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    • About
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  • My Journey with God
  • God Inspired Writings
    • Sharing & Caring Thoughts
    • A Heartfelt Moment with God
    • God Inspired Encouragement for Today Blog Posts
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    • A Journey of Thoughts from God's Heart to Yours
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    • Daily Hope for the Hurting Heart Blog
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Praising God in the Midst of Despair | Thanksgiving Hope

11/24/2021

 
​Hello everyone…and a very happy and blessed Wednesday to you all! I hope that your day is going well! Before we begin our time together today, I would like to start out by wishing every one of you a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving! Since I won't be here tomorrow, I thought that I'd share a Thanksgiving message with you today; because in these times that we are living in; many are struggling in so many different ways.
You know…as I look back on my life, I remember many holidays that were missed because I was either laid up in a hospital or at home; and because of this…I have come to see that the difficult times we face can have an affect on how we feel at the holidays…and especially Thanksgiving; because these difficult times we're facing, can make us feel as if we have nothing to praise God for.
Last night, as I was thinking on this…and also on what God would have me share with you today; He began to take me back to a couple Bible verses in Acts 16:25-26, and we read… "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26) And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed."
As I look back on this Bible story about Paul and Silas; I just wonder how many of us could sing praises to God, after being beaten…thrown into prison and shackled to the floor of that prison. I don't know about you; but I have come to see that pain and deep heartache definitely have a way of taking control of the mind, which can make it almost impossible to refrain from complaining…let alone praising God.
Have you ever stopped to think on what could happen, if we were willing to lay down these moments of affliction…to take hold of God through a heart of praise? The first thing that I feel would probably happen; is that we would find ourselves plugged into God, with a connection that would instantly disconnect us from the problem itself. Think of it this way…whatever we focus on…is where we will be led; and haven't you noticed that the more you focus on a problem; that problem only worsens with time?  That is because we have plugged ourselves into the one (Satan) who is behind the problem…and when we choose to give praise to him, by the way we think…talk and react to the problem; then we are only going to reap even more of that problem.
Over time, I have experienced situations that seemed so out of control…and yes, there was a time when I would have never found the strength to praise God in the midst of it all; but throughout these hard and difficult times of my life, I have truly come to see who my enemy is…and no battle can be won, when I choose to lay down my life before him and give up; so instead, I remind him that he is nothing in my life and then I begin to praise God; and through that heart of praise…I truly see how the attack of the evil one begins to ease up.
No matter what you are facing today, I pray that you will find the strength to praise God…just like Paul and Silas did; for when we choose to do so…that is when the shackles of despair will begin to fall from us, while the prison door of despair will open up and allow us to walk out into freedom once more…Amen!
Have a very blessed Thanksgiving…and I will hope to see you on Friday!
God bless!
It's Always & Only Because of Him…
Diane  
*If you haven't yet accepted Jesus into your heart…and have found the hope that can rescue your heart and save you from evil, I would encourage you to check out… "Come to Jesus."

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