Thanksgiving is over, what now?
Traditionally we celebrate Thanksgiving and we take the time to be thankful for the things that we have already received and the things that God has done in our lives.
There are two conditions related to what we have and are experiencing, as to why we are thankful.
#1 we have received our miracle and or our need has been met.
#2 we have not received what we are looking for, but are still faithful In believing and trusting God will meet our need
It’s very easy to praise and be thankful for #1, but #2 requires more effort and even sometimes others to link together with us to help us in our effort until our breakthrough comes.
Ex. 17:11-13
10. So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11. And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12. But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
13. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Moses told Joshua to pick some men, to fight the battle in the natural.
Joshua fought the battle on a natural plain, but the victory was won through the supernatural power of prayer and praise.
Moses arms got tired, you know sometimes the praising part is hard to do. Sometimes you’ve exhausted yourself from way too much, meaningless self effort. And what should have been the focus from the start, which is our praise and thanksgivings. Becomes to the accusers delight what seems too little and too late in the fight for the miracles and needs we are seeking God for!
Thankfulness and praise to the One and only One who can turn our situation upside down and completely around, is never too little or too late! Amen!
Lord Help us keep our hands lifted high, when doubt and unbelief want to rear their ugly head in our situation! Help us also to hold up the hands of our brothers and sisters, as they are going through their situations and they ask us to join our faith to their faith in the fight!
For that’s when the battle will be won, when the prayer and the praise doesn’t stop! Real prayer and real praise, requires tenacity and takes commitment, until the answer comes, you have to be winning to push through the crowd until you touch the hem of the masters garment.
That's why everybody always wants a true prayer warrior praying for them
because they know that they will pray and touch the throne room of God and they won't stop until victory is won and they will continue to praise God and never stop, even after the victory is won!
King David was known to be a man after gods own heart. If there would be anyone you would want to pray for you, it seems that David would be easily in the top five of all candidates.
Was David perfect, the Bible tells us like all of us, he certainly had his moments. The Bible also tells us, David loved and worshipped God with all he had and believed God would help him accomplish the impossible more than once.
2 Samuel 6 NKJ
Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from [a]Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called [b]by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. 3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new [c]cart. 4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. 5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.
(Life is good for David, everything is going according to plan. It’s a mountain top experience not just for David, but for everyone as well!
Life is good when you’re up on the mountain and everything is going right!
Everybody’s on the same page with you, except for the accuser.
He can’t stand mountain top experiences and looks for every opportunity to stop one or to take advantage of a natural calamity in the making.)
6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and [d]took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his [e]error; and he died there by the ark of God. 8 And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place [f]Perez Uzzah to this day.
(Sometimes it’s easy and seems like a natural thing to become angry with God, or to blame God when something happens for what seems to be going right.
No matter what happens around us, God is always still God. His ways are not our ways and the power of God is always to be feared and respected!)
9 David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 So David would not move the ark of the Lord with him into the City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
(Sometimes the natural thing to do we think, is to distance ourselves from the Lord. And God being patient with us, allows us the space to sort things out for ourselves.
In this process, does God ever stop being God? While sometimes we feel as though in our situation He’s not as attentive as He should be, God never stops wanting to be all He Can for us and doing all He Can to bless our environment!
TBS. Every good and perfect gift comes from the father above, which there is no variation!
It’s in our processing moments, we often limit and sometimes even stop the flow and favor God unconditional offers to give us, even in the times we are unable to receive or accept because of our attitude and thinking!)
11 The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.
(As I was saying, for those who are willing to except and acknowledge God always remains God and his attitude towards those who acknowledge such, is always Blessed and offers an associated Blessing as well to those around the household of faith and of acknowledgement!
When the house Of Joshua was faced with adversity what did Joshua say? he didn’t say I’m tired of keeping the faith, no Joshua said, no matter what things may look like in the natural, “ as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” and God Blessed both Joshua and Joshua’s household because of his statement and proclamation of Faith!
God knows the beginning and the middle and the end of every situation that happens to us. He wants us to trust Him and have faith everything will work out in our favor, because that’s the way God Says things will always go when you are willing to let Him be in charge of the final results!”
12 Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. 13 And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep.
(Never is there a time recorded, even though these next few verses some would reference, where someone gave to much thanksgiving or praise to God for what was happening in their life!
Remember, God is a God of both extreme Generosity and Blessing and is certainly deserving of the same when it comes to our praise and thankfulness!)
14 Then David danced[g] before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.
(Some talk about their thankfulness to God when He comes through in a situation, David was willing to show his praise and didn’t care what others thought! Maybe that was another one of the reasons, David was a man after gods own heart!)
16 Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
(Everyone is not going to be able to go on or be a participant in your journey, or in relationship with God. The thing is to not let those who don’t want to go on or participate in your relationship and journey with God keep you from where God is willing and wants to take you to!)
17 So they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. 19 Then he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house.
(If you want to be blessed in your walk with God, hook up your faith with someone else’s faith you can clearly see who’s walking with and has a relationship with God!
How can you tell the difference? It’s not hard, TBS you’ll be able to tell by the fruit they produce! Are they only talk on demand, or walking the journey as well when no else is looking?)
20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows [h]shamelessly uncovers himself!”
21 So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. 22 And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”
23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
The reasons to proclaim as Joshua did when he said, “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord,” are many.
Illus. By Bruce Ball
THANK YOU FOR TOMORROW"
I like that story about the boy and his father who were planning a trip for the next day. The father told his son that they would go on a very exciting and wonderful trip. He did not tell his son where they would go or what they would do. Nevertheless, the son was full of child-like excitement all day, contemplating the next day!
He didn’t have much information to go on, but he knew his father would plan something wonderful and his father would be with him every step of the way; he knew that his father would protect him from anything bad; and he knew his father never lied to him.
That evening as the father was putting his son to bed, the boy hugged his father’s neck and said, "Daddy, thank you for tomorrow
That’s how God is with us, our anticipation and expectation of faith holds the key, as to what we receive of the unending array of opportunities from God that awaits our arrival!
