From Pity to Praise

There is a spiritual and physical pilgrimage that believers undertake in their walk with God. This journey is marked by growth, trials, faith, and the pursuit of divine wisdom.

The Bible provides us with numerous examples and teachings that illuminate the nature of this journey, it offers guidance and insight for those who are seeking to navigate their path in accordance with God’s will.

There are 3 Biblical foundations I want us to take a look at:

1. The journey of faith

The journey of faith is a central theme throughout scripture. This is exemplified by Abraham in Genesis to left his homeland and journeyed into a land that God would show him. Abraham’s obedience and trust in God’s promises set a precedent for understanding the journey as one of faith and reliance on divine guidance.

2. The Exodus

The Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt is a profound illustration of a collective journey. In Exodus 13:21-22, I believe that when God leads His people with a cloud by day and a fire by night, it symbolizes His constant presence and guidance. This journey from slavery to the promised land is a metaphor for spiritual liberation and a transformative process of following God.

3. Pilgrimage Psalms

The Psalms of Ascent are Psalms 120-134 are songs sung by pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem for their feasts. These Psalms reflect the physical and spiritual ascent towards God, emphasizing themes of trust, protection, and worship.

One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 121:1-2, which declares, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

There are key themes that go along with understanding our journey:

1. Growth and Maturity

James 1:2-4 encourages us to, “Consider it all joy when you fall into trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete.” This is the perseverance that leads to maturity in Christ Jesus.

2. Wisdom and Understanding

Proverbs 3:5-6 advises us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your ways straight.” Our journey requires us to seek God’s wisdom and understanding, rather than relying only on our human insight.

3. Endurance and Perseverance

Our journeys are without challenges. Hebrews 12:1-2 urges us to, “Run with endurance the race set out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.” Endurance is essential for completing our journeys through life to teach the ultimate goal of eternal life.

The Bible illuminates our journey, guides us through life challenges, and uncertainties we would do well to embrace the Bible as our daily compass and let it light our way.

Scripture tells us that when Jesus died on the cross, the veil in the Temple was torn in two from the bottom.This means that the barrier between God and humanity granting direct access to God’s presence for all people without needing human priests. The fact that it was torn from the bottom indicates it as a divine act, signifying the completion of Jesus’s sacrifice.

The thick curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was removed. It signifies that Jesus’s death was the final, perfect sacrifice, abolishing the need for animal sacrifices.

It also marks a transition from the Old Testament laws and rituals to an era of direct relationship with God, accessible to everyone rather than just the high priest.

This is mentioned in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke to show the immense theological impact of the crucifixion.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:13-14, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and had broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility.”

Paul tells us that Jesus’s death tore down the walls of hostility. While we were, by nature, objects of wrath, Jesus’s sacrifice tore down the Holy Veil so we can approach the throne of grace. He removed the dividing walk between Him and us, making us a kingdom of priests.

Regardless of where we are from, what we look like, or how many resources we have, we can be reconciled to God. But this isn’t the only wall that wall broken -all the walls of the Temple were broken. Paul’s point is this: if, through Jesus and believing Gentiles (us) have no grounds to keep their own dividing walls of hostility between them.

We as individuals have a lot of differences, pursuits, likes, and dislikes. We come from various backgrounds and diverse cultures, but there is one commonality between us, the things that brings us together, is our love for Jesus. And it’s when we come back to that truth of who Jesus is in His Word that we are truly unified.

When different perspectives might challenge us, it is the one perspective that Jesus is Lord, that God’s Word is true, living, and active, that brings us back to our common perspective. It is in that commonality that we can truly make a difference for Jesus in this world.

Oops, I repeated Psalm 118 in my last post. This is for the week of February 8 Psalm 118.

These Psalms are what my pastor sends every week to meditate on.

My pastor sends us a Psalm every week to meditate on.

“My beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” -Philippians 2:12

We have to actively live out and manifest the inner salvation God has already provided, transforming our character and obeying Him with deep reverence which is “fear of the Lord.”

It’s important to note that this is not working for salvation but working on our obedience and building our character that cultivates the grace we have already received.

There are some key aspects of walking out our salvation I think we need to be aware of:

• Active Cooperation This involves partnering with God to apply scripture in our everyday lives and transforming our character to match Jesus’s.

• Obedience and Growth – Actively obeying God and growing in spiritual maturity.

• Fear and Trembling – We should approach this with profound respect, awe for God’s holiness, and a serious desire to avoid sinning against Him, rather than being in dread.

• Internal to External – Manifesting our inner faith through our outward actions that show the fruits of salvation

This is possible because God Himself is working in believers, providing a desire and the strength to follow His will.

“For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for His good pleasure” -Philippians 2:13

The only thing God will not provide is our decision to do what He asks. This is a choice of the will that each one of us must make.

This is not working for salvation (earning it), but working out the salvation we already have. It is a partnership where God provides the desire and the power to act. This involves daily obedience and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our actions, resulting in a life that reflects God’s grace.

