The theme of forgiveness has been on my mind quite a bit lately. I've had to forgive some people who have wronged my family members. I've had to forgive those who have wronged me. At times it has been a daily matter. But for us, Christians, there is no option, if we want to be forgiven by our heavenly Father, we will have to forgive those who hurt us.

It is easy to forgive some people and some matters, but then, there are those that are truly hard to forgive. I must admit, some of the matters I've had to forgive have been really very petty, but bitterness towards those who wronged me seemed so sweet... and of course, so completely "justified"... I almost felt the Lord being on my side, understanding the grudge I so desired to hold on to.

Yet, the Bible is very clear about the matter, exhorting us, "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings." (Mark 11:25-26)

There is no "oh, poor you!" coming from the Lord. He forgave us our trespasses - and those are no small thing - and He expects us to forgive. True, most of the time we cannot do it on our own. We honestly need the Lord's help to forgive. But He promised to strengthen us and help us if we ask Him to. He is happy to do that. Actually, He does not even expect us to forgive in our own strength - which would give us the feeling of being so righteous - He wants us to rely on His help and power.

Paul let us know in Galatians 5:17 that, "the desires of the flesh are opposed to the [Holy] Spirit, and the [desires of the] Spirit are opposed to the flesh (godless human nature); for these are antagonistic to each other [continually withstanding and in conflict with each other], so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do."

Yet, there is hope for us - walking in the Spirit. Verse 16 promises, "But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God)."

God has by no means given us commands and then demanded us to fulfill them in our own strength and power. He has given us supernatural power right from Heaven to live within us. When we allow the Spirit of God to strengthen and empower us, we will be able to forgive. Paul, in the book of Ephesians, teaches us how to do that: "be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], and put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness." (4:23-24)

Daily renewing of our minds with the Word of God, thus communing with the Lord, is the way we keep free from all unforgiveness... which, the research reveals, has powerfully negative effects on a human body too.BR>

The Word teaches us that we are three part beings and we do not function perfectly unless we take good care of each part. Each part of our being is intertwined with another. We cannot separate body from mind nor mind from the spirit. It consequently means that each part of our being influences another. When we are sick in our bodies, we are also sick in our minds and spirits. Also, if we are sick in our minds - in our thoughts - we are sick in our bodies and spirits.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, "May your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)."

No wonder the Lord exhorts us to build up our spirits - the core part of our beings - allowing our spirit to be in charge of our minds and bodies. This is the only way to complete health and wellbeing. Hereby I would like to share with You the scientific and medical research that has been conducted on the influence of unforgiveness on our bodies.

God created us to function perfectly when we follow the user's manual - the Bible. Research proves that doing what God asks of us, influences the health of our spirit, mind and body.

Nearly every religion believes in the power of forgiveness to heal the soul — now medical and psychological researchers have confirmed it also heals the body.

Unforgiveness, which often occurs as a result of having been hurt, humiliated, angered, or having suffered fear or loss, feelings of guilt, or envy, can have profound affects on the way your body functions. Like proper nutrition and exercise, researchers say, forgiveness appears to be a behavior that a person can learn, exercise and repeat as needed to prevent disease and preserve health.

Physically the body responds to unforgiveness as it does to stress: muscles tighten, causing imbalances or pain in the neck, back and limbs. Blood flow to the joint surfaces is decreased, making it more difficult for the blood to remove wastes from the tissues and reducing the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the cells. Normal processes of repair and recovery from injury or arthritis are impaired. Clenching of the jaws contributes to problems with teeth and jaw joints. Headaches are probable. Chronic pain may be worsened, blood flow to the heart is constricted, digestion is impaired, breathing is restricted. The immune system functions less well, increasing vulnerability to infections and perhaps malignancy. Injuries and accidents through inattention are more likely.

"Harboring a grudge affects us spiritually and physically," says Dr.Joseph A. Favazza, the dean of general education and a religious studies professor at Stonehill College in Easton, South Africa.

