A glove is useless without a hand in it. Our works are futile unless He empowers them. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 says, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” Moses’ rod was just a shepherd’s rod until God called Moses.

If you will remember, God used that rod to fulfill His purposes in the lives of the children of Israel. Yet, when Moses took matters into his own hands, the use of that rod disqualified him to enter into the promised land.

What talents has the Lord bestowed on you that you have not yet invested in His Kingdom? They were given for God’s purpose to be fulfilled through you. They are Kingdom gifts. They will not be useful unless He empowers them.

When He empowers your talent, He will use it as part of the good works He preordained for you to walk in. However, when we bury them out of fear or disinterest, that part of His Kingdom work is not accomplished through us. Job 42:2 says that no plan of God’s can be thwarted. Yesterday I learned a new word to add !! to this verse. God’s purpose is inexorable which means it is impossible to stop or prevent.

Moses forfeited what God had called him to do, and Joshua was raised up to take his place. Therefore God’s purpose for bringing the children of Israel into the promised land was fulfilled, but through another vessel.

What are you forfeiting? Note the condition of Deuteronomy 28:1. It says, “…if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.” Did they? No and they went into captivity because of their disobedience.

Joy is an everlasting gift that Jesus gave His disciples then, which includes us. Read the verses and note the condition. John 14:10-11 says, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Have you ever wondered what happened to your joy? We cover it over with our worries, anxieties, and assumptions. Abiding in His love is the fruit of obeying His word. Disobedience is sin and it breaks our fellowship with the Lord.

1 John 1:6 is a checkpoint verse for us. It says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” Is what we say evidenced in our words and actions?

1 John 2:6 reiterates that, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” How did Jesus walk? John 5:19 says, “…Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself…” What does John 15:5 say to us? It says, “…without Me you can do nothing.” Nothing is translated as ‘not one thing.’

Psalm 16:11 says, “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” As we abide in His word and obey it, we embrace the joy of intimate communion with Him.

Psalm 33:1 says, “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.”

Isaiah 61:10 says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.”

Psalm 63:7 says, “Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.” Does that remind you of Psalm 91:1? It says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” We can commune with the Lord no matter what our circumstance is.

Habakkuk demonstrated that rejoicing is not dependent on favorable circumstances. Quite the contrary to secular belief. He described how his body was reacting to his circumstances in Habakkuk 3:16. It says, “…my body trembled; my lips quivered at the voice; rottenness entered my bones; and I trembled in myself…”

Verse 17-18 was his declaration in the midst of what was taking place. It says, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail…Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

No matter what our circumstances are, joy and gladness are intentional proactive choices. They were rooted in our heart through His gift of salvation. They enable us to serve the Lord with diligence and purpose.

I was watching “Legacy of Lew Sterrett” who has a horseman ministry. He teaches God’s principles in a very unique way. His ministry is called “Sermon On The Mount.” He takes a wild, never before ridden horse, and tames it within 30 minutes. The crowd watches as he proclaims the gospel in motion.

He quoted a verse that captured my heart. He used it to challenge a young man who was  not “all in” as he served the Lord. Deuteronomy 28:47-48 says, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies…”

I took this verse two ways. One as a challenge to examine my own heart, and two, regarding our country. We have been given so much~an abundance to share with others. Every believer has the message of true abundance that this country needs.

Here is a verse that I use in prayer often for folks that I am praying for that are not “all in.” Psalm 100:2 says, “Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing.” Gladness is a heart attitude. It is a choice birthed from deep conviction.

Psalm 16:9 says, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.” Psalm 9:2 says, “I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” Note the declaration of intent.

Psalm 22:3 says that God enthrones Himself in our praise. Think about this for a moment. Enthroned. Seated. Established. Sovereign authority. When we praise the Lord He fills our space with His glory.

Isaiah saw the Lord. In Isaiah 6:1 he wrote, “…I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.” Here is another example of when the Lord inhabits our praise.

