Who can be against us when we wait in His strength?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
(Psalms 27:14 (ESV))

When you think of waiting, what type of attitude do you usually associate with this process?

Are you anxious? Perhaps you are fearful. Perhaps you are even experiencing an attitude of complete loss where you are simply waiting for the inevitable to happen.

Have you ever waited from a position of strength where you knew the outcome will be one of victory? You knew that all you needed to do was wait for the time to pass to bring this victory to fruition.

If you have professed a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, there is absolutely nothing in this world that should make you anxious, fearful, of have a feeling of loss. We have been told that all we must do is to be still for we are not relying on our strength. We are fully relying on His strength!

Be still before the Lord
     and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
     when they carry out their wicked schemes.
(Psalm 37:7 (NIV))

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
(Exodus 14:14 (NIV))

It is completely possible to wait in His strength! It is completely possible to place you faith in the Lord and completely rely on Him in all situations. Sadly, our sinful human nature takes over and we find ourselves doubting. We take our eyes off of Jesus and we start looking at the world, but, we must never forget in whom we have placed our faith. I believe that Paul said it well when he wrote these words to the believers in Rome.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
(Romans 8:31 (NIV))

Who can be against us when we wait in His strength?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What are you prepared for?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
(Ephesians 6:1 (NIV))

How good are you at facing the things of this world on your own strength?

I can almost hear your thoughts on this. Everyone likes to put on a false front and tell the world that they have everything covered, while inside they are falling apart.

Are you like most people and tell everyone that you have everything covered? Do you tell yourself that as well? Do you honestly believe the lies that you tell yourself? What happens at the first sign of trouble?

I realize that I am asking a lot of questions, but in all honesty, what good is reading God’s Word if you don’t feel uncomfortable. It is intended to make you reflect, to make you stop and take a good, long, hard look at your life in relation to the passage in question.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
(Hebrews 4:12 (NIV))

With that in mind, are you tired of trying to face things on your own strength? You don’t need to do this. You don’t need to rely on what you can do. You don’t need to lie to the world and to yourself. You don’t need to sacrifice your joy for a false facade. You don’t need to listen to the lies of the enemy. Turn your eyes toward Jesus!

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
(John 10:10 (NIV))

Just how do you have life to the full? How do you rely on the strength of the Lord? How do you rely on His mighty power?

I am sure that you have thought of these questions yourself, but there is something else that came to my mind. The following words are often seen on bumper stickers, on social media, and many other places, but they hold true.

No Jesus. No peace.
Know Jesus! Know peace!

To be strong in the Lord means that you truly know Him. It means that you cling to His every word and to His every promise. It means that you know Jesus so well that you know without a doubt that all of His promises are Yes and Amen! You may recognize that Ephesians 6:1 is the beginning of the passages where we are told to put on the full armor of God. We are to surround ourselves with His Word. We are to understand that His Word is power. We are to understand that His Word is our protection against the enemy. We are to understand that His Word will defeat the enemy. We are to know His Word and His truth so well that we are prepared for anything that the enemy may try to send our way!

What are you prepared for?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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How are you at waiting?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
(Psalms 27:14 (NIV))

How long has it been since you professed a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

Has your faith matured since your first profession? Have you grown in your understanding of what a faith in Jesus actually means? Have you come to the realization that the enemy hates you because you love Jesus? Do you understand that God is unfolding His timeline and that those who profess a faith in Jesus are seeing what all of humanity has longed to see since the fall from grace. We are seeing a loving God who has given people so many chances to repent and accept the grace freely given through the blood of Jesus closing that door. We are seeing the enemy doing his best to vilify anything righteous.

Are you tired of waiting for God’s righteousness to return to the earth? Are you watching and waiting for the Lord to gather His church? According to the events transpiring in the world today, we are closer than ever. In fact, I just saw the following bullet points that made me stop and reflect. We are seeing some things that I never thought I would see in my lifetime.

* The Abrahamic Family Center, which is a house of worship combining facilities for Christians, Jews and Muslims is set to open next month. This is one of many such facilities throughout the world. Some believe that this is an indicator of the coming one world religion.
* The required red heifers for the purification rituals for the 3rd Temple are here!
* Enemies are surrounding Israel on all sides and there are plans to divide Jerusalem.
* Almost every country is implementing digital currency, with plans to link them all together rapidly coming.
* Food shortages are increasing due to various issues.
* Technology has been developed and is in place, or being put in place, to be able to track everyone.
* There is an increase in lawlessness.
* There is an increase in wars and rumors of wars.
* There has been an ever increasing number of earthquakes.
* There has been an ever increasing number of plagues and pestilences.
* The whole world has been deceived by the pharmekia to fight these health issues.
* The generation that has lived to see Israel return to their homeland, the Fig Tree Generation, is now mature. We are told that the generation that sees this shall not pass away before these things come to pass!

