"Mom, bubbles are pouring out of the washing machine onto the floor!"  "Dad, the bumper is kind of gone from the back of the car.... I don't know what happened!" Mail that has words like "Final notice before disconnection", "Foreclosure proceedings", "Collection Action".  Our initial reaction to any of these life circumstances is to panic.  Let's be real.  Even as believers, we know in our minds that God has everything under control but when stuff starts blowing up around us, we tend to forget.  We fall into the familiar, which is a state of panic.  "Oh no- how am I going to get that fixed."  "Where are we going to get the money for that?"
The thing is this, nothing that happens is a surprise to God.  He already has things orchestrated for us.  There's something we are supposed to gain from the experience.  1 Thessalonians 5:16 - 18 gives us some guidance in what we can do when stuff happens.  First, we need to rejoice.  Sure- that sounds crazy. But Paul isn't the only one who said it.  James also told us that when stuff happens we are supposed to be joyful [James 1:2].  God put it in the Word for a reason, so guess that's what we are to do- no matter how crazy it sounds!  What's next?  Secondly, we are to pray without ceasing.  We know that a lot of what goes on around us we have no control over it.  We need to realize as J. Moss' song indicates "God's Got it".  Let's give it to Him in prayer.  Lastly, we are to give thanks.  That's right- be thankful.  It doesn't matter if stuff isn't working out the way we thought it should.  We are still supposed to give thanks.  God's will is what we want in our lives.  He's got it, so let's just thank Him.  During this Thanksgiving season, while we're sitting down enjoying the turkey and dressing, let's remember to give Him thanks for everything- cause He's got it covered!

We've put it out there to the Lord.  He knows what we need.  He's promised to supply the need.  Now we're waiting for the manifestation.... but are we in the right position to receive what He has promised us?  Sometimes when we ask God to do some things for us, we don't act like we really expect Him to do it.  We may say, "God I'm asking that you heal my body", yet we aren't walking like we are healed.  We may say, "God I'm asking you to open that door for me for a job", yet we aren't earnestly looking for employment.  Are we in the right position?  In 1 Kings 18:42, we see how Elijah got in the right position to receive the promise of God.  You see there had been a drought for quite some time.  After the "battle on the hill" found in the beginning of chapter 18, God revealed to Elijah that the drought was over and the rain was coming.  Did Elijah say "Cool, God - see it when it happens?".  No!  The scripture indicates that Elijah laid on the ground and put his face in between his legs.  That seems kind of strange; what was he doing?  He was putting himself in a position to receive the promise of rain.  With Elijah's face between his legs he shut out all the stuff around him that could cause him to take his gaze off the promise.  He couldn't see the promise coming but he could sense it even as he was in a position of surrender.  You see, we need to position ourselves so that we are ready to receive the promise.  We don't need to see the beginnings of the manifestation- let's just surrender our will to God.  Let's expect the promise to manifest and keep moving forward as if it has already manifested.  Don't expect the rain and not bring an umbrella.  Let's get in the right position to receive our promise!