Two men. Slaves in pagan nations. The kings of these nations took off their signet rings and gave them to these men – Joseph and Mordecai as if they were spellbound by the command of the Almighty God.
Any law that was sealed with the King’s signet ring could not be revoked. Whoever had the signet ring held the authority to pass any law or command anything they pleased. So it would seem that these men held higher authority than the king himself.
What made them special enough to receive this privilege? The reason was that neither of these men bowed down before any human authority. They feared Almighty God more than they feared their circumstances or the authority that demanded them to disobey God. Joseph did not yield to the wicked desires of his master’s wife. Mordecai did not bow down before Haman, the second in command of the nation. Their devotion to God made their living itself a question mark and yet they did not budge. And God rewarded them in due time with the King’s signet ring.
If these men had done just what everyone else was doing, they would have stayed one among everyone else. Their names made it in the Bible because they chose to obey God. Without obedience to God, there is no reward.
One fine day, Saul’s father’s donkeys went missing. His father asked Saul to take a servant with him to find the donkeys. It was like the donkeys went invisible or disappeared from the face of the earth. Saul searched through the hill country of Ephraim, the area around Shalisha, the district of Shaalim, the territory of Benjamin, and then reached the district of Zuph. By then, Saul had lost hope that they would find the donkeys and wanted to return home.
Just then, his servant suggested to go to the prophet in that town who was Samuel. Though Samuel was known throughout the nation of Israel, Saul wasn’t aware of him. Saul didn’t seem to have much to do with the man of God. As a prophet, Samuel would have had a certain way of dressing which would distinguish him as a prophet, and yet Saul could not recognize Samuel.
But Samuel had received a word from God the previous day, “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over My people Israel;” When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern My people”. Samuel asked Saul and his servant to join the feast and gave Saul the special meat which was prepared for him.
The next day morning, Samuel took the flask of olive oil, poured it on Saul’s head, and anointed him as the ruler over Israel. He also told him about a few signs that would happen on Saul’s way home, which happened exactly as Samuel had prophesied. And the donkeys were also found. All through the Bible, the donkeys have been so obedient and useful part in God’s plan. Being an obedient donkey is better than being disobedient people!
Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.
At times, when God leads us through troubled waters, our frequent question is, “Why is this happening? I don’t understand this!” If we are following God in the path that He leads, some of these troubled paths might even be for others to see that Yahweh alone is God. If not for the Red Sea on the Isralites’ route which God Himself told them to take, the Egyptians who taunted them and even all the other nations would not have known the might and power of our Almighty God. If not for Daniel being thrown into the lion’s den, King Darius and all of his kingdoms wouldn’t have known that Daniel’s God was able to keep him safe even in the midst of the hungry lions – which was meant to be a punishment strategy of that nation. If not for the fiery furnace that was raised seven times more than usual, for Daniel’s friends to be thrown in, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon would not have known the God who truly holds the thrones of the nations. If not for the waters of Jordan being parted, the people of the surrounding nations’ hearts wouldn’t have melted in fear in regard to the Israelites.
So, keep heart, some of the situations that we go through might be just for our God to reveal Himself as sovereign. Rather than being tossed and turned by the waves, may we learn to rest in Him and keep His ways and He will come through mightily as a warrior. Amen!
Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
This is the corner of my crafts pile. This is the corner between my dressing table and my computer desk in our bedroom. No one can see my crafts pile unless they take a peak at this corner. It sure is a messy corner. I am the kind who never can have enough yarn to crochet or frames for the watercolor arts or enough beads to make pieces of jewelry, and so on and so forth. This results in a messy crafts corner in the room.
In the same way, how is the nooks and corners of our hearts? Are there any hidden closets in our hearts where we deny access to God Himself? What skeletons are hidden in those closets?
In Psalm 51:10, David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
The devil tricks us into believing that there is a middle ground between good and evil, heaven and hell. Every decision in this world is like the two sides of a coin – either we are for God or we are against God. This is a hard thing for even believers to agree with because there are a lot of things in the world that take a piece of our hearts and we desire to be entertained by them.
The sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary has raised the expectations of our standard of holy living. Though we cannot be utmost holy and blameless till we are on this side of eternity, we ought to strive for holiness. We cannot take the blood of Jesus for granted. In every humanly possible way, we should strive to please God. And whenever we fail, let us not allow the devil to beat us up with guilt. Let us rise up immediately and go to the cross(Jesus), repent, turn around from the sin, and keep striving towards holiness. Let us not take any sin lightly by sizing it. May we not settle down with “just enough salvation, just enough Christianity” which we would hope to take us to heaven. May we not deceive ourselves because it is the Son of God who died on the cross for our sins. It is the Son of God! Can “just enough Christianity” take us to heaven? We have chances to fix our ways only till we breathe!
Who knew today happens to be National Best Friend Day?!
Do you have friends who would open the roofs of heaven to bring down a deliverance for you, like the friends of the paralytic man in Luke chapter 5? Well, you are blessed.
The house where Jesus was preaching was overflowing with people. So the friends of a paralytic man tore down the roof of the house and brought down the paralyzed man and laid him before Jesus. Luke 5:20 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to him, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house”. Immediately he rose up before them, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
Sadly, not everyone is blessed with such friends, like the man at the pool of Bethesda (John chapter 5). A great multitude of people with various kinds of diseases stayed by the pool of Bethesda, because it was considered a miracle pool. At an unknown time, an angel would go into the pool and stir up the water. When the water got stirred, whoever got into the pool first was healed from whatever disease he had. As expected, a multitude of sick people stayed beside the pool, with their eyes on the water so that they could get into the pool when the water got stirred by the angel.
Beside this pool, a man who had an infirmity waited for 38 years to receive his healing. Not a year or two, but 38 very long years!
Unimaginable, as for most of us, that would make the most part of our life till now. He had no friends or family who longed for him to receive a healing so he was there all by himself at the mercy of others to carry him to the pool when the water got stirred. His 38 years of wait says that there was no one there to help him out because everyone needed their own healing first. And once healed, they just left.
Into the hopelessness of his situation, the hope of all hopes walked in – JESUS! No one told Jesus about this man. The Son of God knew that this man was stuck in his situation for a very long time. And yet Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be made well?”. The man replied, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool”. Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. 38 years of being stuck became history the moment Jesus walked into his situation.
Just as the man who had loving, caring friends, the man who had nobody also was healed by Jesus.
Luke 10:41-42 Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled by many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her.
Like Martha, the world pressures us into doing this and that to keep up with the rat race, while God expects just one thing from us – to sit still in His presence – To be still and know that He is God. Psalm 46:10. It isn’t easy to be still when we see others run around like ‘chickens with no head’ to accomplish “something”. It takes an enormous amount of faith to “sit still” when the world runs around crazily and makes us question ourselves if we are missing out on something if we sit still.
A lot of times, we finally come to the point of “sitting still in God’s presence” after being exhausted by unsuccessful running around. And we learn then that He was right about being still, as always. He asks us to leave our battles to Him and that He will fight them and most importantly, “win” them – unlike us who love to fight our battles, and then only to lose those battles. He says that He can fill the ditches with water even if we don’t see the wind or rain. He is Sovereign. He can do anything that He pleases. He has no limitations.
King David was also doing so many things. And then he had a very honorable desire to build a temple for Yahweh(2 Samuel chapter 7). But God said, “Not you, my child”. Yet God was pleased with David’s desire and God promised David with blessings of eternal kingdom. And what did David do when he heard that? He went and sat before God’s presence and humbled himself saying, “Who am I, LORD, and what is my family, to deserve such a blessing?“. And what did God do? 2 Samuel chapter 8 says repeatedly, “The LORD gave David victory wherever he went”.
1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7. casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Every now and then, life seats us on the dreaded bench- the bench that is broken, hard, uncomfortable, and with sharp edges. There is no one who is spared from it. Everyone gets their turn to sit on it. You are either someone who got off the dreaded bench just now, still sitting on it, or is about to sit on one. It is often a lonely place. No one would desire to accompany us on such a bench. No One, but Jesus! My Jesus! My Savior! My dearest friend! He is my everything! The One who took me out of the slimy pits and washed me off and made me clean and fragrant!
