Warriors Arise: November 19, 2021
Exodus 19:16-20 (NKJV) Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. 20 Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain.
Yes, I am spending another day on this but I feel it is important for Believers to grasp the concept that God knows when we should celebrate. Maybe the children of Israel, thought they had already celebrated when Moses busted out in a song and had Mariam's encore with tambourine and dance was enough. They were headed to the land God had set a side for them, the Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey. They had already celebrated, right?
The problem is that the main guest, the guest of honor, wasn't at their spontaneous celebration. They gave thanks to what God had done; but God wasn't there, at least not in the fashion He wanted to be. I am sure He was totally blessed by their outburst of song and dance. It probably made Him all the more expectant for when they would meet. Maybe He even added a little more to the preparations being made for the celebration at Mt. Sinai.
There are times when I know God has gotten me through tight squeeze, a rough situation. I know He has made a crooked path straight or provided a river in the desert and I instantly respond like Moses and Marian. I may even shout out my praise to the Lord and recap what He has done. I am in awe that He acted on my behalf and cared enough to rescue me. I know He heard my praise for what He had done. But what about the times when God calls me to prepares to meet Him, to sanctify myself, wash my clothes, and come when His presence begins to manifest. I wonder if I have missed these moments, these meetings, this time of celebration. I wonder if I have missed a party God planned? Was my spontaneous praise enough? Is that even the right question? Maybe it isn't even about my spontaneous praise, that was all good, accepted and pleasing to God. Maybe it is about God wanting to celebrate with me. He wanted to throw the party. He wanted to engage deeper with me. He wanted the praise to last longer than a moment of acknowledgement.
Let's think about this. It is good for us to have spontaneous praise when we have seen God do the miraculous in our lives. That is like saying, happy birthday to someone or sending them a message on Facebook, which is a good thing. What if you were invited to that person's birthday celebration. How is participating in the celebration different from sending a card or Facebook message?
Celebrating someone's birthday is a big deal to me. I do not believe anyone is here by accident. I believe God elected the exact time, place, and family each person is born into. I believe people are aligned in order to accomplish specific God opportunities and great exploits with God. When we celebrate people's birthday we are giving honor to God's specific timing for that person. This is something God has grown in me. I have not always felt this way and I have been terrible at remembering people's birthdays. It is one reasonI am thankful for Facebook reminders. I like to send birthday blessings/greetings to friends I don't even know that well. Even though, I don't know them, I want them to be blessed on their birthday be able to share what they did to celebrate. I ask a question, "How did you celebrate your birthday?" I want to plant in their mind that they are worth celebrating. I am hoping they know not only that I am wishing them a happy birthday, but God is celebrating them. I think we should anticipate God wanting to meet with us and celebrate our birthdays. He has great plans for each one of us. He wants to remind us of what we have been through, what He can do and is doing for us, and He wants to remind us of the dreams He has placed inside of us. Next time when your birthday comes, expect to meet with God. Set aside a little extra time with Him. Ask Him to remind you of the dreams He put inside of you.
In the same manner, when God has done something in your life He is expecting to meet with you. He is preparing a party. Moses and Mariam's spontaneous song and dance were like being invited to the celebration. Remember back to being a child and someone asking you to come to their birthday party. Remember how excited you were that you got the invitation? You immediately connected with that person and the others who were invited. You were set apart. You were expecting that day. You couldn't wait to go home and tell your parents about the invite. You might have been in a little bit of fear that they wouldn't let you go. You couldn't wait for the day of their party to arrive. Your parents wouldn't have to remind you, the event was locked into your mind and the excitement built every day. You might not have even recognized who didn't get an invited. Some of us, may remember the pain of not getting the invitation but seeing someone pass them out to others. But here and now, in your life, God sends the invitation. He wants you to come to the party. The party was not when Moses and Mariam broke out into song. The party was set for Mt. Sinai.
Can you remember a time when you spontaneously thanked God for what He did in your life? Maybe He provided for a bill to be paid, an accident to be avoided (by a deer, someone not paying attention to the road or other vehicles, or a child running out into the road), a victory you didn't think was possible or giving you an opportunity that couldn't have happened unless God was involved. Do you remember thanking Him for it? Do you think for some of those miraculous events God might have set aside time and invited you to a celebration of the event? I think He does.
There are times when I have experienced the hand of God working things out in my life, making a way for me when there didn't seem to be a way, providing for something that I didn't think was possible and couldn't achieve on my own, but God intervened. I had thanked Him at the time, I even broke out into a time of blessing Him for what He did, what I thought was the miraculous. Then a few days later, I was reminded of what He did, as if it was an invitation to come aside from what I was doing to go meet with Him. There wasn't thundering or lighting. There weren't trumpets blasting nor a cloud ascending; however, I knew it was God inviting me to meet with Him. He was present to be celebrated for what He had done and for me to see the fullness of what He had done just for me. He was ready to meet with me, so that I would know what was ahead, the plans He had for me and the greatness of His provision in my life and for my life. It was a refocusing on His plans for my life. I wasn't supposed to return to "life as normal." Like Patsy Clarmount said, "Normal is only a setting on your dryer." When we have been invited to God's celebration, He intends to deepen our relationship in such a way that He never wants us to return to what we were before His miraculous involvement.
Father, there are too many times I tried to return to normal. I wanted things to be the way they were. But that means I didn't really see the value of the miraculous You did in my life. I didn't honor Your plan, what You had done or what You were offering me. God, I missed it. I missed You. I missed the celebration so many times. Will You forgive me for not valuing You? When I didn't value You, come to meet with You, I didn't value what You had done. I was wrong. Open my eyes to see Your involvement in my life. I will honor and celebrate You. I want every fiber of my being to know when You are calling me to come away and to celebrate with You. You are my God. You do incredible acts of the miraculous, things I couldn't have done on my own. I want to celebrate You. There should be so much more than my spontaneous worship. I want my heart, mind and being to be in tune and respond when You are ready to meet, when you have the celebration ready. I will make myself ready and come in Jesus' name amen.
A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,
Veridee Joy Hand
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