05/14/2020 —  
Each of us is always facing some type of adversity. Luke 4 tells the story of Jesus's encounter with Peter's mother-in-law, who was gravely ill. He healed her and she immediately was fully healed and began serving everyone in the house.

Jesus's message for this woman - who is never named in Scripture - is the same as God's message for each of us: it is time to oppose your opposition. The afflictions of the righteous are many, but God delivers them all!
 
 
Luke 4:38-44

“After leaving the meeting that day, Jesus went into Simon’s house, where Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. The disciples begged Jesus to help her. Jesus stood over her and rebuked the fever, and she was healed instantly. Then she got up and began to serve them.

"At sunset, the people brought all those who were sick to Jesus to be healed. Jesus laid his hands on them one by one, and they were all healed of different ailments and sicknesses.

"Demons also came out of many of them. The demons knew that Jesus was the Anointed One, so they shouted while coming out, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of El Shaddai!' But Jesus rebuked them and commanded them to be silent.

"At daybreak the next morning, the crowds came and searched everywhere for him, but Jesus had already left to go to a secluded place. When they finally found him, they held him tightly, begging him to stay with them in Capernaum. But Jesus said, 'Don’t you know there are other places I must go to and offer them the hope found in God’s kingdom realm? This is what I have been sent to do.'

"Jesus continued to travel and preach in the synagogues throughout the land”(TPT).
 
Psalm 35:1-10

“O Lord, fight for me! Harass the hecklers, accuse my accusers.
Fight those who fight against me.
Put on your armor, Lord; take up your shield and protect me.
Rise up, mighty God! Grab your weapons of war
and block the way of the wicked who come to fight me.
Stand for me when they stand against me!
Speak over my soul: 'I am your strong Savior!'
Humiliate those who seek my harm. Defeat them all!
Frustrate their plans to defeat me and drive them back.
Disgrace them all as they have devised their plans to disgrace me.
Blow them away like dust in the wind,
with the Angel of Almighty God driving them back!
Make the road in front of them nothing but slippery darkness,
with the Angel of the Lord behind them, chasing them away!
For though I did nothing wrong to them, they set a trap for me,
wanting me to fall and fail.
Surprise them with your ambush, Lord,
and catch them in the very trap they set for me.
Let them be the ones to fail and fall into destruction!
Then my fears will dissolve into limitless joy;
my whole being will overflow with gladness
because of your mighty deliverance.
Everything inside of me will shout it out:
'There’s no one like you, Lord!'
For look at how you protect the weak and helpless
from the strong and heartless who oppress them” (TPT).
 

• In a very short period of time, we have gone from living in one of the strongest economies in our nation's history to record-high unemployment and many businesses closed down by order of the state.
• It rains on the just and the unjust alike! We live on a cursed planet among cursed people. But Jesus Christ, Jehovah Joshua Messiah, declares to you today, "For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!" (John 16:33b, TPT).
• Sickness and calamity do not mean you are out of the will of God. He sees you in the midst of your difficulty and is working for your good.
• God says to your enemies, "If you want to get to My child, you're going to have to go through Me." He is Jehovah Shammah, the Lord who is present.
• If you are encountering difficulty today, be encouraged! You're going to make it. You have more to reach out for than you to hold on to.