We give thanks and praise to the Lord Most High – no matter what we have going on in our heads, and in all that’s happening around us, from all scales.
We give praise and thanks to our God, the only Almighty – no matter what we hear is happening, has happened or will happen to us or to those involved with us.
He is our God – He is my God. Yes, I’m making these declarations, and I’m making them public regardless of the conflicts that are going on in my head, and regardless of all the circumstances that are going on around me. He is good, and He is good all the time.
He is good, even if now I’m feeling all sorts of negative feelings – I mean, work isn’t till a little less than 24 hours from now, but as early as yesterday or even the day before, I’m already feeling bad that it’s coming. I mean, that isn’t normal… But no matter what’s normal or abnormal, it is still the active choice I choose to make, to say that even through all of this that’s going on, my trust is in the Lord, and in my Maker and Creator alone. He works in my heart and in my mind, against this dread I feel against work.
My God is good – My Father is good, even if I’m not feeling so good, with regards to my physical state. I’ve been eating really bad during these past few days and it’s not good at all – I mean, I’m literally seeing how much bigger I’ve gotten, and I’m feeling how much heavier I am.
The house could be better. The car could be better. My Mom could be healthier. My circumstances, and the circumstances of those who are experiencing loss or great sickness, far worse than what I’m going through personally; My experience of relational loss and the pain related to it… I mean, it could ALL do so much better… And I’m sorry to our Father that circumstances are impacting me this much, but here I am, just saying, through it all, that my Father is good, my Savior is perfect, and I trust in God – I trust in the Father, my Savior Jesus Christ, and I trust in the Holy Spirit.
Where else can I run? Who else can I rely on? Who else can I cry out to, but my God and my Father? With all the sheer suck that’s going on, what else can I say, beyond all insistence for me to do whatever I want – what else can I say, but that my God is trustworthy, and that my God is a God of miracles?
Oh, let there be breakthroughs beyond the circumstances, Lord! Send us that peace beyond understanding, that perfect love that casts out all fear! Fill us now, and fill us till we overflow – Help us, Lord! Help us, please!
Psalm 116
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death
1 I love the LORD, because He has heard My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
3 The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called upon the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
As we sang earlier, ‘I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered‘
Indeed, I join the rest of my brethren in the body of Christ, whether they be here where I am – where I know who’s experienced loss, who’s anticipating loss but also hoping for a great miracle, who’s experiencing troubles and corrections; I join the rest of my brethren in the body of Christ, specifically with my brothers and sisters in Nigeria, in Israel, in Burkina Faso, in Sudan, in India, and everywhere else where we’re being killed wholesale for confessing His name… I join in the chorus, the unanimous cry, ‘deliver my soul‘, oh Lord, help us!
And in our desperation, in our pain, in our suffering, in our toil and in our burdens, we all cry and proclaim:
5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is merciful.
6 The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For You have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the LORD In the land of the living.
Indeed, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Whether we remain in our mortal bodies, or head on into the eternities with our Lord, we win – We revel in victory, because it was Christ who won the war for all of us.
It was Christ who saved us. We can tell our soul to rest, for by Christ we have been delivered from death; Our eyes have been delivered from tears, our feet have been delivered from falling.
10 I believed, therefore I spoke, “I am greatly afflicted.”
11 I said in my haste, “All men are liars.”
12 What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me?
13 I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the LORD.
14 I will pay my vows to the LORD Now in the presence of all His people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints.
16 O LORD, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the LORD.
18 I will pay my vows to the LORD Now in the presence of all His people,
19 In the courts of the LORD’s house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!
I read all of this and I go back to our present, default, standing mindset: That is, for us to flow, to trust God, and to thank God. For us to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing, to give thanks in everything; For us not to despise prophecies, but to test all things; For us to abstain from every form of evil, and for us to cling to what is good.
I give Him the glory and praise. True, things aren’t going as well as I want them to. True, I’m going to be reporting for another 30 hours active, and 72 hours locked into work, starting again tomorrow… but, yes, it doesn’t matter how I feel more than I know that my Lord is truly my Blessed Assurance; He is the Trustworthy One who will never fail me – He HAS never failed me nor will He EVER fail me, He is good all the time.
True, I’m not necessarily in my best form physically, nor am I in tiptop shape with regards to my finances and my relationships, but my trust is STILL and will ALWAYS be in my Father – indeed, may He be glorified to the maximum in all this that is going on, around me, in me, around all who I am concerned with, around all within the body of Christ.
We seek the Lord, for we know He hears, and He answers.
We sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered.
We sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered.
That’s why we trust Him, that’s why we trust in God.
All hail the power of Jesus’ name… and may the Lord continue to bless us all.
Father, give us a great week. Give us good shifts. Give us good signs. Move in our midst, and let us know it. Let there be breakthroughs. Let there be peace. Let Your love and goodness be known, and let more and more come to the knowledge of Your saving grace, that more and more would come to know You and place their trust in You.
Father, minister to your people. Minister to our hearts, minds, and souls; May Your Life and Light be made known in our past, present and future.
Be glorified through it all; Be magnified in all.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior – King of Kings, and Lord of Lords – Amen, and amen.
Halleluyah.
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