Our faith is a gift, given in a measure at salvation. Romans 12:3 says, “For I say, through grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” 2 Peter 1:5-7 is a list of what we are to add to our faith.

Now if we add a little yeast to bread dough, it will permeate and bring an increase to the dough. There is an interesting aspect of our faith. In order for it to grow, we must decrease. John the Baptist said in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” 1 John 2:6 says, “He who abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” 

Decreasing so that He may increase is a huge part of our progressive sanctification. As we abide with the Lord through His word, He will lead us deeper into His truth that will set us free from ourselves. When I was in 1st grade, we were given a coloring book. It was all based on teaching us to not be “Me First” but to share.

What are we called to do? Share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our faith is reflected through our life’s experiences as we are around others. No man is an island. We live in a community. How we are in the marketplace, reflects what we believe, and Who we believe in. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him…”

Verse 9 says that if we don’t add to our faith, we will be shortsighted, forgetting that we were cleansed from our old sins. The list we are to add, is incorporated in our interpersonal relationships. Virtue is moral excellence. Knowledge puffs up unless it is used to humble us. When I think about the Lord’s attributes, I become very small. To our knowledge we are to add self-control. There would be no crime if everyone exercised this character quality. Then there is perseverance that only grows through our trials. Godliness is exemplifying the Lord’s character. Brotherly kindness is key to unity in diversity. Love is the last. Colossians 3:14 says, “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”

The Lord purifies our faith through our fiery trials. Our trials cause the hidden dross to surface. Nothing is hidden except that it might be revealed. Hebrew 4:13 Amplified is a great reminder for us. It says, “And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.”

We decrease in our fleshly desires, as He increases through our focus on Him alone. Remember when Peter, James, and John were on the mountain? Jesus was transfigured before them. Matthew 17:8 says, “When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.” We are transformed, according to 2 Corinthians 3:18, as we gaze at Him.

May we decrease so that He may increase. May we grow in grace and in our knowledge of Him. May we exemplify Him through our actions which come from our thoughts. May our thoughts please the Lord. May we glorify Him through our thoughts, words, and actions. We are in a unique time of history. Let us be about our Father’s business.

What are we to remember? Isaiah 51:1 says, “Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.” David expressed his pit in Psalm 40:2. It says, “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.”

What pit did the Lord dig you out of? For the children of Israel He dug them out of the pit of slavery to the Egyptians. Therefore when He inaugurated the keeping of the passover, He told them to remember something. Deuteronomy 16:3 says, “You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.”

Do you celebrate the day that the Lord took you out of sin’s degradation? Do you look back to the pit, and remember how you were hopelessly lost? Ephesians 4:17-18 is one of my places for remembering. It says that my mind was futile, and my understanding was darkened. I was alienated from the life of God. My heart was blind to the truth of the gospel.

When we accept the Lord as our Savior, we are set free from the bondage of sin. However, we need to daily remember the truth in Romans 6:12. It says, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lust.” Our flesh lusts. We need to heed the warning that the Lord gave.

In Deuteronomy 8:10 the Lord reminded them of what to expect in their new land. It says, “When you have eaten and are full…” Verse 11 says, “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by NOT keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you this day.” Verse 14 spoke of their heart being lifted up.

James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” If our heart is lifted up in pride, then the Lord will use measures to humble us. The quickest way I know to humble myself before the Lord is to remember what my life was like when I was alienated from Him. 

Maybe you are thinking about 2 Corinthians 5:17 that says, “…old things are past away; behold, all things have become new.” Is there a contradiction? No. 1 Corinthians 2:13 says, “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” 

We can go back to Romans 7. Paul wrote about his struggle. Verse 18 says, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells…” John 6:63 says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” Therefore we must do as Paul instructed his readers. Romans 6:13 says, “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

We must continually remember that we are not our own. We belong to another. 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Let us remember the pit He brought us up from. Psalm 40:3 is our testimony. It says, “He has put a new song in my mouth–praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.”

I have molehills in my backyard. Little mounds of freshly dug up earth by an unseen creature. There is an interesting verse in Zechariah. Remember that our giant is a mindset absent of faith. The mountain-mindset stands as an obstacle to block our pathway of spiritual progress. It is a lie that just seems mountainous.

Our battle is with our flesh. It requires spiritual warfare. Zechariah 4:6 says, “…This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” 

Verse 7 in the Amplified says, “For who are you, O great mountain (of human obstacles)? …you shall become a plain (a mere molehill)! And he shall bring forth the finishing gable stone (of the new temple) with loud shoutings of the people, crying, Grace, grace to it!”

John 1:16 Amplified says, “For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received (all had a share and we were all supplied with) one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift (heaped) upon gift.”

