Oh let this grateful heart ever be at a loss
To describe all You've given to me
Oh let my every breath be exhausted and spent
In response to what I don't deserve
Your grace so marvelous
All sufficient and free
Is more, more than enough
To redeem and rescue me
Oh let Your sacrifice ever capture my thoughts
Like an anchor lest I should forget
Oh let the precious blood that has purchased my life
Never be less than my anything
Oh let this song of praise ever rise from my lips
From this moment 'til we're face to face
Oh let it then be heard in my loudest refrain
Thank you Lord, that You saved even me.
Your grace, so marvelous
All sufficient and free
Is more, more than enough
To redeem and rescue me.
And as we were singing this song, the tears won't stop flowing from my cheeks. I kept thinking how grateful I am to God for all the things He has done for me and my family. Thoughts kept playing in my head, of how He has provided for all my needs, being grateful for the times that I was sick and He healed me. Grateful that I have not lacked any thing throughout the year. I thought how He has poured out His supernatural favor when we least expected it.
Oh, how good is my Father in heaven! If not for His grace, I don't know where I'd be today. If not for His mercy, I would not be able to stand in church worshipping Him. If not for His love, I would not be able to raise my hands and sing. If not for His sacrifice, I would not be even able to lift my voice and sing.
So grateful. I cannot even fully express my gratitude- all I could do is raise my hands in worship, and sing my heart out.
And then, the message was this:as we look towards 2018, we should look forward to NEW WAYS, NEW DAYS and NEW LEVELS. Our Pastor encouraged us that we should not be satisfied with where we are right now, but we should be hungry for more. And we should always remember that when God is involved, nothing is impossible.
When God calls us to do something, we should not be afraid even when we don't know everything. The first part of the verse in Isaiah 45 verse 2 says "I will go before you". Therefore, whenever we go do something for God, we should bear in mind that He has already gone before us. He is our forerunner. And He always equips us to do something He asks us to do.
So, as we look forward for the coming year, let not the lessons of yesterday confine us in doing greater things for tomorrow.
Four things He shared to encourage with:
FOCUS. Focus on what God has for you. The opposite of focus is distraction. It is so easy to get distracted. Distractions are things that are irrelevant to what God has for us. let us not dwell on those. Let us focus on what God has for us.
SOW SEEDS NOW. The future is dependent on what we do today. As in all things, if we don't sow, we should not expect a harvest. So what do we need to sow? We sow kindness. We sow faith. We sow generosity. We declare the good things that God has done, and more so the things He has yet to do. We go higher in life by going deeper with God. The height that we soar is dependent on how deep our relationship with God is.
DON'T GIVE UP. Hebrews 10:23 says, 'Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.' God never fails. If He has promised something, He will definitely bring it to pass. Have you been disappointed? Hope again. Have you been betrayed? Trust again. Have you been hurt? Forgive and love again. We should always keep moving, so that we can see His hand at work in our lives.
BE THANKFUL. We should always be thankful, for both the small and the big things. Thankfulness prepares us for what God has in store for us. If we are thankful, God sees our hearts, and He is pleased to give us more than we could ever hope or imagine.
So, as we look back to what has happened to us this year, let us take time to give thanks to God, for all He has done. And as we look forward to what the new year has in store for us, let us give thanks to what He has in store for us.
Have a blessed new year everyone!
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