joseph4inspiration

(Matthew 8:34)

After being told by eyewitnesses what had just happened, the people of that region wanted Jesus to leave. Why? Well, Jesus told us why in Matthew 6:21, when He said "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

The people valued their herd of pigs so much that they were blind to the miracle that took place.

Is there anything in your life that's valued so high, you're missing out on what God is doing?

So many people say they never see the hand of God in their lives, and this is one reason why. They can't see His hand moving because their heart's focus is elsewhere.

(Hosea 1:7)

Sometimes when we're waiting for God to move in our lives, we try to depend on our own logic to determine how He's going to move. We sit back, racking our brains, trying to figure out what will be the method of the Almighty.

But when God told Hosea He was going to free His people, He said He would not do so with weapons and armies or horses and charioteers - not with anything Hosea was familiar with, but He would do so by His power as the Lord.

God was going to bring His promise of freedom to pass in His own way, according to His own counsel.

Are you trying to figure out how God is going to bring your promise to pass in your life? Are you frustrating yourself and causing yourself to doubt by trying to figure out the methods of the Almighty?

(Exodus 33:22)

There will be times when God will hide us on purpose, for His purpose and for our good. But being hidden for a season can be uncomfortable and frustrating because we tend to feel as if we're missing out on the good times going on in life. But it's not the good times God is trying to keep us away from, it's those hindrances and hidden dangers that you are either unaware of or ignoring.

Take Moses for instance, Moses asked a request of God but didn't consider the dangers of His request. God told Moses no man shall see Me and live (Exodus 33:20); but death was not a consequence FOR seeing God, it was a consequence OF seeing God. This was something that Moses obviously didn't know and therefore had no reason to consider it, but God knew and protected him.

It's the same way when God has an assignment for your life and because of the level of that assignment, He has to hide you for a while. Look at John the Revelator, he was on the island of Patmos as a punishment, but God was also using the island as a hiding place. What John didn't know was that God was about to use him to write the book of Revelation and because of the spiritual level and visions John was about to receive, he had to be isolated for a while.

(Exodus 33:22)

There will be times when God will hide us on purpose, for His purpose and for our good. But being hidden for a season can be uncomfortable and frustrating because we tend to feel as if we're missing out on the good times going on in life. But it's not the good times God is trying to keep us away from, it's those hindrances and hidden dangers that you are either unaware of or ignoring.

Take Moses for instance, Moses asked a request of God but didn't consider the dangers of His request. God told Moses no man shall see Me and live (Exodus 33:20); but death was not a consequence FOR seeing God, it was a consequence OF seeing God. This was something that Moses obviously didn't know and therefore had no reason to consider it, but God knew and protected him.

It's the same way when God has an assignment for your life and because of the level of that assignment, He has to hide you for a while. Look at John the Revelator, he was on the island of Patmos as a punishment, but God was also using the island as a hiding place. What John didn't know was that God was about to use him to write the book of Revelation and because of the spiritual level and visions John was about to receive, he had to be isolated for a while.

(Matthew 26: 36-39)

Sometimes the hardest thing to do isn't press forward, but rather, making the choice that you will press forward.

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was faced with that very same dilemma. Either He goes to the cross and dies for mankind while bearing our sins, or disobey the Father's will. That choice was His alone to make and brought Him to His lowest point. His sweat became as blood as He struggled within Himself even as Satan himself whispered into His ear that He could not bear such a load.

We often find ourselves in the same place of Christ as Christians when it's time to move forward in the will of God. The choices we often have to make that leads us to our blessings are painful, stressful, frustrating, annoying, and oftentimes we have to make them alone. It's never easy making the choice to end relationships you know God is pulling you away from, breaking bad habits, or deciding to change your life.

We often talk about the pain of bearing our cross, but what about the pain that goes before the cross, the decision?

The decision is hard but never in vain. God always has something better than what He wants us to come out of. Yes the decision to go to the cross was a hard one to make, but suffering wasn't the only thing before our Lord; God promised that Jesus would be greatly rewarded for His sacrifice - receiving a name that is above every other name and that at His name every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess that He is the Lord to the glory of the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11).

You may have some hard choices to make standing before you now. You may have even decided to put them off for a while, but God has something better than what He's asking you to give up and what He's asking you to do will lead you to your blessings.

(Hebrews 10:23)

There are many reasons why God does not want us to doubt Him and one of those reasons is because He's faithful.

Ever since the exodus from Egypt the children of Israel have rebelled continuously against the commandments of God. But still, ever since the exodus from Egypt, God has been faithfully at work fulfilling the promise he made to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3), Isaac (Gen. 26:3), and Jacob (Gen. 46:3)

God knew exactly what He was in for when He made the promise to Abraham, repeated it to Isaac, and then again to Jacob, but He also knows His faithfulness and His ability to carry out all that He promises.

(Isaiah 43:2)