Isaiah 46:4 Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs, I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry and will deliver you.
Regardless of the kind of bench that we are seated on, God promised to be with us till we are old and gray, till our last breath! And He is more than enough!
When God puts us on a wait, He has a purpose. So many clouds of witnesses in the Bible who have gone before us can testify to that. Waiting can be painful and dreadful because of the uncertainty of its timeline and the outcome remains unknown.
Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk, and not faint.
Abraham and Sara have sat on this bench for a long period of time in their old age, waiting for the son whom God had promised to them. Just as God promised, they received Isaac even when Abraham had to wait till he was hundred years old.
Joseph saw two dreams when he was seventeen. He had to sit on this bench through slave time and prison time till he became thirty before his dreams got fulfilled.
God told Noah to build an ark and to warn the people about the upcoming judgment thru the flood. He had to sit on this bench for a hundred and twenty years enduring the mocking of people. The flood came just as God warned and Noah’s family was kept safe in the ark which he had built obediently and diligently.
Rachel had to wait on this dreaded bench for a child while her sister Leah was blessed with many children. God blessed Rachel with Joseph and Benjamin – Joseph became the reason all of Leah’s children were fed and protected, while out of Benjamin came the first King of Israel.
Hannah had to sit on this bench just like Rachel. Her misery was so great that she offered the child back to God if He would bless her with a son. And God blessed her with Samuel who became the prophet who anointed the first two Kings of Israel.
The list goes on. All those who waited on God in faith and perseverance witnessed the promise-keeping hand of God Almighty!
1 Peter 5:6,7 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Has God put you on this dreaded bench? His eyes are on you, just as the refiner’s eye is on the metal being refined in the fire. You are in the process of being made as precious in His eyes.
I am a puppet in God’s hands. I delight in being a puppet in God’s hands. I am not a lifeless puppet. I am a living puppet, with emotions, strong willpower, rebellion, and so on and so forth. I have tasted and seen that my God is good and faithful and there is no one like Him. Pleasing God in everything is my only priority because I love Him with my everything. I have no words to explain how good He is to me! John 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love. My only desire is to obey God in everything that He tells me and to praise Him all my life.
Why do I consider myself a puppet in God’s hands? Not always do I “hear” God. Sometimes, I hear Him speak in my thoughts, though with no audible voice, I can hear Him loud enough to catch my attention. Whatever He says would align with His character which is mentioned in the Bible. One such thing would be, “While you are waiting for me to come through in your situation, why don’t you pray for others?”. I instantly understood that was the LORD and started to pray for others, even though my own situation was like a flat tire. These are situations where I could hear Him clearly.
But there are also a lot of times when I don’t hear any instructions, but, initiating a text with someone or a conversation about a topic with someone would result in encouraging and lifting up their spirits. I have felt so overjoyed to hear that from them. Because even I would feel amazed by how I did those things without knowing anything about their situations. My prayer to God is, “Lord, use me. Anytime when someone needs an encouraging word to lift up their spirits, please remember me. Please pull the strings of my heart as a puppet to accomplish what You would want through me. Here I am, O Lord. Use me”.
I know how lonely the pits of depression and loneliness and failures and humiliations can be. I have been there for long enough to know how painful and hopeless that can be. But, my God took me out of that with His nail-pierced hands for a reason. He lighted my candle when I was in the dark. So I want to light the candles of others who are in the dark. Keep my candle going, O Lord. Help me to be the candle that draws people to Jesus. Amen! Hallelujah!
Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
Gideon and his three hundred men were exhausted but kept pursuing their enemies and crossed the Jordan. He said to the men of Sukkoth, ” Give my troops some bread; they are worn out as I am still pursuing the kings of Midian”. But the officials of Sukkoth mocked them and replied, “Do you already have the hands of the Midian kings? Why should we give bread to your troops?”. Gideon replied angrily, “When the LORD has given the Midian kings into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns”. From there, he went to Peniel and asked its men the same. They also replied just as the men of Sukkoth and refused to give them bread. Gideon challenged that he will tear down their towers. As God was with Gideon, he pursued and captured the kings of Midian and killed them. And while returning, he did just as he challenged the above two cities.
