Psalm 69:19-36
Through thick and thin--we can and should praise. I'm all about singing to the Lord. (I know I've told you that before, but it's one of my favorite things to do.) So when I hit Psalm 69:30, I wanted to break into song! Here's what it says, "I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving." Now there are lots of verses that talk about praise and singing and I love them all. But considering David's situation here (dejected, asking for help and deliverance, crying out to the Lord) this verse is especially meaningful.
So how are we doing with praising the Lord in song and magnifying him with Thanksgiving? As we head into another week, are there things we can do to keep us on track--regardless of our circumstances? Tami W.
P.S. How about encouraging us with your story about continuing to worship and praise God in and through tough times?
We've had some very tough times at work with leadership that is extremely difficult to deal with. I'll never forget one time my Christian friend looked at me and simple said something like, "ok Carol can you praise God through the tough times too." Boy did that get me thinking. I try a little harder now to find things to praise God for. I, too, love to worship. Actually, it's my favorite part of the church service.
Tami,
I am anxious to read others comments on continuing to praise God during difficult times. I am a newly proclaimed Christian and the last 4-6 month I have been filled with Gods wonderful spirit and I have seen many of His miracles in my life. I found a church that I felt at home with and could not stand to miss a service.
In the last month, I have felt empty and lonely. I feel like God has deserted me, even though I know that is not true. I don't know how to get back. It is a scary place to be. Praising God feels like a chore right now. I don't really want to go to church, but I am headed there now, hopefully I will hear God's blessings. I do not know what has changed, I have been through some very tragic things and life is actually pretty good right now.
I have been under a lot of stress with health and family problems. Sometimes it seems as if I am being pulled in all different directions.
Yesterday I was driving to pick up my sister because we were going on a nature trail. On the way to her house, I just broke out in song and sang for God. It was a made up song but it expressed my thankfulness to Him. I sang how He always picked me up when I was downtrodden, how He gave me strength when I thought I couldn't go on etc. I felt such joy in my heart when I was singing to Him. Even though I can't carry a tune, it was beautiful to Him, I am sure.
It can seem very difficult to worship and praise God during trying times but what else can we do but to give Him thanks and praise. If we do not, we sink deeper and deeper into depression. We have to continue reading His Word especially the New Testament and just read what Jesus says. Even though we have never seen Him we believe Him, for He has made good all His promises up to now. He died so that we can have salvation. He did this for you and me. This is unconditional Love! We have to be in touch with Him daily to know and feel His power, His mercy and His grace. He does not give us more than we can bear 1 Corinthians 10:13. He will never leave us nor forsake us to sing His praises, they may sound a bit feeble but as we ccontinue the praises and songs become stronger. His faithfulness endures for ever, and because we continue to live in hope and we still have faith in Him, we know that He is coming again soon so keep in His Word.
Joan R
Yes God is to be praised. He is a merciful God. Last month my mum suffered a stroke to her right side. Her speech was slurred, her right hand was weak and she could not walk or stand. As a result she had to be hospitalised for a few days for observation. After a few days she regained her speech and the full use of her right hand. But she still could not walk or stand because her right foot was very weak. She was to be discharged the next day because the tests showed that there was no blood clot. The night before, my daughter and I were driving home from the hospital and on turning I don't know what happened but felt a great impact. I hugged myself and said Jesus. A car had struck us on my side causing major damage to my door and the interior of the car. My window which was up was shattered and the glass flew all over my face. I sustained a deep jagged cut to my left eyelid which took two hours to stitch, and a piece of glass had to be removed from my eye. My mother was discharged the next day and was confined to a wheelchair for two weeks. Thanks to therapy and lots of prayers, she is no longer dependant on the wheelchair and can stand and walk with the use of the walker. As for me, I am thankful because God's grace and mercy have brought my family and me through. My mother has overcome her stroke, I have my eye-sight, and my daughter and I have life. No matter the circumstance, have faith, give God thanks and praise, and tell others about his goodness for he is worthy to be praised. He knows everything, for he is God and he promises never to leave us or forsake us!
God Bless.
Dian
Thanks everyone for blogging today. Good stuff!
Hey, Catherine, as I read your comments, I could so identitfy with you. There have been plenty of times where I've felt like I'm in a dry spell for whatever reason. Those times are definitely not fun but I have found that when I'm obedient and praise through it (as hard as that may be), I learn from these times and my trust and reliance on the Lord grows as a result.
I actually had a little "dry spell" episode this morning. I lead worship for my church and as I was driving into town today, I felt kind of depleted. I couldn't pin point a reason, but that's how I was feeling. So as I drove I just started talking to God. I simply told him how I was feeling, asked for forgiveness for a couple of attitudes I had had the day before and told Him that I wanted nothing more than to worship Him and please Him today. I continued on to church and nothing seemed to change. We started into our pre-service practice and barely got into our first song and it happened. The phrase we were singing about lifting our voices and praises to the Lord and at that instant, He answered my prayer. I can't explain it, but I felt His presence and that depleted feeling was gone. God is so good!
So hang in there and tell God what you're feeling and struggling with. He loves you and wants to hear from you and hopefully that dry spell will end soon. In the meantime, I'll say prayer for you today. Tami W.
wow guys, these are such great, uplifting comments.
Dian, it is great how you can take those difficult situations that your family and you had to go through and turn them into praises for God.
Joan, thanks for all of those encouraging thoughts, including pointing out 1 Corinthians 10:13. It is one of the verses that keeps me from being full of seemingly endless sorrow during the toughest times.
Rena, sometimes I do just what you do...randomly break out into praise. Being able to pray and sing whenever we feel like it is such a cool thing about having a relationship with the Lord.
Catherine, you are right. God never deserts you. Even when it may feel like he is not there, he is and always will be there.
Carol, I know it's hard to praise when you have to work with difficult people on a regular basis. In this situation and other difficult times in life, I think that the saying, "count your blessings" goes a long way. If we give God thanks and praises for the numerous blessings, which he has been so kind to give, everyday, it is a lot easier to be in joyful spirits.
As long as our praises for God are sincere, it is impossible for anything negative to come from them. Try giving God praise when you feel least like doing so. You might be surprised by how much it makes life better. Self-pity may seem indulging, but prayer, praise and worship always accomplish so much more.
God definitely should be praised in the tough times. But, if I am honest, this is one of the biggest areas of difficulty in my Christian walk! That's probably why I keep going through little trials all of the time; I'm sure God is just waiting patiently for me to finally learn this lesson. And I can really relate to working with difficult/negative people. I pray that we can learn this lesson and praise God through it all.....and watch what happens!
Hi everyone, I am reading these comments and my eyes are filled with tears and giving God thanks for all of you. Tami, thanks for Powered by 4. God is really blessing us. Let us continue to give Him thanks and praise and pray for each other. Thank you Lord for Your Love and please continue to bless, guide, protect and provide for us and I pray that many more persons will seek out Powered by 4. Thanks for life, for our daily bread, our shelter and and for all these persons and their families you have placed in our lives. Strengthen our faith that no matter what obstacles come into our lives we will seek your face. Amen
Joan R