Praise and Thanksgiving brings Faith and Substance into the Emptiness of the Impossible.
Worship calls forth what isn’t as if it were because hope doesn’t lie in the ability and the possibility of the natural realm, but in the ability of the God of the supernatural in the spirit realm!
Abraham believed and worshipped the…
“God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he (Abraham) became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Romans 4:17-22
I heard a testimony the other day that proved this truth.
A woman shared that her and her husband were having difficulty conceiving. They had tried for years and even sought help from physicians, only to face disappointment month after month, year after year.
Then, they decided on a different strategy, they picked up some new weapons. They began to Praise and Thank God for the baby they believed God would bless them with. And along with their praise and thanksgiving they put their faith into action. Each month they once again faced disappointment they went out together and bought a baby toy or another baby item as evidence of their faith; they were walking this journey by faith, not by sight!
Faith must be put into action!
“But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” James 2:20-22
Because, now, is always the right time to bow down in worship!
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
I guarantee that the time you spend down on your knees in Praise, Thanksgiving, and Worship of God has greater value than any amount of time spent in any other way!
Worship empowers you and equips you with new weapons to step out in faith to fight your battle.
The couple who chose not to give in to despair and disappointment month after month, who chose not to speak negative words of doubt and hopelessness over their impossible situation, but chose instead to put their faith and hope in God, proved that God is able!
God is the God of the impossible!
When they chose to Worship God in the midst of their impossible situation…
When they chose to rise above the emotion of disappointment and despair month after month…
When they chose to Praise and Thank God with no evidence of the desire of their hearts…
They fought with different weapons.
The weapons of disappointment and despair, the weapons of doubt and unbelief, the weapons of negative words, had no power over their circumstance. These only increased the ammunition of the enemy, making them powerless and leaving them hopeless.
They chose to exchange their weapons for the weapons of Praise and Faith in Action..
Fighting with these weapons, their faith was rewarded, their prayers were answered, they received the desire of their hearts.
Today they have a baby in their arms…
For Nothing is Impossible with God!
Bowing in worship of God filled Gideon with courage and caused him to come up with a strategy that didn’t come from his own understanding. Gideon got up and went back to his army of three hundred with a declaration of victory from the Lord.
“He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.” Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers.” Judges 7:15-16
Gideon’s circumstance hadn’t changed, but Gideon was changed. His fear was turned to faith.
His fear of God became bigger than his fear of his enemy.
Gideon was fully convinced his God was able to do what He promised He would do.
Gideon spoke words of life, the words of God’s promise, to the other soldiers.
Gideon walked in evidence of his faith as he placed “weapons” into their hands…
Trumpets
Empty pitchers
Torches
Trumpets…Instruments of loud and mighty praise!
Pitchers…empty, available to be filled, breakable, for greater purpose!
Torches…light concealed, waiting to shine forth!
Not your typical weapons!
When you fight God’s battles you need to use His weapons of warfare.
“We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-4
How did the soldiers respond to the items Gideon placed into their hands?
“Of what use are these, they have no power? What purpose could these things have in battle? We are soldiers, where are our swords?”
How did this couple respond when they first considered going out to buy baby items?
“That doesn’t make sense. It’s a waste of money. How will buying baby items cause us to conceive? Seeing those things in our home will make us more depressed!”
Why are God’s ways opposite of what we think? Why are they beyond our understanding? Why are they difficult to carry out?
Because its in our weakness, in our inability, in our humility we bow down. When we bow down we admit its not about us. We acknowledge that on our own we can do nothing. We become dead to self. Once we are at this place, we are right where God wants us to be. This is where He reveals His truth, He imparts His ways, and He provides His weapons so that we can rise up, encouraged by His promise, filled with His power, and ready to fight our impossible battle for His glory!
What weapons have you been using that haven’t been working?
If you feel as though you are losing the battles you are fighting perhaps its time lay down your weapons of worry prayers, doubt, and negative words. What you may have thought were the only ways to respond to your battle may be the very things the enemy is using to keep your battle raging. It is time to bow down in worship before God, and receive His strategies and His weapons with which to fight. The position of bowing in worship provides a holy space where an exchange is made. Your worry, doubt, and negativity for God’s power, equipping, and weapons to fight your battles and win the victory!