by Jeanie | May 22, 2008 | Uncategorised
Dear Friend,
I trust that you’re being encouraged, challenged and changed by these words that you receive weekly. Keep abiding and you’ll bear choice and nice fruits.
Over the weeks we’ve been studying the lives of remnants and some of their actions. Today we want to study the attitude of a remnant with whom God was so pleased that he called him a man after his own heart. You guessed it right, King David. Be blessed.
- I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.
- He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.
- He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.
- Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols. Psalms 40:1-4 (NLT)
David in his life time experienced God’s deliverance regularly; It amazes me when I read of how he flee from his son Absalom or how he escaped the wrath of Saul; I wonder how he would have made it without God. Tell me what you would do if the governing authority of your country launches a search to arrest and kill you? Who will you run to? Where would you hide? How would you maintain a low profile?
Today’s text is a psalm of thanksgiving for deliverance which ended with prayer . The psalmist began by listing the things he did before he was delivered.
First, He waited. He was not in a haste, he didn’t try to rush God, He waited . Secondly, he waited patiently not anxiously as some of us would. Thirdly, he waited patiently for the Lord to help him. He was not depending on Social security, a charity organization, friends , family members, the church, neighbours ; He was waiting for the Lord’s help and this is not the first time we hear David speak like this.
In Psalms 121:1,2 he said “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth”.
This is the testimony of a remnant: my help came from the Lord, not from the connections I have or the skills I have, but from the Lord. I’m fully aware that God will many times use people to assist you, please be careful not to attribute your success or breakthrough to them but to God.
So David looked up to God for help and God turned to him and heard his cry. Watch this , God didn’t ignore him, he gave David his full attention and solved his problem. He got the results he wouldn’t have if he’d turned to man. His confidence in God finally paid off .That’s what God is willing to do for you If you would just quit depending on people and fix your gaze on him.
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. Psalm 118:9(KJV)
David goes on to tell of the things God did for him. He talks about how he was lifted out of the pit. A pit is a hollow area of the ground which usually has a soft soil that causes anything which falls into it to sink. Sometimes you may find worms and sharp objects embedded in this area, It is a miserable and depressing place to be in but thank God David was lifted out of the pit of despair. As you read this journal, I don’t know what kind of pit you’re in but I know that if you look up to God for help right now, he will lift you out of it.
The second thing God did for David was to established him. God set his feet on a solid ground to keep him from falling into further mischief. God was saying to him, David, you don’t ever have to walk on dangerous hollow grounds, I’m going to place your feet on a plain surface and steady you on a rock – a place of strength and safety.
The next thing David testifies of is that God gave him a new song to sing, a hymn of praise. I wish I had time to expound on this but just know that the new song was a result of the revelation David received from the deliverance he had just experienced and I’m a witness to this; I’ve seen God move in and through some situations in my life through which I gained a deeper insight into some characters/attributes of God and a song flowed forth consequently. I pray that God today will give a new song. Amen!
The later part of verse 3 says that “many will see it” , How ?
I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among many people. Psalm 35:18 (WBT)
You ought to testify. A testimony is an open attestation; a public profession which offers firsthand proof of an event known to have happened or something known to have existed. That’s what Noah did when he built an alter and sacrificed to God out of his substance. He could have taken the credit and boast of how skillful he was at building the ark but through his actions he testified that God was his help having protected him and his family whilst the flood drowned every other living thing on earth. He ascribed to God the glory due to him, he was thankful and God was pleased.
God will give you a testimony; I hear God say that he will lift you , re-position you and stabilize you and when it happens don’t hold back, share your testimony because through it , many will be encouraged and put their trust in God.
Related journals:
I’m still here!
WORSHIP OF A REMNANT
by Jeanie | May 17, 2008 | Uncategorised
Dear Friend,
This is the day that the Lord has made for us to rejoice and be glad in and I’ve made up my mind not be sad regardless of what might happen and I want to encourage you not to be disheartened if it seems like the things you’ve spoken are taking long to manifest. Job 22:28 says that “ you will decree a thing and it shall be established for you; So light will shine on your ways”.