We can begin to know God’s will when we discern the Bible and don’t lean on our own emotions or understanding. And not beginning with our own desires. This has to be the baseline authority in us for finding and doing the will of God. It’s tempting to see Jesus as the key to getting what we want, and not who He is. I’m not saying everything we want is bad. In fact, a lot of the things we pray for are good. But God doesn’t simply want what is good for us, He wants what is best.

When we are seeking to know God’s will, we can start in the Bible. The Bible gives us a few categories for understanding God’s will:

• God’s Revealed Will

What He shows us in the Bible. His revealed will is not a mystery. We don’t have to try to read the signs in our circumstances, we can just open the book and begin reading. God’s revealed will tells us:

1. “Love one another – John 13:34-35, 1 Peter 4:7-11
2. Confess our sins – 1 John 1:9
3. Use our gifts to serve others -1 Corinthians 12.
4. Love our spouses -Ephesians 5
5. Rejoice in God whatever the circumstances -Philippians 4

These commands are all a part of God’s revealed will. We don’t have to ask God, “Do you want me to do these things?” He tells us, “I have already written this down in the Bible.”

• God’s Hidden Will

Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God but the things that are revealed belong to our children and us forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” In other words, there are some things we either can’t know in advance or that we’re just not going to know in this life, they are secret things. Such as, “What’s going to happen in five years? , when is the world going to end?, Or why did a good friend die so young?

God is sovereign, and He’s ruling over all things, so we can trust Him. We may not understand His purposes, but we can trust His plan.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future” -Jeremiah 29:11

When we don’t know God’s will, we can still pray for it.

We may not know our future but we can pray to be prepared for it. What if He calls us to stand in truth in the midst of persecution? One of my greatest fears is that I will not be strong enough to stand for His truth, when things get tough. But I know I can pray and ask for strength.

Jesus made it crystal clear that satan (our enemy) is a thief in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Satan has stolen something from all of us. Maybe it’s your peace, your joy, your health, your marriage, your finances. But our calling is confidence in God’s promises.

Satan doesn’t have legal rights to what he’s taken from us. He’s an illegal occupier, a squatter, and it’s time to evict Him.

I’ve walked through enough spiritual wars to recognize satan’s tactics. He doesn’t just steal once and disappear. He keeps coming back to the same areas, hopefully you won’t notice the pattern.

Think about it. What keeps getting attacked in your life? What do you keep losing ground on, even when you pray? What area makes you want to give up and say, maybe this isn’t God’s will for me?

That’s not God’s voice. That’s the voice of a defeated enemy trying to convince you he’s won.

But the truth is Jesus already defeated Satan at Calvary, when He was crucified for us. Colossians 2:15 says, He disarmed the powers and authorities, “having striped the principalities and the powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” The war is won, but we still must enforce victory over our life.

Most believers know Satan stole something from them, but they don’t realize they have the authority to demand it back.

Jesus gave us authority. Luke 10:19 says, “Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over the power of the enemy. Nothing will in any way hurt you.”

We don’t beg God to get it back, we don’t hope it magically reappears. We stand in our authority as believers and we take it back in Jesus’s name.

I am not talking about the name it and claim it response. I’m talking about biblical warfare. I’m talking about knowing who we are in Christ Jesus and operating in that identity.

I’ve have used three steps to reclaim what was stolen from me.

1. Identify what was stolen

You can’t fight for something if you don’t know what it is. Get specific. Don’t just say, “The enemy is attacking me.” Say, “The enemy has stolen my peace, my finances, my family unity.” Name it out loud.

2. Reject, the lie that you can’t get it back

The enemy’s biggest weapon isn’t what he takes is the lie that it’s gone forever. He wants you to accept that the loss is permanent. Don’t. God is a restoring God. Joel 2:25 promises, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locusts have eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you.”

3. Declare God’s Word over what was stolen

Scriptures such as John 10:10, Colossians 2:15, and Luke 10:19.

Isaiah 61:7 also tells us, “Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion. Instead of dishonor, they will rejoice in their portion…”

The enemy doesn’t want us to know. This fight isn’t fair, and it’s tilted in our favor.

Satan is a defeated foe. He has no authority except what believers ignorantly give him. He’s like someone who got evicted, but keeps showing up hoping you forgot you own the property.

Don’t fight from a position of weakness. Fight from victory. Jesus already won. Our job is to enforce that victory through prayer, the Word, and refusing to back down.

I’ve seen God restore my marriage, my health after the doctor gave me a death sentence, work financially when there was no hope. Stop accepting the theft and start taking back what belongs to you.

The warfare is real, and it’s exhausting and Thete will be days when you will wonder if things are even worth fighting for. But what the enemy stole isn’t just about us. It’s about our families, our calling, this generation. God had trusted us with an assignment, and Satan is terrified of what happens when we walk in the fullness of what God has for each of us.

Satan comes to steal, to discourage, to make us think we will never get back what we’ve lost in our lives. He’s a liar.

The same God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. The same power that parted the Red Sea is available to us. The same authority that casts our demons belongs to us. We see this in Luke 10:29, Colossians 2:15, and 1 John 4:4 tells us, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

We are not powerless, we are not defeated, and God has not forgotten us.

God’s Word tells us how to fight the enemy. We need to know what His Word says, and start fighting. Our breakthrough is found in obedience to God.