Construction Zones | Fuel For The Weekend

Have you ever noticed that there are lots of signs warning of upcoming work sites? Before you see any men or women at work, often there are clear signs with words or pictures to warn us. We may have to switch lanes, decrease speed, and sometimes our clear path becomes bumpy and uneven. It slows us down or maybe sets us back depending on the circumstances. 

I go through two worksites every time I go to work. I have learned the patterns and it is much better than it used to be but I honestly groaned inside when I saw the bright orange barrels and long line of single lane traffic. 

There is a sign that gets my attention though. It simply says EXIT IS OPEN. It reminds me of times in life when we are in a situation we don’t like and it could be out of our control. We are in the worksite of life. But the Bible tells us there is an exit always open. 

1 Corinthians 10:13 reads, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

This verse lets us know hard times do come. We are not exempt from pain or suffering because we belong to Christ. Rather, God is faithful and He allows trials of our faith to strengthen us and help us grow and develop skills to be victorious in every area of our lives.

Sometimes we get the wind knocked out of us. The enemy attacks us and we didn’t see it coming. Hold on to God. He is faithful. He will strengthen you to endure. He also has exits that are open. As Holy Spirit leads us we will make it through.

2 Timothy 2:3 tells us to “endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. We are in a war in the spiritual realm. Your soul is so precious that God sent Jesus to purchase it at the very high cost of His own life! His pure blood paid it all. Satan does not want you but he definitely does not want God to have you so he tries to destroy you and torment you. He wants you eternally separated from Christ.

If you are in a construction zone in life, friend do not give up. The exit is open. Run to Jesus and He will carry you through. He is capable of doing great things for you if you allow Him to. The choice is yours. You are the one driving. You can trust Him to navigate you or you have the option to try to figure it all out on your own. All the signs point you to Jesus and the finished work of the cross.

Hope whatever you choose to do this weekend, you will be safe and happy and refreshed. Put Jesus first and everything else lines up. May something I shared today be strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Siblings Pray Together Stay Together | Thankful Thursday

I walked into the kitchen as I was getting ready for work. I wanted to make sure my son got on the school bus with no issues. My daughter was just leaving for work. When I stepped in the kitchen I saw my children holding hands and Kadesia was praying for Javan. She was blessing him and praying for protection and a good first day and so many wonderful things. Javan was just receiving it and this momma's heart was elated!

The Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6) I taught both of my children how to pray when they were very small. This verse is so true because when someone is hurt or something doesn't go the way we expected it to, one of my kids will suggest for us to pray. They both know the power in prayer and they both pray out loud very well. It is an honor to raise them to love and respect God. I am so thankful they know they can call on His name anytime.

We read in 1 Timothy 2:8, "I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." No matter where we are we should be in a position to pray and speak to God in faith. Kadesia shared a post yesterday about the situation she was in and today God took care of the entire problem. It was awesome to see Him working out every detail.

We are reminded in Psalm 34:1 "I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall be continually in my mouth." There are times that it feels so bad or hopeless and it seems impossible to praise God, but that is when we must push past our feelings and just do it anyway. If we can get past how we feel, and praise God for who He is and for how worthy He is to be praised, our whole situation will turn around. Praise breaks barriers. 

The walls came down when Joshua and the company with him shouted at Jericho.

Joshua 6:15, 16, 20, 27 (15)And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. (16)And it to came to pass on the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. (20)So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. (27)So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.

Gideon and three companies of men shouted a praise and they won the victory without fighting!

Judges 7:19-21 (19)So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew their trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. (20)And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. (21)And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.

Paul and Silas praised their way out of the prison cell and shackles!

Acts 16:24-26 (24)Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in their stocks. (25)And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. (26)And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

I don't know what situation you may find yourself in today. You could be looking for a victory and all you feel is defeated. You may look around and feel outnumbered and helpless, but God in heaven is capable to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. (Ephesians 3:20). God is on our side. He always wins! He is giving victory to every one of His children. If you are born again, that means you are victorious through Christ Jesus. His blood paid it all!

If you are not born again, you can ask Jesus to save you. Confess you are a sinner and in need of a Savior. Confess that you believe Jesus is the Son of God and died to save you. Ask Him to be the Lord of your life and watch Him do the impossible for you! He is a loving God and He wants you to be His son or daughter. Choose life! Choose Jesus.

