Thankful Thursday

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His Name. For the Lord is good and His love
endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."- Psalm
100:4-5

Lord, I come before you this morning with a heaviness upon me. I know that in these times, with these feelings, I need to lift my hands and praise. It is funny, I almost forgot this is Thursday. I usually post my TT late Wed. night, but You knew, Lord, I would need to "encourage myself in the Lord" as David did. I choose now to encourage myself in You.

Lord, even now, as I hear the thunder, I know that You are in control, Sovereign God. I am thankful that You are with us, even in scary times. You are walking with us as we go through the waters. You tell us in Isaiah, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with; when you pass through rivers, they will not sweep over you." Lord, I am thankful that You, as You watch over us, never sleep. Your are "the shade at my right hand; the sun will not harm us by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep us from ALL harm- He will watch over our lives. The LORD will watch over our coming and going both now and forevermore."

Lord, thank You that You are our Protector. You are on our side. "...the flood WOULD HAVE swallowed us alive; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away." Lord, I am believing the flood will NOT overcome us. You are on our side. "If God be for us, who dare be against us?" Lord, even now, as the lightening and thunder are coming stronger, and it raining, even gently, I am pleading Father, cease the storm. Quiet us with Your love. Quiet our hearts, but quiet the rain.

I am thankful God, that You are the King of kings, Lord of Lords. I am thankful that You are Lord, Almighty. You are STILL in control. With tornadoes, earthquakes, droughts, famines, floods.....You are still our God and we are still Your people. I thank You that You are Sovereign God. I thank You that You love me. I thank You that Jesus reminds us, "In this world you WILL have trouble, (He doesn't stop there), but take heart, I have overcome the world." Jesus, You have overcome this world. We have hope and a future. You are Jehovah.

As the thunder continues to get louder, the house shakes.

Please pray for our community. Please pray for our family as Brian is traveling on business. I pray that he has an office to come home to as his company is located downtown where the flood is. There is a mandatory evacuation down there and the flood waters are expected to break the all time record. Not only are people losing their homes, but businesses, which are vital to families, are in danger, too.

Thank you for all of your kind words and prayers.

Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous. Trust in the Lord with all your heart.