Praise God

"Praise the LORD, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth. For his unfailing love for us is powerful; the LORD's faithfulness endures forever. Praise the LORD!"

~Psalm 117

Praising God is easy when joy fills our hearts and we are overwhelmed with the feeling of being blessed.  But what about when life is not so joyful or so blessed?

I know when I recently was betrayed by someone who was suppose to be by my side, praising God was not a thought in my head or an expression in my heart.  But, that's exactly what God wanted me to do.  He wanted me to praise Him for the heartache.  He wanted me to praise Him for the unjust situation.  He wanted me to praise Him for the hurt.  He wanted me to praise Him for the disappointment.

And so, I did.

It was not easy, but I surrendered to God's request because I thought, 'Why not?'

Why not praise God in our trials?  Why not praise God in our sufferings?  Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  (James 1:2)  There's not much else we can do in those situations.  We can't change what has happened.  But God can.

He began to change my heart and how the betrayal affected me.  When I began praising God for the situation and all the hurt I felt, I began to feel joy replacing pain.  What release of freedom overcame me!

God didn't change what happened to me, but He changed me.  That in itself is worth praising God for!  Only when we begin to praise God for everything, do we begin to really love God for everything.

I needed to really love God in the hurt of my situation.  I needed to praise Him.  Jesus understood my hurt.  He, too, had been betrayed by someone who was suppose to be by His side.  In fact, in the hour Jesus needed a friend the most, Peter denied him.  Peter-the same man who hours before said he wouldn't desert Jesus even if everyone else did (Matthew 26:33)-left Him when He needed someone the most to stand by His perfectly innocent side.

Jesus still loved Peter.  Jesus still loves us.  Jesus still loves me even when my world is crashing down around me or even when I sin.  His love isn't in the hurt.  His love is in our hearts.  And when we begin to praise God for everything, including our hurts, He reveals His love to us in ways He couldn't if everything in our life was perfect and wonderful.

Experience the indescribable joy of the Lord today.  Praise Him not only for the good in your life, but also for the pain, the unjust situations, the heartaches, the people or things that are making your life difficult, the hardships, the laundry that needs to be done, the toilets that need to be cleaned, the work you've put off, the unanswered prayers, the mistakes, the challenges, the disappointments, the illnesses, the weaknesses, the imperfections.  Praise God for His faithfulness!  Praise God for His gracious, abundant, powerful and unfailing love!  Praise God, all you nations!  Praise God, all you people of the earth! Praise God!

Joy. Go After It.

"You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy."

John 16:24

Joy and Trials Don't Mix, Do They?

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith 
produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4

This has been a year of trials for me.  Trials I didn't want.  Trials I'm sure I asked for, and trials I didn't even see coming.  Joy was not a part of any of these trials.  Is it ever?  There were times, in fact, during a trial I said to God, "I don't want this."  I'm sure I disappointed Him because I know I've disappointed myself looking back on this year of trials and how I handled them.

I did not handle the many trials I had over the past year with grace, appreciation, and certainly not with joy.  I fought them.  I resented them, and I gave up many times.  My faith faltered.  My relationship with God was shaky, and I began to hate who I was.  I have often thought about how (King) David felt running from his trials and hiding in caves.  He certainly wrote some of the most emotional and beautiful psalms during his time of trials.  He wasn't joy-filled about the trials, but he remained joy-filled towards the Lord and Who God is.  I wish I could say the same.

God is not going to stop believing in us.  He's not going to stop loving us, and because of these two things, He is not going to stop testing us.  He doesn't want to see us suffer, but He wants us to see Him in our suffering.  As long as sin is a part of this world, there will be suffering and trials of many kinds.  God wants us to see Him through the suffering and by seeing Him, we can experience pure joy and perseverance.  By doing so, we will become complete and mature, not lacking anything.  Joy and trials don't mix, but a faithful child of God will find joy in the midst of a trial.  Help us, O Lord, to find You and in doing so, joy, in every trial we're facing. Amen.

Lifted Up in the Completeness of God's Joy

Everlasting joy is found in God alone.  If we depend on others to produce joy, then we only experience temporary moments of it, and we are never satisfied. I write this from experience.  I depend some days on a hug or a compliment or an acknowledgement from certain people in my life, and when I do receive one, I feel joy and elation.  The days when I don't receive one, I feel more insecure and dejected.  I hinge joy on a hug!  How crazy is that!?  Therefore, I repeat, more for myself than anyone else, EVERLASTING JOY is found in God alone.  Period.  The joy that I receive from others just comes and goes.  It's erratic and inconsistent.
If we live our lives depending on others to produce joy, then we will live our lives in disappointment and dissatisfaction.  Only God can produce complete joy.  "For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete." (Deuteronomy 16:15) 

I found joy in the past week by serving others because in essence I served the Lord.  I also was filled with joy when I spent time in God's Word and shared with others the wisdom gained from it, when I took care of the little things that hung over my head like tacky, irritating ornaments; and when I poured out love onto others even when I knew it might not be reciprocated or that it might be rejected.  Joy was in my heart because God was there, and I relied on His love, His faithfulness, and His goodness. 

The beauty of God's joy is that because it is complete, I'm overflowing with it when I do receive the hugs, the compliments, or the acknowledgments from certain people.  There's nothing better than to be flying above the clouds because of God's propelling joy and to have a gust of wind--bits of joy that comes from other people--lift me up even higher.  May God joy fill your hearts this day and may you receive the extra blessings that come!