May 20
Praise the Lord O my soul 2x. // Who is like unto Thee O Lord 2x, O Lord among the gods who is like Thee, You are glorious in Holiness fearful in praising, doing wonders alleluia.
Yes! our Father is a God of Wonders. Faithful are You Lord, Thank You for the gift of this week, Thank You healings and deliverances You granted to Your children, Thank You for saving us from all evil. Blessed be Thy Holy Name forever and ever.
Father, we want to specially thank You for Your Word that You feed us daily with. Thank You for not allowing us to be famish in midst of plenty, Thank You for the understanding granted unto us as we access Your Word, Thank You keeping the grass green for Your children to feed on and thus lie down beside the still waters, Thank You Father for meeting our needs via Your word in Jesus Name.
Beloved, are you happy? Today is another Friday, another opportunity we have to bring put to work all what we have leant through the week. Friday’s messages are meant to teach us how to put the Word to work either by considering someone’s experience or the message is imparting on us directly. In all I hope is meeting needs. Praise God.
However, we started the week on the note of seeking, searching for the assurance of the peace the Lord promised. The Lord assured us that there is no need to stint (fret) concerning any issues in our lives because we have a God Who is our Present Help. The Lord also made us to know we should fear no other than Him alone and as we do that, we will be setting the atmosphere for His miracles.
Now beloved do you dare to doubt all what the Lord is concerning you? Do you doubt Him or make Him the stronghold of your life? Come along:
“I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron.” Isa. 45:2
This was for Cyrus; but it is evermore the heritage of all the Lord’s own spiritual servants. Only let us go forward by faith, and our way will be cleared for us. Crooks and turns of human craft and Satanic subtlety shall be straightened for us; we shall not need to track their devious windings.
The gates of brass shall be broken, and the iron bars which fastened them shall be cut asunder. We shall not need the battering ram nor the crowbar: the Lord Himself will do the impossible for us, and the unexpected shall be a fact.
Let us not sit down in coward fear. Let us press onward in the path of duty; for the Lord hath said it, “I will go before thee.” Ours not to reason why; ours but to dare and dash forward. It is the Lord’s work, and He will enable us to do it: all impediments must yield before Him.
Hath He not said, “I will break in pieces the gates of brass?” What can hinder His purpose or balk His decrees? Those who serve God have infinite resources. The way is clear to faith though barred to human strength. When Jehovah says, “I will,” as He does twice in this promise, we dare not doubt.
Beloved, it is not by power nor by might but by My Spirit says the Lord. We must lean on Him to keep going on. The Lord is my stronghold whom shall fear:
The Lord Is The Stronghold Of My Life
“The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1b)
Look around you at the people, circumstances and institutions in which you tend to put your trust. With the slightest shift of the wind they could come crumbling down around you:
People are fickle.
Circumstances change.
Institutions rise and fall.
King David cautioned such:
“Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save… Though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.” (Psalm 146:3; 62:10b).
One sneeze in London, Wall Street or OPEC and we all get colds. One unforeseen change in governmental policy and whole industries are deeply affected.
Most of the kings and king-makers of the last decade are but a faded memory in today’s centers of power and commerce.
So… what exactly is the stronghold of your life? If it happens to be people, circumstances, or institutions you have just cause to be afraid.
King David grasped the vulnerability of our man-made towers of Babel, in crying out to God,
“Whom have I in heaven but you, and earth has nothing I desire but you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25, 26)
Therefore today, as you embark upon the challenges confronting you, keep in mind the Scripture’s formula for experiencing God as your stronghold:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ‘s power may rest on me… For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10)
The only barrier to you experiencing God as your stronghold would be your foolish trust in man, or in your lofty assumption that you can pull it off without Him at the center of your efforts.
Beloved, the recent uproar all over the world is trusting in vanity of which we are meant to believe in as expounded by various secular professors, forgetting that it is God that grant success to all our endeavours. Let us lean not on our understanding but daily hold onto Him as our stronghold as we hail Him all the way till He come in glory or walk on the street paved with gold.
Have a blessed weekend. See you next week by God’s grace.
Remain blessed in the Lord.
Evang. Ifeoma Ohondu
