A Word of Encouragement in the Midst of Sorrow: Job 41:22, "In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him." I want to encourage those that are grieving today. God says that there is still strength in your neck. So continue to hold your head up for He will turn your sorrow to joy. I heard the Lord say that this is a Season of Praying and Waiting. Luke 1:13 says, "But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard;" Today know in your heart that your prayer is heard. So hold your head up! Through pain, sorrow, and disappointments, hold your head up. There is strength in you neck and your prayers have been heard. Be blessed! Evangelist Cheryl Davies
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Continuing today with the Book of Daniel we witness Daniel continually defeating all the distractions that tried to remove his focus off of God. While the Book of Daniel is filled with distractions I want to bring the key distractions to your attention. · Daniel had to be enduring jealously from some of the children of Judah. (This is not written in the Word but I can imagine this scenario.) There is always someone that becomes jealous of another receiving favor. I can see all the gossiping going on behind David’s by his own people. “He thinks he’s better than us. Won’t eat the King’s food. Who does he think he is?” Can you see that? · Daniel had enemies that were scheming behind his back that were not of the tribe of Judah. (Daniel 6:7) “All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.” · Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel 6:10-14, " Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. 11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. 14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.” My God! I see nothing but distractions. But Daniel kept his eyes on God. He refused to look at everything that was going on around him. Once again he refused to compromise! Oh that we would have a spirit like Daniel. Tossed into the lion’s den and still held his focus. No screaming for help from Daniel. He kept his focus and trusted God to save him. Today if you are in the midst of the lion’s den, stay focus and keep all your trust in God, for as He did with Daniel, so shall He do for you. Keep your eyes on God! Evangelist Cheryl Davies (Fear Not Ministries) (www.fearnotministries.com) Distractions are something that every believer must contend with and learn how to defeat so that they will keep their focus on the Lord. We can learn a lot from Daniel if we pay close attention. He faced many distractions just as we do, but He knew that to give in would change his life. He belonged to God and wanted to keep it that way.
Daniel 1:4-17 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were so focused on God that they did not allow themselves to partake of the defiled food that the king offered them. Can you imagine what kind of distractions surrounded them? They were not the only children of Judah in the household, BUT they were the only ones that did not give in to the distractions. Now let’s think about this. • The Bible did not say that they were on a fast. • The smell of a lot of meat and other tempting aromas were assaulting them every day and almost all day. • and if the others were eating, don’t you think they were pressuring them to eat too. • The eunuchs were also pressuring them to eat of the meat. They were pressuring them to eat because they were afraid that if these boys began to lose weight or get sick then their life would be in danger because they were the Kings property. (vs. 10) Lose their heads. • The 4 decided that they would not eat the food because it had been offered to false gods and therefore it was defiled. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah made a choice and stuck by it. They made a choice not to give in to all the distractions they faced daily. They decided not to compromise what they knew to be true. No matter what the cost. Even if it meant their lives. "12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. 13 Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. 14 So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. 15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.”" For the 4 boys this was a true test of their faith. A test of where their focus laid. And because they did not give into all the distractions around them God blessed them with many gifts. "17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams." We must keep our focus on God at all times to keep us from making unnecessary detours in our walk. Eyes on Jesus! So stop looking at the situation like it's going to pull you down. Keeping your eyes and thoughts on Jesus will bring you favor and bring you through. Tell yourselves that it is just a distraction and then begin to adjust your vision. We must stay focused on God and His plan for our lives. Be blessed! Evangelist Cheryl Davies ""Shalom" is comprised of four Hebrew letters: "Sheen", "Lamed", "Vav" and "Mem". The letter "Sheen", represented as teeth, illustrates destruction. "Lamed" portrays a staff and illustrates authority. "Vav", illustrated as a nail or a tent peg, carries the ideas of fastening, securing, or establishing. And finally, "Mem" is displayed as water, and illustrates chaos. So the Hebrew word picture for "shalom" communicates this message – "destroying the authority that establishes chaos"! Do you want "shalom" in your life? You will need to deal with the roots and causes of chaos. The one and only successful way to do that is through faith in and identity with Yeshua (Jesus) your Sar Shalom – your prince of Peace – because He has already disarmed the authorities which establish chaos and will soon destroy them completely. He said, These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." [John 16:33]" (Quoted from George Whitton, Worthy Briefs) You can find more of these great Worthy Briefs Devotionals at http://www.worthynetwork.com/sign-up Ask yourself this question: Is God really in control? I hear people say all the time that God is in control and He really do want us to relinquish all control to Him, but the majority of us were not raised to leave everything in His wonderful hands. We were raised hearing that we are the author of our own destiny. And the biggest lie of all is, "God helps those that helps themselves." This in fact is true until we do finally surrender all to God. I'm not talking lip service. I'm talking action. When things go wrong, are you immediately on the phone calling others to help you or do you turn to God first and say, "You do it Lord." I have to be truthful with you. This has not always been the case with me. It takes commitment and time and true faith. It doesn't just happen because you want it to. Know this to be true, if you are asking God to increase your faith He can't just say okay and it's done. It has to be tested over and over again. So when things gets tight or seems to hard, you have to begin to activate your faith. Before we actually give God the control, we'll have to go from faith, to faith, to faith. If your faith becomes stagnant, you open yourself up to persuasion. 1 Timothy 4:1, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;" And I, myself is still not there. But I keep on trusting and believing that each day God will test my faith yet again. That He will test it until it is proven completely true, because it is in the testing only that the truth is revealed. If you really want to get closer and more intimate with the Father, pray that He will increase your faith and then prepare for the tests that are to come, but don't run from the truth once you see it. It is a good thing to see our flaws for then we know what we need to work on. Begin to desire more today and more will be given to you. Isaiah 25:1, "O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth." Be blessed! Evangelist Cheryl Davies www.fearnotministries.com Your failings and your trials were your life lessons. If you forget the past you forget the lesson and you can very well end up back where you started from.
