Fig Tree Praise

‘Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
 and the fields lie empty and barren… yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!’ Hab.3:17-18

Worry and gratitude really cannot cohabit. You cannot be worried and be grateful at the same time. The children of Israel totally gave themselves to worrying that it was almost impossible to sustain their gratitude to God. When they met opposition on their way to the Promised Land, a lot of the time they grumbled and complained. And this made God frustrated with them. God was saying and is saying to you and I today, “don’t you understand who I Am? Don’t you understand that I cannot take you from Egypt and allow you to die in the wilderness? Don’t you understand that I am able to deliver and I am able to set free?” When you come before God, you need to understand that inspite of what we are currently facing, it may be that your landlord has just given you a quit notice, but if you understand that God’s plan for you is to own your own houses you will just smile. Not because the quit notice is funny but because you know that one-day you will look back at this day and say glory be to God! Have you seen a grateful person that is worried? It’s difficult. Neither can you see a worried person that is grateful. It’s difficult to e grateful and be worrying at the same time. And God is saying in all things give thanks! Not for all things but in all things. So say to God today that inspite of all that you are going through, you will thank Him. So they are about to kick the children out of school and there is no school fees. And you still don’t know where the school fees will come from. Guess what, God wants you to thank Him this morning. Will you thank Him? And that’s where God wants to get us to, a place where we are grateful inspite of the pressures; a place where we can just truly say thank you to God inspite of how bleak things appear. Not because we are in denial but because we know that weeping may endure for the night but joy is coming in the morning. We are not only able to say thank you to God verbally but we are also able to bring offerings to Him in thanksgiving inspite of our want.

Prayer [song]: Lord, [I] bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord (2x). Lord [I] offer unto You the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Lord [I] offer unto You the sacrifice of praise. Amen.