Rejoicing in the One Who is in control…
Read:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV): “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”.
Act:
More often than not we try to hold onto many things in our lives, thinking that the success of our control depends on how well we manage every area of life. And then, when the unexpected happens, we grow worried and fearful…
BUT, may we be reminded this week of the One who is writing the narrative of our life-stories:
Jesus is the Prince of peace and He has overcome the world! Therefore, as children of God we receive the strength to choose faith over fear! So, regardless of our circumstances may we declare today and every day of our lives: “God is good! God is Faithful! With God right beside us we do not have to fear anything” (Psalm 91). As we face trials of many kinds, let us not give the enemy a foothold in our hearts. May we truly ask Jesus to take captive every anxious thought and replace it with His PEACE, LOVE, JOY and HOPE.
The Holy Spirit is our Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counsellor and Strength. May we ask the Holy Spirit to show us the heart of God. The One who comforts our hearts and fills our weary souls with life-giving hope, joy and peace. May we change our lament of 2020 into rejoicing over 2021 through the power and help of the Holy Spirit.
Our Father God knows the beginning from the end and every little detail in between. So, let us trust and praise our Heavenly Father as the Lord over our lives – for He is the Author and Perfector of our faith. May we simply rejoice in the love and grace of our Lord, as we submit under His control, surrender all to Him, pray without ceasing and give thanks for receiving the greatest gift ever – ETERNAL HOPE AND PEACE, in and through Jesus Christ, our Saviour.
Pray:
Father, thank You so much that throughout everything that we’ve been faced with, and during everything that we may still experience in the future, we can know that we are Yours, You are ours and that we are safe in the palm of Your hand. I thank You for Your peace in these trying times. Father, thank you so much for Your love that covers us and surrounds us. Thank You that we can know that in You we have all that we will ever need. (Melanie)
Holy Spirit, our Helper, our Comforter, our Advocate, our Intercessor, our Counsellor, our Strength and our Standby… We forget too quickly and too easily. Our memory of 2020 becomes distorted when we look around us. It seems that as the Christmas decorations come up, people forget. But Spirit of Truth help us, come and work in our hearts, our minds and in our spirits so that we will remember but not like the world does; we want to remember as God spoke, Jesus lived, and the Spirit of Truth taught. (Zilke)
Father, You are in control of what sometimes seems like chaos. And thank You that as we close off the year of 2020, Father as we are coming into the final stretch of this year; that we can declare that: You are good! We give You glory! We declare: Glory to God in the highest. Thank You for the gift of Jesus, thank You for the perfect gift in an imperfect setting and that, that same gift is for us Father – for our year, for our lives and for our circumstances. Thank You for Your peace that You give to Your people. We love You Lord. (Jackie)
Heavenly Father, thank You for this time together today. Thank You that we can know Your plans are perfect and good. Please give us the strength and the patience we need to trust You with everything in our lives. You know each person’s heart listening to this, You know what they are going through, what they are planning and what they are waiting for Lord. Will You whisper to them Your will, with Your soft calm voice and help them to become still, to clearly hear You and to obey You? Thank You for loving us, guiding us, protecting us and making us prosper. Forgive us when we try to do things in our own strength, thank You for all Your blessings and please help us to share them with others. (Welmarie)
Lord, we would acknowledge personally, and corporately, that this has been a really hard year. May we wait patiently to see YOUR HAND, turning challenges into victories! May we sense YOUR PRESENCE in a powerful way, as we each walk through our own personal fires. May we feel your comfort, as we ask for YOUR HEALING touch. May we move forward in victory, knowing that we have the only answer for PEACE in this pandemic – a personal relationship with YOU. Whether we are gathered or scattered, heal us, use us, and grant us YOUR 50/20 vision. We love you, LORD. In Jesus’ precious Name, Amen. (Mary-Lynn)
Amen.
(This WRAP is with great appreciation to Jackie, Welmarie, Melanie, Zilke and Mary-Lynn)
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