2 Kings 3:15-17 ‘when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.’

DAILY READING ; 1 Peter 5; Jeremiah 39-40; Psalm 138

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One of the stories that highlight the resilience of the Chinese Christians is that of Pastor Yang Hua of Living Stone Church in China’s Guizhou province.
Yang Hua and another pastor had founded the Living Stone Church in 2009. It grew to become the region’s largest house church and resisted various pressures from the authorities to sanction it.
This resulted in the government crackdown on Living Stone Church that included the arrest of its leaders, raids, fines, confiscation of church property and detention of members.
In one of the attacks, pastor Yang Hua was brutally beaten by local Chinese police.
Pastor Yang’s injuries made the authorities to send him to the local Accident & Emergency hospital unit by ambulance. The attack also triggered a flare up of his pre-existing pancreatitis, for which he was to undergo a medical check-up for.
In January 2017 he was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for state crimes associated with his Christian faith. He also faced an accusation of owing the government more than $1 million in fines.
Pastor Yang Hua was released on 19 June 2018 after completing his sentence. At his release, he was in poor health as a result of his prison stay. But pastor Hua left prison singing and praising God because he was determined not to allow anything to steal his joy. Despite all he had gone through and all he seemed to have lost he remained grateful to God that he didn’t lose his life. And despite the persecutions, God keeps increasing and blessing their Church.

Indeed Praise will always precede the victory. When we offer sacrifice of praise it is like digging ditches in the desert.
Chapter 3 of 2 Kings is a fascinating story where we find the three kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom joining forces to fight against their enemies, but the conditions of the battle became difficult for them because there was drought in the land. The kings then asked prophet Elisha for help. Elisha then asked for a minstrel and as worship was offered to God, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he told the kings, the Lord said, “You will not see wind or rain. But this valley will be filled with water.’
The kings likely found Elisha’s request ridiculous, but they did as they were told and dug the ditches. By the next morning, water came flooding in and the ditches were filled with water! The soldiers and their horses had plenty to drink and also God eventually gave them resounding victory over their enemies.
When there seems to be no rain, when the conditions appear difficult, that is when to go into worship and offer a sacrifice of praise.
Every time you praise despite the pain, you’re making preparation for the rain. In the scripture rain represents blessing, favor, increase. Around you there may not be any sign of things working right now, but keep digging the ditches, keep praising God, there is coming the sound of the abundance of rain. You may not see anything happening, but behind the scenes, God’s getting it all lined up, and things will suddenly change in your favor.
Today, you may be in a season of challenges, but just keep giving God praise. Shake off the complains and just keep thanking God. If you’ll do your part and dig the ditches, then God will do His part and bring the overflowing rain of blessings.

PRAYER: Lord, I know You are always good and faithful. No matter what happens around me, I know You are in perfect control of my life. Please grant me the grace to always give You worthy praise at all times in Jesus Name.
QUOTE:
When God is on your side, anything is possible. – WORDBITE 201

Shalom!

@GOODHEART- EKWUEME .

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