July 20, 2012

Can you believe July is almost over?  The days tick by so quickly.  I can remember a time when it seemed like the calendar would never speed up and now, I would like it to slow down.  Well, as I've been telling you, we are in a pretty dangerous situation in the middle of the US.  Temperatures are rising into the 106 and 108 range this week.  Grass is dying and I don't see the birds flying as much as I used too.  It's just too hot.  But yesterday, as I was driving the clouds were forming overhead and guess what?  Five raindrops hit my windshield.  Just five, but I praised the Lord for each one.  I understand that some areas did get some rain, unfortunately, none of it hit my house.  But I was praising God anyway.  It's strange, if we didn't need the rain would I have had so much passion for five little drops.  I'm not sure, probably not.  I can think of many circumstance in life where I praised God when I really needed something but often, if I have an abundance, the praise doesn't come so easy.

It reminded me that my needs are taken care of every day.  I have a roof over my head, with air conditioning, food to eat and money to pay my bills.  I sometimes take these things for granted and yesterday, I realized that I really need to be praising Jesus for everything.  I have been blessed and with that comes a great responsibility to remember exactly who holds my life in His hands.  The birds know, the animals know, I think we are the only creatures that are praising Him one minute and grumbling the next.

Which got me to thinking about the Israelites and the praises they sent up to God when the Red Sea parted.  I was actually in one of the offices I sell too and they had a little newspaper clipping on this subject.  It said that the Israelites were praising and worshipping God but the longer the journey, the louder the grumbling and the less praising they were doing.  I guess all of us are like that at times in our lives.  I know that I would love for it to rain for several days and coat the land, but if it were to rain for weeks; I'm sure I would be that grumbling Israelite.

Our hearts and our need dictate which way we will go.  If our heart needs something badly and God provides it, we will praise Him all day long.  If we aren't getting what we think we need, we will grumble.  I am going to challenge myself for the rest of this month to praise Him in this excessive heat, with or without rain.  I'm going to thank Him for every provision and for every life I meet.  I'm going to even thank Him when a doctor walks away from me, which by the way is not that easy for me, it really does hurt the pride.  

I don't want to be like the Israelites counting the days, thinking negative thoughts and forgetting that I am in Christ's hands.  I want to walk, knowing that every day He is with me and He will provide when the time comes.  I want to keep at the forefront of my mind that I don't know His thoughts or His ways, but they are right and just.  It's quite a challenge I know!  I'm laughing right now wondering when I will fail it.  However, I am committed to loving my Lord and that means thanking Him for every provision, every day.

I hope you challenge yourself too.  It's amazing how many things we take for granted.  As always, I am praying for you my sisters and asking God to further His kingdom through you.  Thanks for reading this blog and for giving me inspiration every day to get up and write it.  This blog is just another example of why I should be praising God.  He provides the words, I'm just the vessel He uses to write them.  May God be with you today as you go about your day.

Deuteronomy 14:1-2 NKJV:

     "You are the children of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead.  For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth."

Psalm 132:15 NKJV:

     I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV:

     To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven;

My prayer today:

O, Lord, I come before You, humbled by five rain drops.  It was exciting to watch the clouds cover the earth and to see those tiny drops as they hit my windshield. You are the great provider on this earth and I don't think we give You enough credit or praise for our lives and the provisions You provide.  I'm in awe of You today and want to shout out to the world, "YOU ARE LORD."  Help us to be like You, to take each circumstance and praise You through it.  We are so fickle that we wander around in a state of confusion.  One minute we are up praising Your name and the next, we are grumbling, depressed and full of unbelief.  But You know us and You love us anyway.  You are the Father of our hearts, the power behind the Spirit and the God behind His people.  We need You daily and we want to praise You for Your life!  We never deserved to be saved and yet you came and chose us one by one.  Guide Your women to You, help us to raise the next generation, give us the strength and the courage to fight the spiritual battles ahead and unite us all over the world.  Please put on our hearts women and countries that need our support.  We need to be aware that Your people need us to lift them up and to be ready when called.  You are the light in my life.  You guide me, You mold me and thank You Lord for You provide for me.  We love You Lord, not just today but every day.  Be our light in this darkened world and remind us of Your wonderful Spirit.  In Jesus name, AMEN

Until tomorrow...