July 2023 – She Believes 3

Prayer Removes The Need To Worry

^{Philippians 4:6}⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Romans 8:26
²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
Psalm 34:17
¹⁷The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray continually, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Earlier this week I received a phone call that was a little scary, to say the least. My pharmacy called to tell me, that when they called to verify my insurance, they were told that it had been canceled.
The frustrating thing about all of this is that my insurance company had closed for the day, so I was not able to get answers until the next day.

My husband was listening to the conversation, and he was a bit thrown off by this news also. I must admit I started to feel a bit anxious inside and stressed. You see I have been dealing with some serious health issues. So, taking the medication that the pharmacy was calling about was critical. My insurance was also important, due to how expensive the medication is.

As I left the room thinking I would not be able to get answers from my insurance company until the next day, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, ” Don’t be afraid”.

It was just the reminder that I needed, that no matter what, God was going to work it out and it was going to be ok.

I did the only thing that I knew to do, and that was to pray,

The next morning, bright and early, I made a phone call to my insurance company. The person that I spoke with told me that our insurance was through a different company now, and she gave me the phone number to contact them. When I called them, they confirmed that I was still covered and that my prescription would be taken care of.

I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I was to get this news! I must say that I learned some valuable lessons that day.

When you get bad or disappointing news, pray immediately. Don’t allow Satan a single second to get inside your head and create doubts.
Investigate and confirm whether or not the news is true or not.
Don’t immediately think the worse.
Trust God to work things out for your good.
Be patient and give God time to work. It may take longer than you initially anticipate.
When you pray, ask God for His favor to be over you.

So, no matter how difficult the situation or circumstance that you find yourself in, remember God has got you. Pray without ceasing, because prayer will remove your need for worry.

With God, You Are Enough

Have you ever felt inadequate, or like you were just not good enough to accomplish the assignment that God had put before you? Let me assure you that you are correct, in and of ourselves we are not enough! However, there is hope for us all. When we have accepted God as the authority in our lives, and we surrender our will to His, miraculous things can happen.

There are a few examples of this in the Bible, but today I would like to share Gideon’s experience.

The Midianites had ruled over Israel for seven years and were very cruel to them. God sent an angel to visit Gideon to let him know that he was to go and rescue Israel.

Gideon instantly had doubts as to whether or not he could accomplish this assignment. He asked God for a sign three different times to be sure this was what God wanted Him to do. Because God knew that Gideon had doubts and that he was afraid, God in His merciful grace indulged Him each time, so that he would be clear that the request was from Him.

I am sure that we all have thought at one time or another, “Why me” when God has directed us to do something that was clearly out of our comfort zone.

What we must remember though is that God never set His children up for failure. When He asks us to do something, a plan for success is already in place, and it will be accomplished in a way that He will receive all of the glory. Our job is just to be obedient and move forward.

God’s plan for Gideon, was that He was going to achieve a great victory with a small army. When you do the math, it does not make sense that such a small army of men could be victorious over all of the Midianites. But God does supernatural math. Gideon started out with an army of 32,000 men and God had him to streamline it down to 10,000 and then on down to 300 men. These 300 men fought a battle against 135,000 Midianites, and with God as their general, they literally wiped them out!
Can you say, “But God”?

When I tell you that you plus God is more than enough to conquer any mountain, believe me, because it is true! I don’t know what your mountain is today, but if God called you to climb it, you are enough for the journey, because He will go before you, he will give you the wisdom, the strength, and yes even the courage to get it done. So go be great! You have His permission.
Because with God you are enough!

Judges 7:1-7
7 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. ²The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ ³Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

⁴But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

⁵So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” ⁶Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

⁷The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”

Judges 8:4-12
⁴Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. ⁵He said to the men of Sukkoth, “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

⁶But the officials of Sukkoth said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?”⁷Then Gideon replied, “Just for that when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”

⁸From there he went up to Peniel^[a] and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had. ⁹So he said to the men of Peniel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”

¹⁰Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen. ¹¹Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the unsuspecting army. ¹²Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.
2 Corinthians 3:5
⁵Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.