During my devotions this morning, I read something that I thought I’d share with you:

When the foundations are shaking and you wish you could hide, remember that God is still in control. His power is not diminished by any turn of events. Nothing happens without his knowledge and permission. When you feel like running…run to God. He will restore justice and goodness on the earth in his time. – Life Applications.

It’s day 14. I am technically two thirds of the way with this fast. I won’t lie, there are days that my body and my soul don’t really want to be thankful…but that’s when I have to learn to put on the whole armor of God and thank Him anyway.

In spite of how I feel, I know praise is the gateway to victory. I don’t know how the principle works, but that’s ok. I don’t know how a brown cow can eat green grass, produce white milk, red meat and yellow cheese. But as I am going through this fast of not complaining, I see God doing some things in my life. So far, God has send 3 angels to pour into my life just when I needed it, He’s opened doors that I thought were closed, and He’s really giving me the unction to keep pressing on despite what the enemy throws my way. Some areas that I am praying for are still being worked on, but God is just doing awesome and unexpected things in other areas.

Over the next few days though, I’ve been instructed to thank God for those things that ‘be not’. That’s not so easy. Because for many of us, from where we sit, things don’t look too good. It looks like that relationship/marriage will never work out, that you’ll never be able to pay off your mortgage, that you’ll never find a job, that you’ll never finish that degree. But that’s the thing when you’re on these long fasts: they are supposed to get harder by the day.

The enemy can’t do much about you thanking God for your past. Because as long as it happened, you have the choice to recall it. But he will try his damnedest to stop you from thanking God for your present and for your future.See when you can thank God for what you cannot see, I think it shows that the devil has no control over you. Because no matter what he brings, you’re gonna praise God ANYWAY.

So to start on this chapter, I want us to thank God for restoration.

I have to be broad about this, because I know that each of us may want something different restored. It may be a house for someone, a marriage for another, hope for another, joy for another, trust for another. But this is where we get into crazy faith, and shame the devil. I know exactly what I need God to restore for me. But whatever it is that you want to see restored, position yourself in ‘it’ in the future. I can guarantee that it won’t be easy. Envisioning a bright future in your head is always clouded by the grey ‘present’ in your heart. So you’ve got to push through that, and see with spiritual eyes what it is that you want God to restore. Once you get it, thank God for it. So if you can see yourself laughing and being joyful, Say “Lord I thank you that my joy is restored”. “…that my trust is restored”. “that my marriage is restored”.

You don’t have to understand it. I’ll guarantee you that it won’t make sense. But the more you give thanks for what you want God to restore, the less likely you’ll be to complain that it will never happen. And the lesser you speak death about the situation, the more you’ll give God ‘fertile’ soil to restore it. So today I am giving God thanks for restoring my peace, my joy, my strength, and everything that died contrary to His Word for my life.

 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that Iam the Lord.”’” Ezekiel 37:4-6

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