Thankfulness Under Pressure

I was asked to share some thoughts on “Thankfulness” for our church Facebook page (www.facebook.com/sozochurchbelfair), so I thought I’d pass them along to all of you. I hope and pray that you’ll be encouraged through this.

Thankfulness is a big deal to God, because being thankful requires that we become aware of the Father’s attentiveness and activity, not only in our lives but in all things that transpire in every situation. Consider this passage in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – 

Rejoice always! Pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Take note of these three things that the writer infers:

1.     choose joy in every situation, 

2.     choose intimate communion with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through prayer, and 

3.     choose a thankful heart even in the midst of difficulty

In order to make these choices while maintaining integrity with my own soul’s realities, I must be aware of several things that are true and unshakeable, and it’s these things that I’m thankful for:

-       There is a God in heaven who sees everything, knows everything, and according to Psalm 62:11-12 is strong and also loving. This means that God has the power and the desire to do what is best in every situation. 

-       That this God is our Father who according to Rom 8:28 works everything out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. Imagine the 1000-dimensional chess game that God has to manage in order to make all things work together for the good of His chosen and beloved ones! Amazing!

-       For the Holy Spirit who helps us understand the Word of God concerning the times we’re living in, SO THAT we will be bold in love and not be overcome by fear or compromise. The Scriptures make clear that as the return of Jesus to the earth draws nearer, there will be increased pressures in society as well as increased anointing, power, and Christ-likeness in the Body of Christ. I am thankful that God knows what is happening, and what will happen, and is in complete control of the whole process!

-       For a community of believers like SOZO Church that worships Jesus, prays for Heaven to come to earth in our lives today, and serves one another with humility and grace. My prayer for all of you is that you are connected with a local family of believers that will help you connect more meaningfully with our Father God, and will stand with you during these pressurized times.

I want to encourage you: take time today to give thanks to God in faith that He is strong and loving, that according to Hebrews 11:6 He is who He says He is, and He will do what He says He will do. May your day be blessed as you walk in the light and favor of Jesus!

Gary Wiens

The Warring Bride, Not The Desperate Widow

In this unprecedented season of stress and pressure, when it seems as though the whole world has come to a standstill because of the enemy’s work, it is important that we as believers know our place as intercessors for such a time as this, and actually take that place to wage war.

Having said that, HOW we wage war is an essential issue. The tendency, when pressure rises, is to revert back to old patterns of prayer that are rooted in a wrong perception of who God is, and who we are as intercessors. We often fall back on strategies of prayer and warfare that are more like the prophets of Ba’al in 1 Kings 18, crying and begging for our God to do something, thinking that our volume and sense of desperation will get the job done. Like the widow of Luke 18, we are focused on issues, desperate for justice and restoration, but secretly convinced that God doesn’t really care, and that the only hope we have is that He relents under the pressure of our persistence.

It is in this time that the Holy Spirit is calling us higher, to stand in our true identity as the Bride of Christ, loving and worshipping Him, hearing His voice and agreeing with His declarations concerning our situations. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, because of the power of His blood, we have been brought into the presence of the Father, not like servants or petitioners, but as sons and daughters of the Father, and even more powerfully, as the glorious Bride of the conquering Lamb.

Our battle strategy is first of all to be worship – ascending to the presence of the Father and focusing on His power, His love, and His provision of everything we need through the blood of His Son. We minister to the King, even as Esther did in the banquet of wine, taking the cup of betrothal – we call it communion – and reminding ourselves that Jesus established a New Covenant of love with us by the shedding of His own blood. 

As we worship, we also listen. What is the Spirit of God saying about the pressures of this time? What is the reality of Heaven when it comes to Covid-19 and its effects on the nations? What is the intercession of Jesus that is ever before the Father, and how do we agree with His prayers?

As we hear, then we declare back to the Father what He is saying, setting our hearts in agreement with the agenda of Heaven. We wage war, not from desperation, but from rest and peace. We speak to the King about the enemy’s plan, and trust that the King’s love for us will move Him to deal with the issues that impact us and our world. This prayer of agreement, the prayer of faith, accomplishes everything.

Let us no longer pray as though we are strangers, foreign to the Father’s presence. Rather, let us speak to the Rock and let the Living Water flow over us again and again, until the will of God is fully accomplished in us and through us.

Gary Wiens