This Thankful Thursday I am very thankful for the victory we win in Jesus. I am thankful for the gift of prayer. I am thankful God hears and answers prayer. I am thankful my children do not have to be told to pray, but they see an opportunity and they take it! God is so good! I am thankful that my children choose to honor God. We do not always know if what we are teaching them sinks in, but it's moments like this that make me smile and I know it is all glory to God. He takes the credit for this!

I hope something I shared today has given you strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you.

~Bridgett Owens

Guest Post | Kadesia | Psalms 21 and 27

 Hello everyone, Kadesia here. I recently started a new job in a field I'd never worked in before. I was nervous and excited. Quickly I caught on and began to really like the job until gossiping, hazing because I'm the youngest worker, and just plain hatefulness began. I started to worry that I might need to find a new job if I wasn't going to be a good fit and questioned my abilities, as well as if I heard God right when He pointed me in the direction of this job. 

I went through waves of actions and emotions, first I was super hurt and then I felt bad like I had done something to make these people treat me unkindly, then I spoke with my mother about it, then I spoke to God about it, and then I spoke to my brother about. Keep in mind I do NOT like confrontation so knowing that I might have to stand up for myself or tell our boss what was going on seemed much worse than just dealing with the toxicity. I told God that I was really upset because I knew He had placed me there and worked everything out so I could have that job. He was helping me excel in the position I am in and every task I've been given I've done with kindness and joy and an open mind ready to learn. I poured my heart out to God because He saw it all, He knew what was happening and I needed to know what to do. Someone advised me to just ignore them and if they looked like they needed help with something, wait for someone else to come and help them. This person was tired of seeing me get hurt day after day and knew that if I didn't offer to help, I wouldn't get my feelings hurt in the same way. I tried at first but that is just not my personality, I want to help people, when I see someone struggling, I don't want them to feel like a burden when asking for help with something so I just try to jump in and I got my feelings hurt every single time. I kept choosing kindness though and I kept a smile on my face even though I was holding in tears. I knew that it couldn't get a whole lot worse so it was only up from here.

It took me a very long time but finally, I am happy with who I am and who God made me to be: assertive, a leader, kind, smart, and funny. As hard as it was to be bullied I was having a harder time not being myself. And then God spoke to me as clear as He could be and said "Genesis 17" on the way to work this morning. So I listened to it and it went through a few more chapters too before I arrived and it was exactly what I needed for something else in my life, not the issue I knew I'd be walking into in just a short time. Tired and frustrated, I walked into work ready to have a great day but knowing there'd be a lot of bumps in the road. And today was the worst it has been so far and that usually means breakthrough is about ready to happen. It's got to get real nasty sometimes, real hard sometimes, real real sometimes before God can allow a breakthrough to happen.

I spoke with my mom after work and explained how I just wanted to be kind and lend a hand and was snapped at by a coworker and how badly that hurt me. She advised me to pray about it, out loud to the LORD and let Him hear my hearts cry and begin to heal me. So after a couple minutes of silence, I spoke up and told God that I was really scared and upset about the thought of having to leave a job I enjoy and that I did not like how I was being treated by my coworkers. After I gave it all over to God, He gave me such a sweet peace in my soul. As my mom and I drove home from an errand this evening and after my open prayer, she heard God speak to her and say "Psalm Twenty-" but she couldn't quite hear the second part of that number. God quickly reminded me that this morning after telling me Genesis 17, He also said Psalm 27. I wasn't sure if I had heard Him right this morning but sure enough, I did. I told her maybe it's 27 because I heard Him say that this morning and she said no it's 21 AND 27. I opened the Bible app and began to read these chapters out loud and mom and I were awestruck to hear these scriptures. It spoke directly to my situation and tears of joy and peace filled my eyes. 

God knows exactly what we need when we need it and He never fails to show up on time. If you ever wonder if God speak to us just listen to that still, small voice in times of trials and you'll soon find out He not only speaks to us, He will give us scriptures to stand on to support His words. 

Whatever you're going through, whenever you read this, whether it be the night it's posted or 10 years from now, I hope you give it to God and allow Him to speak to you about your situation because the same God that did it for me today, is the same God who will do it for you too. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  God loves you and wants the very best for you. He came so we would have life and have it more abundantly. Don't allow the devil to think you deserve to be treated with anything other than respect. Watch and pray, follow what God says, and watch Him move mountains for you! 

Below is both Psalms talked about above: 

21 The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

2 Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.

3 For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.

4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.

5 His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.

6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.

7 For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.

8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.

9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the Lordshall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.

10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.

11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.

12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.

13 Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

27 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.

5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.

11 Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.

12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.

13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

God is amazing guys! May His favor be upon you and a thousand generations! 

-Kadesia