When Going Through; Remember His Mercies...

I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.

Isaiah 63:7

Do you every sit back and just recall all the lovingkindness that God has shown you…? When you truly examine your life you will come to the conclusion that you are beyond blessed… You should always approach the Lord with thanksgiving because even to have breath in your body is a blessing… Despite the different things that you may be going through or the various storms that you have encountered; Isaiah reminds us today that we need to meditate on the things that God had done in our lives, the paths that He has made and the doors that He has opened… When you feel like you are at the edge of the cliff remind yourself of God’s “great goodness toward the house of Israel…”  Substitute the house of Israel with your name and rehash all the wonderful blessings that have been bestowed in your life… Israelites had been delivered from the hand of Pharaoh, feed manna from heaven and entered the Promise Land under the leadership of Joshua… Despite all there nagging and complaints, God still gave them water from a rock and defeated all their adversaries… It is in the days of Isaiah that the children of God have rekindled their rebellious nature and are finding themselves in the midst of coming bondage… It is very easy for us to focus on the problems in our lives instead of the solution… Nobody wants to endure discipline and correction; however, we can embrace these times in our life when we know that God is in the midst and His lovingkindness is still present… This focus chapter of Isaiah starts of speaking of God’s vengeance and redemption; but it ends with verses dealing with prayer and praise… You may be experiencing the first part of this chapter in your life today… You may be feeling God’s vengeance in the storms that are pouring down on you; however, you can rest assured that storm is serving a purpose and you will be redeemed back to the Father… When redemption takes place, your prayers of heartache turn to prayers of praise… In the midst of redemption your tears of sorrow become tears of joy… Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might… Fight the good fight and stay the course… You have made mistakes, you have gone the wrong way and you have turned from Him; Isaiah is reminding you today that God still loves you and you should mention the love and saving Grace that is our God even in the midst of trials and tribulations… Stop pointing the figure at God when you go through a rough patch and start opening your eyes so that you can understand the message that is being provide in the valley… The children of God had to be subject to the discipline of God because it would open their eyes to how much the Lord cared about them and loved them…  

The message for today is to see the silver lining in the storm… You’ve been battling for a long time and sometimes your battle has been against the very will of God; wherever you are, whatever you are going through, see Jesus and not the task at hand… God is trying to get you refocused, He is trying to get you back on the right path and He needs for you to stop blaming Him and start praising Him… This is why Isaiah speaks of the lovingkindness and praises that are due to our God… He has looked beyond your faults and blessed you with what you need (even if that is a storm)… His plan for you is to prosper; so when you face a challenge, when you endure an obstacle, know that God is with you and has led you this far… The Lord hasn’t brought you this far to leave you, He’s brought you this far to show you the things that you can overcome and accomplish when you put your trust in Him… When you want to complain, think about His goodness, when you want to be ungrateful, think about all the things He has bestowed upon you; when you feel all alone, think about the lovingkindness that has been deposited in your life… Even when I am going through a tough time I can’t do anything but praise God because of the things He had done… He has done so much in our lives that we don’t have room to complain… The enemy wants you to believe that storms are signs that God is not present; however, Isaiah wants you to remember the storms that you have already been through so that you can praise God in advance knowing that this storm will not overtake you… This is Isaiah says “I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord…” I am a firm believer that the true character of an individual is shown in times of adversity and this is so critical to our lives a Christians… When you open your mouth during the storm; what is it that people hear? When you are going through a tough time do you mention God’s goodness or complain about His perceived absence…?  Whatever you do in the crunch is either winning souls to Christ or pushing your own soul away from Him… In this passage, Isaiah is speaking of the coming storm and the sunshine that can be seen through the clouds of rain… We all face storms in our lives; however, when we remember what God has already done we can begin to look beyond the clouds to the shining of the sun… Your life may not be where you want it to be; however, you should be thankful that your life isn’t as bad as if truly could be… Can you remember when you weren’t doing what God wanted you to? Can you think back to the point in time when church was an afterthought? If you can, answer this question, has God shown mercy to you in you undeserving state? Let the world know of His lovingkindness, of the grace and mercy bestowed upon you. Praise God for you know that it should have been the other way, you know that you should not have had a second, third, or even fourth chance (some of us have even gone higher than that). But, the blood continues to flow within you, you still have the activity of your limbs and you are clothed in your right mind each and every morning. Understand today that your shoes may not be comfortable for you, but there is always someone who is walking bare foot and would love to try yours on; that’s why Isaiah tells us to THANK GOD!

BE BLESSED!!!