INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK: Where Are You?

"Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9)

Everyday we are supposed to walk with the Lord, we are supposed to be in the presence of the Lord, we are supposed to rejoice in the Lord. We have the privilege of having direct access to the Lord. Although He is our Father in heaven, He is always near us. He has promised that He will never leave us. He is always taking care of us regardless of what is happening in our world. 

Because God loves us so much He doesn't want us to go astray. He delights in walking with us all the time. He is happy to see us trusting in Him. He derives pleasure in using us as instruments of His glory. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them," (Ephesians 2:10). 

God is concerned about our well being. God is concerned about our present and future. That is why he is concerned when we lose His way and go our own way. His way leads to life and if our way is not His way then it leads to death. It saddens the Lord to see us transgressing from His way.  

That is why He says, "...repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourself a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord God. "Therefore turn and live!" (Ezekiel 18:30-32)

Even when we have fallen, He doesn't give up on us. He wants to give us another chance. He wants us to return to Him so that He can restore us. When we hear His voice we should not try and hide from Him just like Adam and Eve did when they had fallen into sin. The Word of God tells us that when they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden, they hid from the presence of the Lord. "Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9). 

My dear friend, when you are not with God where are you? When you are not walking in His love  where are you? When you are not walking in His light where are you? When you are not walking in His wisdom where are you? When you are lost where are you? When God is calling your name, where are you? 

Mind you, God knows everything and He knew where Adam and his wife were, but He asked him, "Where are you?" This was an opportunity for Adam to examine himself, consider his position, confess his transgression and repent. Today God is asking the same question to us, "Where are you?" 

He is Lord!

There is a popular song that says, "…He is Lord, He is Lord, He has risen from the dead, He is Lord..." This song has been going on repeatedly in my heart today. I began to focus on the phrase 'HE IS LORD'. I choose to fix my eyes on Him because He is Lord. The Jesus in whom I live is Lord. The Jesus who lives in me is Lord.

Whatever is happening around you just believe that Jesus is Lord. Fix your eyes on Him and you will be able to run with endurance the race that is set before you. You cannot run this race unless you believe that Jesus is Lord.

When you are facing challenges in your life know that you are not cursed, you are just walking in His footsteps. He despised the shame of the cross; He conquered death because He is Lord. He is our living hope because He is Lord. He is sitting at the right hand of God interceding us because He is Lord. He humbled himself and was obedient even in His death and was given the name that is above every other name. Every knee shall bow and every tongue must confess that indeed Jesus is Lord.

You may be hitting rock bottom now but you are not cursed if Jesus lives in you and you live in Him. By his Spirit we are transformed to His image, his royalty is rubbed in us that is why Peter writes and says we are a 'Royal Priesthood.' When they say you are cursed tell them that Jesus who is in me is not cursed and therefore I am not cursed!

"Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking under the power and influence of the [Holy] Spirit of God can [ever] say, Jesus be cursed! And no one can [really] say, Jesus is [my] Lord, except by and under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit." (1 Cor 12:3 AMP).

My dear friend, if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord you will be saved. Everything, in heaven, on earth and even under the earth must bow to His name. He is the Lord and He reigns forever, He conquers everything, we just need to call upon His name. Everything we say and do, we should do it in the name of Jesus. Yes, in the name of Jesus we have our victory because He is Lord!

Let Us Pursue Knowledge of the Lord

We are already in the new year, 2011! We have all had different experiences during the past year. Some of us had a great year; some of us had a terrible time. But we thank God that he changes the times and seasons. He is in total control of our lives. Our lives are in his hands, we are his instruments. It does not matter how many rocks we hit in life, what matters the most is the strength that is holding the instrument. The God that we trust is the All-Powerful God and there is no other God besides Him.


It is not easy to put your trust in someone you do not know. In fact, I believe trust is not instant, but is built over time. It does not matter how powerful and trustworthy that person may seem to be, until you know him very well, it would be difficult to trust him with everything you have and everything you are. You may give the benefit of the doubt until you reach a certain level of knowledge about the person before you can honestly say you trust him.