But the damage goes far beyond the emotional — holding onto that grudge affects your heart function, your waistline, your ability to fight off colds.

How?

A clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University, Everett L. Worthington Jr., who is widely considered one of the foremost experts on forgiveness in the world, took up the study of forgiveness eight years before his mother was murdered in 1996, and his brother subsequently committed suicide. Although a suspect was arrested and police said he initially confessed to the crime, irregularities in the handling of evidence resulted in the suspect being released. Nevertheless, Worthington says, he had run the full course of shock, anger and grief and was ready to forgive in less than a month after his mother's death.

Dr. Worthington says, "Harboring a grudge is a personal stressor. Any chronic stressor takes a physical toll. It will affect your immune function and cardio function, your heart rate, your blood pressure; it will increase the stress hormone that causes the body to store fat."

"When your brain is stimulated because of stress, it causes your body to release the stress hormone cortisol, which combines with fat and gets stored at your waistline where the body can get it (easily.) Chronically elevated cortisol is the universal bad boy of modern-day living. It affects your cardiovascular health, your digestion, your sexual behavior. It harms the reproductive system, your brain, your emotions.

"And every time you think of that person (who wronged you), it sends cortisol into your body."

Mr. James, a motivational speaker and the president of Celebratelove.com, discusses forgiveness in his latest book, "How to Really Love the One You're With", says, "Forgiveness is not for the other person — it's for you," he said. "If you don't forgive, it's like your foot is nailed to the floor. You have to let go."

Mr. James recalled a personal example:

"I was in a seminar once and one of my best friends stood up and shared some painful things about his father ... The instructor said, 'During this break, you need to go call your father and say, 'I love you, Dad.'

"When he came back in, I hardly recognized him. His face was shining."

"Once we forgive, we're no longer held prisoner to the grudge."

"Eruptions of anger at others have been shown, clearly, to increase the risk of heart arrhythmias, heart attacks and high blood pressure", says Dr. Douglas Russell, a Veterans Affairs cardiologist who, in a 2003 study, found that the coronary function of patients who had suffered a heart attack improved after a 10-hour course in forgiveness. But when anger is turned inward and directed at oneself, lack of forgiveness appears likely to have an ongoing, toxic health effect that might be even more corrosive to physical and mental health than anger directed outward.

"Sometimes people hurt us, and we move on, and it might fade," says Toussaint, the psychologist of Luther University in Decorah, Iowa. As he has refined that work with better definitions of forgiveness, however, Toussaint says he has been surprised to learn that those who hold onto self-blame might suffer more. "Forgiveness of self holds the more powerful punch," Toussaint says. "The effects are dramatic."

In work not yet published, Toussaint found that men who do not forgive themselves readily are seven times more likely to meet the full diagnostic criteria for clinical depression than men who do. Highly self-forgiving women are three times less likely to have the symptoms of clinical depression — a risk factor for a host of ills — than their sisters who are prone to regret and self-blame. Those more forgiving of themselves also sleep more and are in better overall health, he has found. He also has found that women (who typically outlive men) are more forgiving than men.

Kathleen Row, the chair of the psychology department at East Carolina University, who has studied correlations between a person’s health and the ability to forgive for over 25 years, says, that in her research she has found a marked difference in the blood pressure and heart rate recovery levels of those who can more easily forgive compared to those who cannot. “You literally carry it around with you,” says Row, comparing unforgiveness to a heavy sack we have to constantly carry around.

Yet another researcher, Dr. Frederic Luskin at Stanford concludes his studies, saying, "The thing about long-term or unresolved anger is we've seen it resets the internal thermostat. When you get used to a low level of anger all the time, you don't recognize what's normal. It creates a kind of adrenaline rush that people get used to. It burns out the body and makes it difficult to think clearly -- making the situation worse." He adds that when the body releases certain enzymes during anger and stress, cholesterol and blood pressure levels go up -- not a good long-term position to put the body in.

