February 20th

What has God done for you in your life?  Don't be so quick to shrug off the question. Stop for a moment (seriously), get a piece of paper and a pen and write down some of the things that God has done for you in your life.  I'll wait while you do this….

Some of you may be struggling in your lives right now and for some you have been struggling for years.  You may find this to be a difficult task.  I will assure you that God has done things in your life no matter how difficult your life seems.

The Israelites didn't think they had a lot to write down on their list.  They were salves in a foreign land for over 400 years and that last year was a really tough one with having to make bricks and provide their own straw for them as well.  Having to listen to the Egyptians blame them for months because of the plagues.  A person can only take so much ridicule.  They had to walk in a desert to reach the Promised Land.  Why couldn't God just have waved His hand and placed them there, after all they had just suffered for 400 years, it's the least He could have done. Rather then build a bridge for them to cross over the Red Sea they had to walk through the parted waters.  It was horrible; those walls of water could have fallen on them at any moment. So they got a little nervous because Moses, their leader, was a long time in returning to them from the mountain and they tried to take control and build that idol.  I mean come on it did just pop out of the fire like Aaron said, right?  God expected them to go into a strange land and tell the people there, who where bigger and stronger then they were, to leave because God said so.  Come on now, some hurdles ARE just too big to jump over.  Because of this they had to wander in the dessert for 40 years without sun block.  There was no Shoprite at the bottom of Mt. Sinai and they had to eat the same thing day after day, dry flakes of bread and quail.  A person can only take so much quail before they are ready to become a vegetarian.   They had to deal with sickness and death on an unimaginable scale.  They had to deal with snakes, snakes people.  They didn't know when those pesky serpents would show up in their beds.  More death from those snakes.  People, countries, wouldn't help them and let them cross through their land.  These poor, poor people just couldn't cut a break no matter which way they turned.

Now, you and I know the whole story.  But, I am pretty sure that this is how the Israelites could have looked at their lives.  It's what they would have put on their lists. What in the paragraph above is there anything to be joyful about in which they would want to celebrate their lives???  Nothing.  But, there is a lot missing isn't there?

What's missing? Seeing God's provisions!!!

God heard their cry from slavery and sent someone to free them.  He spared them from several of the plagues but most importantly from the plague of death.  They had to walk through walls of water to escape. This was scary but God used that to destroy their enemies.  When they made an idol in their lives at the bottom of that mountain God spared them rather then destroy them.  When they lacked trust in God to take care of the giants in their lives, again, God spared them.  He caused them to wander for a little bit so that they could learn more about Him and learn about the trust they needed to have in Him.  They may not have had the rich flavorful abundance of food that they had in Egypt but God provided for their needs every single day.  They didn't even have to do anything but gather His blessings.  Sickness and death is a sad part of life that they had to deal with on a constant basis.  God still spared many and at times, with the bronze snake, He offered a way out, a way to be healed but they had to believe that when God says something they needed to trust in what He was saying to be true.

God knows that our tendency is to see the negative in our situations.  To plan elaborate pity parties in our honor so that we can be affirmed that we live in such dire circumstance.  So God said I want you to hold feasts.  Not just one but several.  I want you to have a different kind of party.  I want you to bring your lists of things I HAVE done FOR you (not what you think He is doing to you) and I want you to remember them and to celebrate the life I have given to you.  These feasts were all reminders of what God had done for them.  They weren't to be quick little get togethers but lengthy, praiseworthy, celebrations of a Mighty God who loves us beyond our faults and shortcomings.  He doesn't want us focusing on the giants in our lives but the Giant God who can do all things through you if you just learn to trust Him and His ways.  After all His ways are higher then ours, just read Jeremiah. 

We don't need to give animal sacrifices or wave a loaf of bread to the Lord.  What God does want is for us to remember what He has done and to trust Him with our lives by giving him our hearts and waving our hands in praise of who He is – He is a God who loves you very much.  We aren't to do this mindlessly or quickly.  We are to do this constantly with thought and thanksgiving according to what we have stored up in our hearts.

"Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you." Deut 16:17. 

You are to praise Him according to what He has done for you, how he has blessed you.  Your reward for doing this?  It's not a problem free life (sorry to disappoint) but joy completed.

"For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of you hands, and your joy will be complete." Deut 16:15

Our joy comes from remembering what an awesome God we have.  He is our joy, our portion and our strength.  Don't forget that.  Don't be blinded by circumstances.

How does your list look now?  Do you think you may have to tweak it a bit?
Perhaps you need to spend a little more time remembering what God has done for you?
How often do you spend feasting on the memories of what God has done for you?
What do you have stored up in your hearts? Are you going to bring a portion of that to the LORD?  If it's fear or anger you might need to do some heart surgery first.
How are you going to move forward in making sure you celebrate the LORD's provisions in your life and on a more consistent basis?