As I thought about this it dawned to me that we need to build that kind of a relationship with God to faithfully put our trust in Him. The core of our discussions in past articles was trusting in the Lord at all times. As we look forward to the new year the words of the prophet Hosea strongly came to me that we should pursue the knowledge of the Lord.

The Apostle Paul says, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like Him in His death,” (Philippians 3:10 NIV). There is nothing that surpasses the greatness of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ. You confidently put all your trust in Him when you get to understand how great He is.

Remember the story of David when he was running away from King Saul? (Read 1 Samuel 18 -24). There was a time when David was in the wilderness. He was obviously thirsty, hungry and tired. However, he knew very well who the Lord is. Instead of mourning over his situation, he rejoiced in the Lord. Instead of requesting for supply of water and food, he looked at his situation from a different perspective.

He said, “O God, You are my God. Early will I seek You. My soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You in a dry land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary to see Your power and Your glory. Because of Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You,” (Psalm 63:1-3 NKJV).

David had deeper understanding that his life is in the hands of the Lord and whatever happens God will always be there to rescue Him. As you read the rest of the psalm you will realize that he chooses to rejoice instead of stressing over his situation. He says, “Because you have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.”

Such confidence and trust in the Lord is a result of knowing the faithfulness of God. I often say God loves us, God cares for us and God is faithful. All it takes is to have a deeper and intimate knowledge Him.

“Let us know, let us pursue knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning. He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth,” (Hosea 6:3 NKJV).

My dear friend, whatever you are going through, embrace it in your heart that you shall pursue the knowledge of the Lord. The New International Version says as surely as the sun rises He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. If you know who this God we worship is, you will have the patience that no matter how tough the situation is, you will wait upon the Lord because surely at the right time He will come.

It is funny that we have so much faith that the morning shall come tomorrow, the sun shall rise. Even when we do not live to see that morning, we know it shall come. We had faith that 2011 shall come and 2010 would be history. However, when we get into trials and tough times we lose that faith in God, who controls the coming and going of the morning, who changes the times and seasons (Daniel 2:21). Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord, let us seek Him and surely we shall find Him.

“For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited; “I am the Lord and there is no other, I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, “Seek Me in vain”; I the Lord, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right,” (Isaiah 45:18-19 NKJV).

When we seek God we shall find Him. He is ready and willing to reveal Himself to us. We shall not seek in vain. In times of trouble and in times of happiness, if we seek for his presence He will come to us like the sun rising in the morning. When there is no water He will come like the winter rains, He will come like the spring rains and surely there will be change in your situation. All in good time and His time is the good time. Let us pursue knowledge of the Lord to understand that His time is the right time!

If you can take a survey around and ask who the Lord is, I guess you can get so many varying answers. Jesus Himself asked His disciples “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? The disciples told Him that some say He was John the Baptist, some Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the prophets. The next question that Jesus asked the disciples lingers on my mind very often.

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15 NIV).

To me it says; put aside what people say that the Lord is, do you have a personal knowledge of the Lord? It does not matter how long you have walked with the Lord, as the disciples had been with Jesus in His mission more than the rest, but do you really know who the Lord is? You say you trust in the Lord, but do you know who He is?

When Peter answered that He is Christ, Son of the living God, Jesus replied “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17 NIV).

My friend, if we pursue the knowledge of the Lord, He will surely reveal Himself to us. Then we will learn to rejoice in the Lord always. We will learn to be thankful in all circumstances. We will learn to trust in His unfailing love. No man can reveal to us who the Lord is but God Himself.

I am inspired by David’s words when instructing his son Solomon to build the temple of the Lord. He said, “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will cast you forever,” (1 Chronicles 28:9 NKJV).

My dear friend, may the Almighty God bless us even more this year as we encourage each other daily. In Romans 11:36 the Word says from Him, through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.