I love to picture the wording as one on top of the other. It is through grace that we are saved through faith. It is the same grace that we have available to face our mountain-obstacles. Giants that tower over us through our thoughts, are mere molehills when viewed through grace.

Mark 11:23 says, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things which he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”

Do you believe this verse? Do you see the towering mountain-obstacles in your life through these words? When we wield God’s word, the sword of the Spirit, we are fully armed to take out our giant.

Habakkuk 3:19 Amplified says, “The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk (not to stand still in terror, but to walk) and make (spiritual) progress upon my high places (of trouble, suffering, or responsibility)!”

Whatever your giant is, it can be felled through God’s word. Nothing can stand against His applied truth. John 8:31-32 gives us God’s condition in setting us free. It says, “…If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

The condition is abiding. John 15:4 Amplified says, “…Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally untied to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.” It is through our intimate communion with the Lord, that He gives us His specific word that will fell our giant.

On Thanksgiving I watched a 51 minute video on the life of Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand. They faced impossible giants through faith in the name of Jesus. Richard told how he would pace his small solitary prison cell. He would pray, he would deliver a sermon, and he would worship.

Sabina told how the ladies in her prison developed a greeting. “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever.” It changed everything. They even had unbelievers come and ask them to teach them the greeting.

My faith was challenged as I watched their faith being shared. At one point Richard’s health had declined so much that they put him in a cell with other prisoners who were dying. He went man to man and shared the gospel with them.

Our giant is a mindset that is empty of faith~

I want to use Jesus as an example. He knew that He would be betrayed by one of His disciples. He knew the cross was before Him. John 13:3-4 says, “Jesus, knowing that…He had come from God and was going to God, rose…” He washed the feet of His betrayer. He shared His bread with him.

John 18:4 says, “…knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward…” Jesus never shrunk back as He faced His giant. He boldly went forward. Yet when He declared who He is, verse 6 says of the threatening mob, “…they drew back and fell to the ground.”

Our giant is never a person. Our enemy is spirit and therefore only defeated through faith. 1 Peter 5:8 says that the devil seeks whom he can devour. Verse 9 says, “Resist him, steadfast in the faith…”

Our faith is not a mindset. It is a heart belief in the name of the Lord. One day every knee will bow to that name. Our giants will bow to that name when we wield His word as a sword.

I faced a medical giant in August 2016. I typed out two pages of verses that would strengthen and keep my faith steadfast. I daily read them out loud. They were the medicine my Great Physician prescribed. His word was my life sustaining strength.

Lying mindsets are inner strongholds. Only by working His word into our heart, like a potter works water into dry clay, will inner transformation take place. There is no other way to slay a giant.

James 1:21 says that the implanted word will save our soul. Note the word ‘established’ in Colossians 2:7. It says, “Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”

We have so much to be thankful for. It is God’s will that we give thanks for everything. Richard and Sabina did when imprisoned. Yet, their faith stood that fiery trial because they had faith in the power of His name. No giant can stand before the Lord Over All. 

David slew the Philistine giant. First he made a faith declaration. 1 Samuel 17:45 says, “…You come to me with a sword, a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” Our take away: our giant has defied the Lord Over All.

Defy means to openly resist. That is what inner strongholds do. When we have an inner stronghold of truth, it will openly and aggressively resist the fiery dart lies. However, if we have a hidden lie-stronghold, it will resist truth and keep us in bondage. It is only the truth that we experientially live in that sets us free. 

What is the truth about the name of the Lord? In Acts 3 we read about an amazing miracle through the name of the Lord. There was a beggar, lame from his mother’s womb. He had never walked in his life. Peter and John were going into the temple to pray. The beggar looked at them with expectation. Verse 6 says, “Then Peter said, Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you; In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

What did Peter have to give? The name of the Lord. Every believer has the name of the Lord. Let’s see what happened when Peter made that declaration. Verse 7 says, “…immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.” Watch what happened. Verse 8 says, “So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them–walking, leaping, and praising God.”

Acts 3:16 says, “And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong…” Saying the name of the Lord is not an add on to a prayer request. It is wholehearted acknowledgement and absolute belief in who the Lord is. His name embodies every attribute. Here are just three. He is All Knowing, All Powerful, and All Present. 

Psalm 124:8 says, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1 reminds us that our help comes from our Creator. Colossians 1:16 says, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. ALL things were created through Him and for Him.”

The Lord doesn’t have to plan. All that He knows is in His attribute of Omniscience. His plan for your life is part of how He designed you. He knew you before He formed you in your mother’s womb. Colossians 2:3 says, “In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” We grow in our understanding of who the Lord is as we daily commune with Him through His word.

