Encouragement
Trouble calls on every home. When you’re running from Pharaoh you may suddenly face the red sea. The walls of Jericho may surround your Promised Land. Goliath the giant, the ranting, raving phoney from Gath, or his brothers may stand in front of you day -in- day -out taunting you,’ Where is your God?’ You may have fasted and prayed but things are getting worse; so what next? Do you give up and die? Do you throw in the towel? Do you start saying this Gospel does not work?
Friend it’s time to praise and worship. It’s time to do the ridiculous for the miraculous intervention of God. It’s time to blow the trumpet of God. Declare His faithfulness, his greatness, his majesty, His dominion, his goodness, his integrity, His graciousness, his splendour, his dependability, and His sovereignty.
Sing a new song to Him. Sing aloud to the hearing of your adversaries. Sing of your victory. Sing of your breakthrough. Give thanks to the Lord. Call those things which be not as if they were. Remind God of your past deliverance. Name them one by one- the barriers He carried you through, the Red Seas He parted for you to walk through, the provision He made through a source you never expected.
Sing, dance, praise Him for what Jesus is doing right now in your behalf- praying for you at the Father’s Right Hand, interceding for you. Would Jesus’ prayer go unanswered?
The Lord commanded the children of Israel not to stagnate or park because Moses was now dead. He wanted them to go forward. And they obeyed and went forward. Yet they came to Jericho and to their surprise it was surrounded by a massive seemingly impenetrable wall. Why did God not break down the wall before sending them? Why did He not tell them there will be a wall when they got their?
That would have suited them, but it would not have built their trust in God. God is more interested in their character than in their comfort. Besides He wanted them to keep looking up to Him each step of the way. They must keep coming to Him to ask what next to do. He would not put Himself in a box or make Himself irrelevant to their day to day living. He wanted to be intimate with them through continual fellowship.
The same is true of your situation- whatever it is. God will take you one step at a time. As you obey one instruction, He will give you further instructions.
And so when they faced the walls of Jericho they consulted with God and He gave them the strategy to go round Jericho once every day for six days. No one was allowed to sing or shout. The priests were to blow the trumpet- symbolic of praise. They were simply to do the bizarre. Could you imagine the inhabitants of Jericho peeping through the walls and seeing the Israelites just march round their City in silence. That would give some people a heart attack.
On the seventh day (symbolic of perfection or completion- the appointed time)they were to march round the City seven times and blow the trumpet and shout. Notice that if they did it for five days or any other number of days apart from the prescribed way the Lord had commanded, they would have disobeyed and the wall would not have fallen down.
We thank God that they obey whole heartedly and the wall fell down flat.
What was their shout? ‘The Lord has given you the city’. But they were just going in. God saw it as a done deal. He had given it to them and it would be there’s regardless of obstacles.
Shout unto God with the voice of triumph. He has given you the city. Every place that soles of your feet shall tread is your territory. Shout the victory even when there are occupants in the Land the Lord has promised you. They are trespassers. They are squatters. Their days are numbered. Keep hearing from God. He will give you the strategy to use to dispossess them and cause you to possess your possession.
Give praise and glory to the Living God before you see.
Sing:
‘Sing unto the Lord a new song.
For He has triumphed gloriously.
His right hand and His holy arm have gotten Him the victory.
The Lord has made known His salvation and his righteousness to the nation. All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of the Lord.
O taste and see that the Lord is good. His mercy endures for ever. He shoots His arrows and confuses the enemy. He strikes His lightning and scatters them. He sends His angels and drives them away. He decrees and it stands. He commands and it comes into being. He has the last word. The grass withers and the flowers fade but the word of the Lord abides for ever. My God is the Lord, the Lord God –merciful and gracious, extraordinarily patient and abounding in goodness and truth.
My God is able to do exceeding abundantly, more than I can ask or think or even dream of.
He is able to turn the tables to my favour.
Blessed be His name- the name above every other name.
Who is like You, O Lord? What god is like our God? You are glorious in holiness and fearful in praises.
Yours O Lord is the greatness and the goodness the power and the splendour and candour. Yours is the majesty, the glory ,the integrity, the beauty, wisdom the kingdom and the dominion. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
I bow down to You Ancient of Days.
Paul and Silas were battered and bruised, beaten with rods, and condemned to a dungeon, clothes torn off – feet in stocks, straightjackets, but their mouths were free and filled with praise. And so at mid night they raised their voice in praise. Remember, they had been flogged and must have been in pain but they gave God a sacrifice of praise in spite of their circumstances. An earthquake rocked their prison and their chains fell off. There is power in praise. ‘At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chain came loose. ’Acts 16:26
Jehosephat faced a formidable army of conspirators. Three nations ganged up to wipe him and his people off the face of the earth. Though initially afraid, Jehosephat summoned his courage and called a fast and went before God. He showered praise on God in His opening prayer and then waited for God’s response. God gave him a strategy of praise: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever (2Chronicles 20:21) He followed it and the result was that those who came to destroy them ended up destroying themselves.
Is there a wall surrounding your blessing or promised Land? Is Goliath of a circumstance staring you in the face daily, defying you, the Word and the God you serve? Are people around you mocking you and saying, 'Where is your God?' Are your enemies increasing daily even when you have stepped up your prayer?
It happened to David in psalm 3. But David took comfort in the fact that the Lord was his strength, Shelter, Shield; his Glory and the lifter up of his head. Therefore lift up your eyes today to the Lord, the Author and finisher of your faith. He is working for you .
The battle is not your but God’s God will fight for you and you will hold your peace. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. You are coming out of this mess with a message and a testimony of the goodness of the Lord. Your breakthrough is round the corner because the Lord of the breakthrough is with you the God of Jacob is your refuge.
Your Red Sea will be parted. Your sea will see the God who rules from sea to sea and flee. The everlasting arms are underneath you. You will not go under for going over.
Just listen to your Master. Hear the voice of the Bridegroom. Silence the voice of the strangers bent on feeding and filling you with fear. Remember: 'In the world you will have distress and frustration..(take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted) I have ..(deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you).’(John 16:33 Amp)
Lie down in peace and sleep and let your sleep be sweet. The Lord will sustain you even when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, fear no evil, because God is with you. He has given His angels charge over you to protect you, fight in your behalf. When fear thrusts itself upon you, say to your self, ‘I will not fear what man or circumstances can do to me. I will trust in the promises of God I refuse to be anxious about anything, rather in everything by prayer I will make my request known to my Father who is in heaven. And I know that His peace which is boundless will mount guard over my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus. I will be strong and courageous, knowing that the Lord is with me wherever I go. I will not be afraid of the vastness of my adversary but I choose to focus on the greatness and the faithfulness of my God. The battle is not mine but the Lord’s.'
©Fenny West
Visit our website: inspiration4generations.com for more inspiration
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 1008 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Fenny West or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 1008 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.
Amen,that is the secret to Worship God and Praise Him when trials and storms come our way!
I shall Praise the Beautiful ,Precious, Holy Name of Jesus in all the Seasons in my life by His Grace!!!
Continue to write for His Glory.
Thank you for these powerful Inspirational words, I was greatly Encouraged and Blessed!
In Christ,Dee
"Numbers 6:24,25,26"