Good morning, all!

Father, we face so much in the course of our week, we face ups and downs and don’t always see Your hand. Help us Lord to always see You, to know that You are always moving and working in our life as the author and finisher of our faith. May faith arise in us and see the light of heaven, so our downs are seen as temporary and our life eternal, Amen. Have you ever heard the expression of someone being called a pillar in the community?

1 Samuel 2

7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
The Lord will empty you of everything and then fill you with all that matters, He will bring you low and then lifts us to truly understand the heights.
8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, [and] lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set [them] among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth [are] the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them.
He lifts us up out of the dirt and lifts us up from our mess, we are seated with royalty, and we inherit His throne: the PILLARS of the earth belong to God, and they hold the world.
9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
He will keep the walk of His saints, and the wicked shall be silenced and NOT seen; for man’s strength will always fail.

10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.
The enemies of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; they will be broken by the voice of God in heaven: the Lord will reach the ends of the earth; His king is strong, and His voice anointed.

Bottom line

This is a really cool piece of scripture…I think I say that every week, eventually you’ll believe me- Ha! This is the story of Hannah. She loved the Lord but couldn’t have children. Of course the Lord hears her prayer and heals her womb, and she would eventually give birth to Samuel, he would become a great prophet and anoint both Saul and David as kings of Israel. It opens with God revealing that He is the one in charge of our ups and downs, and you know what He’s doing through all our ups and downs? He’s making us pillars in the earth! Now here’s what I know about pillars, first they don’t MOVE and, second, they’re really STRONG…they hold the structure up. You know what makes you and I pillars in the earth? Not the ups and downs…it’s the FAITH we have through the ups and downs. When I read some of the stories Jesus told, He tells us that faith moves mountains NOT the other way around…I’d say that’s pretty strong and immovable if you ask me. Do you have some mountains in your life that need moving? Doubt…anxiety…hurt…anger…sickness…worry…strife…rejection…lies…by the way these are also known as the adversaries of the Lord…He’s God the FATHER so people are NOT His enemy. The truth is His enemies are your enemies, it’s NEVER people. The wicked that are silenced and placed in darkness are the thoughts of all those enemies I just mentioned, they become dark when we pay them NO mind. Think about it, can we be pillars when we have thoughts of doubt, hurt or strife? We’re usually MOVED by those emotions, and we can’t hold ourselves up let alone anyone else, in that place we need a deliverer, redeemer, a savior to rescue us first. Why do you think God chooses thunder from heaven? There’s NO mistaking thunder for my weak and inferior thoughts that hold me captive, when I hear thunder, it lifts me out of my mess and puts my eyes on heaven. Have you ever heard the voice of God?

[Isa 29:6 KJV] Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. When the Lord pays us a visit it’s with the proverbial BANG…there’s a lot going on to get our attention. Did you notice in the passage above where the thunder reaches? The ENDS of the earth…sounds like He’s big enough to reach everyone. So if pillars are used to build let’s say a church, who’s responsible to make sure they’re in place and strong enough to hold it up?

Point to Ponder

[1Co 3:9 NIV] For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. You might not be able to see your pillar but trust me your builder set it in place and rated stronger than any up and down we face…BELIEVE IT!!!

Let’s be the pillar God has built, In Him Phil

Faith – Family – Friends