Yahweh says, 'You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers! Every man return to his house; for this thing is of me.' So they listened to Yahweh's words, and returned from going against Jeroboam. 2 Chronicles 11:4 WEB

When Solomon the son of King David passed away, his son Rehoboam became the king of Israel. Then a servant of Solomon named Jeroboam, led a rebellion that divided the kingdom of Israel into two parts. The southern kingdom, or kingdom of Judah, was made from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and they stayed loyal to the line of David. The other ten tribes became known as the northern kingdom of Israel, or the kingdom of Samaria.

When Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, gathered his army together and planned to reunite the kingdom, the Lord spoke through a prophet named Shemaiah and told them to go home for 'This thing is from Me.' This had to appear like the worst possible thing that could have happened, but it was all a part of God's plan and He had prophesied earlier through Ahijah in 1 Kings 11:29. It was no accident that the rebellion split the nation. It came straight from the Lord.

Once I was a supervisor at what was a high paying job at the time. I worked really hard and was the model employee, but when I began fasting and praying to get closer to the Lord, suddenly I was called to the office and laid off. The guy that they put in my place was illiterate and could not even fill out the reports properly.

I was confused, I felt wronged and hurt, but after praying about it a while, I knew: 'This thing is from Me.' I walked through a rough patch, led some people to the Lord along the way, and then He put me in my own business. In the end it was far better, but God had to remove something first, along with some of my pride. It was not pretty, but it was from Him.

Though it is hard to understand why bad things happen to good people, you have to remember that God loves you, and that He is in control of your life. So do not panic when bad things happen. Even satan had to get permission from God before he could attack Job (Job 1:10). If you are trying to be obedient to the Lord, nothing will come on you that He does not allow, and in the end it will work out for good. Don't give up when your promotion goes the other way like mine did. For there is something better around the corner.

Prayer: Heavenly Father I thank You for the times that I don't get my way, for You are smarter than me. I want what You have. Share Your vision with me and let Your desires, become my desires. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

Note: Happy Monday! The highlighted group of the week is FAAD - Fight Against Anxiety & Depression, a support group concentrating on the positives rather than the negatives in our lives. God provides us a choice to be Happy and to live a Joyful life. Our members provides uplifting messages to help you find the happiness and joy Jesus taught us to live, by living a more positive life and seeking God''s guidance, Anxiety and Depression can be diminished. ALSO, the Creation Photographers fun theme for the week is "Reminiscing Days Gone By", based on John 14:26! As always, you are free to post anything else that inspires you, too! For links to all of these areas and more, please see the Announcements at the top of our home page here: Announcements}

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