2020-02-23
1 Samuel 1:27 NLV
Hanna wou bitter graag ‘n moeder word. ‘…Sy het tot die Here gebid…terwyl sy vreeslik huil’ (vers 10 DB). Sy het ook ‘n belofte aan God gemaak dat indien Hy haar ‘n seun sou gee, sy hom ‘…vir sy lewe lank aan U, Here, teruggee…’ (vers 11 DB). Dit het so gebeur. Die Bybel sê: ‘Binne drie maande het Hanna ‘n baba verwag… (vers 20 DB). Rut het dieselfde ondervinding gehad: ‘…Boas [was] die pa van Obed by Rut…’ (Matteus 1:5 NLV). Rut was ‘n brandarm weduwee toe God haar aan Boas, die eienaar van die veld waarin sy gerwe opgetel het, voorgestel het. Sy was ‘n nie-Jood, hy was ‘n Jood en hulle is deur die wet verbied om te trou. God het egter die struikelblok wat in hulle pad gestaan het verwyder en uit hulle huwelik is ‘n klein seuntjie genaamd Obed gebore. Hy was ‘n stamvader van koning Dawid en uiteindelik ook van ons Here Jesus. God het gesê: ‘Ek is die Here, die God van al die mense. Is daar iets te moeilik vir My om te doen?’ (Jeremia 32:27 NLV). Vir ingeval jy nie seker van die antwoord op daardie vraag is nie, lees die volgende: ‘…U het die hemel en die aarde deur u groot krag en mag gemaak. Niks is vir U te moeilik om te doen nie!’ (Jeremia 32:17 NLV). As jy vandag vir God vir ‘n kind vra, staan op hierdie Skrifgedeeltes en glo Hom: ‘Wees bly in die Here, en Hy sal jou hartsbegeertes aan jou gee. Vertrou jou lewe toe aan die Here. Vertrou Hom, en Hy sal vir jou sorg… Wees stil in die Here, en wag geduldig op Hom…’ (Psalm 37:4-5, 7 NLV).
Sielskos: Titus 2:1-14; Gen 39:6-12; Spr 25:28
2020-02-22
2 Chronicles 20:21 NIV
Sixth, thank God in advance. Imagine standing on a mountaintop looking across a valley toward a mountain on the other side. A big battle is about to take place down below. On one mountain, three enemy nations are poised and waiting to devastate Israel. The Israelites are on your mountain, and their leader Jehoshaphat tells them, “Here’s God’s battle plan. All of those who sing in the choir, I want you out front.” So the army goes marching into battle with the choir on the front line singing praises to God. Did the plan work? Yes. The opposing armies got confused and ended up killing each other – and all God’s people had to do was divide up the plunder! Why did God do it this way? As a visual object lesson to teach us to praise Him in faith even before the victory takes place. When you pray, “Lord, I know I have problems, but I thank You in advance because there’s no situation You can’t take care of,” three things happen: (1) Your atmosphere changes. You no longer feel afraid because you have the assurance of God’s presence. (2) Your attitude changes. You begin to say, “Lord, this may be too big for me, but it’s not too big for You.” (3) Your approach changes. Instead of speaking words of doubt, you start speaking words of faith. And because your faith honors God, He honors your faith and the battle begins to turn in your favour. And here’s another important key to victory: Don’t just praise God for a while and then quit; keep praising Him until your breakthrough comes.
