“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).
The events of the past weeks with gas prices rising, hurricane victims struggling to survive with many still in critical danger, fires, violence in the streets, depression, a sinking economy, and so many more problems—through all of these things that we are facing—we must continually give thanks.
It will probably be one of the most difficult things you will ever have to do, but we are commanded to give thanks in everything, both the good and the bad. I realize that it’s easier to talk about than to actually be thankful, but we must climb on top of our struggles and look beyond what we are actually facing. It’s like the torrential rains that fell Friday night on the way back from Kinston, NC. We had driven separately to spend some time with friends. On the way home, it was storming so heavily, we couldn’t see the road, but we had no choice but to keep moving. There was no where safe to pull over, and if we did, there was no guarantee that it would stop raining. I did the only thing I knew to do: pray and keep watching for the car lights.
I couldn’t see the road. Period. I knew the way home, because I had driven it many times before; however, all of my landmarks had disappeared. I could barely see my husband’s car lights ahead of me, but that was it. If it had not been for those car lights, I would not have made it home. When you find that you can’t see your way clear; look for the light to guide you home.
In our walk with God, we sometimes drive blindly ahead into unknown territory. Our future may seem unclear as we look out ahead, but if we’ll just keep trusting the Lord and moving forward in his will to do the things that he has called us to do, we will gain a much clearer vision of his plans for our lives as we keep moving by faith towards the light of his word. The Light will make all things clear and precise. We will know what he has in store for us if we learn to obey and to trust. Without it, we might as well be driving in a severe storm without the lights on, because we will not ever find our place in the grand scheme of things.
It will not matter how long it takes you to arrive at your destination of God’s will for your life; what will matter are the decisions that you made to keep moving forward in his will. His will, not our own thoughts, but ones that are wrought through prayer and fasting. Time, and again, he makes a way for us but we don’t acknowledge the blessing or the provision.
You may not have the best of everything, but you’re blessed. I’m learning every day to be thankful for the plans that do go through; I’m thankful for the times that I am able to work; I’m blessed that I have a home; in the grand picture we have nothing to complain about, at all. We’re consumed with things—more things than we could possibly need. Yet, our prayer lives are empty and meaningless. We may pray, but don’t we sometimes pray out of a sense of obligation, not adoration for the Lord? Hello?
God is Still on the Throne. He is Still in Control of our lives. Satan may try to destroy us, and he’ll succeed if we let him, but the great news is that he doesn’t have power over us! We have power over Satan. We don’t have to listen to his lies anymore. We’re overcomers; we’re going to have the victory in prayer; we’ll be able to stand in the evil day.
Nothing, nothing shall separate us from the love of God. Nothing. You can’t mess up too much that the Lord won’t open his arms and welcome you back into his presence. He longs for us to draw closer to him; he inhabits our praises. We have a choice to make: we can yield ourselves to despair; or we can give ourselves to fasting and prayer. gm
Psalm 91 God is my refuge and my fortress
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In the Time of the Lattereign 