He Undertakes For Us
Volume 12, Issue 35: He Undertakes For Us
In big and small matters alike, God never fails to undertake for us. I have seen His undertakings time and time again. God never misses an opportunity to do us good. He never misses an opportunity to look out for what would serve our interests and meet our needs.
I recently lost an item, but I didn't realize the loss until almost a week down the line. When I did, I figured too much time had elapsed to still find it. Nonetheless, I traced my steps back to the place I thought I could have lost it. To my amazement, it was there! Unbelievable. Someone had picked it off the ground and kept it nearby for me!
I reckon that wasn't sheer luck but God undertaking for me. He knew I would need the item when I noticed it was missing. The item being part of a set, God knew it would be impossible to replace it without buying the whole set again, something that wouldn't go down well with me. As such, He saw to it that someone picked it up and kept it for me until I went looking for it. I am so glad that our Father in heaven never fails to undertake for us. Praise His holy name.
For His Glory,
Lillian Chebosi
He Answers
Volume 12, Issue 34: He Answers
I have found that God always answers our prayers. He answers with a "Yes", a "No", or "Wait". He answers in accordance to His will for us. So don't shy away from asking. But after asking, leave it to God to do what He deems fit.
It's wonderful to look back to see a trail of answered prayers. It gives you confidence to trust God for the unknown future. It makes you rest assured that if He took care of you then, He will do it in your future. Because He is a God who never changes.
God not only answers the prayers we raise to him, He also answers prayers we have not yet prayed. He sees ahead of our need and makes arrangements to make happen what we would need when the time comes. I find this very astounding.
In the tenth chapter of the book of Joshua, we see God answering Joshua's bold prayer to make the sun stand still throughout the night as his army fought the Amonites. And just like you, I have seen God answer prayers for impossible situations in my personal life as well as around me.
For His Glory,
Lillian Chebosi
Find Fulfillment in Work
Volume 12, Issue 33: Find Fulfillment in Work
There's something special about work. It's fulfilling. The days I am stretched the most and get a lot of work done are some of my best days.
I recently experienced a most frustrating day. It was a day when my laptop was acting up. But as soon as the problem was sorted the next day, I felt on fire tackling task after task, getting work done. It was a wonderful feeling.
Another day I spent a lot of time working in the kitchen, mostly cooking and baking I wasn't able to sit down for breakfast until after 1pm that day, having been in the kitchen from around 7am. Although the tasks took much more time than I had planned to spend on them, that whole time was blissful.
I enjoy working. Whether that's on my laptop crunching numbers and analyzing information, or in the kitchen cooking and cleaning or elsewhere in the house organizing laundry or cleaning or tidying up.
“The diligent find freedom in their work, but the lazy are oppressed by work.” Proverbs 12:24 MSG.
For His Glory,
Lillian Chebosi
Respond Well To Correction
Volume 13, Issue 32: Respond Well To Correction
In the previous post, we saw that King Jehoshaphat responded well to correction when God confronted him for hanging out with King Ahab of Israel, a wicked king. Jehoshaphat continued to direct the people to worship God wholeheartedly. This trait was also evident in King David. When God confronted him of the affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah, David repented and accepted God's judgment.
One example of not responding well to correction that stood out for me in my Scripture reading last week was that of King Asa, Jehoshaphat's father. Asa started his kingship well by living right before God and expressing dependence on God. In one instant, when Zerah the Ethiopian went to war against Asa with a huge army, he prayed and asked for God's help. God defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah.
However, in the 36th year of Asa's reign, Baasha king of Israel attached Judah. Asa sent silver and gold to Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, making a treaty with him to help him get Baasha off his back. God was displeased with Asa for this action and sent a prophet to tell him so. Unfortunately, instead of repenting before God, Asa lost his temper and locked up the prophet and started abusing some of the people.
In the twentieth chapter of the book of Second Chronicles, we see Jehoshaphat turning to God for help when Judah faced a looming attack by a huge force of Ammonites, Moabites and Meunites. Shaken, Jehoshaphat prayed. He went to God for help and ordered a nationwide fast. God was honored by Jehoshaphat dependence on him and set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir as they were attacking Judah, and they all ended up dead.
These examples show us that a submissive and repentant heart is also one that expresses reliance and dependence on God. It's futile to rely on ourselves or on people. Reliance on God always delivers. Because God is honored when we rely on him, he goes to work on our behalf.
For His Glory,
Lillian Chebosi
Unconditional Love
Volume 13, Issue 31: Unconditional Love
While reflecting on my Scripture reading this morning from the eighteenth and nineteenth chapters of the book of second Chronicles, I was impressed by God's unconditional love for us. We learn from the first chapter of the book of Psalms that we are not to hang out with the wicked. But King Jehoshaphat of Judah, a God-honouring king was in this instant hanging out with a wicked man, King Ahab of Israel over a feast in Samaria.
The first part that impressed me was how God looked out for Jehoshaphat and protected him while he was in the company of the wicked. Jehoshaphat accompanied Ahab to war against the King of Aram, dressed in Ahab's kingly robe. At the battle field, the King of Aram ordered his commanders to only go after Ahab. So, they attacked Jehoshaphat, thinking he was Ahab. But God protected Jehoshaphat and a random arrow struck disguised Ahab instead and he died.
“When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “There he is! The king of Israel!” and took after him. Jehoshaphat yelled out, and the chariot commanders realized they had the wrong man—it wasn’t the king of Israel after all. God intervened and they let him go." 2 Chronicles 18:31-32 MSG
God remains loving and faithful even we are unfaithful. He doesn't withdraw his love and care from us when we fall short and go against his precepts. If he did, Jehoshaphat would have perished in Ahab's battle against the King of Aram, a battle that had nothing to do with him. If God's love was conditional on our behavior, we would be crushed over and over again, and destroyed.
We are more than fortunate to have a Father who loves us unconditionally. A Father who looks out for us and does us good even when we disregard and fail him. God was displeased with Jehoshaphat for cozying up with and helping Ahab and sent a prophet to tell him so after his return to Judah from Samaria.
Jehoshaphat must have repented when the prophet confronted him. Because we see him continue to do things that please God, and later on express his dependence on God to rescue him from his enemies. I'll write about that in the next post.
For His Glory,
Lillian Chebosi