King Solomon had just dedicated the temple. They were praising the Lord. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 reveals what happened. Their praise, “…For He is good, for His mercy endures forever, that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering…”

Psalm 146:1-2 says, “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” Hebrews 13:15 helps us understand why praise is a life skill~

It says, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Why is it a sacrifice? When we want to complain about our circumstances, and instead we praise Him, we sacrifice our flesh. It is a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

We praise the Lord in the midst of our adversities, hard trials, or when we are facing what seems impossible. It takes our focus off of them onto Him. We exalt or lift Him up. It is another form of bringing every thought captive to Him.

The depth of our roots determines the quality of fruit. Inner strongholds make the soil of our heart stony. When we confess them as sin, He is ready to forgive and help us destroy them.

Hosea 14 was written to Israel. Embrace them for yourself. Verse 4 says, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him.” Verse 5-6 says, “….he shall grow like the lily, and lengthen his roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread; his beauty shall be like an olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon.”

Read Jacob’s blessing on Joseph. Genesis 49:22 says, “Joseph is a fruitful bough, and fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall.” What a picture of one being deeply rooted in their relationship with the Lord.

David was deeply rooted. What did he do when his army of men were ready to stone him? 1 Samuel 30:6 says, “Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved…But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”

Colossians 2:7 says, “Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 3:16 is a picture of one deeply rooted.

It says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” Everything in our relationship with the Lord is built around His word. If we are ‘word less’ then we are shallow rooted. Intimate communion with the Lord feeds our roots. It is the essential spiritual nitrogen that enables us to bear fruit for His glory.

Malachi 3:3 was written about Israel. We can still apply it to our hearts. It says, “He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.” 

Matthew 3:10 says, “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.” Verse 12 says, “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Our trials are designed to refine our faith. The intense fire is essential to bring up the hidden dross. Unconfessed strongholds (sinful habits) make us weak and unable to fight against the fiery darts against our faith ~ see Ephesians 6:16 and 1 Peter 1:7.

There is another key as to how enemy strongholds are built. It is revealed in the parable of the sower. Mark 4:16-17 was about the seed that was sown on stony ground. It says, “…when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves…” 

Here is God’s way for root development. Psalm 1:2 wrote about the one who has a lifestyle of meditation in God’s word. Verse 3 says, “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water…”

Jeremiah 17:7-8 says that the one who trusts the Lord, “…will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.”

Strongholds, according to 2 Corinthians 10:5, oppose God’s way. It says, “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” Against versus obedience.

Deuteronomy 12:2 says, “You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.” The high places in our heart are for praise. Back to Psalm 149:6 which says, “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth…”

Psalm 145:1-3 says, “I will extol You, my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.”

Inner enemy strongholds block praise. They cause our mouth to speak from discouragement, defeat, and spiritual barrenness. Psalm 137:4 says, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?”

The antidote to spiritual barrenness is to sing! Isaiah 54:1 says, “Sing, O barren. You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud…” Inner enemy strongholds have to be torn down through praise!

If you haven’t read Habakkuk 3 in a while, I encourage you to do so. There is a key for us in verse 13. It says of the Lord, “…You struck the head from the house of the wicked, by laying bare from foundation to neck.”

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2 Timothy 2:26 says of those opposing God, “And that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” What did Jesus do to refute the devil’s lure?

Luke 4:4 says, “But Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” This is why we need to have God’s word hidden in our heart. We do not know ahead of time what lure satan will use to ensnare us.

Psalm 124:7 says, “Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Psalm 149 is a triumphant psalm. Verse 6-9 says, “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment—this honor have all the saints. Praise the Lord!”

Any vestige of our old heart idols, leaves opportunity for the enemy to use against us. His greatest goal is to keep us from intimate communion with the Lord. When we dwell in the secret place of communion with the Lord, all of his plans are blocked and ineffective.