Ministering: Pastor Shola Awobajo (Senior Pastor).
Text: Isaiah 38:9-20.
” 9 The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness: 10 I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. 11 I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. 12 Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. 13 I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. 14 Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me. 15 What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. 16 O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. 17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. 18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. 19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. 20 The Lord was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.“
Our above Text shows us the power of Thanksgiving to change things. Transformation is usually a result of genuine Thanksgiving to God. Thanksgiving has the power to change things, to lift a person from the backside to the throne. No matter your condition, praises and thanksgiving will relocate you to the top in life.
King Hezekiah in Isaiah 38 cried to The Lord for a change of verdict after Isaiah delivered a message of death. God hearkened to Hezekiah’s cry after he turned to The Lord and praised Him that the grave cannot praise You O Lord, even death cannot celebrate You.
No matter how dark a situation might be, there will always be a ray of light to Thank God for. You lost a car; thank God it was not your life you lost! God is always looking for worshippers (John 4) because there are too many complainers in the world. God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth.
Thanksgiving turns things around. God is in Thanksgiving as Psalm 22:3 tells us He inhabits in the Praises of His People. God dwells in genuine Worship. Whatever bows to God bows to True Worship.
I counsel you to make Thanksgiving your lifestyle, murmuring will do you no good, find a reason in that situation to give Praise to God. Praise is the way out of every pit. Praise has the power to change things.
Jericho wall came down as the people of God began to shout and praise The Lord (Joshua 6:20). Never panic in the face of an attack or challenge, press the button of praise as Paul and Silas did in Acts 16:25. Also in 2 Chron. 20, we see how Praises and Thanksgiving destroyed 3 mighty nations that ganged up against God’s People. Power changes hands as you render genuine Thanksgiving to God.
Thanksgiving makes your enemy to enter into a trap. Every setback is a setup to take you higher in life if you engage the weapon of Thanksgiving.
Technically, you do not need to increase power and strength when faced with a challenge, just reach out and press the button of High Praise and the tide will turn in your favor. Psalm 149:6-8. Thanksgiving is one of our vital weapons in the Christian Faith.
In closing, there is power to change destiny in Praise; power to turnaround any hopeless situation to a Testimony.
God Bless You!
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