Grasp How Way-good God Really Is And Then Say Somethin' Fitting!
Just heard a good report that Kathy's friend, Linda, who we've been praying for..she just got out of surgery ok! Yeah God!
Got some questions.. have you heard any good reports lately?
Have you thought of the Lord and His wonderful presence in your life? Have you recognized Him working lately to answer prayers? He loves you no less!
How blessed are you and your family today?
You and I, more than likely, have been pretty busy, but we all can pause to praise.
We can verbally give thanks in our own way.
During this Thanksgiving Season, I simply want to encourage you to remember Jesus and all that He has done. Think about the cross at Calvary!
For us Christians Thanksgiving ain't merely a special day. It is a way of life for all of life the whole way through!
If ya only praise God when you get in the mood, then hey, you probably won't be worshipping the Lord very often.
God, thank you for our family and friends. Thanks for my next breath, and for food, and for peace from war in our country. Thank you for the decent Bible teaching churches we can attend. Thanks for Your good plan to get us through this year. Thank you for how You will work all the seemingly bad things for good.
Perhaps you can think of a few more ideas. Once you get started, no matter the trials and tribulation going on around you, it becomes hard to stop praising the Lord.
I say look for things daily to give thanks for all year long and express your gratitude to the Lord out loud ..real often.. even when you don't feel like it.
You know there always will be something to express gratitude for. Yes, whether during tragedy, or joblessness, or even when illness is looming on the horizon ..and I really hope that these circumstances are not the case with you.. but what I mean is that no matter the pressures, pains, or problems that you face God is right there to help. Whatever it is, we still should praise God, regardless of how things look or how we feel.
You know the Bible never says, "Give thanks unto the Lord when everything is going your way and you feel totally awesome inside." No, no, it says, "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!" (Ps. 118:1). Yes it states, "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!' (1 Chron. 16:34).
"It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High." ~ Psalm 92:1
Oh, render thanks to God above, thee one true Fountain of eternal love! Sing, sing, sing and break out in dance with joy unto Him!
"Oh, give thanks to the Lord...for His mercy endures forever." ~ Psalm 118:1
Way back in the day ..even centuries ago, Mister Matthias Claudius penned these inspiring words of thanks:
We thank Thee then, O Father, for all things bright and good; the seedtime and the harvest, our life, our health, our food; no gifts have we to offer, for all Thy love imparts but that which Thou desirest, our humble, thankful hearts. All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above; then thank the Lord,
O thank the Lord for all His love.
Some people take for granted all that God's love imparts, but let that never be us. Our country was founded upon thanking the Lord.
Perhaps you've been struggling lately.
Remember Job and how he worshiped: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).
Listen, if you only worship the Lord when you feel like it, then you are not going to worship very often. Who feels like worshipping or singing or thanking God all the time? I don't know of anyone who always does, but mature believers will anyways. Sometimes I feel bugged inside and don't understand. Sometimes I respectfully feel like having a man to Man talk with Jesus all alone first. No matter. He likes that.
There always will be something to tough deal with down here, whether it is tragedy looming, an illness, or problems with your children. Sometimes I get so sick of the huge "entitlement attitude" within so many of this next generation. Some in my generation had it too. Its wrong! You and I are entitled to hell fire if you really want to know. When relatives or coworkers or friends are disloyal, that hurts deeply. It hurt the Lord too, bad, because all forsook Him!
But whatever it is thats' going on, we still should praise God all out, regardless of how we feel. After all, the Bible does not say, "Give thanks unto the Lord when you feel extra good like kicking up your heals with a shout!" Rather, it says, "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!" (Ps. 118:1). And if He is good and we are His, then we can rejoice in all circumstances (note how I didn't say "for all circumstances" cuz some are just bad).
Choose to praise God in all things! Job worshipped and was faithful to God, God was faithful to Him, and God will indeed be there for you too. You are loved no less, so cast off the lie of Satan that says you not loved!
He who stirred things up for Job will help you get through all that. He who allowed so much bad junk like that storm and the deaths, He too has been through it Himself. And He knows the way through.
All that comes your way was 1.) Created or 2.) Simply allowed by the Lord to happen. Don't get ticked off. It's all been sifted through His loving fingers ..to permanently make you not permanently break you.
Mr. Job suffered a lot, but as we read the Bible we can see him waving a fist in the air at the Lord. We just can't see Him doing that. God was with Job and gave him grace. He allowed it all as a big test and Job passed with flying colors. You can too! Man, I can't even imagine losing a son or daughter like he did. Don't know why he had to have the tests, the great loss, the deep grieving, the serious heart ache.. but he was more than blessed in the end on the other side. God knows what we each will need as He conforms us into the image of His dear Son. Much was restored and added to Job's life.. and then some.
Have you suffered any personal tragedies lately? Have you been out of work a long LONG time and feel forgotten by God? Please call or go see another believer and ask them to pray for you. Don't give up. It's a bit too early for that. Turn to Christ again and again. Don't stop.
I know that this might not be an easy message for you to hear, but hey it's Thanksgiving time so I can get away with it.. and apply it myself. Just worship the Lord because He is so worthy of your worship—regardless of your circumstances. He can bring a change even if it looks too late for that. Remember Lazarus in that dark hole? God's timing is perfect even when it doesn't look like it and He hasn't forgotten you yet. Do you really think He will He made you.
Worship—that is what Job did during the worst time he ever experienced. He went vertical to God, instead of focusing in on all his ugly horrizontal trials. If you do that, you certainly won't regret it.
The Bible says, "Jesus called out to them [His followers]. 'Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!'" Matthew 4:19
