I can think of only a few issues in life that are worse than
being swallowed by a whale. Yet, as soon as Jonah praised God for his horrific
circumstances, God delivered him by having the whale deposit him on dry ground
at Nineveh (Jonah 2:9-10).
What an awesome God we serve. He will deliver us from our
negative circumstances too. The key for deliverance is to be joyful and
grateful to God regardless of what is occurring in our life.
Living each moment of our life in the presence of, and in praise
to our mighty God will lead us to redemption regardless of the various facets
of our current existence.
Jesus lives, moves and has His being in us; and He never,
ever leaves or forsakes us (Acts 17:28; Hebrews 13:5). Our behavior may cause a
rift in our relationship with God; but He is always there, even when His back
is turned to our sinful practices (Psalm 22:1).
Of course, the logical solution to this problem is to live
in righteousness; and, by the power of God's Spirit within us, to reject all of
the devil's temptations to sin.
The more mature we are in spirit and soul, the less we are
attracted to sinful practices. We reject Satan's temptation to depart from
holiness, even for a little while.
God's will for our life is our focus and His ways are the
premise of our existence. We live to advance His Kingdom in the earth; and at
every opportunity, we share with others what God does for us.
Prayer:
Father God, our hearts overflow with grateful praises to You
as the fruit of our lips. We refuse to allow Satan to tempt us to complain,
even if we remain in our awful, negative circumstances. We know from experience
that praising You is our hot air balloon ride to better times.
We praise You for Your deliverance from the huge, traumatic events
that attempt to steal our joy; and we also praise You for the myriad of little
blessings that You provide for us each and every day. Thank You for putting a
new song in our heart and for Your bountiful provision for all of our needs.
Thought for the Day:
When we repent of our sins and believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, we are saved from eternal damnation and we reflect the glory of the
Lord in our spirit, body, thoughts, words and actions.
- 2 Corinthians 3:18
