Two weeks after she broke her knee cap, my wife still sits in a straight leg brace and my housekeeping skills have grown exponentially!   I love this verse. It explains a lot to me.

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers them out of them all.”  Psalms 34.19. 

We live in a world that is broken because of the bad decisions and actions of ourselves and others.   God doesn’t keep us from every affliction but He will help us out of the troubles, or through those troubles when we ask Him.

 We sometimes wonder, why God doesn’t stop pain from happening, but here’s the thing – He doesn’t even keep himself from suffering.  Only beings that feel and love, can suffer.  If we want the possibility of feeling love in the world, we also have to have the possibility of suffering.   Whoever loves the most, suffers the most and God suffers greatly to see the choices His children make but loves them enough to give us the freedom to make them.

He never stopped Adam from disobeying but when Adam realised his error, God quickly forgave and redeemed him.  God always warns people of consequences but doesn’t force anyone to obey.  He doesn’t stop people from disobeying either.   For God to stop every sin, crime or conflict that creates pain like an argument between husband and wife, he would have to override free will every day. He is not a controlling demigod, who takes away our personal freedom and personality but He gives us the dignity and responsibility of our own lives.  In the midst or our afflictions, he draws near to reveal himself and restore the broken, by empowering us with the strength and grace to overcome in this life.

Friend, if you were kept from every issue you could neither see more of God or know your need.  God does not keep us from every affliction but through the window of pain reveals Himself as the Comforter and wonderful Deliverer out of it all.  Today He is drawing near to you and wants to reveal Himself. Take time to look through the window.

David sat among the sheep grazing all around him, unaware that back at the house, he’d been excluded from an important meeting with the Prophet. The actions of the family showed that they did not believe that God could or would use David. Their exclusion showed that he was considered by them, to be insignificant to the real work of God but God thought differently. (1 Sam.16)
One thing that shapes our values is our family. Maybe you can see how your family has written a message on our minds that affects how we see God and ourselves. Sometimes the people in our life or past are not the best people to tell us who we are!
Thankfully, when we are saved, God begins to write upon our heart and mind a new story by giving us new experiences of His love, care and power in our lives and the best place now, to find out who we are is from God Himself.
Moses was a sheep farmer but he didn’t know who he really was, till God spoke to him. Peter thought he was a fisherman until he heard from Jesus. Gideon found out he was a deliverer and Elisha a prophet was not just the farmer’s son. God showed them all that they were loved, significant and called and capable.
Friend, you’ll never know who you really are, till you hear God tell you - Get away from the sheep for a moment and listen at the burning bush. He will tell you.

The 12 spies went up to see the Promised Land and found it full of beautiful fruit in the Valley of Eschol. The land was full of opportunity and possibilities but there were giants in the valley. God wanted the spies to see both grapes and giants but not to be discouraged; nor for them to discourage others by giving a negative report. "For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them" (Num 32:9).   The valley was Gods opportunity for the twelve spies to manifest a spirit of faith.  We are to see the problems and the giants but still live in faith. God is looking for a people with a spirit like Caleb and Joshua who will cause Gods people, to enter into their promised land.  Moaners are a dime a dozen and people who can see problems, abound; people with the gift of doubt are legion, but people with a different spirit and a faith-filled confession, are two in a million.

These are the type of people God is looking for and it is only in valleys inhabited by giants that they and their faith, stand out!  When David went down into the valley it was clear that Goliath was huge and his weapons large, but the biggest thing on the field of battle was David’s faith in God.  It is in the moments when people face giants, that the men and women who will become leaders, shine.  Our faith and trust is proven in the presence of giants and in the presence of 10 others who are negative about life's future. (1Cor 11.19)

Friend, don’t let others discourage you with a negative report about your future or Gods ability to help you, but place your confidence in God, who said: “I have given it to you.”

Gideon spoke to his 300 brave men as they were about to attack the enemy army “Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do” (Judges 7:17).  The leader says do as I do.  The leader goes the way and shows the way first. Gideon’s men never said “I don’t really feel like it right now” God is not asking for our opinion only our obedience. God leads us through leaders. Doing as the leader did was how they got a breakthrough. The devil knows the key to victory is unity.  That is why we never hear of the demons splitting up and starting a new hell.

