Hello beloved child of God, I hope you’re fine by God’s grace.
As for me, I’m fine thanks to God.
We’re about to enter the last month of 2018, and I guess that when this year started there were a few things you had as objectives, a few things you were praying for, a few things you aimed at, which haven’t come to pass by now.
- Some were praying to get married by the end of this year but it has still not come to pass and it doesn’t seem like it will come to pass this year.
- Some have been praying for the salvation of a loved one and there is still no change.
- Some married couples have been praying to be pregnant this year but God hasn’t yet blessed them with a child.
- Some have been praying and working hard in The Lord to be free from an addiction but nothing seems to have changed
- Some started this year praying for their business to take off but it hasn’t happened yet.
I know what it looks like to have a to-do list for the year and to look at it afterwards without seeing a lot being achieved.
My point is, if you look only at what was not achieved you won’t be able to look at what was achieved.
Let me say it another way:
When you keep your eyes focused on what you don’t have, you won’t be able to be focused on the good things which God has already given to you.
Here are a few things God has put on my heart to share with you.
1. God Wants You to Be Grateful In Every Circumstances
1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
God’s Will for you is that you should be giving thanks to Him no matter the situation.
Whether in a season of waiting, or in a season of disappointment. Whether you’re enjoying the answers to your prayers, or still in pain because some of your prayers weren’t answered yet.
God calls us to give thanks to Him in everything.
2. In Good Times As Well As Difficult Times We Have To Praise Him
Psalms 34:1 KJV
I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
God doesn’t want our praise to be dependent on our circumstances.
Us being grateful to God doesn’t have to depend on if He has already answered all our prayers. It’s not because you’re still single, or your financial situation hasn’t changed yet that God doesn’t expect you to praise Him.
I know what it is like to pray for something and to have the impression that your “prayers ain’t working” and these are moments during which the devil will do everything to keep your focus on what you don’t have, what you’re not getting, what you’re lacking, so that you can’t keep your eyes on all the GOOD THINGS that God has already done for you.
The best way to keep your eyes on the good things that God has already done for you even while you are in a season of waiting, is to give thanks to Him, to praise Him for what He has already done.
3. God Is The One Who Let It Happen
1 Kings 12:24 NLT
‘This is what the Lord says: Do not fight against your relatives, the Israelites. Go back home, for what has happened is My doing!’” So they obeyed the message of the Lord and went home, as the Lord had commanded.
At times when things don’t go as we planned we think there must be a problem.
We start trying to figure out reasons why all the boxes on our to-do list of the year haven’t been checked.
We shouldn’t fail to realize that God is Sovereign, He is The One who allowed it. Nothing happens without God’s permission.
Which means that if you don’t yet have the answers to your prayers, God is Sovereign, not the devil.
So may be the devil attacked you, may be like in Job’s case the devil decided to mess up with you, but in the end God is The One who allowed it.
Even if everything right now is not yet as you would want it to be, God allows it for a purpose, and in my own personal life I’ve always learned that God allowed such seasons to teach me something.
May be what God wants to teach you right now is to be grateful for what you have, to be grateful for what He has already done for you instead of being bitter for what He hasn’t done yet.
4. Even If You Have Nothing Else To Praise Him For, Praise Him For His Goodness
Psalms 106:1 NLT
Praise the Lord ! Give thanks to the Lord , for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.
I have come to the realization that it is very easy to say that God is good when everything is alright and everything seems to go like we want and we seem to have answers to all our prayers.
However, in seasons of waiting, discouragement and disappointment, it becomes extremely easy to believe the lie of the enemy when he tries to tell us that God is good for others but not for us.
It takes faith to praise God for His Goodness even when the circumstances of life seem to scream the contrary, but God honours it when we choose to obey and praise Him for His goodness.
I think that by now you’ve probably guessed that this blog post isn’t just about consuming content but about exercising our faith as we learn to be grateful to God at all times and in all circumstances.
So here below is the exercise of the week.
Holy Spirit Count Your Blessings Challenge
Psalms 106:2 NLT
Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord ? Who can ever praise him enough?
- Ask The Holy Spirit to open your eyes and your heart and to prepare you for gratefulness
- Make a list of at least 10 Things God did for you this year which you are grateful for
- Write the month in which God did it beside each thing you’re grateful for
- If there are more than 10 things go further and write as many as The Holy Spirit recalls to your mind
- Say thank You to God for each of these, praise Him for everything on your list
- Through out the week update your list and keep thanking God for everything on your list
Your breakthrough may be on the other side of your praise.
Prayer
Father Lord God Almighty, help me through Your Holy Spirit to change my perspective, help me keep my eyes on You and praise you for the good things which You’ve already done for me instead of being sad and bitter because of my yet unanswered prayers, in Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen.
It’s Now Your Turn
In the comments section please write down one thing which you’re grateful to God for.
Invitation
Click here if you’re looking for a church. I recommend Elevation Church to you. A wonderful Christ-centered Church in which you aren’t limited by your location and in which you can see what God can do through you. We’re in a new series called Gamechanger, please don’t miss out on this.
God loves you so much
God bless you
Victoria Eyog
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