Soul food: Ecc 9-12; Matt 16:13-28; Ps 36; Prov 5:21-23
2 Kronieke 20:21 NLV
Sesdens, dank God solank. Verbeel jouself jy staan bo-op ‘n berg en kyk oor ‘n vallei na ‘n berg aan die ander kant. ‘n Groot geveg is op die punt om in die vallei te begin. Op een berg, staan drie vyandige leërmagte gereed om Israel te vernietig. Op jou berg is die Israeliete, waar hulle leier, Josafat, vir hulle sê: ‘Hier is God se strydsplan. Almal wat in die koor sing – ek wil hê julle moet voor loop.’ So het die Israeliete se leërmag in die geveg ingemarsjeer met die koor in die voorste linies wat lofgesange aan God sing. Het die plan gewerk? Ja. Die teenstanders het deurmekaar geraak en op die ou einde mekaar doodgemaak – en al wat God se mense moes doen was om die buit te verdeel! Hoekom het God dit op hierdie manier gedoen? Om ons te leer om Hom in geloof te prys, selfs voor die oorwinning plaasvind. Wanneer jy bid: ‘Here, ek weet ek het probleme, maar ek dank U solank, omdat daar geen situasie is wat U nie kan beredder nie,’ gebeur drie dinge: 1) Jou atmosfeer verander. Jy voel nie meer bang nie, omdat jy die versekering van God se teenwoordigheid het. 2) Jou houding verander. Jy begin sê: ‘Here, hierdie mag dalk te groot vir my wees, maar dis nie vir U te groot nie. 3) Jou benadering verander. In plaas van om woorde van twyfel te spreek, begin jy woorde van geloof spreek. Omdat jou geloof God eer, eer Hy jou geloof en begin die geveg in jou guns draai. Nog ‘n belangrike sleutel tot oorwinning: Moenie God net vir ‘n rukkie prys en dan ophou nie; hou aan om Hom te prys tot jou deurbraak kom.
Sielskos: Pred 9-12; Matt 16:13-28; Ps 36; Spr 5:21-23
2 Chronicles 20:21 NIV
Finally, we need to thank God in advance. Imagine standing on a mountaintop looking across a valley toward a mountain on the other side. A big battle is about to take place down below. On one mountain, three enemy nations are ready and waiting to devastate Israel. The Israelites are on your mountain, and their leader Jehoshaphat tells them to put those who sing in the choir at the front. So the army goes marching into battle with the choir on the front line singing praises to God. It doesn’t make sense to put the singers on the front line – they weren’t equipped to fight. But the plan worked. The opposing armies got confused and ended up killing each other. It doesn’t always make sense to us to praise God while we’re in a battle. We can find it challenging to thank Him for the victory before that victory has taken place. When we’re in a tough battle, and it looks like we’re losing, praising and thanking God can seem like the last thing we want to do. But it’s important to praise Him in faith even before the victory takes place. When we thank Him in advance three things happen: 1) Our atmosphere changes. We no longer feel afraid because we have the assurance of God’s presence. 2) Our attitude changes. We begin to believe that there’s nothing impossible for God. That even though our problem is big, our God is bigger. 3) Our approach changes. Instead of speaking words of doubt, we start speaking words of faith. And because our faith honours God, He honours our faith and the battle begins to turn in our favour. We need to keep praising Him until our breakthrough comes.
Ecc 9-12; Matt 16:13-28; Ps 36; Prov 5:21-23
2020-02-21
2 Chronicles 20:17 NIV
Fifth, stand firm. Notice what God told Jehoshaphat: “Stand firm.” What does it mean to “stand firm” when you’re in a crisis? It’s a mental attitude of quiet confidence that says, “I’m going to trust God.” One pastor writes: “This is something I’m slowly learning; it’s never God’s will for me to run from a difficult situation. If I do, the situation will only follow and catch up with me a little further down the line. It may not look the same, but it will be the same. Why? Because God wants to teach me that He is sufficient for any problem. If we don’t learn this today, we may learn it next week. If we don’t learn it next week, we may learn it next year. But eventually we’ll learn it – and the sooner the better. We can save ourselves problems by standing firm and waiting on God in quiet confidence.” So what do we stand firm on? “Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful” (v. 20 NIV). First, we need to stand firm on the character of God. God is faithful, and we can depend on Him. Second, we need to stand firm on the writings that He has given us through His prophets – in other words, the truth of the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word, and we need only rely in quiet confidence on His written promises. So the word for you today is: Stand firm on the unchanging character of God and the unchanging promises of His Word.
Soul food: Ecc 5-8; Matt 16:1-12; Ps 33:13-22; Prov 5:15-20
