Come to Me with Praise and Thanksgiving!

On Friday night, I attended the opening night at our churches Womens Conference.
 During worship, everyone was invited to sit down just to recieve God's love through the lyrics of this song:

Come To Me (Bethel Church)

I think I cried the entire time; not only is it a beautiful song, I just feel like that is what God was saying to me. We know it in our hearts but any situation can open a door where it becomes easier to allow the problem to become the focus. Each day, God invites us to know him more and offers us his perfect peace. Instead of  labourring; we are to bring it to the feet of Jesus, all the while keeping our eyes fixed on Him, and let Him lift up our broken hearts.



The scripture for the conference was Isaiah 26:3 and i think it fits in with this really well.

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!"

One concordance explains what this means clearly (the stuff in brackets is my own additions):

In perfect peace - Hebrew as in the Margin, 'Peace, peace;' the repetition of the word denoting, as is usual in Hebrew, emphasis, and here evidently meaning undisturbed, perfect peace.

That is, the mind (your thoughts) that has confidence in God shall not be agitated by the trials to which it shall be subject; by persecution, poverty, sickness, want, or bereavement

(that includes the loss of a child or not being pregnant when I want be etc.)

She shared the story of the Joshua at the Battle of Jericho (Joshua 6) in a way that I have never heard it before.

All this time the trumpets were sounding. ¹⁰ But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout! ”

¹¹ So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.

²⁰When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.

I have heard this many times, but no one had ever particularly pertained it to trying for a baby before. Man, could I relate! Every time the army returned to the base camp to spend, it must have seemed like they were back at square one again and that this mission was futile. The army men, must have thought Joshua and his God were nuts! In darker times of despair and heartache recently, I have allowed myself to question God's motives and timing. However, I need to learn the humility to keep walking around the wall in faithful submission to the will of God, no matter what: even if it means the walls of  my Jericho don't come down (I don't end up with a healthy, full term, living baby) for another seven times, if ever. My faith cannot depend on whether or not, I get to be a mum on earth. But at the same time, I do not need to push these yearnings aside or let go of them completely- they are God given- and in the time He appoints, those walls will fall and my husband and I will take our Jericho.

The three main points, I remember vividly:

PRAISE
* Changes your perspective and your location

* Makes room for God

* Moves us on to victory

It was so powerful and such a blessing to be able to take what she was saying, relate it to my recent experiences and recieve renewed hope and energy. Reflecting on this has also helped me to refocus my attention and attitudes on the right things: instead of worrying, I should be praising! I know its easier said, then done but why am I letting the devil take even one inch?! I need to praise and by doing so, make more room for God than anything else!

God, help me to praise you at all times, no matter what the circumstances are.