Matthew 14:13-21 was the record of Jesus feeding five thousand men, besides women and children. In verse 15 the disciples told Jesus to send the multitudes away. In verse 16 He said, “…They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

They replied in verse 17 that they only had five loaves and two fish. Jesus multiplied that to feed the multitudes, and there was enough left over that each disciple had a basket full.

Yet in Matthew 15:32-39, there is another situation where there was a hungry multitude. In verse 33 the disciples asked, “…Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?”

Our trials are designed to test our faith. The intensity of the fiery trial is used to expose the hidden dross of doubt, fear, and unbelief. Out of the disciples heart came doubt instead of faith.

1 John 1:6 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” Our words and actions have credibility when they agree with God’s truth. 

Our heart is our belief center. Therefore the type of treasure in our heart stems from what we believe about ourselves. I read Matthew 10 just before I started typing this devotional. Verse 1 says that Jesus gave power to His twelve disciples, “…over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” That included Judas.

John 13:2 says, “And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas…to betray Him.” The seed of betrayal was a planted thought! This is why we have to guard our hearts with utmost diligence, not allowing the enemy of our soul any opportunity!

Matthew 12:34-35 says, “…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.”

Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We can tell what we treasure by the words that come out of our mouths. Do you hear what you are saying? 

Matthew 15:19 says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts…” An evil thought is dark. In order for one to develop a photograph, a negative has to be made in a dark room. We are children of light! We have no business developing dark thoughts. 

Ephesians 5:11 says to have no fellowship with darkness. 1 John 1:5 says, “…God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”

When we view ourselves through God’s eyes, we are mirroring the truths from His word. What does He say? Isaiah 43:7. We are created for His glory. Genesis 2:26 says, “Let Us make man in Our image…let them have dominion…”

Where is the word ‘unworthy’ in that? It doesn’t exist. Consider ‘unworthy’ as being from the realm of darkness. Here are a few lies: I am unworthy of His love, I am unlovable, I am a mistake, or I can’t do anything right. Truth: I am loved unconditionally. That means that no matter how many mistakes we have made, they are all situations that we can learn from.

Life is a journey of progress. Perfection alone belongs to God. Learn to kill ants ~ Automatic Negative Thoughts. Squash them by immediately proclaiming the truth of who you are in Christ. That is irrefutable truth!

I woke up from a dream. I actually got up in the dark, and wrote down the three key words in my notebook. Subliminal lies~unworthy. Subliminal means: below the threshold of sensation or consciousness; perceived by or affecting someone’s mind without their being aware of it.

Subliminal is a perfect word to describe a stealth fiery dart lie. It slips in unnoticed, especially when we are in our flesh and not walking in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads us into truth. When we are attentive to His leading, we will not fall prey to the lies of the enemy.

Have you ever felt unworthy? In my dream I was reinforcing who we are. We are created in the image of God. God is love. We are created in love for love. Unworthy has no connection to His love for us. Think about it ~ it is eternal truth.

Our soul is our mind, will, and emotions. I like to picture this as hair braided with three strands. As we begin to form the braid, it goes like this. The mind leads off, the will and emotions follow. By the time the braid is completed, the three separate strands are no longer distinguishable.

Hebrews 4:12 says that God’s word is able to split between our soul and our spirit, and reveal our hidden intentions. 1 Chronicles 28:9 Amplified says, “For the Lord searches all hearts and minds and understands all the wanderings of the thoughts…”

In commanding our soul, we have to be intentional. I learned this from David’s psalms. Each time he wrote, “I will” he was stating his intention. Psalm 34:1 says, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” When we say ‘I will…’ we are stating an intention that paves the way for completion. 

Now let’s finish Psalm 62:5, “…for my expectation is from Him.” Waiting is one of the Lord’s strategic tools to train our focus. Our faith is in Him not an event. Mark 11:22 says, “…Have faith in God.”

Think of the words to this hymn: Be still my soul, the Lord is on thy side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide. In every change He faithful will remain.

The Lord is the only one who is in control at all times. David started out his psalm expressing his assurance, “Truly my soul silently waits…” Then his mind went to those who were attacking him. He followed that by commanding his soul to be still.

When our minds refuse to be still, it is important to remember, we are the only ones in control of our minds. No one makes us think the way we do.

Psalm 62: 1 says, “Truly my soul silently waits for God, from Him is my salvation.” This is a great verse to memorize. Silently waiting means that there are no mental gymnastics. Waiting is a trial all its own. The wait brings up our hidden fleshly desire for control.

It also brings up the dross of impatience. The next time you have to wait for something, be ready to intercept any fleshly thoughts through gratitude. Expressing gratitude to the Lord takes our focus off the wait onto the One who alone is in control of every aspect of our lives.

We could use verse two as our focus of gratitude. ‘Lord I am so grateful that you are the Rock Of My Salvation. You are my Defender. I will not be shaken because my trust is in You alone.’ 

We can use verse five to speak to our soul. It says, “My soul, wait silently for God alone…”

There were four living creatures. Verse 8 says, “…each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” They were able to view the Lord through every aspect of His being and they worshiped.

Each time they rang out with worship, the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lord in worship. They cast their crowns before the throne. Verse 11 says, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”

I memorized Psalm 8. Verse 3-4 says, “When I consider the heavens, the work of Your fingers…What is man that You are mindful of him?…” Isaiah 43:7 says that we are created for His glory. We glorify Him when we worship.