Deliverance in Praise

Our praise to God can be displayed in many ways.  Some praise and worship through music, some through giving and others through their testimony, but everyone should have some kind of praise to give to God.

The bible says in Psalms 34:1 that we are to bless the Lord at ALL times and let his praise continually be in our mouths.  The Lord deserves all of our praise everyday of our lives.  This would include bad days as well.

One of my favorite examples of praising God in adversity is in Acts chapter 16.  Paul and Silas were beaten with many stripes and thrown into prison for casting an evil spirit out of a woman.  Now they have been wounded and are now in a prison (a filthy one at that).  I must admit, if that were me, it would be hard to offer up praise to God.  Especially after being beaten for doing the works of Christ.  However, they did the opposite and the results were more than miraculous.

The bible says in verse 25 that at midnight they prayed and sang praises unto God and the prisoners heard them.  Then suddenly a great earthquake took place and it shook the very foundations of the prison and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s bands were loosed.  Even the night watchman and all of his house believed in God because of this event.  All because two men decided to praise God through adversity.

Notice that not only were Paul and Silas set free, but those around them were  all loosed from their bands as well.  When we praise God in spite of our circumstances, it will not only deliver us, but it will also be a witness to those around us.

Many of us praise when the storm is over or when we get a check in the mail or when we receive a good doctor’s report.  But what if we threw our hands up in the air and said, “God I don’t understand, but I praise you anyway.  I’m hurting, but you’re still worthy.  It looks bad right now, but I magnify and glorify your name.”  This is the kind of faith that honors the Lord and will quickly change your situation.

Remember this: ”Complain and remain, but Praise and be Raised!”

Just Wait…

 

Sometimes it’s easy to find yourself in a place where you have prayed and cried and fasted and prayed and prayed and cried and yet the mountain remains in the same place.  Not only has it remained in the same place, but after all of these years, it seems even bigger than when you started.  Now it seems like it’s time to just move on.  Maybe it seems like it’s not worth trying anymore.  That’s when you hear the voice of the Lord whisper to your heart encouraging you to……Just Wait.

Waiting is one of the hardest things to do.  We have to crucify our flesh daily and remember to remain patient even in the midst of the storm.  The bible says in Hebrews 10:36 “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised!” Hebrews 6:12

Remember, when God promises something, He will not fail to bring it to pass.  It may not be in our time frame and it may seem like the years you have spent trying have been in vain.  However, I’m reminded of the book of Joel 2:25 that says, “I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten…”  God will more than make good the time and energy that you have put into His purpose for your life.

I don’t know much about farming, but I do know that if the farmer tries to reap a harvest too quickly the crop will be destroyed.  Maybe you can try to eat the fruit now, but how much better will it taste when it is ripe and completely ready for harvesting.

What about when the baker spends hours putting all of the ingredients together only to remove the cake before it is finished baking.  It will be ruined.  The same goes for the purpose in our lives, if we move too soon, we could potential destroy the gift that God is trying to bless us with.

If I could encourage you today, I would tell you what God is telling me….just wait, it’s going to be worth it.  I’ve seen your tears and I’ve heard your cries.  Your best days are still in front of you, it’s not over until I say it’s over, you’ve only just begun.

Know this, “not now, doesn’t mean never.”  You must learn to JUST WAIT!

Letting Go…

Many of us have been struggling and fighting with battles that seem impossible for us, yet we have forgotten one important thing…..THE BATTLE IS NOT OURS, IT BELONGS TO CHRIST!

I’m learning that the only way to true freedom in Christ is to simply let go.  I’m not talking about quitting or giving up, I’m talking about letting God complete the work that HE has begun in us (Phil 1:6).  Life is so much more stressful and difficult when we try to do things on our own strength.  I guess that’s why the bible says that it’s “not by our might, nor by our power, but by His spirit” (Zech 4:6) that things are accomplished.

God moved in such an amazing way during rehearsal Thursday night.  Through a prophetic word, God instructed us to lay everything at His feet and rest in Him.  There’s no greater sense of relief than when we finally give our greatest struggle to the Lord and admit that we can’t do it ourselves.  We must remember that it’s in our greatest weakness that the Lord’s strength is made perfect (2 Cor 12:9).

My sister, Angie, was encouraging me after the Lord had spoken Thursday night and she said that her daughter Olivia was playing with a plastic egg, but she was struggling to get it open herself.  Angie knew she could easily open the egg for Olivia if she would just hand it to her.  I believe that God is saying the same thing to us today. God is able to bring our dreams to pass.  He is able to restore our marriages and heal our bodies.  He can make all things new that were once broken and destroyed, but we must first place it in His hands and leave it there.  Only then, will we experience freedom like we’ve never known.

I’ll be the first to admit that I need to let go of some things in my life.  It has taken me several years to come to this place, but today is a new day and we can start fresh from here.  I encourage us to cast our care upon the Lord.  He will sustain us and never fail us.

Remember, when things get the hardest and you want to “handle” it yourself…..LET GO AND LET GOD DO IT!

Finish Strong

 

Remember, the race isn’t given to the swift, neither to the strong, but to those that endure to the end.

FINISH STRONG!

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