By His Grace, with Praise

Psalm 7:17 - I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High (NKJV).

The Word of God in the book of James promises us that in this life we will have many trials. With that in mind I want to take the time to share with you an effective tool I have learned to use while walking through those trials.

Not too long ago I was scheduled to go see my grandson. The drive is normally 5 hours. The snow was falling but my husband and I thought if I got on the road right away I would be ok. So off I went. It likely was a mistake but nevertheless I was on the road. The snow was coming so hard in NJ and NY, the roads could not be plowed. I passed cars in ditches or stuck in snow. But I pressed on. In CT the rain was so hard it was blinding. In MA the rain wasn't quite so bad but the wind was pushing hard against the car. Trees and power lines were down. I thought about turning back at various points along the way but something inside of me kept pressing on toward the goal. The weather was so bad that I didn't dare put the radio on, or talk on the cellphone. What I did do was hold the steering wheel tight and praise the Lord continually. It became an incredibly profound time of praise. I reached my destination by His grace with praise.

When my husband was living at the Colony at Keswick, I wasn't sure if our marriage could be saved. Some nights fear would grip me and I would lay on the couch and fill my house with praise music. I refused to move until the fear would leave me alone and my heart was filled with praise. We reached our destination by His grace with praise.

Praise the Lord and He will lift you up.

I found in the Scripture others who seem to have found the blessing of praise. Moses was a man who faced many trials as he led the Israelites through the wilderness. He praised the Lord, "The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him. The LORD is a man of war; The LORD is His name"
Ex.15:2-3 NKJV. He completed the task the Lord gave him by His grace with praise.

Deborah and Barak tell us of their battle in the book of Judges along with their song of praise, "Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I, even I, will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel" Judges 5:3 NKJV. Deborah and Barak won a victory by His grace and with praise.


David was a man after God's own heart. He was a mighty warrior and he surely sinned against God. Yet he confessed his sin, he gave thanks for his deliverance from death and from being rescued from his enemies with praise. "And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness And of Your praise all the day long" Ps. 35:28 NKJV. David completed His assignment by His grace and with praise.

Let me close with this final word of wisdom.....let praise be continually flowing from your mouth as the Lord's servant David encourages us: "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed" Ps. 34:1-5 NKJV.

It is in the world you will have many trials. Let your mouth be filled with praise. It will be your source of peace, strength, deliverance, and direction. Reach your destination, get the victory, complete your assignment by His grace and with Praise to His Holy Name.

Patricia Wenzel

DIGGING DEEPER
15O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.


UPCOMING EVENT
May is fast approaching and we will be hosting our 2nd annual Family Freedom Walk on Saturday, May 8th. You can help in two ways. 1. walk - call guest services to obtain a walk package, solicit sponsors and come to the walk. 2. (this is a fun one) Sponsor Victory Call for the walk. We are having a friendly competition between the 2 groups of devotional readers (Freedom Fighters and Victory Call). Our goal is to raise more funds for the Victory Call team than the men raise for the Freedom Fighter's team. If you would like to join the fun, simply go to this link on our website https://01.secure.elexio.com/donations.aspx?id=366346&websiteurl=http://www.americaskeswick.org&siteid=2184 fill out the information and indicate in the "DESIGNATION" area : Family Freedom Walk: Victory Call or if you prefer make your check out to America's KESWICK and put in the memo line: FFW/Victory Call and mail to : America's KESWICK 601 Route 530 Whiting, NJ 08759. ALL DONATIONS MUST ARRIVE NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY, MAY 5TH in order to be counted for our TEAM. Come on ladies, we can do it!!!