"Life throws you curves, and most of us don't start off emotionally prepared to deal with them," Dr. Luskin says. "That arrogance keeps us from being healthy. Basically, at some point you have to realize that, even if your mother was distant to you when you were a child, you can't live in the present and say, 'I can never be OK, because my mother was distant when I was a child.' It's unfortunate that it happened, but at some point you have to move forward and let it go."

Jeffrey R., a Maryland man whose father sexually molested him and three siblings as children, acknowledges that self-blame and denial after the abuse has exacted a terrible cost on his family. Two older brothers — both of whom have refused to discuss their father's actions — have had seven heart attacks between them before the age of 60. One is a drug addict for whom a longtime stomach ailment now threatens to become deadly. Another lives alone, "eats unhealthy, lives unhealthy," says Jeffrey, a member of Survivors After Incest who spoke on condition that his full name not be revealed.

"When you have this background, you become very skilled at pretending things are OK, just ignoring it," Jeffrey says. Meanwhile, the guilt, shame and anger, he says, "are just consuming."

After nine suicide attempts and decades of contending with temper and suspicion toward others, Jeffrey says he's not ready to forgive the father who did it, the mother who looked the other way or the aunts and uncles who, after the abuse came to light, refused to discuss it. His sister, who was raped by her father at 5, has embraced forgiveness, says Jeffrey, telling her brother God will judge their father. Jeffrey insists he's let go of the anger and bitterness caused by his abuse, and it "has saved my life."

R.T. Kendall, in his book "Sensitivity of the Spirit", brings out an interesting point... something so logical, yet, I had never thought about it myself. He says, "One of the gifts of the Spirit is the ability to distinguish between spirits (1 Cor.12:10). Some people assume that this means only the ability to recognize the demonic. This is a lopsided emphasis. For it also, if not primarily, means the ability to recognize the genuine Holy Spirit. It is one thing to be an "expert" in the area of the demonic - quite another to be able to discern the genuine presence of God. If anything, it takes a higher level of spirituality to recognize the real than it does to detect the counterfeit. It is just as important to discern when God is present as when Satan is active." (Author's emphasis) (page 130)

I believe that often, not even thinking about it, we follow the gift rather than the Giver. We get so used to someone's anointing and gifting in a certain area of expertise that we start following their gifting rather than listen to the Holy Spirit Who has given the gift to the person. We have to remember, though, that the gifts the Lord has given to each of us work even without us being born again. God has given His gifts - His grace - to every person alive. His gifts work in unbelievers just as well as they work in believers. God let us know that in Romans 11:29, saying, "For God's gifts and His call are irrevocable. He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call."

For me personally this means that I will have to be very careful with my gifts. I will have to seek the Lord before I teach and write... for those gifts work apart from Him too. I might say something that is biblically correct but not the Holy Spirit's answer at a given time... which means it won't have the Life of God in it.

Kendall says, "When a Christian, especially a church leader, is highly gifted, that person could function admirably without much immediate help from the Holy Spirit. The Christian orators of this world who possess sharp communicative skills must be very cautious with these abilities. I suspect they could carry on before vast audiences without the anointing of the Spirit if they tried - and few, if any, could tell.

"These natural abilities are not limited to oratorical powers. A Christian who is gifted in making money could continue to do so without a fervent, private prayer life. One could be a lawyer, physician, nurse or writer and be productive without having to forgive his or her enemies, graciously dignify trials or pay tithes. Those looking on would never know whether the presence of the Dove was powerfully present in that person's private life.

"The great danger in this regard is the possibility of self-deception. Because the flow of God's special grace at the level of natural ability seems so real, the individual might think, God is truly with me. If He wasn't, I would not be so good at what I do. The momentum of a natural gifting can go a long way. It is hard to reach or teach people like this. They often see little wrong in their lives. Sometimes it takes tragedy - financial reverse, marriage or family breakdown, serious illness or accident - to get their attention."

I guess Paul understood this truth and therefore said in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that God's "strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness." When we are confident in our gifting, we no longer depend on God the way we did when God first led us out of our comfort zone, into our anointing. We know our strength and we boldly move in it. This is when our strength, in reality, becomes our weakness. When we believe we are strong in a particular area, we stop leaning on God... and the Holy Spirit draws back. Our gift continues to work but there is no power of God... no life of God in them.

