I’VE BEEN ROBBED

For many years I allowed myself to be robbed…. but then I woke up and I took my blessing back!!

Now because of the Lord being in my heart and the power I have through him…. the enemy is powerless! 🙌🏼

Remember in 2 Samuel chapter 6 when King David took his “kingly clothes” off and only wore a liked ephod then danced in the streets openly worshipping God? This open act of true worship embarrassed his wife Michal and she basically told him that he looked like a blooming idiot out there dancing and worshiping in the street looking like all the regular people and parading around in front of all the maidservants.

Was she jealous or was she embarrassed? Maybe both?

My own answer would be that she was both.

Her heart needed humbled before the Lord.

The devil was trying to plant seeds of jealousy in her heart. She wasn’t raised to worship God so seeing her husband openly worship this way was appalling to her.

Like the true man of God and being the head of the house he was…. he lovingly but firmly held his ground with his wife and explained to her that his love for God will absolutely NOT be watered down! Not for her or anyone else!

God desires to be first in our lives… above all things… including our spouses and our kids.

He desires true and honest worship that comes genuinely from the heart.

He instructs us to lift up our hands 🙌🏼

Hebrews 12:12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; (KJV)

He wants our hands lifted to Him in an act of obedience and our knees to go weak so that we can easily bow before Him. It’s not only an act of submission to our Lord but it’s an open response to our hearts being humbled before the Almighty. The ONLY ONE who deserves glory, honor and praise for He is the good good Father.

Again in the book of Psalms He tells us to “LIFT UP THOSE HANDS” 🙌🏼

Psalm 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. (KJV)

Lift them up in the sanctuary so that you can feel the power and anointing of the Lord upon you. Power that breaks chains and releases the Holy Spirit to move in a place. Lifting honest hands in the sanctuary so that others see and it allows their hearts to quickly be humbled before the Lord and gives courage to make a move for the Lord that might not have been there had the spirit been quenched.

Be careful to lift hands in true worship and not for show! There is ABSOLUTELY a difference and God knows your heart and will know how those hands are raised!

Hands lifted for show will be in vain and will not be honored. It is as always with the Lord…. a matter of the heart and He is the ONE that knows the true intentions of the heart.

Again back in the New Testament God instructs hands to be lifted…

1 Timothy 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. (KJV)

And again in Old Testament God instructs our hands to be lifted as we intercede boldly and humbly for the lives of our children.

Lamentations 2:19 Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street. (KJV)

I’m not criticizing anyone that has not or does not lift hands in worship. I’m actually trying to encourage you in what God’s word says.

I was that person that didn’t want to offend the Lord by raising my hands in worship because I knew my life wasn’t together the way He wanted it to be. (I’m still a great work in progress)

I used to be the person that actually got offended when someone told me to “lift my hands” and out of a heart of rebellion I’d sit on mine instead of lift them. I’d do this right in the sanctuary! 🤦🏻‍♀️ and guess what….. I also robbed myself of years of blessings and I robbed my own children the opportunity to see me openly worship our Lord with my hands held high and a heart pure and humble before our most precious Heavenly Father.

It took years of the Lord working on me.

The conviction became so strong that I finally broke and I told myself that I didn’t care what others around me thought…. I must be obedient to the Lord and I found myself with hands lifted. I cannot explain what even happened next. It was the feeling of the Lord’s anointing that fell on me and it wasn’t even about the others around me any longer. It was a time of pure and true worship where I lost myself completely in the Lord and it was only Jesus and me…. all other things were shut out. It was a time that I completely lost myself in the Lord and I could pray with focus and clarity and make my needs known before Him. It was a time I felt chains break and I could have went dancing around the room with the joy of the Lord in my soul.

Prior to that moment I was like Michal (King David’s wife)

And I didn’t even realize it. My heart took changes during my spiritual growth. I went from sitting on my hands, to taking note of the ones lifting their hands and how their lives were outside of church, to then being jealous that they were “more spiritual” than me.. (that was a lie from the enemy but I didn’t know it at the time), to being where I am now with the full understanding that God has called us to lift up our hands to praise and worship Him.

Don’t get me wrong…. I still have times that I feel funny doing it. It’s my flesh I’m battling. I know when the Holy Spirit is leading me to lift them but I’m concerned what others around me will think. SMH at myself and I’m sure the Lord is too 🤦🏻‍♀️

The Lord caused Michal to be barren and was not able to have children because of her heart and her lack of worship the way the Lord called her to worship Him.

Don’t let this be you. Don’t rob yourself of blessings that the Lord has in store for you because you choose not to worship Him the way He desires.

Think about this…. the people that choose not to worship are the ones that are spiritually sterile…. or barren.

It is also the same way with our churches that have refused to worship God in the way He desires to be worshipped and they become spiritually dead in the long run.

Do you remember what the Bible calls anything that you put before the Lord? The Bible calls it “an idol”

Don’t let what others think of your worship be an idol in your life…. lift those holy hands to Him…. and yes… they must be holy hands or the move is in vain and does no good and is absolutely powerless!

So examine the heart….. always examine the heart and see what the Lord is leading you to do. Make sure your heart is right with God and when it is then you will feel His calling to lift up those hands to Him in true worship and once you humble the heart and surrender to Him and forget what the others around you are thinking…. then you will feel the anointing and power of the Lord come upon you and your prayers will be so powerful and you’ll break chains that have had you bound and have an ability to intercede for others in ways that will blow your mind. Don’t let those chains be so heavy on your arms that it prevents you from lifting them to worship our King 🙌🏼

Lord, we need revival and a complete move of Your Holy Spirit as in the day of Pentecost. You have ordered us in Your Word to lift Holy hands to You. Help us to be free to do as you instructed. In Jesus name… amen