When we begin our day with praise and thanksgiving, the day just gets better and better. That’s my experience. Yesterday I met with two groups of precious ladies who prayed together, shared their testimonies to God’s provision, and encouraged us as we walk this life’s journey. It was a great experience for me, and now I share it with you. Psalm 118:28 is a good place to begin. It says, in the NIV: “You are my God, and I will praise You. You are my God, and I will exalt You ” Once we have that settled, and we know God is in charge of the day, the hours, the minutes, the seconds.Then, we’re ready for step two: thanksgiving. Here’s verse 29, and the reason for the day’s activities: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.”
In the first group, the Magnolias who meet for breakfast each Tuesday morning at Cracker Barrel, we shared our experiences of the week–travels, doctor visits, grandchildren’s activities, and then prayer concerns. We prayed for guidance, for patience, for each other’s plans, for planned trips’ safety, and for our churches, our nation, and the world. It’s like we look at God’s world first up close, because we know He cares for each of us as we continue this mortal life, and we know He can, and will answer prayers. Then our horizon expands to local, national, and world concerns. It’s like the telescopic field expands. God is in charge of the entire universe, yet allows us to call Him Abba Father, usually translated as “Daddy” showing a closer relationship with us than hands or feet. Through our faith in the incarnate Jesus, and the redeeming work of the Holy Spirit, we are in a relationship with that same God of the Universe. What a splendid thing it is.
Then I met with a group called the Tulips. Yes, both groups are named for flowers, the creation objects God blesses with beauty. This is group of ladies who will be studying Nancy Guthrie’s book, Blessings. It is a journey through the last book in the Bible, Revelation. While I have studied this book previously, I know there is much it has to say now to the church and to me. But, in yesterday’s “get acquainted” session, we discovered connections between people that show how God leads us well in this journey. It was its own revelation.
I discovered several members of our church have known each other since childhood. Two of us have lived in the same city up north. There were the inevitable Christmas stories, several of which included breakthroughs in formerly strained relationships. We have two snowbirds from the North, enjoying Florida sunshine and becoming part of this group while they’re here, We have women from different churches, and some who have been friends for years and so enjoy each other’s company. We have some with intense medical conditions which God has brought them through in His mercy. We prayed for those who could not be with us; we prayed for a planned trip; we prayed for strength for challenges some are facing, and we prayed for our life-journey until we meet again.
We are all part of God’s army, witnessing to those in our sociograms, wherever our relationships take us. It is beneficial to know that we are not alone in our joys, our struggles, our hopes, our concerns, and that together we are far better than we are when we’re too proud, ashamed, or self-centered to share our concerns together. Christian community is a marvelous way to live this life triumphantly.
And now, these two groups go forth individually, wholeheartedly prepared and determined to witness Jesus’ love to the world. We are marching victoriously, not just sitting in the grandstands viewing life. Here’s how Paul writes to the Corinthians in his second letter, chapter 2 verse 14: “But thanks be to God, who made us His captives and leads us along in Christ’s triumphant procession. Now, wherever we go, He uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Good News like a sweet perfume.” So whether we’re boarding an airplane today, or shopping, or getting our hair cut, or, in my case, putting finishing touches on my 29th book I’m trying to complete, or whether we’re meeting with other small groups, or caring for our families, we are marching victoriously because the God of angel armies goes before us, beside us, and within us. Praise to Almighty God who loves me enough to call me His daughter and blesses me with the relationships made with twelve others I prayed with yesterday. Amen and Amen.
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