Today people might not come to our door asking for bread or food. But we are surrounded by people who go through various crisis situations. The bread that we can offer to them is the bread that brings them hope, the bread that lifts up their spirit. Even the great prophet Elijah when he was on the verge of giving up on life and slept under a tree, the angel brought him food, twice.
When someone feels exhausted with their situations, may we not further weaken their spirit by adding our versions of discouragements. We need to remember that we represent a God for whom anything is possible – the God who raised Lazarus four days after his death, the God who fed the Israelites for forty years in the wilderness, the God who parted the Red Sea to make a way for His children, so on and so forth. Our God hears the cries of the people whom He created – even the wicked and the disobedient ones. Israelites, His chosen and yet rebellious ones, are the perfect examples. God has a great reputation for showing up on time, though many a time, it would seem late to us.
Peninnah taunted Hannah day in and day out. But when God heard Hannah’s cries, there was no room for taunting words anymore. Hagar despised Sarah. But when God remembered Sarah, there was no more room for Hagar to despise her. Sennacherib taunted the Israelites with his blasphemous and discouraging words, but when God killed his mighty army, there was no more room for his taunts. Whenever Jesus was approached by people who were in need of healing, He expected just one thing from them – believe that He can. So when people around us grow weary in their journey, may we be the ones who offer the bread of encouragement to them.
The LORD sold the children of Israel into the hand of Jabin, the king of Canaan because they did evil in the sight of God. The commander of Jabin’s army was Sisera who harshly oppressed the children of Israel and they cried out to their God.
Deborah was a prophetess, who was also a judge in Israel during this time. One day she called for Barak and said to him, “Has not the LORD God of Israel commanded? Take with you the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun and against you, I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude and I will deliver him into your hand?”. Judges 4:6
And Barak said to Deborah, “If you will go with me, then I will go but if you will not go with me, I will not go!”.
This statement of Barak has amazed me. After Deborah says a word from the LORD that Sisera’s army will be defeated by him, he asked for Deborah to accompany him. On the other hand, Moses pleaded to God, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here”. Exodus 33:15
Deborah replied to Barak, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey that you are taking, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”
My belief is that this privilege of defeating Sisera, a commander who owned 900 iron chariots and a multitude of the army, was given to a woman because Barak asked for Deborah’s accompaniment instead of God’s. Even after God had given His Word that He will give Sisera in their hand, as Barak did not dare to go forward in faith, I believe, the privilege got delegated to a woman.
Barak took 10000 men with him. Sisera had a multitude of army which included 900 iron chariots. And yet, Sisera’s army was defeated at the edge of the sword before Barak. Sword of 10000 Israelite men? No, the Sword of God Almighty. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. Not a man was left in Sisera’s army.
On foot, Sisera reached the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite who was in peace alliance with King Jabin and Sisera. Jael offered a peaceful welcome to Sisera and covered him with a blanket. Sisera instructed her to tell anyone who came looking for him that there is no one else in the tent. He asked her for some water and she brought him a jug of milk instead. He drank it and fell into a deep sleep as he was exhausted from the run.
Jael wasted no time. She took a tent peg and a hammer in her hand and drove the tent peg into his temple and it went down into the ground. He died instantly. In the meantime, Barak pursued Sisera and reached Jael’s tent. Jael came out to meet him and said, “Come, I will show you the man whom you seek.” He went into the tent and saw Sisera dead with the peg on his temple.
Thus God gave Sisera and his army in the hands of a woman just as He gave the Word. God equips the ones whom He calls. So if we get God’s call to do something, may we not fear. Because the One who gives us a task will equip us for it, for there is none faithful as Him. May we not delegate the tasks to others or ask for others’ company rather than God’s company to finish His task.
Even though Barak led the army, the victory was delegated to Jael, a simple woman who lived in the tent. God used the tent peg that was in her hand rather than the sword that was in fearful Barak’s hand. May we use our smallest skills to accomplish big tasks for the LORD so that His name is glorified. Amen!
