A Moment To Praise 5.4.20
Joyce Lochinger, Gravel Hill Worship Leader
My soul cries out to Thee …
A Moment To Praise 5.4.20 in Scripture
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+130%3A1-2&version=NIV
Read the first two verses of this psalm, then read them again! Does the feeling that David is expressing feel familiar to you? Does it remind you of how you have felt today? Or maybe how you have felt in the past? You probably have gone through some things in your life that have caused you to cry out to God, just as the psalmist is doing in this verse. Well, the ‘psalmist’ was me today! Nothing seems to be going well and I am feeling like the world is crashing in all around me. Between divisive talk among people, some of whom claiming to be believers in Christ, and contrasting thoughts on life, I am left not knowing where to turn. So, I cry out to God! Why is this happening, Lord? Why do I feel like I do? I hear myself and I realize that I am exactly where David was in the book of Psalm. I am definitely mirroring his thoughts and feelings. My guess is that you have been in that situation or maybe you are there right now, as I am.
My soul cries out to Thee …
Honestly, I don’t want us to be doing this activity together. I don’t want myself or any of us to be feeling this way. Because I know what is causing these thoughts and anxieties in me, and it’s not from God. That is a frightening feeling. If they’re not coming from God, where are these feelings coming from? I think you know. The evil one likes to try to pull us away from our sanity and well-being. He likes to cause confusion, frustration and fear. That’s right, fear! At times, I don’t like to say that I have fear. It’s an ego thing, I think. Instead, I say that I have the “what ifs” and the “what abouts”. You know, the words that come out of your mouth when something causes you to have fear. What if this happens and what about this person or that circumstance. In this moment of the what ifs and what abouts, fear has a hold on me. Now certainly, this doesn’t happen to me every day, but it is definitely happening today!
God tells us that fear is not one of the fruits of the Spirit. As you may remember, the fruit of the Spirit is the result of the Holy Spirit living inside of you. The fruits are: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control. These attributes are “grown” from the presence of God’s goodness in our lives. These are the truths of God. So if the fruit of the Spirit is the truth from God, then what is fear? Fear is a liar. It’s an emotion that is designed to cause turmoil and chaos in your life. We should not let it into our hearts, minds, or souls.
My soul cries out to Thee …
How can this happen for all of us? We can start off by crying out to God for his relief and guidance, then pray, asking God to lead us and keep us calm and at peace. Then, we can stop those fearful thoughts before they take hold and enter into our spirits. You have the power to do that with God’s help! So shoo them away. You have the power to tell Satan to “get thee behind me!” By the way, this quote comes from Matthew 16:23 and was spoken by Jesus, so we’ll be in good company! It is a powerful quote to use.
Here’s a funny story to end our thoughts today. I have a friend (you know who you are) with whom I had shared the last quote, “get thee behind me Satan!” when she was having doubts and fear in a situation. She relayed to me a few weeks after we had talked that she had been practicing that quote from Jesus in her life. In one instance, she was driving down the interstate and in front of her was a car with a vanity license plate that read, “SATAN”. It unnerved her a bit, but almost instantly she knew what she needed to do. She decided to speak the quote from Matthew 16:23 out loud. As she hurriedly passed this car, she said to herself with a chuckle, “get thee behind me Satan!” and of course he did!
I hope that you can do that today, tomorrow, or whenever you need it and rely solely on God and his goodness in your life. Do not allow the evil one and his favorite instrument, fear, in to ruin your day! Trust in Jesus and His powerful love for you.
A Moment To Praise 5.4.20 in Song
This song is in honor of everyone’s fight to overcome this world and the fear that it can bring.
| Zach Williams – Fear Is a Liar (Official Lyric Video)
#ChainBreaker is alailable everywhere: https://ZachWilliams.lnk.to/CBDeluxeMS Listen to the new album #RescueStory now: https://ZachWilliams.lnk.to/RescueSto... |
Have a fearless week everyone! Be in His love!
