I feel like SHOUTING!

Psalm 66

¹ Shout for joy to God, all the earth!

² Sing the glory of his name;

make his praise glorious.

³ Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!

So great is your power

that your enemies cringe before you.

⁴ All the earth bows down to you;

they sing praise to you,

they sing the praises of your name.”^[a]

⁵ Come and see what God has done,

his awesome deeds for mankind!

⁶ He turned the sea into dry land,

they passed through the waters on foot—

come, let us rejoice in him.

⁷ He rules forever by his power,

his eyes watch the nations—

let not the rebellious rise up against him.

⁸ Praise our God, all peoples,

let the sound of his praise be heard;

⁹ he has preserved our lives

and kept our feet from slipping.

¹⁰ For you, God, tested us;

you refined us like silver.

¹¹ You brought us into prison

and laid burdens on our backs.

¹² You let people ride over our heads;

we went through fire and water,

but you brought us to a place of abundance.

¹³ I will come to your temple with burnt offerings

and fulfill my vows to you—

¹⁴ vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke

when I was in trouble.

¹⁵ I will sacrifice fat animals to you

and an offering of rams;

I will offer bulls and goats.

¹⁶ Come and hear, all you who fear God;

let me tell you what he has done for me.

¹⁷ I cried out to him with my mouth;

his praise was on my tongue.

¹⁸ If I had cherished sin in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened;

¹⁹ but God has surely listened

and has heard my prayer.

²⁰ Praise be to God,

who has not rejected my prayer

or withheld his love from me!

The faithfulness of God should not surprise me...that is His nature! Over and over and over again He does what He says He will do...not like fickle me who sometimes forgets to do something, or just doesn't feel like doing it, or whatever. No, God never fails to uphold His promises.

He told me way back in the beginning of the year not to worry about the plans for South Africa, that He had it all sorted out, it would all come together...the schooling, the housing, the visas, the journey down by road. So what did I do? I worried. Yes, I worried about the schooling and the housing and the visas...oh, especially those visas and all that wretched paperwork. And did any of my worrying do any good? Of course not. And one by one, the giants before me were laid to dust as God arranged first an initial place to stay, then a school that would take all 3 kids, then the visas.

Now we are about to head off on the journey down to Cape Town, possibly even leaving tomorrow, and when I went to bed last night we didn't have a place to stay for the first night on our 9 day journey. I spent hours on the web trying to find accommodation but to no avail. I don't know about you, but setting out on a massive long journey and having no idea where you're even staying the first night can be a little disconcerting.

This morning when I woke up I saw a text from a friend in Kenya with the phone number of a South African lady living in Nakuru who has offered to let us stay with her! Wow! How cool is that? I'm not sure if it will work out because Nakuru is 2 hours farther than where we were hoping to stop for the night, but it was encouraging to see that text anyway. It reminds me that God will keep providing for us, just as He always has, no matter how much I fret and worry.

That's why I feel like shouting...God has done so many great things for us. More than I can remember, more than I even know. And He will continue to, because that is His nature.

Not all of His great things seem great to us at the time. Note verses 10-12 of the above Psalm...how many people can praise God for testing and refining them? For "letting people ride over their heads"? This psalmist knew God's blessings come in many shapes and sizes and are all for the good of His beloved children.

It's hard to reconcile that sometimes, especially in the midst of the fire, but as I look back on my journey with the Lord, I see that the pruning and the refining are actually more life-changing and greater blessings to me than things like provision. Those hard times when He faithfully guides me through the darkness, holding my hand and comforting me, shaping and molding me, those are the times that bring me closer to Him and result in making me just a little bit more like the woman of God He created me to be.

So today I shout for joy to God...my Daddy, my Rock, my Joy. May His name be praised in all the earth.

Cape Town...

here we come!!!