The Search is over…
Rise and Shine sweet friend!
Can you believe it is already September 16th?
Not to stress you out, but it is only 3 months until Christmas! Eeek!
Firstly, I want to thank you for all of your precious prayers and well wishes for my sister. I am overwhelmed with gratitude!
This morning, as I was having my time with Jesus, I just kept going back to praise and worship.
It is so very opposite of the world to sing praises and worship during times of trial and difficulty.
Our culture would have us to celebrate “after” the season of trial.
The world says, “I will believe it, when I see it!”
Oh, but God’s Kingdom is upside down and counter-cultural.
His Kingdom says…”walk by faith and not by sight”. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
His Kingdom says, “Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29
To be honest, lately, I have had to repent to God for always trying to be so rational and reasoning.
There is nothing rational about Jesus!
He IS RADICAL in His love for The Father!
There is often no reason or answer for things…
And that is where we get stuck.
Let me rephrase…This is where I can get stuck.
Do we really think we can reason and rationalize the things of God and His Holiness?
The Creator of the Universe?
The Creator of EVERY THING?
We will not always have the answers.
If we did, then God would not be SOVEREIGN.
If we could reason and rationalize and figure everything out, there is no need for dependency on Jesus. None.
Our human minds want answers. And we want them at a rapid speed.
Surely, God must giggle a little at our efforts to figure out His plan and explain His ways.
Ha!
Yet, here we are.
Thankfully, He is compassionate and gracious and ever patient with us.
His Word is all we need.
His Presence is MORE than enough.
This settles my racing mind and heart.
The constant searching and searching and searching…
No wonder Google is so popular!
It is even called a “search engine!”
The search is never ending for us.
Always searching, searching, searching for things to make sense. To have an answer.
Hmmmm.
Sounds just like our sister, Eve, in the garden.
She was not quite satisfied with what she knew.
She wanted to know more.
And the rest is history.
Jesus teaches us to pray…”Give us this day, our daily bread…”
This day.
This day.
This day.
Today’s bread is enough for today.
Tomorrow’s bread will be there tomorrow.
And this goes back to praise.
When we praise Him, even when, and especially when, we don’t have answers. When we don’t have a rational explanation…
Praise settles our searching hearts.
Praise opens up the doors to Heaven.
It honors God when we praise Him, because it means we are trusting Him with it!
We open our hands and hold them out empty, with praise on our hearts and on our lips.
He fills those open and empty hands with His Peace! His Love! His Hope! His Joy!
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100
It is time we take this scripture to heart and literally!
This is not a suggestion…it is a weapon.
It is a weapon against despair, against anxiety, against fear, against anything holding us captive.
Trust me when I tell you that I have praise music on 24/7 in my home and car.
I have seen the power of praise and worship in my own life, and even though I forget time and time again…
He brings me back to this Truth.
The battle has already been won.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4
Let’s worship Him before we see the outcome…
Let’s worship Him in the thick of the valley…
We know the result.
We don’t have to search Google for the answers.
We have God’s Word.
That is ALL WE NEED.
I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. Psalm 34:1
you will find me singing,
jill
