Thanksgiving (3)
READING: PSALM 103:2,5; PSALM 51:11
Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things He does for me. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” Psalms 103:2, 5 NLT
As I read this Scripture, the hymn “Count your blessings” popped into my mind. The last verse of the refrain says, “And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”I decided to pick up my gratitude journal and as I read some of the things I had written down, I was genuinely surprised at how good God has been to me and my loved ones. One entry about my father brought back an outpouring of thanks and praise to God. I relived all the emotions I had at the time and the relief I felt when God stepped in to take control of the situation. As I write I am still full of praise and thanks to God for loving me so much. I just could not go on reading anymore as all I wanted to do was praise Him. It then dawned on me, how easily one can forget these “precious moments” if not documented. I felt the love of God around me mightily and I felt so safe and secure in my relationship with God.
Our God is alive, a God of wonders and He performs miracles every day in our lives. The way He turns things around, makes me more convinced that worrying is a very foolish thing to do. When things are not going the way they should, the only wise thing to do is turn it over to God. Foolishness is worrying about something you have no power over; instead of turning it over to Him Who is All Powerful and Creator of everything. He knows exactly what the problem is and how to fix it. If you are at peace in your spirit, you can hear Him clearly giving you instructions on how to solve the problem but when you worry, your mind is so noisy, you cannot hear Him speak. God always plays His part, but we also have our part to play. He will guide you to the solution of the problem if you trust Him in the storm. You can only have peace (sleep like Jesus Christ did on the boat) in a storm if you put your trust in God.
Counting our blessings is a particularly important part of our Christian growth. You remember times God came through when you could see no way forward and suddenly your faith and confidence in God grows stronger. Hope rises in you that no matter what the future brings, God will see you through. I have experienced Him as my Healer, my Provider, my Wisdom, my Strength and the One Who fights my battles. He has become my Joy, Peace and Love through different experiences in my life. Man will fail you but over and over, God has proven Himself as a God Who never goes back on His Word. He never fails and all His promises come to pass at the right time for maximum joy and blessings for us. What we see as a delay or a denial is God’s process of perfecting all that concerns us. As I look around me today, I can testify that God has filled my life with good things. I am thankful and full of praise for all He has surrounded me with because all that I have comes from Him. The enemy will always try to contend with the things God has blessed us with, but when you remember every gift God gives to you is permanent, good , perfect and adds no sorrow, then you can stand your ground when the enemy tries to tamper with your blessing. I have learnt to end all my prayer requests with Jesus Christ’s Words, “Not my will but Your will alone be done in my life Lord”; as I heard Bishop Oyedepo say years ago “I do not want what God does not give me”, so I always tell God when I am praying, not to give me anything I ask for if it is not according to His will and purpose for my life. So many times in the past, I have asked for some things and I felt hurt that God did not answer my prayer, now I am much older and wiser and all I can do is thank Him for not answering those prayers. This gives me confidence to enter His throne room and ask for anything boldly, knowing that God will always answer me, but His answer will always be according to His will and purpose for me, so I can make my boast in Him that I will surely make heaven.
As you begin a new week, open your mouth and say “Every gift that comes from God is good and perfect, so my home, children, health, work (spiritual and business) and relationships are all gifts from God, so you (enemy) cannot tamper with them in the name of Jesus Christ.” Of course, you can only say this confidently if you allow God to make those choices for you in the first place. Is there anything in your life that you got by your own wisdom? Did you manipulate others or compromise yourself in any way to get something you have in your possession now? I want you to think carefully and be truthful to yourself. If your answer is “YES” do not worry, it is not too late. Go before God sincerely, mention that thing by name and repent of that sin. Remember what David said “My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm 51:11 AMPC)and he should know, because he was a man after God’s heart
Do not be afraid, we have a very merciful Father, repent now, and commit that situation to Him and ask Him to guide you from now on in every aspect of your life. God always wipes the slate clean and never brings up our sin again, so see the slate on the matter wiped clean and do not keep accusing yourself of the thing again. The next thing to do, is ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in the way to go forward with God from now on. Sometimes, the Holy Spirit may guide you to do some extra penance depending on what the issue is about but believe me, if it is the Holy Spirit guiding you, He will make it easy for you to do whatever needs to be done for restitution. Other times you just move on and listen to His guidance for other matters. You can never go wrong when you involve God in anything. He wants to be in total control and when He is in control, everything will work out perfectly in the end. Allow the Holy Spirit speak God’s mind to you and obey whatever instructions He gives you. I have learnt to thank God when my prayers seem unanswered, I know He answered and gave me the perfect answer to my prayer to bring me to the expected end He planned for me. As I count my blessings again today, I am thankful for all the perfect NO answers He gave my prayers in the past which has made me wiser today and brought me to this place of contentment and hope I have in my life today.
May God in His infinite mercy continue to guide us along the best pathway for all our lives in the mighty name of Jesus Christ Amen.
Under Grace Under Mercy