God’s comforting answers to our questions, reveal His unwavering presence and purpose through all of life’s trials. “Oh God, why must I go through these flood waters and lose everything?” Our Father may reply, “So that your enemy would lose his grip on you. Take heart, for My plans for your future are great.” Our God reminds us that even though the water can destroy things, the flood waters will not drown us. The fires of life may scorch our plans, but the fires will not consume our souls. Some things that were meant to destroy us will become the very things God uses to strengthen our faith in Him alone. Keep trusting El Roi, the God who sees us.

Questioning God in the midst of chaos. “Lord God, why do I feel like I’m always failing and struggling?” He may answer, failing does not mean our story is finished. Like Paul, we get back up after our ship wrecks and we rejoice always.  Why? Because our desire is to know God more deeply through every struggle. Any success could never teach us more about His grace like  humiliation does. Every closed door can teach us to seek God’s will.  Every mistake humbles us. Every hard season strengthens our resolve to be still, and wait on the Lord. God is working in our hearts, in our minds, in our perceptions, in all things, always. Praise God for His ways are higher than ours, and always best!

Our Father is delighted when we turn to Him and read His Word to find His way.  Oh God, why do I feel such pain and helplessness? His answer. “Because in your weakest moments, I am the God who remains strong and faithful. Look for how God is working in your pain. Is your compassion for others deeper?  How has pain strengthened your faith? List all the ways pain has shaped your character, and give thanks to God. As we hit bottom and the end of our own strength, we seek and rely on God and find that He alone — is ever reliably and sufficiently strong in every difficult situation we face.

“Abba Father, why must I  experience disappointment and setbacks?” God assured David and us that we can only see what is happening around us, but He knows the entire road ahead. We think a delay in traffic is working against us, but God, is protecting us from a disaster. There are many bumps on the road that we do not understand, but God goes before us and He says “Take this detour with Me, trust My Ways.”   Psalm 15 “Lord, who may dwell in Your sacred tent? Who may live on Your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.” Ask, Seek, and Find answers in His Word.

Father, why do I feel alone while waiting for prayers to be answered? God assures us in the Psalms that He was there with David when nobody knew he was hurting. God keeps every tear in a bottle. He hears our silent desperation.  He knows our hearts even when we cannot articulate our needs. In Scripture, He answers the questions we were afraid to ask. He has never abandoned His kids. Even when we do not feel His presence, He was holding us.  The question that stirs in many hearts.  “Oh God, my Father, after everything I have been through, can I really trust all Your promises?”  God answers with a personal homework assignment. Reflect back through the years. Write down every hard season that certainly should have broken anyone. Miraculously we are still here asking God if He is trustworthy. Every moment we thought weren’t enough, BUT GOD carried us all the way through.  Every time we thought we were alone, God was there.  He abides in us as the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, is the same Spirit who rescues us from the most difficult calamities.

Ask God for wisdom and He gives it without reservation. Proverbs 21 ‘When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom; by paying attention to the wise they get knowledge. When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. Whoever strays from the path of prudence comes to rest in the company of the dead.”

Lord God, I need Holy Spirit to give understanding on how am I supposed to “Keep Oil in my Lamp?” This parable applies to those who will go through the tribulation. It does NOT apply to the Church Age or your Salvation. In sequence, the rapture comes before the great wrath of God. To keep oil in our lamps, we get our answer in scripture. Doctrinally, the Jew that is alive in the tribulation, they  must endure to the end to be saved. Matthew 24:13-14. The five wise virgins of the remnant of Israel and the five foolish virgins are the Jews that accepted the mark of the beast. They go out to buy oil for their lamps, but nobidy can buy anything. The sheep nations and goat nations, the wheat and tares, good and bad fish are the gentiles that were left behind after the tribulation. That is doctrinal and will not change because the church is gone at the rapture. Read 1 Thess 4; 1 Corin 15; 2 Thess 2. To understand lamp and oil devotionally,  we don’t keep the oil in our lamps full during the current church age.  That is considered works. Believers don’t work for salvation.  We’re sealed into the Holy Spirit of God into the day of redemption. Titus 3:5, not by our works of righteousness, but according to His mercy. Jesus saved us by the washing of regeneration; and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 2:8-9 By grace we are saved through FAITH and that NOT of yourselves.  There is no works to get, earn, or buy oil for our lamps.  That lest any man should boast.  Praise God for if we were able to work to get oil,  everybody would say I’m better than you because I do more than you.  Yes, our good works will be judged and our evil works are gone. Romans 8:1 We are under no condemnation. 

What is our motive? To honor God? Or to gain recognition? But to reign in Christ’s future government.  The Virgin parable has nothing to do with our salvation. Be very clear to rightly divide the word properly so we do nit confuse people. Jesus, the Passover Lamb has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit when we by FAITH accepted Jesus as our personal Savior. God came to earth, shed His blood and rose from the dead fir us. “It is finished.”  We deserve hell and we can’t have a personal relationship with God without Jesus Christ. Jesus said,  “I’m the Way, the Truth, The Lude,  and no man cometh in his Father but by Me.” We can’t keep our oil lamps full, Jesus does.