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Provision, Words of Endurance

Provision for Today

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December 20, 2017

- Provision, Words of Endurance

Encouraging Words from NIV Encouragement Bible

Then the Lord said to Moses,
“I will rain down bread from heaven for you.
The people are to go out each day
and gather enough for that day.
In this way I will test them and see
Whether they will follow my instructions.
On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in,
And that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
EXODUS 16:4-5 (NIV)


“What is the greatest truth you’ve discovered in your cancer battle? I asked Ellen, a successful businesswoman, wife, mother and cancer survivor.


“God will give you just what you need to get through each day,” she replied. “When my thoughts wander into the future, when I begin to worry about tomorrow or next week or next year, God’s peace evaporates like water in the desert.”


How true. God’s provision is for today. Like manna, it is fresh every morning. When I spend time with God in prayer and in his Word I’m like the Israelites who gathered manna for the day. I receive enough of His direction, peace, wisdom and comfort to see me though the day. Tomorrow is tomorrow.



“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now,
and don’t get worked up about
what may or may not happen tomorrow.
God will help you deal with
whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
MATTHEW 6:34 (THE MESSAGE)



On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

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Words of Endurance

Between A Rock and A Hard Place

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December 13, 2017

- Words of Endurance

Moses answered the people,
“Do not be afraid.
Stand firm and you will see the deliverance
the Lord will bring you today.
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
EXODUS 14:13,14 (NIV)



The Israelites could smell the dust and feel the ground shudder as the chariots approached. They were no match for the Egyptian army, and they knew it. With the sea on one side and the pursuing army on the other, they were trapped. They wondered if God had delivered his chosen people only to destroy them days later. God’s response to the Israelites’ predicament was “you need only to be still.”


We’re no different than the Israelites. We get confused when circumstances don’t pan out the way we want them to. We feel terror when our comfort zones are obliterated. And we feel forsaken when God doesn’t act the way we think He ought to.


But I’ve learned that deliverance comes when we wait, when we step out of the way and let God be God. When we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place, God’s instructions are still the same to us as they were to the Israelites:


“Be still and know that I am God.”
PSALM 46:10 (NIV)


He may not part the sea of adversity for us, but He will comfort, instruct and prepare us for whatever lies ahead.


“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”
PSALM 32:8 (NIV)



ON THE JOURNEY WITH YOU,
DAVE DRAVECKY

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Endurance for the Journey, Words of Endurance

God With Me

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December 13, 2017

- Endurance for the Journey, Words of Endurance

By day the Lord went ahead of them
in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way
and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light,
so that they could travel by day or night.
EXODUS 13:21 (NIV)



God led Israel in a unique and personal way. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night were visible evidence of God’s presence among His people. The pillar and cloud provided direction, protection and reassurance.


God has always guided His people in every generation, in every desert through which we must go. Yet because of the new birth available through faith in Jesus Christ, the presence of God can now dwell within us, not in front, behind or at the edge of the camp.


What an amazing thought! God himself takes up residence in me. The God within that cloud can reside in me. Whether I am in a spiritual desert, an empty home or on a sick bed, God is with me and I am not alone.



Though the Lord gave you adversity for food
and suffering for drink,
He will still be with you to teach you.
You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
Your own ears will hear Him.
Right behind you a voice will say,
“This is the way you should go,”
whether to the right or to the left.
ISAIAH 30:20-21 (NLT)



And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness … ROMANS 8:26 (NLT)



ON THE JOURNEY WITH YOU,
DAVE DRAVECKY

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Perspectives, Words of Endurance

A Choice

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November 20, 2017

- Perspectives, Words of Endurance

But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief,
he hardened his heart
and would not listen to Moses and Aaron,
just as the Lord had said.
EXODUS 8:15 (NIV)



Every plague God sent gave Pharaoh an opportunity to choose. But rather than acknowledge the sovereignty of the God of Moses, Pharaoh focused on trying to save face, maintain power and control his economic well-being. Rather than learning from the awful plagues crashing down on him, he became hard and rebellious.