If you are waiting for the Lord, stand firm in your faith. If you are still a sinner in need of a Savior, don’t put it off another moment. Don’t wait until it is too late!

I have come to the conclusion that everyone is waiting. They are either waiting for the Lord, or they are waiting for a reason to give their life to the Lord. Sadly, too many are waiting for the evil that they desire to be in complete control.

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
(Joshua 24:15 (NIV))

I choose to wait for the Lord.

How are you at waiting?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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We must all learn to patiently wait for the Lord!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Wait for the Lord;
     be strong and take heart
     and wait for the Lord.
(Psalms 27:14 (NIV))

There is something about human nature that just does not like to wait. We are impatient and this is probably a direct result of the fall from grace. To take this one step further, not only are we to wait for the Lord, but we are to do it patiently. We are to wait for His timing and His purpose.

I waited patiently for the Lord;
     he turned to me and heard my cry.
(Psalm 40:1 (NIV))

I found myself today asking what am I to do, what am I to write about that people need to understand. I do not profess for this to be what you may take it to mean, but instantly I found myself thinking that I need to wait for the Lord.

How about you?

Do you need to patiently wait for the Lord?

With all that is going on in your life, are you able to wait?

With all that is going on in the world, are you able to wait?

Each of us have things in our lives that we want God to resolve for us instantly. We all want God to resolve the world issues instantly. We are seeking these resolutions, these fixes, these prayers to be met on our timeframe. Every single person who professes a faith in Jesus is asking for things done on their timeframe. Some things will happen sooner than later, but everything will happen according to God’s timing. His ways are perfect. His timing is perfect. I am sure that you are familiar with the saying that God is never late and He is also never early. We want the early answer, but we must learn to be patient and wait for the never late timing that God is so good at doing.

When things seem like you can’t wait another minute, remind yourself that He is not on our timeframe. We are on His!

We must all learn to patiently wait for the Lord!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you strong in the Lord?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
(Ephesians 6:10 (NIV))

Do you consider yourself to be strong?

I realize that is a very vague question, especially when you consider that you can be physically strong, emotionally strong, spiritually strong, and financially strong, just to name a few. With that in mind, perhaps the better question is where do your strengths lie? Did you find yourself thinking that you are pretty good at this or that, only to be reminded that what you were thinking of is not something that you can do at full perfection, at full strength, every single moment of your life? Did this lead to a life altering conclusion in which you admitted to yourself that you are not as strong as you thought you were?

Keep in mind that it takes a strong person to admit that they are weak!

Have you truly considered that in order to be strong in the Lord, you have to admit that you are weak and in need of His strength? I honestly believe that this works the exact same way as when we admitted that we were a sinner in need of a Savior. We can’t do it on our own. Our strength is not sufficient! We must come to the conclusion that we must rely on a power that is far greater than we could ever be.

Our strength comes when we admit that we must fully rely on the Lord for everything that we do. Our strength comes when we admit that we truly are a sinner in need of a Savior. Our strength comes when we admit that we cannot face this world without Him.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 (NIV))

Do you fully rely on the Lord to overcome this world?

What else do you fully rely on the Lord for?

Do you cling to the words that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth?

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV))

Are you strong in the Lord?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you strong and courageous?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
(Joshua 1:9 (NIV))

Possibly the most difficult thing to wholeheartedly accept is that God is with us wherever we go. We believe it when things are going good. We say it less often when things are beginning to look less than perfect. We tell others to believe it when things are going badly for them, but do we honestly believe it when we are facing things in our lives that are less than desirable?

It is so easy to be strong and courageous when there is no reason to fear. Human nature is very bold and positive when there is no present danger. It is a little less easy to be strong and courageous when you start to feel threatened in some manner. Finally, it is almost impossible to keep any reasonable facsimile of strength and courage when faced with an immediate threat. The only people who are able to maintain any resemblance of calm and courage in the face of danger are those who have actually trained for such an event.

How can we, as believers, train for these times?

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
(Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV))

It cannot be simpler. In order to be strong and courageous, we need to train ourselves to rely on God in all situations. We need to know Him, His Son Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God’s Word so that we can quickly summon the appropriate armor to use in defending against the attacks of the enemy. We must also be able to listen and obey the voice of our Lord just as a soldier listens and obeys the voice of his commanding officer. We must be able to quickly discern what is from God and what is from the enemy.

Are you fully trained?

