But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. I Corinthians 15:10 REFERENCE I Corinthians 15:9-10 Grace is a divine enablement from God to achieve what we ordinarily cannot in our own strength. It is the supernatural factor that causes our life’s results to surpass our human efforts. It doesn’t negate labor/effort like Apostle Paul pointed out in our text; instead, it reduces ‘wearisome’ labor and multiplies the outcome of our efforts. God’s...

And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. John 9:2-3 REFERENCE John 9:1-7 If you are human at all, I know that sometimes, you get to a point where some things are not working for you or not happening like you want, and the first thing you do is, “What have I done wrong? Where is this coming from? Who did I offend?” This becomes even stronger when you...

Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.”  II Kings 8:5-6 REFERENCE II Kings 8:1-6 This Shunammite woman’s coming to entreat the king for the restoration of her land at the same time Gehazi was telling the king about her life, was not a coincidence. It was a divine orchestration by God....

“There is a lad who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. John 6:9&11 REFERENCE John 6:4-13 Like Andrew, the disciple who popped the question of what five loaves and two small fish could do in a crowd of so many people, you also face times when you need a major miracle of provision to happen in your life, but what you...

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 REFERENCE Proverbs 13:12   A desire is a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. It is synonymous with hoping, longing or craving to have a need fulfilled. Therefore, our desires are fueled by the things that are lacking in our lives, ranging from basic survival needs to social and self-actualization needs, etc. When a desire is unmet, it creates a hole in us which we strive to fill; the more it delays, the more we long for it,...

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 REFERENCE Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred for too long causes a lot of pain for the bearer; it keeps you going from expectation to expectation without getting the desired result. Every day, you hear and read that it is the will of God to give you the desires of your heart according to His will, yet it never seems to materialize. Gradually, the hope in your heart turns to frustration and discouragement, because your heart can’t understand why it appears that God is hesitant to intervene...

So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah. I Kings 17:15-16 REFERENCE I Kings 17:1-16 “She went away and did according to the word of Elijah…” In essence, she acted on the Word of God as revealed to her by Prophet Elijah. Giving Elijah this ‘precious’ meal in obedience to his words, is quite a remarkable feat for a widow who...

And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself; take note, and see what you should do, for in the spring of the year the king of Syria will come up against you.” I Kings 20:22 REFERENCE I Kings 20:1-22 Victory is sweet; it puts testimonies in our mouths, gives us security and confidence, and a sense of ‘having arrived’. However, at such times, people tend to lose ground because all their defenses are down. The rich fool felt he had all he wanted in life and so he decided to settle down to a...

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. John 20:24   REFERENCE John 20:19-25   David in Psalm 84:10 said a day in God’s courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. Sometimes, all God needs in a person’s life is just a day spent in His courts (presence) for the person’s life to change. Zacharias was one day in God’s courts when the answer to his prayer came; so was Hannah. David was perplexed and envious of the prosperity of the wicked. But when he got to the court of God, he understood...