"Regardless!" -2

"Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto Thee." (Psalms 56:12) You know, God is the one that has called you, you did not choose Him; so if you have been called by God, then you are special in His eyes, for one reason or another. Besides, God sees the end of the matter, not just all the stuff alone the way. So, just in case you missed the conclusion to yesterday's post, we are obligated by thanksgiving to give God praise no matter what we are going through; it's not just a thing that we do when things are going well and we feel like praising Him, we are obligated by what He has already done to praise Him regardless of these temporary circumstances or trials. If you don't feel like praising Him in the midst of your trial, then look beyond your trial, because it will not last, and thank Him for what you have waiting on the other side. This life really is but a vapor, so we shouldn't put so much into the hurts along the way; God will get us through to the other side, because His vows are upon us; and His vows are true and everlasting. I took my wife to church last night, after taking her out to dinner with the family, and I was reminded again why it is that I am doing what I am doing: I made a vow to her that I would never forsake her, and that I would care for her to the death, and I truly believe that God honors that vow that I made; not that it was His vow, but that I made it before Him and a host of other people, and He remembers every tear that I have shed, every moment that I have depended upon His strength to help me cope, and every prayer that I have prayed; He counts each as a stride towards finishing the race that is set before me. I really do not take this lightly, we must be totally committed to our marriages, just as our God is totally committed to us, because our marriage is a reflection of the relationship that we have with Him... "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let your words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by a multitude of words. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for He hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." (Ecclesiastes 5:1-5)