That’s me and French Montana this morning after a GREAT appointment at our prayer altar! Here’s how God showed up for me today:
I woke up rereading yesterday’s post where I quoted this verse, just feeling in my spirit yesterday that this was the verse God wanted me to share:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you WILL have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – JOHN 16:33
Fast forward to this morning at the prayer altar. I closed my Jesus Calling devotional — over 700 pages — and asked, “God, what do You have to say to me?”
I opened to ONE page and this is what was staring back at me as if God is speaking to us:
“THE WORLD IS FULL OF TROUBLE, BUT I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD! I call you to transcend your troubles by looking to Me. I am training you to be an overcomer—unfettered by circumstances.”
HEEHAW! Nobody can tell me that is coincidence! God Himself confirmed yesterday’s post word for word!
GOD WHISPER: Yes My Nik, you heard Me right. I told you to write John 16:33 yesterday. I confirmed it today. Stop questioning if you should share the valley — that’s where I train my overcomers.
And if that’s not enough? Yesterday when I posted to my Facebook groups, this memory popped up from 3 YEARS AGO that an admin never approved:
“STOP SAYING LIFE IS HARD!!!”
That’s my sister Nora to me on broken record. And I’m like “But it IS hard!”
My friend Joey broke it down:
“It’s not life. It is not life that can be hard and difficult, things are only difficult because we take it that way, our reactions to life make it hard. Jesus said, ‘IN THE WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TRIBULATION BUT BE OF GOOD CHEER.’ In other words, how we respond to life will make life easier. It is not life, it is us that need to change.”
You guys! How we RESPOND makes life easier! That’s why I’m on a mission to teach the God perspective in good AND bad times.
God showed me this morning: Yes, life is full of trouble, BUT GOD IS GREATER THAN ANYTHING WE FACE! Our job is to keep our focus on Him — start at the prayer altar every morning, then pray all day, seeking His guidance step by step, knowing God is in the background tweaking situations on our behalf.
Then God brought my brother Jason back around.
Yesterday Meta reminded me what Jason taught me:
Deuteronomy 31:8 – BE JASON: Keep Moving
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
When I read that today at the altar I started crying. Last time Jason and I talked I thanked him for sticking with me through the roughest time. He said, “I’m not going anywhere Nik.”
GOD WHISPER: I send people like Jason to stick with you. When you’re headed in the wrong direction, I send a Jason to say “No Nik, that’s not a good idea.” So you can course-correct and ask Me for direction.
See God! Even in my roughest season, He had people lined up to support me. Community is important guys!
WHAT I’M TRYING TO TEACH YOU
1. Trouble is GUARANTEED, but so is God’s presence.
Stop being shocked by hard seasons. God is not only in the blessing, He is in the struggle — and He has already overcome it.
For Women: That heartbreak you hide — God is close to the brokenhearted.
For Men: That pressure to hold it all together — God goes BEFORE you, you don’t have to figure it out alone.
2. Perspective changes everything.
It’s not life that’s hard, it’s our REACTION to life. When you change your focus, you change your peace.
3. Your private pain has public purpose.
Nothing surrendered to God is wasted. Your roughest season is someone else’s survival guide.
HOW TO LIVE IT THIS WEEK:
STEP 1: START AT THE TREE — 5 minutes every morning. “God, what do You have to say to me today?”
STEP 2: LOOK FOR THE GLIMMER — Don’t call it coincidence. That double confirmation? That’s God winking. Write it down.
STEP 3: CHECK YOUR RESPONSE — Pause and ask: Am I reacting from emotions or responding from God’s truth?
STEP 4: BE JASON — KEEP MOVING — Don’t stay at the Tree all day. Go FROM the Tree with God going before you, and thank God for the people who tell you the truth in love.
5 VERSES THAT CAPTURE IT ALL
1. JOHN 16:33 — “In this world you WILL have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Why: The core of this blog. God confirmed it twice — trouble is real, but His overcoming is more real.
2. DEUTERONOMY 31:8 — “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you.”
Why: You don’t stay at the prayer altar, you go from it with Him leading.
3. ROMANS 8:28 — “In all things God works for the good of those who love him.”
Why: That 3-year-old memory proves it — God is tweaking things in the background for your good.
4. ISAIAH 26:3 — “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast.”
Why: Nora and Joey’s lesson — when your mind stays fixed on God, He keeps you in peace.
5. PROVERBS 3:5-6 — “In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Why: When you’re headed the wrong way, God will send a Jason and straighten your path if you listen.
MIGHTY PRAYER: AIN’T WORRIED ‘BOUT NOTHING!
Abba Father, we come boldly to Your prayer altar this morning in the Name of EMMANUEL — GOD WITH US!
Thank You that You are not a God who visits us, You are a God who STAYS with us. You were with us yesterday when we wrote the hard thing. You are with us today when You confirmed it. You will be with us tomorrow when we have to keep moving.
Lord, we declare Your Word over our lives right now:
We WILL have trouble in this world, but we take heart — YOU have overcome the world! [John 16:33] So we lay down worry, anxiety, second-guessing, and shame. We pick up Your peace that passes all understanding.
Father, heal our perspective. We have been saying “life is hard” — today we agree with Heaven. It’s not life, it’s our response. So we fix our eyes on You. Keep us in perfect peace because our minds are steadfast on You. [Isaiah 26:3]
Thank You for what You do in the background when we can’t see it. Thank You for working ALL things — even the roughest, ugliest, most private pain — for our good. [Romans 8:28] Nothing surrendered to You is wasted. Use our story to set someone else free.
Thank You for the Jasons — for the brothers, sisters, friends who love us enough to say, “No, that’s not a good idea,” and love us enough to stay. Give us ears to hear correction and hearts humble enough to course-correct.
And Lord, we hear You today: WE DON’T STAY AT THE TREE.
We met You at the altar this morning, but now we GO from the altar. Because You Yourself go before us. You will never leave us nor forsake us. We will not be afraid. We will not be discouraged. [Deuteronomy 31:8]
So today — the women reading this, the men reading this — we make a decision:
We ROLL WITH YOU, EMMANUEL!
When fear tries to come, we roll with STRENGTH.
When doubt tries to come, we roll with COURAGE.
When the world is cold, we roll with LOVE and COMPASSION.
When we feel overlooked, we roll with Your FAVOR.
When we feel triggered, we roll with KINDNESS and SELF-CONTROL.
When chaos is loud, we roll with PEACE and JOY!
We ain’t worried ’bout nothing, man! Because if You are WITH us and FOR us and BEFORE us — who can be against us?
We seal this day, our families, our next steps — in the Mighty, Unshakeable, Always-Present Name of
EMMANUEL — GOD WITH US, GOD FOR US, GOD IN US!
AMEN!