No wonder Paul boasted, "Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me! So for the sake of Christ, I am well pleased and take pleasure in infirmities, insults, hardships, persecutions, perplexities and distresses; for when I am weak [in human strength], then am I [truly] strong (able, powerful in divine strength)."

Too often we judge from our human perspective, believing that when things go well, God is with us and blessing us. This may be the case... but then again, it might not. Or, when trials come, we may think that we have messed up somewhere along the way and we are being punished. This too, may be the case... but, we should seek the Lord to find out the truth.

We are walking in the light and truth when we are in constant communion with the Lord. Unfortunately most Christians do not live this way. Sadly, too often there has to be some kind of trouble in our lives for us to draw close to God. When things are well, moving along smoothly, we often wrongly conclude that we are being blessed and we can relax... and too often we do. We lose our loving communion with the Lord and move on with our lives and gifts out of our natural strength and wisdom.

Therefore God has a warning for us. Paul communicates it in Romans 12:3, saying, "I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him."

Jesus Christ - the Anointed One - did not think highly of Himself. He knew that He was called to be the channel for God's power, love, wisdom, rather than make His own decisions while in a human body, walking the earth. He never even moved without getting instructions from the Holy Spirit. He said in John 5:30, "I am able to do nothing from Myself [independently, of My own accord--but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders]. Even as I hear, I judge [I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision], and My judgment is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult My own will [I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose] but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me."

Jesus - the Son of God - was so dependent on the leading of the Spirit of God, yet, we think we can do it on our own... or often we act as though we do. Jesus showed us how to be truly led by the Spirit. Bible says that Jesus "withdrew again to the hillside by Himself alone." (John 6:15) We too need to withdraw from the noise of the world... even from the noise of our fellow believers, in order to tune in to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit - the ONLY voice we are bid to follow. It is the greatest favor we can do to ourselves - to live as close to God as possible... and we will never be moved. God wants us to be so strong and steady in Him, living from the inside out, not allowing the outside things crowd our hearts.

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose]." (1 Cor.15:58)

Our "labor in the Lord" does not mean only ministry work. It really means being led and controlled by the Holy Spirit, using our gift the way the Spirit of God leads us to, being in the right place at the right time, encouraging and being of help to those the Lord leads us to. The deeds that we do when truly being led by the Holy Spirit, are the deeds that have the power and life of God in them. Those are the acts that change lives and bring people closer to the heart of God.

When we move in the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is present in our lives. We can't produce the fruit of the Spirit through our flesh. Though, sure, we may have some of the fruit of the Spirit naturally present in our lives... we also can train to be patient and self-controlled... which, again, may give an impression of us being filled and led by the Spirit of God, but, the genuine peace and calm of God Himself cannot be produced by the flesh.

So, "the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence)." (Gal.5:22-23) Those qualities indicate the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 exhorts us to "ever be filled and stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit." We do lose the genuine presence of the Holy Spirit. Yes, He still is within us, but, as we found out in Ephesians 4:30, we can grieve the Holy Spirit and in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, that we can quench the Holy Spirit through our words, thoughts and actions, so, we do need to daily get into the presence of God and be filled and stimulated with the Holy Spirit, in order to be controlled and led by Him. If we don't, we will be moving on in our natural abilities and strength.

God gave wonderful gifts to each of us... but they were not meant to be used apart from Him. Like Jesus, we too need to wait upon God and become channels to His Spirit, rather than run ahead of Him and try to pull the Spirit along. It will never happen. He will just withdraw and allow us to do our own thing. The Spirit of God has to be in the lead. Then our gifts will be used for His glory, bringing life to those we serve.

Next verses - Ephesians 5:19 and 20 - continue to let us know how we get filled with the Holy Spirit: "Speak out to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering praise with voices [and instruments] and making melody with all your heart to the Lord, at all times and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father."

