You are welcome to the December 2023 edition of El Shaddai Heritage.
Our focus for December 2023 is PRAISE.
“Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.” Psalms 149:3
The Lord has been so good and faithful! Irrespective of what you went through in the year, The Lord kept you and preserved your life. The Bible says in Job chapter 14 verses 7-9
“For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water, it will bud and bring forth boughs like a plant.“
Listen, the devil does not have the final say over your life. The enemy can not succeed against you, and the devil can not prevail against you as long as you stay connected to Jesus Christ.
Your situation might look very bad now, you might feel very low, and you might even feel you are on the floor.
The Bible says in Psalms 124 verses 1 to 8
“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say; If it had not been the LORD who was on our side when men rose against us:
Then they had swallowed us up quickly when their wrath was kindled against us: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, and the stream had gone over our soul: Then, the proud waters had gone over our souls. Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
The Lord fought a lot of battles for you that you are not aware of.
The enemy wanted you maimed, the enemy wanted you incapacitated, the enemy wanted you dead, but God frustrated the plan of your enemies.
At this end of the year, given your previous and current negative situation, it might not sound logical to you that God has been good, that God has been there for you, but remember as a child of God, your emotion does not control you, you are expected to be controlled by the Word of God. The Lord loves you, and He has not failed you, He has not abandoned you.
Let the enemy throw his best shot, you will still be here standing on your feet because you have the life of God in you, because you are more than a conqueror, because the enemy does not decide your life!
Hallelujah!
You need to give God thanks for many reasons, and God is expecting to hear that thanksgiving from your lips. Hallelujah!
We give God Thanks For some of the reasons listed below
God expects you to give Him thanks because it is a command.
“If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.”
Malachi 2:2
God commands us to praise Him for the blessings He bestows on us.
“John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it is given him from heaven.”
John 3:27
Every good thing you enjoy in life is from God. Be it your sleep, the good sleep you enjoy, the breath of your nostrils, the flexibility of your body, you can easily move from one place to the other without assistance, and many more things you enjoy.
You might think unbelievers also enjoy all of that…Yes, that is the nature of God, the Father. In Matthew chapter 5 verse 45, the Bible says
“…for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
But the Bible says in Psalms 16 verse 4
“Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god:…”
Irrespective of what you went through this year, you are still better off than an unbeliever.
Secondly, when we give thanks to God, our blessings are preserved.
In Malachi chapter 2 verse 2 that we referenced above, the Lord said if you fail to give Him thanks, He will curse your blessings. That same blessing you have now that you feel is not enough is going to disappear, God says He will curse the good things, the things that give you joy if you fail to appreciate His goodness in your life.
Thirdly, Thanksgiving enables God to give us more blessing
In Luke chapter 17, verse 17, when only one leper came back to give thanks.
Jesus said,
“And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?”
When the leper came back to give Jesus thanks, he got an extra blessing, Jesus Christ made him whole! He never had to think of that sickness again. He was free and free forever.
We must be aware that God hates murmuring. The Bible says so many Israelites were destroyed because they murmured against God.
“Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.”
1 Corinthians 10:10
The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
It doesn’t matter what your situation is, God has not failed you, the challenge here is that you can not see the whole picture, if only you can see the whole picture, you will surely give God thanks.
I pray that the Lord will give you the grace to keep standing firm and strong in Him in Jesus’ name!
Shalom! Shalom! Shalom!