9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Philippians 2:9-13
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
The first three verses of this are so powerful. Jesus is the name above all names!! Everything with a name shall bow – bow its knee, bow its power, bow. I figured that if I didn’t give my life to Christ fully, then at some point I would still bow before him and hear him cast me into hell. God leaves the 99 sheep to chase down the one – so if you are the one sheep, you might as well surrender and enjoy God’s goodness.
Covid-19 has a name, therefore it is subject to the name of Jesus! Read that again.
Now is the time to pray boldly! The lock screen on my phone says: Pray Boldly, in the Name of Jesus. It’s a reminder every time I pick up my phone that it’s time to pray, and pray boldly.
Stress is a name. Worry is a name. Fear is a name. Anxiety is a name. Hopeless is a name. Loneliness is a name. Shame is a name. Insecurity is a name.
Does your struggle have a name? Do your family and friend’s struggle have a name?
Then, In the Name of Jesus, thing with a name, bow to his authority! It’s time to take back the joy of our salvation!
And how do we do that? Verse 12 says obey God and work out your walk with the Lord. God will do a good work in you and me – “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;” Phil 1:6 NKJV (Thank you, Jesus!)
And verse 13” for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (NIV) God works it out for his good purpose!
He has a purpose and a plan for good. He is working it out!
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Today, in my life, I faced a brief moment of fear. It lasted a couple seconds at most. It was the first time since the Coronavirus was declared a pandemic that I actually was afraid. Bad information was spread and I thought I was going to be sent home and I do not know what that will do to my income and finances. And then I remembered – God provides for me, not my employer! We won’t always be strong going through this pandemic – but love and support each other because we can’t go through it constantly weak and fearful. Fear must bow and let Jesus come through, and all we have to do is keep walking with the Lord and drawing closer to him.
Wait, picture it: There is the crowd following Jesus and people are lined up all the way down the street, and you are one of the 12 closest people to him! Walking with him. Can you imagine it? Then fear, stress, anxiety, etc. come walking down the street to face off with Jesus. But as Jesus approaches (and you are right there by his side) fear, stress, anxiety, etc. all bow and move out of his way, just because his name is above all others and has power.
As your current struggles try to face off and stop you – remember you are walking with Jesus! Focus on your walk with him and watch those things bow out of the way. And you can tell them to bow and move in Jesus’s name (yes, you can!)
Praise report:
I came home tonight to the sound of an animal (sounded like a couple birds) in my dryer. Long story short: no damage and we caught it on time! There was some nesting materials and some lint build-up! My dryer is all clean and sparkly now! God is so good to have helped us catch that before a fire and no animals were hurt in the process and no damage!!! Praise the Lord.
I have been saying a prayer for my friend that I found in the back of the love devotional. One line is something down the lines of praying he has Godly friends and avoid foolish ones. So I changed it slightly to: Lord, sent Godly men into his life to be his friends, to witness to him, and be a mentor in Godly things. And because he is not yet wise enough to avoid fools, please remove them, distance them, and separate them from his life. In Jesus Name I pray~ amen.
Well, he is a computer engineer and he works in a large room with a few others (who are highly questionable characters, we can call fools) and they work jointly on many things – in light of the Coronavirus, they have been separated into multiple rooms by themselves. (this alone is a great start and I was excitedly praising the Lord)
Then my friend did some sort of super techie cool stuff and has to test it out by working remotely from home. I guess God didn’t think next room was far enough to answer my prayers! So, my sweet man will be home alone separated from all the fools and God can work on him more!!! Praise the Lord!
Remember to Thank God for the small victories along the way and remember something we see as small might be big in the spirit. Every step, big or small was ordained by God when it comes to answering prayers!
Thank you for reading and sharing my journey – be healthy and blessed – Pray psalms 91
If Not For Grace 