Gratefully Going
“Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Yahweh brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten...When Pharaoh had let the people go, God didn’t lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and they return to Egypt”
Exodus 13:2-3, 14-17, 21-22
God knows us so well. He knows that if He lets us take the easy way in the middle of hard times that we tend to want to turn back. He knows that the best direction we can go is forward and that going back to a life of slavery is no life at all. He led the people with a pillar of fire. God shows His power and presence in many ways.
What is His advice to help us keep going? Give thanks for where you have been and fix your mind on going forward to where He is leading you. How are you feeling? Are you grateful for where you are even if you are in the middle of a tough time? Are you excited for where you are headed?
“God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water...My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you on my bed"
Psalms 63:1-8
When do you stop to give thanks to God? How do you remember and acknowledge his goodness and blessings? David says that before bed he counts his blessings. Look at how personally David praises the Lord.
“A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth. The work of a man’s hands shall be rewarded to him. Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but a kind word makes it glad.”
Proverbs 12:11, 14, 25
The first person to be blessed when we praise the Lord is our own soul. What is good fruit of the mouth? Gratitude and giving God glory. There will never be a time when those two things do not strengthen and feed your soul. Like protein for the body is praise to the soul.
How have your words built up yourself and others today? Have you used your words to honor God?
“I will tell of the loving kindnesses of Yahweh...he became their Savior. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them."
Isaiah 63:7-9, 12
Like a great family meal, the blessings we receive are meant to be shared. One of the most common challenges in our culture today is how many people feel alone or isolated. We were never designed to live solitary lives. We are meant to live in community and when we gather share about how God is moving in our lives.
Sometimes His loving kindness carries us when we are weak. Sometimes He gives us strength to find victory where we never thought possible. What loving kindness can you share today?
“He said therefore, “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. He called ten servants of his and gave them ten mina coins, and told them, ‘Conduct business until I come.’ The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.’ “He said to him, ‘Well done, you good servant! Because you were found faithful with very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ “The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, Lord, has made five minas.’ “So he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Another came, saying, ‘Lord, behold, your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief, “He said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I didn’t lay down and reaping that which I didn’t sow.”
Luke 19:2-5, 8-10, 12-13, 16-20, 22
The best way you can thank the Lord is by using your talent to produce a return on his investment in you. He has given you gifts. He has given you strengths. He has set you free and brought healing to your life. He simply asks what have you done and will you do with what I have given you?
You, and only you, can speak to what you will give back to God. You are called, equipped, and needed. Let your life be an offering of thanksgiving to God by helping meet the needs of others with the strengths you have been given.