Are you strong and courageous?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you finding strength while you wait?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
(Psalms 27:14 (NIV))

If you are like me, you are probably asking when the Lord will set things right, especially as we see things rapidly turning further and further away from righteousness and common sense. In fact, I am certain that you have seen or heard someone say something to the effect that common sense is no longer common. All that you have to do is look at the events unfolding in this world and you quickly can agree to this claim. You probably will come away with a perplexed sadness about the inability of far too many people to make any type of logical and intelligent thought patterns. Is this the beginnings of the powerful delusion?

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
(2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (NIV))

God is unfolding things according to His timeline. If you truly follow the Lord and long for His righteousness, then you are probably like me and desire to see that sooner than later. Be patient!

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
(2 Peter 3:9 (NIV))

God is never early, and more importantly, He is never late. There is a moment in time when the Lord will increase the events and the rapidness of their timing as they unfold culminating in His return. We may be days away. We may be months, or we may even be years, but one thing is certain. We must take heart for we know that His promises will come to pass. We must pray for His strength. We must patiently wait for the Lord.

Are you finding strength while you wait?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Keep you eyes focused on the Lord!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
(Joshua 1:9 (NIV))

With the current state of the world, are you at afraid? Are you discouraged?

Do you have the strength and courage to fully rely on God no matter what happens?

I realize that these are tough questions to answer honestly. Each of us would like to think that we can walk the proverbial walk and not just talk the talk, but how many of us have truly been tested in our faith? Just like when a baby first learns to walk, it takes small steps where we gingerly venture out in uncertainty. With each step of faith that we take, our strength and courage grow as we learn that we can be confident in the promises and the presence of the Lord. Just like a baby, if we don’t allow the stumbles and falls to deter us, we will soon find ourselves with the confidence to walk boldly with the Lord.

I have found a fantastic benefit to walking boldly with the Lord.

Peace!

In all circumstances that I have faced so far in my life since accepting Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, I have learned to find peace.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:7 (NIV))

They say that hindsight is 20/20. It is also a tremendous way to remind yourself of the fulfilled promises and presence of the Lord. When you look back, you find the strength and courage to trust in the Lord as you look to the future fulfillment of His promises.

Keep you eyes focused on the Lord!

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is the Lord your strong tower?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
        the righteous run to it and are safe.
(Proverbs 18:10 (NIV))

In this world where sin and death have taken over due to man’s downfall, it is good to know that we have a place of refuge. Those who are of the world do not know of this refuge. They go about their daily lives not knowing of the grace and peace that can be found in this refuge. This wonderful refuge is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Even when the Book of Proverbs was written, Solomon knew of the great peace available through the grace of God. He was not able to partake fully of that peace, for Jesus had not come to the earth yet. Still, Solomon had a foreshadowing of that peace.

All throughout history, the righteous have been able to call on God as their sword and shield, even though we are sinful by nature.

All of us have become like one who is unclean,
        and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
    we all shrivel up like a leaf,
        and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
(Isaiah 64:6 (NIV))

God looks at a person’s heart. He is capable of knowing if we seek after Him and if we do, we have a place of refuge.

Who or what do you turn to when you need shelter?

Is the Lord your strong tower?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Something to remember as we face a new year!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
(Joshua 1:9 (NIV))

Do you worry about the events transpiring in this nation and in the world?

Does the uncertainty of a new year bring fear or do you trust completely in the Lord as His timeline unfolds?

I have seen many different points of view being offered as the last year unfolded. I am seeing many different points of view being offer up as to what to expect in the coming year and beyond. If you pay attention to the world, you will probably find yourself fearful. But, if you place your faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then you have professed that your hope is not of this world. You have professed that you are living in this world, but you are not of this world.

What do you see coming in the new year? Perhaps I should ask what do you hope to see in the new year? Do you expect to see the world return to a state of normalcy similar to what it was just a few short months ago? From what I have been reading and studying, I honestly do not believe that this world will ever again see what we had previously come to know as normal.

If you are a student of God’s Word, then you should be a student of prophecy, for it is estimated that approximately one forth of the Bible is prophecy. Many of the prophecies have already come to fulfillment. Others are being fulfilled right before our eyes. To be honest with you, there are things that have been unfolding and are continuing to unfold that I honestly don’t think can be reversed or even stopped. Does this cause fear? Are you discouraged by the current state of the world? Are you looking at this world from your perspective or from God’s perspective? If we place our trust in the Lord, then why do we fear what is to come?

We know the outcome!

If we truly profess a faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior and we know the outcome of all things, then what do we have to fear! Keep your eyes focused on Jesus and look up!

Something to remember as we face a new year!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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