We all have things that come against us or things that we are wondering how it’s going to work out. While trying to figure it out, we have done our best, but have yet to see much improvement. Sometimes, it seems as if things are getting better but get worsen again! Beloved, God can address this issue you are giving up on. The scripture says… God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, (Ephesians 3:20)
We must keep God’s word closely to our hearts otherwise we will live worried, and discouraged, not expecting it to get better. There is a simple phrase you can keep down in your spirit whenever you feel exhausted about any challenges: “My God can address this”. He is on the throne. He sees what is happening. He already has the solution. You don’t have to figure it out and there may not even be a logical answer.
In the natural, you don’t see a way. That is okay. We serve a supernatural God. He has ways to do it that we have never thought of. Instead of trying to force it to happen, you have to let go and allow God to step in. When you turn it over to Him and say, “God, I know you have addressed something like this before, thank you for doing something about my case. I know you are in control… Not only will you feel the pressure off you, but God will also make things happen that you couldn’t make happen.
When you take your hands off and say, my God, I know you can address this challenge. I’m not going to worry about my finances. I’m not going to live worried because of the medical report. I’m not going to be frustrated because I haven’t met the right person. I am not going to be stressed over my marital challenges. God, I trust your timing, and I trust your ways. My life is in your hands.
God never promised that we wouldn’t have challenges, but He did promise He would give us strength for every battle. He would take what was meant for our harm and use it to our advantage. You may have a good reason to worry about something in your health, your finances, your relationship, your marriage, or a dream. You have done everything you can. It doesn’t look like it’s going to work out. Stay in faith. God is saying, “I can address this situation on your behalf. I’m working behind the scenes.” It may not happen the way you thought, but God has figured something out.
In the Scripture, a young man named Daniel worked for King Darius. The king loved Daniel. He was so good at what he did, that the king was going to put him in charge of his whole empire. However, when the other leaders heard this, they were jealous, and they came up with a plan to get rid of Daniel. (Daniel 6)
When you excel, don’t be surprised if people get jealous. Everyone is not going to celebrate you. Some people will try to find fault and hold you back. The good news is people don’t determine your destiny. God does. Keep being your best and let God fight your battles. Don’t get distracted trying to prove to them who you are. God will be your vindicator. God will take care of your enemies.
These people who were against Daniel tried to manipulate the king. They said, “King, you are so great. We have written a decree that no one can pray to anyone except you. If they do, they will be thrown into the lions’ den”. They did this because they knew Daniel prayed to God. They convinced the king to sign the decree, but that didn’t change Daniel. Three times a day, just like normal, he knelt on his knees, opened his windows, and prayed to the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. They ran back and told the king, “This guy Daniel, one of the captives from the tribe of Judah, is defying your order”.
The king was upset with himself. He knew they had manipulated him, but he couldn’t go back on his word, so he had Daniel sent to the lions’ den. What’s interesting is that the whole night, the king fasted for Daniel. When you are in challenging situations, God has people praying for you that you don’t know anything about. This king was supposed to be his enemy, but he fasted for Daniel’s safety.
When they arrested Daniel and took him to the lions’ den, Daniel wasn’t afraid, worried, panicked. He understood this principle. A little earlier, Daniel had seen his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the Hebrew teenagers, got thrown into a fiery furnace and came out without the smell of smoke. Daniel’s attitude was, “God will address this. I’m in the palm of His hand. Nothing could snatch me away. If it’s not my time to go, I’m not going to go”. He stayed in peace.
What you are facing may be bigger, stronger, more powerful. But when you refuse to worry, when you refuse to stress yourself out, instead you stay in peace, thanking God that He is fighting your battles, knowing that He is in control, you are showing God by your actions that you trust in Him.
One evening, the authorities threw Daniel into the lions’ den. They expected him to be eaten in a few minutes. These were hungry lions. That is the way it always happened, but God supernaturally closed the mouths of the lions. For some reason, they thought, “I’m not hungry tonight. I don’t feel like eating”.
God made Daniel unappetizing to those lions. God knows how to make you unappetizing to the enemy. What should normally take you out, what should normally defeat you, for some reason, it can’t harm you, it can’t take your health. It can’t give you a nervous breakdown because you have God’s backing!
GOD CONTROLS ALL THINGS!
There is a bloodline God has put around you and your family. He controls the universe. He controls the lions. He controls the enemies. God controls all things. You are not at the mercy of random events or people wanting to do you wrong. God has a hedge of protection around you. Nothing can happen without His permission. That’s why we don’t have to live worried and fearful. We are in a controlled environment. God can address the situation. (Colossians 1:16-17)
Early the next morning, the king came running out to the lions’ den to see what happened. The Scripture says he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God, was the God you constantly worship able to save you”? Notice how he addressed Daniel. Daniel was in there because he was worshipping a different God, yet the king called him “Daniel, son of the living God”.
Even the king knew something was different about Daniel. When he saw Daniel come walking toward him, unharmed, passing the lions, the king couldn’t believe it. He was overjoyed. Verse 23 says, “Not a scratch was found on Daniel because he trusted in his God”.
Amazing things happen when you stay in faith and trust God. God not only protected Daniel, but the king ordered the men who conspired against Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the same lion’s den, but they didn’t have the same outcome. Before they hit the ground, the hungry lions tore them apart. The king issued a new decree. It said, “From now on, everyone in my kingdom should worship the God of Daniel. He rescues his people. He is the living God”.
But here is the key: God doesn’t deliver us from every challenge. Most of the time, He takes us through the challenges. Daniel’s faith didn’t keep him out of the lions’ den, but his faith did make him a lion-proof. That is what brought him out of the lions’ den. But if Daniel or those teenagers had been worried, panicked, and negative, maybe there would have been a different outcome. Maybe we wouldn’t be talking about them today.
I’m asking you to quit worrying about what you are facing. Quit losing sleep over that child who is not doing right. Quit being upset because somebody did you wrong, or because your dream hasn’t come to pass yet. Can I tell you? God will address this issue confronting you Like He did for Daniel. He is going to make a way where you don’t see a way like He did for the Hebrew teenagers. God is going to protect you, favour you, and get you to where you are supposed to be.
David said, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”(Psalm 23:4) God is not just with you on the mountaintops, He is with you in the valleys. When you are going through things, He knows what you are up against. The Scripture says God is concerned about what concerns you. A sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground without God knowing about it. How much more is God concerned about what is happening in your life? Trust Him. Live from a place of peace. (Matthew 10:29-31)
This is a decision we have to make daily because every day there is something to worry about. There is some reason to get upset. All through the day keep this phrase close to your heart: “God can address this. He is concerned about me. He is working in my life. He is bigger than my enemies. He is lining up the right people. He is arranging things in my favour”. That attitude of faith is what allows God to do amazing things.
I’m asking you to change your perspective. Switch over into faith”. That situation at work that you are worried about, God will address it. That medical report that is keeping you up at night, living stressed is not making it any better. Be still and know that He is God. He has you in the palm of His hand. He can address it. Yes, you may have enemies coming against you, but like Daniel, God has placed you out of reach. He has made you a lion-proof.
Now all through the day, when you are tempted to worry, keep this phrase playing in your mind. If you will do this, I decree and declare that you are going to see God’s goodness in new ways. You are going to come out of the lions’ dens, rise higher, accomplish dreams, and become everything God created you to be, In Jesus’ name.
The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’
Thank you pastor