Our giants are fully known by Him. It is when we submit to Him, humbling our heart, that we can acknowledge that He knows. We grow in faith as we apply His powerful name to every situation in our lives. Proverbs 18:10 says that His name is our strong tower. The help of man is useless. The victorious strength to slay our giants comes when we stand in who He is. We become a partaker of His nature through our thoughts as we gaze at Him.

Psalm 17:9 says, “Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just; for the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.” Psalm 53:2 says, “God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.” What does the Lord see when He looks into your heart?

In the lives of the children of Israel, God tested their heart through His manna provision. Deuteronomy 8:2 says, “And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments of not.”

The Lord knew what was in their hearts. The test was to see if they would do what He told them. If you remember back, when He first gave them the manna, some didn’t believe His specific words. Here is something interesting that I noted last night. Deuteronomy 8:16 says, “Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end.”

Did you catch that? The result of the testing was so He could bless them. It made me think of Job. James 5:11 says, “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord–that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.”

When we go to the end of Job’s trial, what does it say? Job 42:10 says, “And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” What an intended end! We need to follow Job’s example in our trials. I love verse 2 and visit it often. It says, “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.”

David went through severe situations in his life. Here is his prayer to make our own. Psalm 26:2 says, “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart.” Try means to refine. The Strong’s definition for refine: to melt, test, or purify metal, to prove, smelt, examine, to try by fire. When gold, silver, and precious stones go through refining fires, only their alloy will surface. 

Our faith is tested through our fiery trials. 1 Peter 1:7 says, “That the genuineness of your faith…though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” It is IN our trials that the Lord reveals Himself to us in new ways. Think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. It was not until they were in the fire, that the Lord appeared to them. Note that in the fire they were not harmed. Daniel 3:27 says, “…they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power…”

So it is when the Lord tests our hearts through our trials. It is not punishment. It is to purify our faith from any alloy-lies of the enemy that came in through fiery darts to weaken our faith. Job’s statement will be ours as well when we endure our trials so that He is glorified. Job 23:10 says, “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” He is reflected through our purified faith.

Happy Thanksgiving!

God instructed the children of Israel to dispossess the nations that occupied their promised land. Deuteronomy 7:18 says, “You shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.” We also need to remember how the Lord worked through His mighty power to set them free from their captivity.

We wage war against the enemy of our soul through God’s promises. We must remember that satan came to steal, kill, and destroy. He uses deceptive means to lure us from what God has set before us. Philippians 1:28 says, “And not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.” Where does our help come from? Psalm 121:1 says, “…My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

1 Peter 1:4-5 says, “To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” This is our standing. We stand by this promise. Romans 5:2 says, “Through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 2:8 says that if the rulers of the age knew, “…they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Colossians 2:15 says that through the cross, Jesus disarmed principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them. The battle is won. However, just like the Lord gave the children of Israel the promised land, they had to possess it. That meant they had to engage the nations who inhabited it in battle.

2 Peter 1:3 says, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him…” His resurrection  power dwells within us. Through it we engage and defeat the one who is attempting to destroy our faith. It is all about faith. Our faith is constantly under attack. The enemy uses fiery dart lies, but we are equipped. Ephesians 6:16 says, “…taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench ALL the fiery darts of the wicked one.”

How does our enemy seek to destroy our faith? In Deuteronomy 7:25 they were warned to not take anything for themselves of the nation’s idols. It would cause them to be snared.  Verse 26 says, “Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing.”

Proverbs 6:17-19 lists seven things that are an abomination to the Lord. Verse 17-19 says, “A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.” The question comes: Have I brought any of them into my life? Hidden lies, erroneous mindsets, and strongholds have to be cast off and replaced by truth, or our faith is undermined.

Paul had an essential desire. He expressed it in Philippians 3:13 says, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” Is this your desire? While the world seeks to press us into its mold, we have to press through anything that would pull us away from our devotion to the Lord.

Moses recounted what the Lord had done for the children of Israel. Deuteronomy 6:23 says, “Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers.” The moment we accept the Lord’s finished work on the cross for ourselves, He brings us out, that He might bring us in.

Think about what He has laid hold of us for. Everything in our life is designed intentionally by our Creator for our good. Every trial is His strategic way to conform us to His image. Every relationship is part of His plan. Ephesians 1:11 says that He is working everything in our life according to the counsel of His will.

The question comes: Am I pressing in? What is pressing me into a mold that isn’t God’s way? Think of putting a round peg into a square hole. It doesn’t work. Neither does it work in our walk with the Lord. His purpose for you, is as individual as you are. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” You are who He has designed you to be.

Philippians 3:12 Amplified says, “…I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.” Our trials are ours. Have we really grasped them to make them our own? Trials are not punishment. Hebrews 12:7 says, “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?” The Greek word means education or training.