So our task is not to score the worship leaders quality of voice or their song choice, our job is to follow them.  The Spirit of God will fall if we are one people, in one place, and in one accord.  They say Paul’s' voice was not great so if that was true, the power of God fell in the prison because of their their unity not because of their clever harmonies.

Amazingly, when the brave 300 entered the battle, the fearful remainder of the tribes were encouraged and returned to the battlefield.  (Judges 7:22-23)   The 300 all became leaders.  Our actions can inspire others to rise up.  Don’t wait for your friends to decide to be a world changer. Be the first, be the change.

Friend, find a leader to trust, follow them and become a leader to your friends who are watching you from afar. Your decision will change not only your destiny but the future of those who will inspire.

Many years ago I was in Nepal, when I heard the news that my wife had almost died from a haemorrhage, due to an ectopic pregnancy. It was hard for me being overseas and even harder for my wife. As leaders, we’d like to think that God would keep us from the valleys of trouble and pain, but one thing God wants to do is to teach us that he is God of the mountain and the valleys. When the spies went into the promised land they discovered fruit growing only in the valley. If you like – God doesn’t prevent every trouble – He doesn’t step in and stop every challenge and difficult time coming our way, but He will help us out of the troubles or through those troubles. The Bible says “Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers us from them all” God wants to be biggest and best part of your life; to be in your life. He wants to be the wind beneath your wings and to have involvement in your challenges and He simply kept us from every trial and trouble, it would inevitably keep Him locked outside your life. God does not always control circumstances on the front end but he always gets involved and delivers on the back end. This is how we grow. As His children we don’t just go through trouble; a believer always grows through troubles. David was convinced that God never left him nor forsook him. That conviction changes everything.

Friend, heaven is no place to grow kids. There has to be some resistance; some things to overcome; some trouble to bear in order to grow up strong and capable. A strong faith cannot be achieved by weak or small challenges.

I used to work for the Ministry of Works and sometimes they would have a sign in the middle of the road saying “Caution men at work.” It reminds me, that all of us need a sign up around our life every day, which says Caution God at Work! Not that we need to treat our loving Father with caution but that we should treat every moment with caution.  There are no secular moments when you are a believer and no secular jobs. Obviously, the glorious church is made up of truck drivers, lawyers and housewives. God uses their work hours and jobs to perfect them. Every part of our life; whether spending time with family, having breakfast and driving to work, are all spiritual, because He is always at work! 

Sometimes we think that God stays in the closet when we go to work but our life is like a movie. If you could stop each frame and look into it you’ll see God in every frame. God doesn’t compartmentalize our training or life as we might. We send our children to one for music lessons, to the gym for fitness, to school for their minds and to the Church for their spiritual growth, but not Our Father – all of life is His. He has one school and we are all in it full time. He can use every experience and every person we meet throughout the day.

Jesus told of a servant who wasn’t looking or expecting his master to turn up at any time.   “But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers (Luke 12:45-46). Unbelievers? A strange thing to say unless this man represents us, believers. The fate of the believer that isn’t expecting or looking for the Master to appear throughout his day is that they are given a portion like the unbelievers. In other words, a life where they cannot see God at work, in and around their lives – just another pointless day.  I love being in the “zone” where I’m expecting and seeing God communicate with me by any means, at any time in my day.
Friend, our Father is always with us, communicating with us and always working in us. God goes to work with you, not just to help you in your work but to work in you. God’s plans are not accomplished by His work in church meetings but because He is always at work in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. (Philippians 2.13)

With a lot of fist waving and shouting, the gang of Philistines arrested Samson and put out his eyes. The enemy wants us to be blind. If He can not blind us he will seek to get us focused on the wrong things. Being blind does not mean that we can’t see at all, but that we don't see what we should.

The night Peter denied the Lord three times, he was told to watch and pray. He was watching the Lord but he wasn't watching himself. In the parable of the five wise and foolish virgins (Matt 13 and 25), the girls were watching for the Bridegrooms coming but they were not watching their oil. These passages teach us that people will be aware of the conditions of the last days, but not aware of the condition of their own hearts. Knowing the signs of His coming of the Lord the same as knowing the Lord who is coming.

Samson entertained the one (Delilah) who was plotting his overthrow. Samson reasoned “I can let the enemy into my life for the Lords power will break me free again. He failed to see that there is some form of cost to maintain a growing “vision of God”. In Revelation 3.8, Jesus spoke to the Laodicea church who thought they had everything they needed when actually they had everything they wanted but nothing they needed. Jesus said “Buy from me eye salve for your eyes that you might see.” What it takes to “see”, has to be brought. There is a cost to “seeing” more of God.

