Today’s Reading:
Psalm 22
Isaiah 44
6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
Isaiah 44:6-8
‘I am the first and I am the last,
And there is no God besides Me.
7 ‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it;
Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,
From the time that I established the ancient nation.
And let them declare to them the things that are coming
And the events that are going to take place.
8 ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And you are My witnesses.
Is there any God besides Me,
Or is there any other Rock?
I know of none.’”
The Spirit of the Lord says,
I Am the stability of your times. I Am the stability of all times. I Am the Ancient of Days. I Am your solid rock, your firm foundation, your tower of refuge and strength. I Am the unmoving, unchanging One. Back up from your problems. Take a step away from your worries, concerns and stresses. Just get a little removed from them, and begin to worship. Begin to be filled with the oil of My joy. Begin to be filled with laughter that makes no sense except that you have been in My Presence. Be filled with light and hope and peace that passes all understanding. Be consumed with worship, with communion, with delight. When you recall your problem, your worry, your struggle, you will be able to view it differently. You will be able to view it with the heart and eyes of someone who has been in the Presence of the Eternal God, of unfathomable wisdom and of no impossibilities.
Come, step away from your problems and come to where you belong, where you were designed to dwell, in the Presence of your Most High God, in the Presence of the One who has every answer, the One who is faithful and the One in whom there is no deceit or plan for harm.
26 The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Psalm 22:26
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice in My Presence. Get your hopes up! Get your spirit up! Lift your countenance and dance in worship. I Am the Ancient of Days. I Am the One in whom there is no shifting shadow or changing ways. I Am the solid rock and your firm foundation. I Am your anchor and your immovable One. Stir up your most holy faith — in backing away from your problems, your woes, your struggles and the strife that entangles you. Back away from those. Get some distance from those in your heart and your sight, and worship Me with abandon. You will see that it does transformative work in you. You will see that it does healing work in you. You will see that it causes anxiety and fear to flee. Worship with abandon as your problems have to sit there and watch. Delight yourself in Me. Stir up joy. Stir up faith. Stir up bright hope for tomorrow.
22 I will tell of Your name to my brethren;
Psalm 22:22-24
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from him;
But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
Give yourself to worship. Don’t hold back. Don’t reserve some fear, some stress, some hopelessness for later, believing that it can stave off disappointment. Rise up and shine with full abandon. Leave no corner of your heart darkened or unavailable to Me. Full abandon. I Am calling you to full abandon in worship, in faith, in trust, in delight.
Why should you reserve some lingering doubt? Why should you not put all of your chips onto My table? I Am calling you to live with abandon, to worship with abandon, to move with abandon — reserving nothing in the column of in case the Lord fails. Zero out that account. I never fail. I never lose. I never lie. It’s all chips on the table time. It’s full abandon with your full heart time. It’s burn the bridges and burn the plows time. It’s burn the backup plan time. I Am the Ancient of Days, the first and the last. I Am your first plan, your second plan, your next plan and your every plan. Make no other plan but Me. You need no plan B.
Burn the bridges built on doubt, built on self-protection, built on the idea of lessening some potential blow. Go all in with Me, the God of the impossible. Go all in in worship, and watch as I change your heart, your mind, your mouth. Watch as I change you and shift your life and circumstances into proper alignment. When all hope is lost, abandon yourself in worship. When the day is bright, and things look right, abandon yourself in worship. My work never fails. My love never fails. I never fail.
How to Respond
- Identify every problem, worry, stress, concern and trouble that has stolen joy and worship from you. Name them and give each one to the Lord. Then worship with abandon. Worship until your heart is free and your spirit is light, until you can see with hope-filled eyes, until your heart is filled with joy and laugher and your future is once again filled with possibilities.
- Pray, Lord thank You for giving us worship as a way to connect and commune with You, as a way to drop our burdens, and as a way to heal our hearts and bring rest and peace to our minds. You are so good to us.
- Declare, No problem, worry or fear is too big for my God. My God never lies, never fails, never loses. He is God Most High. He is the Ancient of Days — immovable, reliable and unchanging.
- Decree, I will worship with abandon. I will burn every bridge built on doubt, built on hedging my bets, built on self-protection. I will put all of my chips on the table of the Lord, and I will worship until He changes me.
For more encouragement from Glory & the New Wine, check out the post from this day one year ago: Your Life Is a Beautiful Garden.
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