This morning as I was waking up, I was dreaming I was this tiny, little finch sitting on the ground, surrounded by acres of land with twigs and sticks everywhere. I had the tremendous task of getting all the twigs cleared but only had the ability to lift one twig at time. Many of the sticks were too large to even attempt to lift. I felt more than overwhelmed. In that moment, God reminded me, He is the great farmer and he has a wonderful tractor that clears them all away with just a simple passing by! I asked the Lord what in the world that was about, and He said you know the friend you've been praying for so much? Those twigs represent 1,000 little details that they are surrounded with each day in their job and life. They feel overwhelmed at times with having to make so many decisions on so many different levels. They feel overwhelmed. Encourage them to come to me and rest. I will make a way! I'm going before and behind them and I'm in the details.
It was a good reminder for me as well to simply take my cares to Him! Especially when I start feeling overwhelmed or anxious. He will help me through whatever battle I'm facing. When I choose to go to Him with the decisions I have to make, my soul will find rest.
It's good to know God’s got my back! Be encouraged today that He has your back too! He is working in the details and we can rest knowing He's got this!
When we wait for the Lord and spend time in prayer and praise He will renew our strength. Scripture teaches we will soar like the Eagles! That beats feeling like a finch any day! :)
Research teaches that soaring is much more energy efficient for the eagle than flapping it's wings. The reason eagles and other soaring birds do this rather than flap is that they generally hunt from the air and spend a lot of time waiting for prey. That is the way I want to be in my spiritual walk. I want to be on alert, knowing where the enemy is and ready to pounce, WITHOUT wearing myself out! I love that scripture teaches we can fight our battles with praise! That is just a fun way to fight! It's like dancing to combat weight instead of hitting the gym! So when my battle seems to be stacked up against me and the odds don't look good, I'm going to put on my dancing shoes and crank up my music! Then I plan on watching with anticipation for the "walls" to fall, just like they did with Jericho.
One of my favorite books on learning to praise God in the middle of our discouraging or overwhelming circumstances is found below. It's title is Power In Praise.
2 Chronicles 2:21-23
“Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”
As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
He is in the Details!
Within weeks Jim's father came to admit his drinking problem, turned for help to Jesus Christ, and was completely healed. He now joins the rest of the family in telling others what praising God can do!
"Just think," Jim said to me. "For thirty years we prayed for God to change Dad. We spent only one day praising Him for the situation and look what happened!"
To praise God is to express our acceptance of something that God is permitting to happen. So to praise God for difficult situations, as sickness or disaster, means literally that we accept its happening, as part of God's plan to reveal His perfect love for us.
We can't really praise God without being thankful for the thing we are praising Him for. And we can't really be thankful unless we believe that an omnipotent, loving Father is working for our good. Praising, then, involves both gratitude and joy that God is keeping His Word to work good through everything if we love Him. (Romans 8:28)
The very fact that we praise God and not some unknown fate also means that we are accepting the fact that God is responsible for what is happening and will always make it work for our good. Otherwise it would make little sense thanking Him for it.
Always be joyful. Always keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (I Thessalonians 5:6-18).
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