Sunday, March 19, 2017

LET YOUR HEART REJOICE

LET YOUR HEART REJOICE
I switched insurance companies and now I pay less and I’m free of the harassment I was getting from the other company. I’ve been a bulldog on this insurance switch for several months because I was on a timeline and I had to replace my roof before I could switch. I prayed that everything would happen before the next payment was due. It all worked out and now the fight is over. Did I relax and take time to enjoy the blessing? Nope. Instead I started to get depressed about all the other things I needed to do. Wow, how stupid is that?!

I’m sure we’ve all seen situations where someone gets their paycheck, but immediately, instead of being happy, they get depressed because they envision the money already being spent for bills.

It’s a matter of point of view. We get too focused on ourselves and the things WE need to do, rather than the blessings of what the LORD is doing for us.

Jesus gives us a great parable about the sower, that relates to this phenomenon that happens when the Lord gives us a blessing and instead of focusing on the beautiful side, we focus on the foul side (pun intended):

Mark 4:3-4 and 15: “Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow; And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.”

We need to watch out for and rebuke Satan when he immediately comes to take away the rejoicing and thankfulness we have when the Lord sows blessings into our hearts. We need to cherish and hold those things dear, whether it’s the blessing of a child, a financial blessing, a moment of laughter, a new roof, a new revelation from His Word.

We can’t let the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2) steal away the joy of any of the wonderful seeds our God has sown into our hearts.

Proverbs, God’s great book of wisdom, tells us: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). The Hebrew word for “keep” is “natsar,” which means “to guard from danger, be a watchman over, preserve.”

When we receive something good, and we immediately begin to worry about something else, or think about the next trouble to conquer or the next burden to bear, STOP. REPENT. We need to rebuke Satan for trying to steal our joy. Philippians 2:9-10 tells us that God has “given him [Jesus] a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under earth.”  We need to reclaim our joy and let our hearts rejoice when we get it.

As it turned out, the roofers had to replace a two by four at the back of the house where the phone line comes in. When I got up to look at it, I noticed there was an exposed wire. Sure enough when the phone repairman came, he said it was burned and could have caused a fire. He replaced the whole thing and didn’t charge me. Thank you, Lord! God’s always got my back!

Love, Carolyn

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GET YOUR COPY OF    :   WINGS: COMMITMENT – Great chapters, including GOING THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE . . .         SEEING IN NEW WAYS. . .             BEING LIKE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN


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