“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence, He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.” Well the evil one rise up against us O Lord, keep us from presumptuous sins.

Too many of us claim to know the joyful sound, but instead of rejoicing in the name of the Lord all day long, we are miserable. My brothers and sisters in Christ, we are blessed if we know the joyful sound and should be walking in the light of the countenance of our God, we should be rejoicing all the day long, for we have the favor of the Lord. He is our strength.

“O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, and life more abundant and free. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

Solomon realized the great task set before him and he asked aright, and God said to him, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for riches, or wealth, or honor, or the life of your enemies; nor have you asked for long life, but for knowledge to judge over My people, wisdom and knowledge are granted to you, and I will give you riches, and wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings before you, nor shall any after you have the like.” My brothers and sisters in Christ, too often we ask, but, ask amiss; Lord, “Teach us to ask only what accords to Your will and the good things which we dare not, or in our blindness cannot ask, grant them O Father, for Jesus Christ sake, our only mediator and advocate.”Amen!

Heavenly Father, may we never forget to say thank you, for all the many blessings of this life. For, “Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might, in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. Now therefore our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name, for all things come from You O Lord, and of Your own we have given You.”

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider, he has thrown in the sea! The Lord is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him! The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name. Your right hand O Lord, has become glorious in power; your right hand O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces and in the greatness of your excellence. You have overthrown those who rose against you, you sent forth your wrath and it consumed them like stubble. Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them. You in your mercy have led forth the people whom you have redeemed.” Thank you, Lord!

You know, if we would really take a moment to stop and reflect on the goodness of God, we would have much testimonies to share. We would recall when people rose up against us, whether family or friends, coworkers, bosses, rivals, you name them, and we stood fast, faithfully praying to God, and trusting him to fight for us, and the Lord moved them out of our way and he elevated us. Praise the Lord! When we are faithful to God, no matter who or what comes out or after us, God will confuse their way, and whatever they threw at us meaning to hurt us, God will turn it around for our good. My brothers and sisters in Christ, trust in God, no matter what, you will not lose. Them that are with you are more than those against you. Praise the Lord!

When I read this chapter this morning, I understood two things; one, that I should hold my peace and let the Lord fight my battles, and two, I understood that I should step out in faith and let God bring it to completion. My brothers and sisters in Christ, many of us are like Moses, instead of trusting God faithfully and stepping out in faith, we tremble and cry out to God. But, as I read the book of Exodus when Pharaoh’s army pursued Israel, Moses became afraid, and even though he said to the people “Stand still and you will see the salvation of the Lord, which he will accomplish for you today”, he still cried out to the Lord, and the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward, lift your rod and stretch your hand over the sea and divide it!” Oh praise the Lord! When Moses did those two simple things, God did the rest, and they were able to cross over on dry land. So too, God has already made a path for you and I this morning in the midst of the sea, all we need to do is to move, hold our peace, and let the Lord fight for us. Hallelujah!

“Ho, reapers in the whitened harvest! Oft feeble, faint and few; come, wait upon the blessed Master, our strength He will renew. Too oft aweary and discouraged, we pour a sad complaint. Believing in a living Savior, why should we ever faint? Rejoice, for He is with us always, lo, even to the end! Look up, take courage and go forward, all needed grace He’ll send! For “they that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint; teach me Lord, teach me Lord, to wait.”

Do you realize that people seem to notice you when things are good, but never seem to care when things are bad? My brothers and sisters in Christ when we are obedient to God, his blessings are not always immediate. We sometimes are tested, to see whether we would continue to serve God or not. We would sometimes experience hardship and pain, calamity and distress, but, if we persevere, if we do not lose heart, when God begins to bless us, others will see that we are called by the name of the Lord and will be afraid. The Lord will open to us his good treasures, the heavens to give the rain to us in its season and to bless all the work of our hands, we shall lend and not borrow, the Lord will make us the head and not the tail, we shall be above only and not beneath, if we heed the commandments of the Lord.