‘Oh God of our fathers, we thank you for allowing us to see this bright and splendid day! Our aches and pains, our worries and problems have not gone away, and we’re still living in a sinful world, but we joyfully remember Your promise that by the stripes of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, we will be healed, and by the spilling of His holy blood, reconciled, justified, sanctified, and resurrected to salvation and eternal life.
And we know that You are a Deity who keeps ALL of His promises, so we’re not worried. Consequently we give You much thanks and praise for all the mercy, grace, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness that you’ve bestowed on us in these trying times, and we ask that you continue to bless and keep us under Your safe, caring and comforting wings, till whenever You think it necessary to call us home to heaven, your wonderful place of retreat and retirement. All this we pray in Jesus’ name!’ And all God’s children declared a loud, proud and grateful, ‘AMEN!’
Ah friends, I know that both you and the Lord are chuckling because I promised a short prayer, but you all know that the ole fella is a long-winded soul, so you just have to be godly and forgive me. (smile) Now let’s reinforce that short prayer with a couple of powerful scriptural acclamations.
Here we go: ‘I am an overcomer through Christ!’ ‘I am above and not beneath! The head and not the tail! (Deut.28:13) ‘I am more than a conqueror, through Christ who LOVES me.’ (Rom.8:37) And this last one is one that I need to believe ever so much in my current state of renovation. (smile) ‘And the God of all grace, who has called me to His eternal glory in Christ, after I have suffered a little while, will himself restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast.’ (1 Pet. 5:10)
And all I can say to that friends, is ‘Glory to our great God!’ That’s because He never leaves us in the lurch, never carries, or allows us to be carried where we can’t be reached by His strong, outstretched arm; never gives us more than we can bear, and even when it seems that way, He will eventually make a way for us to handle our circumstances.
As Bruh Paul told the Corinthians: ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear (endure) it.’ (1 Cor.10:13)
Now friends, that doesn’t mean we will escape all temptation, or all rough and trying circumstances, but that the Lord will bring us through them safely, for meeting and experiencing temptations and trials is an essential part of our Christian growth, we can only become more Christ-like and grow more godly when we experience some sort of negative experience. And that brings us to this wonderful passage and promise of scripture, uttered through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, as he talks about ‘The Lord, the ONLY Redeemer.’
Listen up carefully: ‘But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.
For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable (honoured), and I have LOVED thee: therefore I will give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather them from the west.’ (Is.43:1-5)
Oh my people, my people, what more can our God promise us eh, so that we’ll stop worrying and place our total trust in Him eh? And throughout His Holy Word, the Bible, you’ve seen numerous instances of where He has kept His promise, especially in redeeming us through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus Christ! So let’s rise up to the heights of wisdom in these last time nuh, let’s sincerely accept Him with thankful hearts, minds, bodies and souls, as He so greatly desires.
Now let’s go home declaring (Chuh…wrong again!) the wonderful Thursday Blessings that He’s so wonderfully bestowed on us sincere believers. All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And the next step is to share those blessings with others, for that’s a large part of the reason they were granted to us. Much LOVE!
…those who enjoy God’s blessings…will NEVER pay attention to the enemy again…