Answered prayer could just be a step of obedience away.

Joshua went on a mission the LORD gave him (Joshua 10:12-14). In so doing, Joshua needed more time, so he asked the Lord to stop the sun dead in its tracks.

I love how the LORD responded to this request. He not only did it, but wrote, “There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man.”

The author of Journeys wrote, “God never downloads the whole plan at once; we must discover it along the way. This is because the greater goal is not that we accomplish something but that we grow more intimate with our Lord. Those who listen well to God will find that God listens well to them, and they will accomplish a lot more.”

It was in the midst of his obedience, which came after listening, Joshua could ask for something he couldn’t have known prior to his obedience. He listened well and God listened well in return.

If heaven is silent, ask yourself, “Am I doing what He already told me to do?” If not, it’s time to listen well by acting upon your listening.

God is the mixer, not added to the mix.

The pastor asked an older farmer to pray before the meal, “Lord, I hate buttermilk.” Without skipping a beat, he added, “Lord, I don’t much like lard either.”

The pastor’s eyebrows raised at that point. He looked around the room to see others were starting to get uncomfortable with where this prayer might be going as well.

Yet the farmer kept on praying, “And Lord, you know I don’t care much for raw white flour either.” Now everyone’s eyebrows were raised!

Finally, the farmer ended with, “But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I sure do love warm fresh biscuits. So, Lord, when things come up that I don’t like, when life gets hard, when I don’t understand what is going on, help me to relax and wait until You’re done mixing. It will probably be much better than biscuits. Amen.”

We don’t always get to choose the circumstances in which we find ourselves. And we certainly don’t always understand the “why” at the moment either. Job sure didn’t!

Yet, our Father does. He takes all the sounds produced by the musicians and mixes them into a sweet-sounding song that will bless your socks off.

He can even take the sounds you wouldn’t necessarily buy the record and mix them into a work of art – being more like Jesus. (Romans 8:28) A record, you will literally cherish for eternity!

So, when you don’t understand what in the world is going on in your life, slow your jets. Be still and know your God. The Mixer is still working on the work of art – you.

Your Father has all your tomorrows in the palm of His hand; so, choose His presence today.

Want to know what robs today of its peace? Tomorrow.

Jesus touched on this when He said, “Don’t be anxious about tomorrow” (Matt. 6:34). This kind of anxiety will rob you of your peace today.

The word for anxious means to divide your thoughts. In other words, we become anxious when our minds go back and forth on the choice I can make right now while thinking about tomorrow’s decisions, divided thoughts.

Know this, tomorrow’s circumstances will change! The parameters of our decision will then change as well; thus, our divided thoughts today and its accompanying anxiety were for nothing!

Sure, we make plans for tomorrow or even the rest of our day. But, if we focus on the next moment’s decision rather than the current moment, our peace can go right out the window.

Jesus knew He was going to the cross; and yet, He chose to stay in the present and presence of His Father.

What if Jesus had focused, though, on the cross every day of His life prior to Gethsemane?  Do you think He could have slept on a boating sailing on a storming Galilean Sea if He had?  

While at Gethsemane, He was under so much pressure caused by divided thinking that He sweat blood and became depressed. He was told to go to the cross, yet He asked His Father, “You sure there isn’t another way?”

Can you imagine that kind of pain every day of your life rather than just for the moment it was meant to be experienced?

His peace, though, was restored the moment He focused on the one thought, “Your will be done. I will go to the cross.”

Tomorrow’s challenges are for tomorrow. Strive to stay in God’s presence today where there is peace through choosing to follow Him in the present. He’ll walk you through your tomorrow when it becomes your today.

Worship is the perfect response to difficult times.

The lyrics to Hard Fought Hallelujah resonated with me today.

“I don’t always feel it. But that’s when I need it the most. So, I’ma keep on singing ’til my soul catches up with my song. There’s days when a praise comes out easy, days when it takes all the strength I got.”

When is the perfect time to praise God? When you don’t feel like it, especially if you are in the midst of a battle for your soul, a changed life. Your enemy wants you to stay the same at worst or regress at best.

There are many times in Scripture, however, when Israel was losing a battle that the leadership started praising God. In fact, did you know that the military leaders actually helped King David organize the singers? The singers gathered intel from God through prophesy and thanked and praised God through using harps. (1 Chron. 25:1,3)

Why? One, it focused the warriors on Who was responsible for their victory – the Lord. Seeing the size of the enemy could be discouraging. Yet, being focused on God and what He promised to do brought hope and strength to fight.

And second, praise is an act of faith. When you praise Him, even when you don’t feel like it, and then act on what you are saying about God, victory will be found. Not before.

Feelings can lead to a defeatist attitude. Focused faith, though, can lead to a victorious mindset. Praise is all about what the Lord, not us, can and will do when we trust Him.

Feeling just plain worn out? It’s the perfect time to start praising God for who He is and what He promises to do. Strength is on its way when you do.  

“Genuine Christian experience always includes an encounter with God Himself.” AW Tozer

The definition of witness is to “have knowledge of (an event or change) from personal observation or experience.” When Jesus told His disciples to be His witnesses, He meant for them to share their personal God encounters with others.

And did Thomas ever have a story to tell! History called him, “Doubting Thomas.” Why?

The day Jesus rose from the grave, a group of women saw angels who said Jesus was alive. They told the 11 Apostles, including Thomas, who didn’t believe them.

A few hours later, two men were walking away from Jerusalem when Jesus showed up. They returned to Jerusalem and told the 11, “We’ve seen Jesus!”

While still talking, Jesus showed up. Their first reaction? Doubt. Jesus showed His scars from the cross. They still refused to believe. Jesus finally eats food and opens their minds to the prophecies about Him. Now, they believed!

Thomas, though, appears to have slipped out of the room. When the 10 saw him again, they said, “We have actually seen Jesus alive with our own two eyes!” His reaction? “I don’t care what you say about what you thought you saw, I won’t believe until I actually touch Jesus’ scars.” Jesus obliged him. Now he believed.

You can’t be a witness of something you haven’t experienced. People want to know, “Religion has let me down and kept me entrapped. How is Jesus any different?”

Thomas would say, “I not only doubted, but rejected what people said about Jesus. Then Jesus showed up to me in the flesh! I went from doubting to believing. So much so, I am willing to die for what I know from experience to be true.” Thomas was actually killed for being a witness.

Do you have personal Jesus encounters? If you do, be ready to be share them. As there are others who need to hear about this encounter. If not, isn’t it time to have some?  Ask Jesus to change your life and not just save you from eternal separation from God.

Jesus wants you to experience His resurrected life today. Talk about change and something to share!