More importantly these life lessons were for more than just you. They are your testimonies. Golden Seeds. "Yes, I use to do drugs, but it brought me nothing but heartache and held me back from my purpose." "Yes, I use to steal to get the things I wanted and needed, but my God now provides all my needs." "Yes, I served time in jail, but when I gave my life to God, He saved me from ever going back." And your life stories help others to not have to take the long road to their destination. Let me explain what I mean. I think of my life lessons as my Golden Seeds. . And please don't misuse the scripture, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17) KJV This just mean that in YOUR life those things are dead. It doesn't mean they never happened. They are just dead so you cannot return to them. Not only are they dead to you, but they become this new thing to you and to others. THEY BECOME JUST AS TRANSFORMED AS YOU HAVE BECOME. The truth is that for many it is pride that keeps them from admitting their past. Don't be bound in that. Get free from it by speaking it. Your past was always meant to be your testimony. They become YOUR testimonies, YOUR Golden Seeds. Seeds that are meant to be planted. To not plant them is to be disobedient to the Father. For His Word tells us, "Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God." (2 Corinthians 9:10-11) KJV You have to stop trying to hide your past. Be the witness and begin to plant YOUR Golden Seeds. Be blessed! Evangelist Cheryl Davies (Fear Not Ministries) Do you fight with feelings of being inadequate? The enemy within me. This is a fight within and the hardest battle to defeat. Am I living up to my full potential? Am I being obedient to God? I messed up once again. God said that he forgives me, but so He really? These are questions that we all ask ourselves at one time or another. I want you to know that this isn't you. This is words whispered at your mind. Thoughts that entered through the suggestions of the enemy because he knows that if he can make you fill guilty, he has a chance of persuading you to take that step out of alignment with God. If you beat yourself up it opens the door for him to beat you down even more. Just stop it. That's right. Stop them thoughts the minute they begin. Begin to take on the thoughts of God. Does He not say in His Word: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11) God's thoughts for us never change. He knows us better than we know ourselves so let's begin to see ourselves as God sees us. We have to stop listening to the report that does not belong to God. When those thoughts enter your mind begin to cast them out immediately. And if you begin to feel you are losing the battle in your mind, then you better go up. Use your spirit language because our spirit knows how battle even better than you. Be blessed! Evangelist Cheryl Davies (Fear Not Ministries) Now is not the time to give in! God is trying to do something in you and that's why it feels so hard. But you can't stop now! Just keep telling yourself, "I got to get there!" There is a testimony waiting to be birth and only you can carry that baby. Many are waiting on you and relying on you to overcome so they to may overcome. Tell yourself, "I won't let them down!' Now go! Complete the mission! The blessing is in your completion! 1 John 5:4, "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." Be blessed and complete the mission! Evangelist Cheryl Davies (Fear Not Ministries) Years back the Lord showed me a place that I would be entering into in the future. Now when He showed me this place I can remember my heart gripping in fear and a desire to run from it so terrifying the vision was. I've recently seen this vision again and the fear was gone. That's how our Father works. He prepares you for what is to come and once you are prepared, all fear will leave. I want to encourage you today if you are still bound in fear. Know that God is preparing you for your future. a future that contains no fear, but He has to show you it now so that He can deal with it now as part of your preparation. Hold on to your faith because I promise you, it is the one major thing that is going to see you through to the other side of that fear. Pay attention to what the Father is saying in these days. He is speaking words of strength to your spirit. Continue to meditate on His Scriptures telling you to 'fear not' and to be not afraid'. He wrote those words for you for this time. They are alive and will strengthen your spirit even as you are reading and speaking them. Deuteronomy 31:6, "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." God has only done a small percentage of what He is planning to do in you in this season of preparation. Be encourage and as always be blessed! Evangelist Cheryl Davies |
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