You know, when a decree is made and then established, the consequent action is the execution of that decree. You have spoken and it will be to you according to your word, the light of God is about to permeate and reflect on every dark area of your life. #hollaapraise
I am very excited on sending you this journal today, and it’s because we’ve just entered the second month of the year. It was during this very month at the time of Noah, that the earth was dry and hence safe for Him and his family whom the Lord had preserved from the flood, to leave the boat. They were ‘remnants’, the remainder of God’s image on earth, the people with whom the Lord would covenant to preserve the earth. Read on and find out how this relates to you.
Have you ever wondered or asked yourself this question: I’m still here, How come? After all that has happened to me , after all I’ve been through; I’ve had too many crumbles and tumbles yet I’m alive, I’m well , I’m still here but why and how come? Please allow me to suggest that you’re a remnant and the Lord has preserved you until such a time as this for a sign, a wonder and a witness.
A remnant is the part or portion of something that remains after the most or main part
no longer exists. This is usually a very small part like leftovers. In Hebrew, one of the words translated ‘remnant’ is derived from a word which portrays the idea of slipping out, escaping or surviving. Isaiah in his first chapter had this to say:
Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah. Isaiah 1:9 (NKJV)
The scripture is not in any way vague about God’s name used in this verse. God is here described as the Lord of hosts; the governor of all beings both in heaven and earth, or if you like, the Lord of a vast multitude. This suggests to me that God does not have to spare us; in fact He has no need of us considering that He has and will always have countless hosts to serve him. I believe Prophet Jeremiah was having similar thoughts when he penned this verse:
Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV)
Let’s read this scripture from the living bible:
His compassion never ends. It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his loving-kindness begins afresh each day.
I’m going to slightly use this scripture out of context but I need you to understand first, that it’s because of the Lord’s mercies that we’re not utterly destroyed. Mercy is what we receive from God in place of condemnation, damnation and alienation. We’re not in any way better than they that are consumed, or those that have gone under but because God has interposed to save us, we are not overwhelmed neither are we overthrown.
We’re a remnant, God’s elect, the selected few that God has kept that we might be for him a people, a name, a praise, and a glory. You didn’t just go through the challenges and trials for nothing; through the fire, waters, tribulations and persecution, you’ve been spared and preserved for a purpose. I need you to get this in your spirit. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, Let the people of God now say; had it not been for his protection ;deliverance, provision, sustenance , faithfulness we would have been completely destroyed.
Tell me how many people have survived what you’ve been through; the bankruptcy, the hardship, the illness, the heartache, the abuse, you name it. Think about the times everything around you looked so dim, when you felt like all the darts the enemy had has been thrown at you, not to talk of the many times he rose like a flood against you. Now think, where and how you would have been had not the Lord lifted a standard to protect you. I’d say dead, buried, and forgotten but thanks to God you’re a remnant ! God does not mess with His remnants, He’ll always deliver and keep them safe but there is one thing they must always do.
The scripture records in Genesis 8 that as soon as Noah and his family left the boat, He built an altar and sacrificed. A remnant understands the significance of building an altar of worship and offering a sacrificial praise that is pleasing to God which could result in a renewed covenant with God or a fresh promise; I don’t know about you but I really could do with a ‘new deal’.
I understand that the flood has carried away some of your valuables and the fire has consumed a lot of your most prized possessions but you’re still here, you’re a remnant! Yes, you’ve been crushed but not destroyed, persecuted but not abandoned, you haven’t got everything but you’re not without. You’re still here, you’re a remnant! So, give God the praise and worship due his name for past mercies, for the present – today’s mercies, and future mercies. He’s worthy, Halleluyah!
Related journals:
THE TESTIMONY OF A REMNANT
WORSHIP OF A REMNANT