So, once again, let us "come before His presence with singing! Let us enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Let us be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!" (Psalm 100) Let us put our eyes on Him and allow His Spirit to freely flow through us... using our gifts and anointing for His glory and not for our own.

Many, many blessings and the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit to You all,

For a few weeks my family was under almost unbearable pressure. To be honest, I had not remembered that pressure could be that severe. During my 14 years of being a Christian, I have gone through several periods of severe pressure... but not lately. I mean hard things have happened from time to time, but nothing like this for a long time.

All those darts of darkness that suddenly started to bombard our family came at the same time. The peak of it all was, when last Friday, my 4 months pregnant sister was taken to a hospital and tests revealed immense deformations of her baby - her intestines were completely missing, her liver was in her chest, her heart was not whole and there was water in her brain. This meant that the baby had to be taken out. It was the second time for my sister. She lost her twin girls mere year and a half ago, on her 5th month of pregnancy... also due to deformations.

I am so grateful that my mom is a Christian too. At times like these, it is so important to have a prayer-partner... especially someone who understands the whole situation. Some hours were so dark, that all we could do, was to praise and worship. It seemed like a heavy, thick, dark blanket was thrown over our lives and the darkness kept pressing in, even so that it was hard to breathe. The enemy was trying to close in on us. He was pressing hard.

I want to thank You, dear friends, who lifted up Madli and Hendrik during this dark time in their lives. Thank You for praying for all of our family. Honestly, we could feel Your prayers. I know it would have been much harder for us without all of Your love, support and prayers... so, THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!!

I think it was the first time when I literally experienced also the power of praise and worship and rejoicing. No, there was seemingly nothing to rejoice about... but we knew that it was the only way out... and it literally was! It brought us out of the darkness. It also gave me a more powerful revelation of WHY the Lord COMMANDS us to be full of joy, to exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings! He doesn't tell us to rejoice that we have pressure in our lives... but He sure calls us to exult and triumph in the midst of it... for the Truth is, the victory over all darkness has already been won! All we have to do is to believe it and receive it... acting like it has been done... for it has!

The Word lets us know in John 1:5, "And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it]." No darkness can overtake us... unless we allow it to. God has said that the light within us shines in the darkness and overpowers it, so, during dark moments we have to hang on to His promise that we will overcome.

Jesus taught in John 12:35, saying, "You will have the Light only a little while longer. Walk while you have the Light [keep on living by it], so that darkness may not overtake and overcome you. He who walks about in the dark does not know where he goes [he is drifting]."

Jesus says that although He has won the victory for us on the cross, we still can allow darkness into our lives - through our attitudes and actions - even allowing it to overtake us. He cannot make this choice for us. We have to fight to stay in the light... and yes, at times it sure is a fight! But, in His power we can and we should live in the light... right in the midst of the present darkness that surrounds us. When we stay in the light, the darkness cannot overtake us or overcome us.

If we had allowed depression and grief and sorrow into our hearts, the darkness would indeed have overtaken us. No doubt about that. It was so severe. Our salvation was our daily walk with the Lord. My mom and I had daily taken the time to worship the Lord, to pray and read the Word. We had daily taken the time to build our spiritual foundation that could not crumble when a disaster hit. I mean, think about it, all can be calm - and it sure was for us - until suddenly, like from nowhere the darts of the evil one started to bombard our family. If we had not taken the time to build our faith daily, we might have been overtaken by darkness... also, it probably would have taken much longer for us to come out of it. So, our daily commitment to put the Lord first, was our salvation. I hope and pray that none of You would consider anything else more important than building the strong and steady relationship with the Lord, daily. Nothing is more important than that!

If You are presently coming through darkness, please, do not give in to pity, do not concentrate on Yourself or on how You feel. Put Your eyes on the Lord and hang on to His promises. In a way, it is much more dangerous to allow the darkness to seep in bit by bit, rather than be hit by it suddenly, for in this case it can start forming a stronghold. We allow the darkness to penetrate by feeling sorry for ourselves. Self-pity gives a strong foothold to the enemy and it is much harder to start pulling this stronghold down later on, rather than fight it right now... for we will have to fight - with spiritual weapons.