Through trials and hardships I may lose much. And yet I will never lose my opportunity to choose my focus. Do I focus on what I have lost, what “might have been,” and what I am no longer able to do? Or do I focus on who I am right now and what I have to offer in Christ? That is a choice every man and woman must make regardless of the loss. No one can take that choice away.



I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made.
But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ,
who has so wondrously reached out for me.
Friends, don’t get me wrong:
By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this,
but I’ve got my eye on the goal,
where God is beckoning us onward – to Jesus.
I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.
PHILIPPIANS 3:12-14 (THE MESSAGE)



ON THE JOURNEY WITH YOU,
DAVE DRAVECKY

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Words of Endurance

Dashed Hopes

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November 15, 2017

- Words of Endurance

Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord,
That I should obey Him and let Israel go?
I do not know the Lord
And I will not let Israel go.”
EXODUS 5:2 (NIV)



ENTIRE STORY – EXODUS 5:1-23

One of the things I love about Scripture is our ability, as readers to see what’s going on behind the scenes of each story, to know how each one ends and to see how God masterfully weaves each strand together to create a masterpiece.


Take this story in Exodus, for example: Moses, the divinely chosen deliverer, had arrived on the scene. He had spoken the Lord’s words. But instead of being delivered into freedom, the Hebrews were driven deeper into despair. Their workload actually increased! Their hopes were dashed! And they didn’t have the stories of the Bible that tell, over and over again, of God’s faithfulness, power and love.


But we do. And when the circumstances of life dash our hopes and we see no way out, we can find stories in the Bible that show us God’s amazing power to turn our tragedies into triumphs and restore our hope.



Such things were written in the Scriptures
long ago to teach us.
And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement
as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
ROMANS 15:4 (NLT)



ON THE JOURNEY WITH YOU,
JAN DRAVECKY

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Trust, Words of Endurance

Arguing With God

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October 31, 2017

- Trust, Words of Endurance

But Moses pleaded with the Lord,
“O Lord, I’m not very good with words.
I never have been, and I’m not now,
even though you have spoken to me.
I get tongue tied, and my words get tangled.”
EXODUS 4:10 (NLT)



Any time I’m tempted to argue with God, question His calling, or suggest He assign someone else to the task, I remember how far it got Moses. God had more than proved to Moses that He would back him up in Egypt. But Moses, like so many of us, didn’t question God as much as he questioned himself. (Verse 10)


I have no problem believing that God can do anything. I have serious reservations, however, about my abilities – or His desire to really use me as His instrument. But I don’t ever want the Lord’s anger to burn against me like it did toward Moses.


All God really asked Moses to do was to carry a big stick and be obedient. God did all the heavy work. I think that’s where we get our wires crossed. We think we have to do the heavy work. We underestimate God’s goodness and provision for us. But I have learned (the hard way, of course) that one of my very favorite quotes is true:


“God will never lead you
where His grace cannot keep you.”



ON THE JOURNEY WITH YOU,
JAN DRAVECKY

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His Word, Words of Endurance

Hard Heart

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October 30, 2017

- His Word, Words of Endurance

And the Lord told Moses,
“When you arrive back in Egypt,
go to Pharaoh and perform all the miracles
I have empowered you to do.
But I will harden his heart so
he will refuse to let the people go.”
EXODUS 4:21 (NLT)



The first time I read the words “I will harden his heart,” I realized that God has more power and control over human lives than we often think. Although Pharaoh hardened his own heart during the first five plagues, God confirmed Pharaoh’s willful action by hardening Pharaoh’s heart in the remaining plagues.


Here’s what occurred to me as I considered that concept: When I’m struggling with issues in my own heart, issues I feel powerless to change, I need to remember that God can influence and even change the human heart. But I have to ask. I have to surrender. And ultimately, I have to trust that God will do it in his own time.



Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
PSALM 51:10 (NLT)



ON THE JOURNEY WITH YOU,
JAN DRAVECKY

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Perspectives, Words of Endurance

Our Precious Possessions

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October 30, 2017

- Perspectives, Words of Endurance

But when she could hide him no longer,
she got a papyrus basket for him
and coated it with tar and pitch.
Then she placed the child in it and
put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
EXODUS 2:3 (NIV)



Moses’ mother had hope and faith in God that He had special plans for her child. So she laid him – her most precious possession – in a basket and released him fully to God’s care.


The torturous act of trusting our precious possessions to God is the only sure way to peace. This truth is more than theology for me. I’ve tested it.


The morning after my arm and shoulder were amputated to stop the spread of cancer, I went to the bathroom mirror. I stood there pale and rumpled in my hospital gown, staring at the image that stared back at me – the image of a one armed man. I was in shock at how radically they had cut the arm back. The arm was gone. The shoulder was gone. The shoulder blade was gone. And the left side of my collarbone was gone.


“Okay God,” I said, “This is what I’ve got to live with. Put this behind me… let me go forward.” And when the one armed man looked back at me, there was peace in his eyes.



I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart.
And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.
So don’t be troubled or afraid.
JOHN 14.27 (NLT)



ON THE JOURNEY WITH YOU,
DAVE DRAVECKY

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Words of Endurance

Lessons Learned From Suffering

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October 16, 2017

- Words of Endurance

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials,
for we know that they help us develop endurance.
And endurance develops strength of character,
And character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
And this hope will not lead to disappointment.
For we know how dearly God loves us,
because he has given us the Holy Spirit
to fill our hearts with his love.
ROMANS 5:3-5 (NLT)



I’ve learned a great deal since the advent of cancer in my life. I’ve learned how precious my wife and my children are. They were always important, but never more precious to me than they are now.


I’ve learned how important it is to serve other people. Time and again, I have been astonished and humbled by the loving concern shown me. I don’t think I’ll be the same after experiencing that.


Perhaps most of all, I’ve learned to put my life in God’s hands. The most difficult part of it all has been the uncertainty about my future. I had to learn to do what was within my grasp, one day at a time, and leave control of the rest in God’s loving capable hands.


Such are the lessons that come when a man faces adversity. I don’t think I could have gained them in any other way.


Though the Lord gave you adversity for food
and suffering for drink,
he will still be with you to teach you.
You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
ISAIAH 30:20 (NLT)



ON THE JOURNEY WITH YOU,
DAVE DRAVECKY

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Hope, Words of Endurance

FRUITFUL SUFFERING

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September 14, 2017

- Hope, Words of Endurance

Joseph named his older son Manasseh, for he said,
“God has made me forget all my troubles
and everyone in my father’s family.”
Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said,
“God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”
GENESIS 41:51-52 (NLT)


It’s important to see that Scripture never glorifies suffering for its own sake. The kind of suffering the Bible so consistently pairs with joy is not pain for pain’s sake but suffering that produces something else, suffering that goes somewhere, suffering that creates godly qualities in us that gladden the heart of God.


The apostle Paul makes this clear in Romans 5:3 when he writes, “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance.” He DOES NOT say, “We rejoice in our sufferings, because excruciating pain is its own reward.” We can rejoice in our trials because we know that, when properly cultivated, they will blossom into precious, divine fruit.


Dear brothers and sisters,
when troubles of any kind come your way,
consider it an opportunity for great joy.
For you know that when your faith is tested,
your endurance has a chance to grow.
So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed,
you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
JAMES 1:2-4 (NLT)



ON THE JOURNEY WITH YOU,
JAN & DAVE DRAVECKY

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"The journey of our suffering was not hopeless. Through it we discovered the power of endurance - not in our own ability, but in the comfort, encouragement, and hope that God provides"

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