Hebrews 12:11 says, “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” The purpose in every trial is to take us deeper in our faith. It is in our trials that the Lord reveals Himself to us in a way we have not experienced Him before.

His attributes are like a kaleidoscope, displayed in various ways. Ephesians 3:10 says that He is using us, His church, to display His manifold wisdom to principalities and powers, rulers in high places that have dominion over unbelievers. 2 Timothy 6:12 is key. It says, “Fight the good fight, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” The way we do this is through our heart. Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” We lay up His word by hiding it in our heart. We don’t want to take up heart-real estate with buried unresolved issues. They cause us to sin through fleshly reactions.

John 10:10 says, “The thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy…” This is an essential truth that we have been equipped to battle. There is an interesting verse in Deuteronomy about possessing. Moses was recounting what the Lord had said. Deuteronomy 2:24 says, “Rise…I have given into your hand…king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and engage him in battle.”

2 Corinthians 10:4 says that our weapons are mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds. A stronghold is a mindset that opposes God’s way. It is the ground that we gave over to satan through our disobedience. When we do not take God at His word, we give opportunity for satan to work his wiles.

Paul wrote to the church in Corinth about obedience. It was about forgiveness of the brother who sinned. In 2 Corinthians 2:9 says, “For this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things.” In verse 10 he urged them to forgive. Verse 11 says, “Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

Here is what we know from Scripture. John 8:44 says that the devil is a liar. Revelation 12:10 says that he is an accuser of the brethren. James 1:16 warns us to not be deceived. Hebrews 3:13 says to not be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. When we arm ourselves with truth, it will stand like a sentinel within our heart to warn us when the enemy approaches.

Nahum 2:1 helps us prepare to engage. It says, “He who scatters has come up before your face. Man the fort! Watch the road! Strengthen your flanks! Fortify your power mightily.” Colossians 1:11 was Paul’s prayer, “Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.”

Here is a key to understanding when we are being set up. IF we are not walking in the Spirit, then we are not being led by Him. It is evident to others when the fruit of the Spirit is not our testimony. Think of a cluster of grapes. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “…love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” When we are walking in our flesh, we are opposing God’s way. When we do that, James 4:7 says that He will resist us. Sin is pride.

Therefore, in order to possess what is ours we must engage the enemy by confronting the lies we have believed. It is through these lies that the enemy is currently working his devices. He works in darkness, therefore we must walk in the Light. Accountability is a great safety net. Heart integrity keeps us from succumbing to satan’s deceptive ways. Psalm 15:2 says to speak truth in our heart.

We possess what is ours through bringing God’s truth into our heart to uproot the lies we have believed. James 1:21 says, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” Verse 22 is our strategic engagement. It says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves. 

In Deuteronomy 1:6 the Lord spoke, “…You have dwelt long enough at this mountain.” Verse 8 says, “See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land…” Two questions beg to be asked. What futile circular pattern are you in? What has the Lord told you to possess but you have neglected to do so?

Luke 21:19 says, “By your patience possess your souls.” Patience is the fruit of our faith having been tested. James 1:3-4 says, “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” These two verses are speaking about our state.

Here is our standing. Colossians 2:9-10 says, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” That is a perfect statement of our unchangeable position in Jesus. It is through our progressive sanctification that He works on our state. Hebrews 13:20 says, “Make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

His righteousness is a gift to conform us to His will in our thoughts, purpose, and actions. It is essential to remember that our righteousness, according to Isaiah 64:6, is as filthy rags. He is working His righteousness into our soul, like a potter works water into dry clay. Isaiah 32:17 says, “The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”

What gets in the way of this work? Our flesh! Our flesh keeps us circling the mountain. It blocks us in every way possible. Unless. Unless we are dwelling in His word, and allowing it to do the work that He desires. Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it…” Observe means to look closely to catch every nuance of truth.

Liken it to watching a tide pool. I used to sit for hours and watch tide pools because they were so fascinating. I had to be absolutely still to see the life within the tide pool in action. What keeps you from deep diving into His word? I love Psalm 25:14 in the Amplified. It says, “The secret (of the sweet, satisfying companionship) of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its (deep, inner) meaning.”

We are called to move beyond the things that bind us. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” It is through our trials that we grow in our knowledge of the Lord. Trials have a way of removing the dross of superfluous activity, and causing us to refocus to prioritize. 

Matthew 6:37 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” Our priority is to deepen our relationship with the Lord by abiding in Him. He calls us to dwell in the unchangeable standing of His fullness. Psalm 36:8 says, “They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.” As the potter works water into the clay, the Lord uses the water of His word to work His character in us.