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The Lord is my strength and my song

And He has become my salvation;

This is my God, and I will praise Him,

my father’s God, 

and I will exalt Him!

~Exodus 15:2

 

Good morning dear sister!

Today is a day to celebrate! Truly!! Although Easter has passed, the candy is gone and we’ll be eating boiled eggs until May, we can celebrate our risen, living Savior every day! Our God is alive! His Word is alive!

The verse above was written some time after the Lord led Moses and the Israelites safely through the sea. All of their pursuers were drowned. Not one enemy left! They had a brand new beginning, with the Lord of all the earth guiding and protecting them! 

Did the Lord consider His work with them finished and go off to his next project? No! He made His presence known within the camp; a pillar of cloud by day to lead them and fire by night to protect them. He remained with them day and night!

No wonder the Israelites were jubilant! They sang songs of praise and exaltation to the God who saved them from those who wanted their destruction! They recalled the faithfulness of their fathers’ God, who not only vanquished the enemy, but also protected and provided for them in their new found freedom!

That was about 3,500 years ago! What does that have to do with celebrating our risen Savior? To us, that seems like a long time ago, and, in the world, the times are always changing. But God declares to us that He does not change! (Malachi 3:6)

Think about your own salvation experience. Do you remember the enemies that were pursuing you, seeking your destruction?

I remember mine.

I thought that I wanted to follow God, but really, I wanted Him to follow me. When temptations came, I went my own way every time, begging forgiveness afterward. God is merciful and gracious, but He doesn’t change! There came a day when, teetering on the edge of my “Red Sea”, I had to decide; choose God’s way or drown. 

I chose God and life! Life in my risen Savior! Hallelujah!

I wanted to be God’s favorite child, LOL, so I fought hard against my spiritual enemies, foolishly believing I could handle them now that I was on God’s side. I wanted to prove to God that I meant business when I chose to follow Him. It took me some time to realize that I had the situation reversed. That God chose me first and He wanted to do for me what I couldn’t accomplish on my own. Because of Jesus. 

I had made a wise choice, but I still had a lot to learn! Through the years I have had to mindfully release that which I thought I could accomplish in my own strength and yield to God’s strength. Trusting in Him and not in myself. 

When Jesus took on our sins, shed His blood and rose again from the dead, our pursuers were defeated! We don’t need our strength to resist them because God’s strength puts them down! When they come sneaking up behind our backs, they cannot over take us because our Abba is watching over and protecting us! 

We don’t need to ask God for strength, we need to ask Him for deliverance! Freedom from that which plagues us, in the mighty Name of Jesus! 

When we choose to follow Jesus, God’s Word says that our names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20) and even inscribed on His Hand! (Isaiah 49:16) God doesn’t write our name in a book and turn the page. He doesn’t wash our name off His hand or cover it with someone else's!  He remains with us, not in the pillar of cloud or fire, as with the Israelites, but dwells with us personally in the form of His Holy Spirit. Ever present, always loving, ever ready to encourage us in His truth and in His ways.

His Holy Spirit guides us through our day and protects and comforts us in our nights. As we spend time with the Lord, we learn to recognize His beloved voice and grow more and more in our dependence on Him rather than ourselves. We learn to trust as we grow more and more confident in Him.

He becomes our strength! He becomes our song! He has become our salvation!

This is my God, and I will praise Him! He alone is worthy of our praise and exaltation! Who else can rescue us from our enemies? Who can deliver us from all evil? Who else can promise to be with us always? 

If you need a brand new beginning, dear sister, just ask God. He has already chosen to forgive you, He is waiting for you! 

Praying for you, keep loving Jesus and moving forward!

With love, your sister, Celeste