Learn to develop a thankful heart and let the fruit of your lips be praise to the Lord Most High. He is worthy of all praise, and we are told in the Word of God to give thanks at all times. Find something to thank God for because God is faithful and He is worthy of all glory.
“Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” -1 Thessalonians 5:18BSB
Linda A. Knowles
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”
You are a child of the Most High God, and He has created you with purpose. He has plans He has designed specifically for you. As you go through this season, ask Him what He has planned for you. Seek His counsel and His ways.
If the Lord has laid on your heart to do something and if you have been putting it off, then let me encourage you to rise up and do what God has called you to do. Do whatever task God has told you to do.
What is stopping you from moving forward into the plans God has for you? May I encourage you to lay whatever is stopping you before God? Surrender yourself to God and submit to His will. Let Him do His work in you, and let Him use you for His glory and to further the Kingdom of God. Let Him use you to be a blessing to others.
Rise up, Child of the Most High God! This is not the time to sit back! Wait on God, and as you wait on Him, do His will. Obey His Word. Follow through with whatever God is calling you to do and do whatever He has told you to do.
Heavenly Father, You are the Most High God, and You have created me with purpose and significance. You have called me according to Your purpose that I might go forth and do Your will, to do the tasks You have called me to do. Lord, I surrender myself to You, asking You to show Your will and Your way that I might walk into the destiny You have specifically designed for me. Continue to be my Light and my Guide. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Having God’s favor upon your life is priceless. You cannot put a price on His favor because it is so costly, and yet God lavishes His favor upon His true children because He is the God of Goodness. He gives good things to His children, but did you know that if you grudgingly obey you can forfeit the blessings/rewards He has for you? Let me explain this way: The Word of God states, in Deuteronomy 6:7, “Love the LORD Your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your strength.” Note the words ALL of your heart and ALL of your soul, and ALL of your strength. ALL of your being must desire to do the task you are doing for God. ALL of your being must be upright and pure before God while you are obeying Him.
“Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, but not wholeheartedly.”
Amaziah did what was pleasing to God, but he did so reluctantly. He had paid for troops to come from Israel to help him go up against Edom when a man of God came to Amaziah and told him God would not give him victory if Amaziah used the troops from Israel no matter how well he did at fighting. Amaziah’s heart attitude was not blameless. He complained about the money he had paid, “But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?” God had sent him a warning through the man of God in order to let Amaziah know God was not with the troops of Israel, and instead of giving thanks to God for the warning or thanking the man of God for giving him the message God had for him, Amaziah complained and said, “But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?” The man of God told him, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this.” He reluctantly obeyed God, taking the warning the man of God had just given him, and he discharged the Israeli troops
Don’t Forfeit Your Blessing By Grudgingly Obeying God.
PRAYER: Sovereign LORD and KING, You are worthy of my best, not my leftovers. You, O God, have been very good to me. Thank You for all You have done in my life, for providing for me, and for being my protection. I’m sorry for obeying You halfheartedly and for being reluctant in carrying out the tasks You have set before me. Forgive me for these sinful attitudes of the heart. Forgive me, Father, for offending You, and I ask that You cleanse me of these sins as only You can do. I bow my heart in surrender to You and ask that You take control, giving me new desires and attitudes pleasing to You. I ask that You, O God, rule and reign in me. Show me what I need to change in my life and what I need to get rid of. Take me along Your paths of righteous because what You approve of and have to say is the only thing that matters. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
“Love the LORD Your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your strength.” -Deuteronomy 6:7(NLT)
“Why do the wicked prosper, growing old and powerful?”
-Job 21:7 NLT
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; Do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.”
-Psalm 37:7-9 NLT
“I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.”
-Isaiah 48:10 NLT
Sometimes I wonder why it always looks like the wicked succeed, then I’m reminded that the wicked are not succeeding because they are perishing. One can be wealthy and successful by every worldly standard and yet be spiritually bankrupt. Success in the eyes of God is vastly different from how the world sees it. God takes you to heights unknown when you are following Him and He blesses those who are walking in obedience to Him.
There may be trials along the way to get to the destination God has for you, but those trials teach you endurance and perseverance. You are not refined in the times of good, but you are refined in the furnace of suffering. God is the one who will make you come out as gold. Just remember to keep your eyes and your mind fixed on the Author and Finisher of your faith, and He will be the One who gives you perfect peace as you keep trusting in Him.
REFLECTIVE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You, O God, are the Author and the Finisher of my faith. I will continue to keep my eyes and my mind fixed on You because in You alone there is hope and peace. You are the True Joy Giver. You are the One who upholds me with Your victorious right hand, and You have made me more than a conqueror. Lord, help me to always remember that no matter what comes my way, no matter what circumstances I find myself in, You will be the One who shapes and refines me and brings me forth like gold. Guide me as I walk along this narrow way for Your grace is the wall of protection around me, the netting that catches me when I’m falling, and Your grace is my covering. Lead me to the destination You have for me. Help me to carry out the tasks You have assigned me, and may my spirit always yield to You alone. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Much love to you all,
Linda A. Knowles
Stained Glass Confessions 