Samson knew what he wanted but didn't know what he needed. He watched what he wanted not what he needed to watch. He thought he could still be Gods anointed and live with compromise. But there is a time when the anointing will lift and leave you and Samson didn't know the Lord had departed from him.

Friends, lets not be people that know more about of the signs of His coming than we do about the signs of “His leaving". Lets watch what we are watching for Samson stopped seeing long before he was blind.

The sun was setting as Gideon returned from spying out the Midianites.   He found enough trumpets among the people to put one in every soldier’s hand. The Shofar was the trumpet used for sounding the alarm for war. Every man needed a trumpet for the battle. “Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers” ( Jdg 7:16 ) Have you got a “Shofar” to make the sound of war? Have you a trumpet set to your mouth?  Can others hear it when you talk?   When Moses came down from the mountaintop, he thought he heard the sound of war but as he got closer, he realized it was the sound of partying.   What sound we are making?

If there is no Shofar in our mouth there be no victory in our life.  The sound of the Shofar means you’ve seen the enemy and you are ready for the battle.  You have seen the attack coming or noticed the inroads of the enemy into your thinking and your behavior and you’re not happy.  There needs to be a battle cry in our heart. David said “I come in the name of the Lord. Caleb said “Let’s go up and take the country, they are bread for us”.   Enemies are bread when our appetite is right.

I know you want victory. But my question is how badly do you want it?  Because if you don’t hate your habit or while you’re still enjoy your enemy – you’ll never beat your foe.  I personally have not been able to break free of things until I made up my mind and saw it as the enemy to my destiny. Right now think of your enemy and ask God to give you a hatred for it.   Decide you will not let a small enemy ruin a great future.  The stronghold of the strongman will be broken by the Stronger One. It is ours to decide -it is His to do.  Your enemy could be smoking, greed, insecurity, fear, or lust but if you decide to beat it – you can.  Repentance starts with a quality decision.

Friend, the minute you absolutely decide NO, the thing that has a hold you, has to let you go.  Grab your Shofar and let’s go to war. Both your Father and the enemy know you can win.

The Camino de Santiago, known in English as the Way of Saint James is a walk in the northwest of Spain, leading to where tradition has it, the shrine of the apostle Saint James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It’s a long walk of possibly 800 kms. Retirees and walking enthusiasts tackle it after much
planning. My friends John and Julie have walked much of it over a few weeks.  It makes me think of the Apostle Paul and Timothy.

As Paul leaned back on the walls of the prison, somehow smooth from the large number of prisoners that had rubbed their back along the wall, he thought about the people in the church at Philippi.  Were they still following Christ and strong enough to resist the social pressure exerted by Roman loyalists?  Paul wrote a concerned but encouraging letter from a Roman jail to his friends at Philippi telling them that he would try to send Timothy to see them in person.

Paul said that the proof of timothy’s character was that he gave himself to Paul as a son would to a father. In ancient times a son had no purpose or expectations independent of his father and indeed lived to fulfil the wishes and will of his father. Timothy had chosen to be as a son to his spiritual leader. He would do whatever was needed.  He was available to Paul. He was able to be sent to Philippi.

Now if the Pastor told me to visit a life group across town or the city it would be only a half hour or at most a two-hour return journey by car but Timothy was going to have to walk.  If I had to walk 20 kilometres it would 4 hours walking one way. If I left at 10:00pm I would be home by 2:00 am.  I’m not sure I’d be too excited; or likeminded or available. But we’re not talking 20 miles were talking 1000 km on foot.  Timothy had to cross the Italian countryside then the Ionian Sea between Italy and Croatia then traverse the mountains and walk the whole country down to Turkey. That’s a whole new level of availability!

And it was not to pick up a large million drachma missions offering or represent at a global conference of apostles but just to bring back news that would encourage the heart of his older father in the faith. For the simple reason that Paul his father, would be encouraged.

Sons have a deep availability and willingness towards the father in ways that church attendees or even servants could never understand. Sons have a passion in their hearts towards the house of God, the people of the house and particularly towards the father of the house.

Friend how is the proof of your character going? Are you a son or daughter to your local church leadership, or still just a member?