1 Kings 17:2-6

² Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: ³ ‘Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. ⁴ You will drink from the brook, and I have instructed the ravens to supply you with food there.’
⁵ So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Elijah did not have anything at all! It would appear that he had no possessions. He definitely had no house. But yet, God provided for Elijah - and fed him regularly and sufficiently.

God can surely provide for all my needs. People may cheat me of my money - but thankfully, i still have money. But even if i dun, i gotta trust that he will still provide for all my needs!

2 Chronicles 16:7-9

⁷ At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: ‘Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. ⁸ Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. ⁹ For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.’

Such a sad end to Asa - one who started off so well. But in the end, he decided to rely on the help of man rather than to turn to God.

And if i rely on the Lord, he will surely strengthen my heart and hear my prayers.

2 Chronicles 13:13-18; 14:9-13

¹³ Now Jeroboam had sent troops round to the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets ¹⁵ and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. ¹⁷ Abijah and his troops inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel’s able men. ¹⁸ The Israelites were subdued on that occasion, and the people of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

⁹ Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. ¹⁰ Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
¹¹ Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, ‘Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.’
¹² The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, ¹³ and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the Lord and his forces. 

These 2 incidents show clearly that the battle indeed belongs to the Lord! And even when the foes seemed overwhelmingly powerful and all hope is gone (Abijah's troops were surrounded), it does not matter. If God is on our side, we shall surely have the victory. 

In my situation now, it certainly feels like i'm powerless - and no one can help. But how wonderful it is to know that i need to rely on God's strength!

2 Chronicles 12:14

¹⁴ He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.

When one stops seeking after God, he will surely turn to sin. What does it mean to seek God? The Amplified Bible explains it as to enquire of the Lord or to yearn for the Lord with all one's desire.

I Kings 12:12-16

¹² Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” ¹³ The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, ¹⁴ he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

“What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son?
To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!”

So the Israelites went home. 

Thru this passage, God reminded me of the importance to listen to the advice given by older people. They have after all walked with God much more and i have much to learn from their experience. 

Hebrews 11:24-26

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. ²⁵ He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 

What a great example Moses is. Thank God for this humble faithful man. He chose to suffer affliction with God’s people than to enjoy the pleasures of sin – which is passing and temporal.

As God’s child, I have to do what is right – even if it means that those who do not “follow the rules” will gain more and even take advantage of those who do what is right. This is something I should choose to do – rather than enjoy the temporal pleasures of this world.

Like Moses too – he considered suffering for Christ far better than the treasures in Egypt! Can imagine how rich Egypt must have been back then – but that was nothing to Moses. He had something better – a reward in God. God himself should be my reward.

Hebrews 11:1, 13-16

¹Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.  

I've been talking a lot about trusting in God and believing that he is in control of everything. I need to have the faith to be confident and assured of what i have been saying - to trust and believe not just in my mind but in my heart.

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

I was encouraged by the heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 - and how they did not receive the things promised! But they were looking for something far better! I'm looking for a house but all along, God has a city prepared for me! =)