2020-04-20
Philippians 4:13 AMPC
The Bible says, “Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring” (Proverbs 27:1 NLT). The truth is, when you wake up every morning you have no idea what will happen to you that day. You hope for a trouble-free day where your expectations and wishes will be fulfilled – but you know from experience this isn’t always the case. We live in a real world with real problems. Your enemy the Devil is real, and he works in every possible way to bring discouragement, fear, and failure. Knowing this, the psalmist wrote: “If you make the Lord your refuge…no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go…The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation'” (Psalm 91:9-16 NLT). No matter what comes your way, you must trust that when it arrives God will give you the grace to handle it. Remember, Satan loves to attack those who are in line for God’s blessing. That’s why Paul wrote, “[I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me.]” Inner strength is better than outer strength. Why? Because as long as you remain strong inwardly, you can handle anything that comes against you outwardly and keep moving forward. So today – be ready.
Soul food: Lev 26-27; Mark 2:13-22; Ps 103:1-12; Prov 10:13
Psalm 71:3 NLT
The Bible says, ‘Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring’ (Proverbs 27:1 NLT). Every morning when we wake up, we have no idea what will happen to us that day. Sometimes the day is filled with good things, other times unexpected bad things happen. We live in a real world with real problems. We’re not immune to bad situations happening in our lives. Satan wants to attack us, discourage us, and make us afraid of what’s going to happen. We’re told to: ‘Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour’ (1 Peter 5:8 NLT). It can be easy to start fearing the future, especially when lots of bad things seem to be happening to us and those we love. While we can’t avoid experiencing some of these things, we can avoid being fearful. In Psalm 91, it says: ‘Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday’ (vv.5-6 NLT). So how can we stop being afraid? We can choose to believe that God is our protector, fortress, and hiding place. The psalmist wrote: ‘Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.’ No matter what comes our way, we need to trust that when it arrives, God will give us the strength to cope. As long as we remain strong inwardly and keep trusting God, we can handle anything that comes against us outwardly and keep moving forward.
Lev 26-27; Mark 2:13-22; Ps 103:1-12; Prov 10:13
Filippense 4:13 NLV
Die Bybel sê: ‘Moenie te veel praat oor wat môre kan gebeur nie. Jy weet glad nie wat môre gaan oplewer nie’ (Spreuke 27:1 NLV). Die waarheid is dat jy elke oggend wanneer jy wakker word, geen idee het wat daardie dag met jou gaan gebeur nie. Jy hoop vir ‘n dag sonder moeilikhede waar al jou verwagtinge en wense vervul sal word – maar jy weet uit ervaring dat dit nie altyd die geval is nie. Ons lewe in ‘n regte wêreld met regte probleme. Jou vyand, die Duiwel, bestaan regtig en hy werk op elke moontlike manier om ontmoediging, vrees en mislukking mee te bring. Met hierdie kennis het die Psalmdigter geskryf: “As die Here jou toevlug is… sal geen kwaad jou tref, en geen ramp naby jou tent kom nie. Want Hy sal sy engele beveel om jou te beskerm oral waar jy gaan… ‘Omdat hy My liefhet, sal Ek hom verlos; omdat hy my Naam ken, sal Ek hom beskerm. Hy sal roep, en Ek sal antwoord; in nood sal Ek by hom wees. Ek sal hom red en in eer herstel. Ek sal hom ‘n lang lewe gee, en hy sal my verlossing sien'” (Psalm 91:9-16 NLV). Maak nie saak wat oor jou pad kom nie, jy moet vertrou dat wanneer dit arriveer, God jou die genade sal gee om dit te kan hanteer. Onthou, Satan is lief daarvoor om diegene wat in lyn vir God se seën is, aan te val. Dis hoekom Paulus geskryf het: ‘Ek kan onder alle omstandighede regkom deur Hom wat my krag gee.’ Innerlike krag is beter as uiterlike krag. Solank as wat jy innerlik sterk bly, kan jy enigiets wat uiterlik teen jou is hanteer en aanhou vorentoe beweeg. Wees dus vandag gereed.
Sielskos: Lev 26-27; Mark 2:13-22; Ps 103:1-12; Spr 10:13
2020-04-19
Spreuke 11:14 NLV
Om sukses in die lewe te behaal, het jy wyse en bevoegde mense, mense wat hulself reeds bewys het en wat jou kan help, rondom jou nodig. Wees egter gewaarsku: Die beste mense met die meeste kennis sal jou uitdaag, jou strek en jou sienswyse konfronteer! Dit beteken nie dat jy hulle moet vermy nie. Dis juis hoekom jy hulle nodig het! Jy moet oor jou vrees vir mense wat slimmer, talentvoller en meer ervare as jy is, kom en eerder van hulle leer. Ons word baie keer daarvan weerhou om bevoegde mense te nader, omdat ons onkundig voel wanneer ons rondom hulle is. Dis in orde om onkundig te wees – maar dis nie in orde om onkundig te bly nie! Moenie aanhou terughardloop na die bekende, middelmatige interaksies met mense wat jou nie uitdaag om te groei nie. Hoe meer jy nuwe areas in die lewe betree, hoe meer het jy ‘baie raadgewers’ nodig wat jou sal druk om meer te word as wat jy is, selfs al is dit aan die begin ongemaklik. Gaan waar hulle is, luister na wat hulle sê en evalueer hulle opinies. As jy jouself geestelik, emosioneel en finansieel wil opbou, moet jy buite jou gemaksone beweeg. As jy dit nie doen nie, sal jy nie die inligting hê om verby die bekende te beweeg en jou toekomsdrome te behaal nie. Net diegene wat bereid is om uitgedaag te word, bereik hulle drome. Onthou, die mense wat jy nodig het, is gewoonlik die besigste mense. Hulle sal oor die algemeen nie na jou uitreik nie, dus moet jy na hulle uitreik. Wees egter voorbereid; sommige van hulle sal jou aanbod van die hand wys, terwyl ander jou honger na wysheid en kennis sal herken, daarop sal reageer en jou sal help om sukses te behaal.
Sielskos: Matt 5:7; Matt 18:21-35; Ps 103:8-18; Klaagl 3:22-24
Proverbs 11:14 NKJV
To succeed in life, you need wise and competent people around you, informed people with a proven track record who can assist you. But be advised: The best people with the most knowledge will challenge, stretch, and confront your previously held viewpoints. That doesn’t mean you should avoid them. On the contrary – that’s exactly why you need them! You must get over your fear of people who are smarter, more talented, and more experienced than you are, and learn from them instead. What stops many of us from approaching competent people is that we feel ignorant when we’re around them. It’s okay to be ignorant – but it’s not okay to stay that way! Don’t keep running back to familiar, mediocre interactions with people who don’t challenge you to grow. The more you move into new arenas in life, the more you need “the multitude of counselors” who will push you to be more than you are, even if it’s uncomfortable at first. Go where they are, listen to what they say, and evaluate their opinions. If you’re going to build yourself up spiritually, emotionally, and financially, you must go outside your comfort zone. If you don’t, you won’t have the information you need to move beyond the familiar and attain your future goals. Only those who are willing to be stretched achieve their dreams. And remember, the people you need most are usually busy people. Generally speaking, they won’t reach for you, so you must reach for them. And be prepared; some of them may turn you down, while others, recognizing your hunger for wisdom and knowledge, will respond and help you to succeed.
Soul food: Matt 5:7; Matt 18:21-35; Ps 103:8-18; Lam 3:22-24