1 Thessalonians 5:4-8 warns us very strongly... lets not ignore the warning, "But you are not in [given up to the power of] darkness, brethren, for that day to overtake you by surprise like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we do not belong either to the night or to darkness. Accordingly then, let us not sleep, as the rest do, but let us keep wide awake (alert, watchful, cautious, and on our guard) and let us be sober (calm, collected, and circumspect). For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. But we belong to the day; therefore, let us be sober and put on the breastplate (corslet) of faith and love and for a helmet of the hope of salvation."

We are called to protect our hearts - with breastplate - and our heads - with helmet - for it is into our heads and hearts that the enemy tries to shoot his evil arrows. Self-pity, depression, grief, sorrow, sadness, worry, fear, anxiety, anger, bitterness, resentment, judging, criticizing, competing, comparing... are all signs of darkness. We have to break them off of our lives. We are called to live and walk in the light. If there are already strongholds formed, it will be a real fight to break free... but we will have to break free. Jesus warned us in John 12:35, "He who walks about in the dark does not know where he goes [he is drifting]." Often we think that we still are being led by the Spirit of God, but if we have any of those works of darkness in our lives, we are grieving the Holy Spirit... and most likely He has left us on our own. BUT, He will be back as soon as we repent and get back into the Light!

We break free from darkness by taking our eyes off of our situations and off of ourselves and put them on the Lord. "They looked to Him and were radiant; their faces shall never blush for shame or be confused." (Ps.34:5) We will never be put to shame when we put our trust in the Lord.

We put our eyes on the Lord through praise and worship and thanksgiving. It is the ONLY way to enter into the presence of the Holy God. Psalm 100 teaches us, "Make a joyful noise to the Lord... Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before His presence with singing! Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!"

When we start praising and rejoicing and giving thanks to the Lord, we take our eyes off of ourselves and we open ourselves up to hearing from the Lord. Psalm 16:11 promises us, "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore."
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ang on to this awesome promise in Isaiah 61:3, knowing that the Lord's will is "to grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion--to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit--that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." Thank God daily for this promise. It belongs to You and me.

Jeremiah 31:12 lets us know the power in praise and worship, "They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion and shall flow together and be radiant with joy over the goodness of the Lord--for the corn, for the juice [of the grape], for the oil, and for the young of the flock and the herd. And their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow or languish any more at all."

Sorrow and grief, self-pity and depression are not from the Lord. He is calling us to praise and worship Him... for our praise and worship open the door for Him to move on our behalf, to bless us, to water our lives and make them fruitful. He is able to deliver us from any and every situation... and He is willing... He is waiting on us to allow Him to. We need to express our faith so that He can move. Praise and thanksgiving and rejoicing are the most powerful displays of our faith. If we have not taken the time daily to put our eyes on Him, it will take a bit of time to start feeling and seeing the darkness disappear... but it will disappear! It will!

God promises us in Psalm 33:18, "Behold, the Lord's eye is upon those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe], who wait for Him and hope in His mercy and loving-kindness, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. Our inner selves wait [earnestly] for the Lord; He is our Help and our Shield. For in Him does our heart rejoice, because we have trusted (relied on and been confident) in His holy name. Let Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping for You."

Years ago the Lord taught me a new habit, to confess the first thing in the morning, "This is the day which the Lord has made; I shall rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24). I have kept the habit alive. Every morning I confess it over and over again. I also confess, "Lord, I rejoice in You, I am happy in You!" ...it sure sets the course of my day... my eyes are on HIM!

So, lets daily rejoice in the Lord! Lets "come before His presence with singing! Lets enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Lets be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!" ...and He will fight our battles! Hey, what power we have been given - the Lord is for us, who can be against us. Victory does belong to us in each and every situation, so, lets rejoice!

Many, many blessings and deep joy to You all,