Psalm 103:1-5 - "Oceans - Where Feet May Fall"

"Oh no! I left my sermon either in the truck when Doc dropped me off or at the house! I will not panic!" After these thoughts went through my head I immediately prayed for the Lord to give me direction and felt at peace. I wrote the sermon weeks ago when I first found out about the service at Teen Challenge. I tweaked it a couple times and read it through yesterday  morning so I knew I was familiar with it but I also knew I would never remember everything in it. Prior to praying at the beginning I knew I had Psalm 103:1-5 that I was going to read so I pulled that up on my phone only to have the internet stop in the middle of reading it. After borrowing a Bible and reading it, I began to pray and had the sense that I needed to pray the enemy out of the place. He was trying to stop my efforts. The Lord was glorified instead of the enemy winning. That was evident the entire service.

• Praise and Worship was amazing as the room was filled with melodious voices raised up to the Lord.
• After Praise and Worship Adavee handed me the rough draft of my sermon that I had given her for her selection of music. It was not the finished product but it had what I needed to be able to remember what I needed to.
• During the sermon the Holy Spirit gave me His words to say that were specific to some instances that I had no knowledge of.
• As Adavee sang the last song, I asked the girls to bow their heads and listen to what the Lord wanted to say to them. There were many tears during that time. He was speaking to them personally.
• After our time of prayer was over I asked them if they would like to sing the song with Adavee. Once again, the tears flowed. Woo hoo! Thank You Jesus! The smiles on many faces were a gift to me.

I am not sure why things happened as they did yesterday but I believe the Lord was seeing if I was truly living out what I preached about.

• Did I trust Him?
• Did I rely on Him?
• Was I fully surrendered to Him?

Thankfully, He found out that yes I am living what I preached. When I realized I didn't have my sermon, I prayed and trusted in Him to enable me to not panic. I relied on Him for direction on what to do. If I would not be fully surrendered to Him, I would have started crying and fallen apart. Lynn asked if I wanted her to go get it but I said "No, it will be OK." And it was. 

My God is so awesome in the ways He works! 

My God is awesome in taking me deeper into relationship with Him so that I can be blessed in some huge ways by Him. 

My God is awesome for being the One who is with me every step of each day.

I am reminded of the closing song from yesterday...

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

I called upon Him for peace and direction...He immediately responded.

I kept my eyes focused on Him instead of allowing the enemy a foothold...He gave me exactly what I needed.

All of this happened because of His love, mercy and grace. I am blessed when I sing "For I am Yours and You are mine" that I truly know I am living it.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for the challenges of yesterday that enabled me to show You that I am fully relying on You in my life. Thank You for Your direction yesterday morning when I realized I needed someone to take me to therapy at the last minute. Thank You for Your direction when I realized I didn't have my sermon with me yesterday afternoon. Thank You Father for the way You answered prayers yesterday for my dear friend going through a tough day at work and for my friends who have their dear Momma's funeral today. Thank You for Your encouragement as I dealt with leg pain yesterday. Lord, You are My Healer and I am so grateful for that knowledge. You are the One who healed me spiritually many years ago and throughout the years has healed me physically. You are the One! Woo hoo! Lord, once again I ask for You to fill me up with more of You and less of me so You can shine through me. Thank You for the words of encouragement from my dear friend Julie this morning! I loved the direction it gave..."Ask My Spirit to live through you as you wend your way through this day. Hold My hand in joyful trust, for I never leave your side. The Light of My Presence is shining upon you. Brighten up the world by reflecting who I am." Yes! That is exactly my prayer for this day! Use me, Father, to be a reflection for You. Thank You Jesus for being My Presence! Amen.