God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Ps. 46:1
January 21, 2022
There are people today that are discouraged because things have not turned out like they expected. I know; I have been there. I want to encourage the believer and nonbeliever, you can trust in God. I have spent a lot of time telling people about leaders and leadership, but for a very good reason. You need to know who your leader is and what to expect of that leader (1Th 5:12). Jesus often warned the flock of false leaders. If the leader does not provide faithful service and does not appreciate your faithfulness, you are under the wrong leader. It is important to know that because God is always faithful. God cares for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. Regardless of your behavior and choices, God wants you fed, clothed and healed. Jesus proved that by healing the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the good and the bad. Jesus Christ illustrated for us the heart of our Loving Father. If your needs are not being met, you are under the wrong leader and you need to know that. God is a good God. He always sends you a supply though there may be blockage by some thing or someone.
I asked God about His church. I asked why certain things were not going like they were supposed to go based on what He said in the bible. He answered my question but the Spirit of God has spent all these past thirty-some years showing me the difference between the ways of God and the ways of the world. The world will not treat you right. The world loves itself more than anyone else. We see the rich working for their own well-being alone rather than rewarding the poor old worker. That’s the world. Jesus told us the rich will hardly enter heaven (Mt.19:24). It’s because they love things more than God or their neighbor. There is nothing wrong with being rich like King David, King Solomon, or Job but David and Job, in particular, loved God more than their things and God honored that devotion. God made us and he promises to care for us.
Leaders may or may not honor God because it is their choice; and if they lead you, you are subject to their authority whether good or evil. That’s why God tells us to pray for those in authority. They need our prayers because the enemy wants to cause them to do evil that will bring harm to them and those under them (Joh10:10). Look at the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol. Many were told to do wrong by leaders who were supposed to be servant-leaders of God. They cannot now protect the offenders from punishment. God, ultimately, will judge all disobedience. We, who love God, are His children. He will teach, save and deliver His children from evil and the evil one. God is faithful and He sends rain (blessings) for the just and the unjust (Mt.5:45). We cannot choose our parents, but we can certainly choose our leaders. . . by our voice, by our vote, or by our feet.
I am so thankful to God for proving Himself to me. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good (Nu.23:19)?” God didn’t have to do it but He has proven to me that He is faithful and that His word can be trusted. I say it to testify that whatever you are going through, God will bring you out if you trust Him. Now I went through some bad stuff and many of us today are going through some bad stuff. But God will prove to us that the bad stuff is not Him. With the enormous plot of the devil to overthrow a nation of believers, God is proving Himself faithful to those that believe because God is in control. There is a devil working undercover that wants to destroy. . . steal, kill and destroy. The enemy of your soul works through many things and many people to try to smear God’s reputation. We must always remember: that’s not God. The Spirit of God revealed a mystery to me and I went: “Oh, that’s what happened.” God is always uncovering the darkness for His children. Our failure often is in not looking beyond carnal man to God for our help.
If you love God, He is your ultimate leader. He will bless you through good leaders and protect or move you from bad leaders so your blessings can flow. We must not make the mistake of looking at carnal man and think that is all there is. God is higher than carnal man. Man can only point the way to God, as John did (Joh 1:26). God is also greater, more powerful than the devil. The nation of America is in a place where some spiritual leaders tried to put the heart of the nation in the hands of government leaders, but that was error. Nations answer to God, who opens and shuts doors.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. Psa 33:12
God put His world in the hands of faithful, obedient followers; first Adam and Eve and then God-fearing anointed leaders to guide His children. The unfaithful are not His children or His leaders and Jesus told us so plainly:
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it (Joh 8:44).”
Jesus told us very plainly not to follow evil leaders. We should pray and ask God where to lay our heads. No matter where you are you can always depend on God to hear your cry when you are seeking Him. He is our Creator and a very good Father. He is a very present help in times of trouble. Let’s cast off evil and walk with the Lord. Let all mankind return to God, the Father, and praise the name of Jesus! He is worthy!
For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. Deu. 20:4
Truth and Life Ministries of Christ with Apostle Joyce Reba Payne 