God Will Answer

Dear Precious Ladies

How have you been? We thank God for the grace that sustained us in June.

1 John 5:14-15 says, ‘this is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.’

Ladies our God is very faithful. I had a desire to go to Israel for years and years, ever since I was a young girl. I prayed about it for the past ten years or so. I would hear from people who had been and would wish I could go. Sometimes I would watch television programmes and see people in Israel and would say “one day I will go”. Last month the Lord made a way for us to go as a team from our church with some brethren from London.

Israel made the scriptures come alive for me. I was encouraged by the great involvement of women in the ministry of our Lord Jesus. We went to the key places starting from Bethlehem, His birthplace, then Jerusalem, Nazareth, Galilee, Cana, Capernaum, Calvary, Gethsemane, the upper room, and the empty tomb. We also visited Mary and Martha`s place, the wells of David, Jordan River, Dead Sea, Mountain of Beatitudes, Jericho, Mount of Transfiguration, Mount of Olive, Wailing Wall, Bethsaida, the shepherds field, and followed Jesus' steps to the cross. I found the whole experience completely life changing. We could sense the presence of the Lord at each place we went to. We would stop and pray, connecting with what had happened there. We had an opportunity to carry a cross and it was very tough!!! We could just imagine what Jesus felt and yet we had not been scourged or spat on, or slept in a dungeon the night before. The sufferings of Christ became very real. Indeed we were purchased with a great price!!! (1 Corinthians 6:20)

At the Wailing Wall women from every corner of the globe were interceding for different things. I remembered you all who subscribe to ‘Hope for Every Woman’ and I believe the Lord heard us. It was amazing to see all nations gather to pray to Yahweh, the God of Israel... our God! My feet stood within the gates of Jerusalem and I worshipped the Lord. Later, when we went to the upper room we prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to fill us again. He did because we felt His magnificent and powerful presence.

During our time in Israel, we rededicated our lives to the Lord. We also grabbed the opportunity to be baptised again in the same river Jordan where John baptised our Lord and the heavens were opened for Him!! I believe the heavens opened for us too. While I was in the water, I could not stop clapping my hands and singing praises to the Lord. Surely the Lord was and is with us. I came back a brand new woman and understand the scriptures more because I can visualise the places!!

Going to Israel was a dream come true. God gave me the desire of my heart even though I had to wait a long time for my prayer to be answered. As we end the month of June 2013, let me encourage you to continue to trust in the Lord if you are waiting for an answer to prayer. No matter how long it takes, do not give up and be discouraged. God is faithful and very real. He granted my ‘Israel prayer request’. Yours may not be Israel, it could be something else but just know that delay does not mean denial. Calvary is the epitome of God’s love for you, so He will answer you and it shall be well with you.

For those of you whose who have been praying for the opportunity to go to Israel, you will surely go. The God who made a way for me will surely make a way for you.

I love you all and am praying for you.

 

Rejoice in June!

Dear Precious Ladies

Hallelujah!!! June is here! January seems like yesterday! For others, it could be that May went really slowly because of various reasons. But hey, we have moved into a new month and we are alive! We thank God for seeing us through and by His grace, He will continue to see us through. What hope we have in our heavenly Father! Isn’t He faithful ladies? I would like to share with two very simple verses that I was given as daily devotional verses:
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food…yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour - Habakkuk 3:17-18.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice – Philippians 4:4.

When I first started reflecting on these verses, what came to my mind immediately was to praise the Lord always. Of course as human beings, it is very easy to praise God when things are going well, when our requests are being granted by God, or when things are going as we expect them to.

But what if things aren’t going so well… For example, you have looked for a job endlessly, but you still haven’t found one, leading to financial difficulties. It might be that you are struggling with your studies or career - that boss that is giving you a very hard time is making life unbearable. Maybe things aren’t going well with your family life – husband, children, parents, siblings, or you are all alone and feel forgotten or left out. Are you living in a warzone where there is so much devastation, that even basics such as food and water are hard to get? Could it be that you are battling serious health issues, or could it be you recently lost a loved one? Any of these can make life feel so difficult and at times like this, we may feel God isn’t listening to us or He isn’t there for us and may find it really hard to praise Him.

The Bible tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people Psalm 22:3 and we know it is good to praise Him (See Psalm 147). Also, don’t forget that the enemy tries to take advantage when we are weak. When we feel low in spirit, the enemy, whom we know is like a roaring lion looking for whom to devour could try to make things worse by making us lose our faith, our hope, our joy, our confidence. So don’t give the enemy the opportunity to pounce!

God doesn’t need our praise, but I see God saying “Well done” whenever we praise Him, even more so when we are going through hard times as it shows we trust in Him. Remember the verse “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6. Rejoicing in the Lord no matter what is about trusting the Lord always. E.g Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Daniel

One way I have heard lots of preachers say to go about this is to think of all the blessings the Lord has bestowed on us when we are going through difficult times, and it really does help to uplift our spirit to the point where we are able to praise Him.

So dear ladies, let us try not to be weighed down by life’s trials. Let us try to rejoice in Him always and remember He is more than able to see us through whatever life throws at us.

Also, all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord – Romans 8:28a. Let us have His peace in our hearts throughout this month and always.

Remain blessed.