words. 
Joshua 1:8 records meditation: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Meditating is communicating with God to find God.  
Watch and pray will lead not into temptation for sin. 
Without sin, one will see God, and with sin, no one can see God.
God is near for all that give attention to see Him by identifying the work of His hand. 
Psalm 75:1 testifies, “We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.” 
Keep in mind that the work of God is His Word, and calling His name for His word, is evidence that He is near.
Know that in seeing God is found in the work of His word.
WAIT TO FIND GOD
It takes waiting on God to claim expectation for seeking from God.
The manifestation of expectation in God is the evidence of one that finds God. 
God is a good God that will wait to act for those who wait on Him.
The recording of waiting on God is the testimonies of finding God.
Isaiah 64:4 records, “For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him.”
One waiting on God is with the testimony of one that finds God.
Wait on God, find God to experience His grace, mercy, and the blessings of God.

Prayer for today: Ask that God will enable you to find Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: A desire to seek God is not by force but by choice of one. 

Psalm 27

What is your desire in life?
Desire means a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.
In life, whatever one desires to be is what one seeks after.
In life, what do you desire? 
One with desires to live heaven on earth will seek after the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Matthew 6:33 records, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” 
What do you desire?
It takes the desire to live life for God that will make such to seek God. 
When one desires God, that will prompt God to deposit in one to seek Him diligently.
A desire for God demands active devotion to God, not a mouth desire.
Desire with devotion, and God will deposit strength to desire in one for Him.
King David knows what is best to desire when he said, “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4)
What is your desire before God that see all things?
In life, choices will make or break the desire for one.
However, the things one desires will have a direct effect on the choices that one makes in life. 
Mark 8:34 encourages having a good desire saying, “When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up the cross, and follow Me.” 
Think right and answer yourself: what is your desire in life?
A desire to seek God is not by force but the choice of one. 
Have a desire for God in the heart to prompt God to deposit desire.
God created all with the freedom of choice because He is not a slave-master but a saving-master. 
He said, “Whoever desires.” Have you ever thought about the calling of God, or are you just going with the flow of the crowd?
Imagine desire for God: Can anyone possibly carry a cross in one hand and self on the other? It is impossible! 
Think about the desire for God.
Decide to repent and rededicate your life for Christ. 
God sees all, pretending as the desired one for God should not walk-in line with the crowd with deception about desire. 
The time is at hand for Him to identify one. 
It will cost God nothing to expose one with no desire for Him.
Know to desire for God, and He will make it possible by enabling you to live life for His glory.
Your integrity counts most before God.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you for your desire for Him.

FAITH CAPSULE: Get to be praising God as a way of life.

Psalm 22

Just as God inhabits praise, the enemy evil one inhabits the complaint.
Pray that praising God shall be your portion continually. 
Give yourself to praising God for keeping you this far.
Praise Him with understanding.
Psalm 47:7 records, “For God, is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.” 
Praising God is the understanding for gaining a known edge.
Praising God with the understanding will gain and retain the presence of God.
Psalm 22:3 records, “But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.”
Isaiah 42:10 states, “Sing to the Lord a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!”
Ask that in this month and coming months, that singing song to the glory of God shall be your way of life.
Ask that praise of victory will not cease in your life this day and coming months.
Are you a believer with understanding to praise God?
It is ignorant to be living life by limiting praising God continually.
In life, ignorance makes a destitute believer.
It is wrong not to be praising God as a way of life.
One assuming praising God but not praising with understanding has taken to a way that seems right.
Proverbs 16:25 records, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”
PRAYER:
Today, ask that God will replace you away from every way that seems right you have engaged. 
Pray against wrongdoing before God.
Often, ignorant will lead one to wrongdoing that keeps one far from God.
How far are you from God that is near to all at all times regardless of wrongdoing before Him?
With sin, one that is far or walks far from God is taking a route to fall for the enemy.
Do not walk far from God. 
In your walk, despise wrongdoing to observe the word of God, His way that is His presence. 
Proverbs 23: 26 admonish all “My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways.”
Prayerfully 
Ask God to enable you to give your heart that will make your eyes observe His ways.
Ask that God will make His strength be established in you not to fall.
The strength of God is His word.
Job 4:4 testify word of God as His strength “Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have strengthened the feeble knees.”
Ask that the strength of God shall answer for your standing not to become a victim of wrongdoing.
Get to be praising God as a way of life.

Prayer for today: Ask that God give you the heart to walk in line with Him.