Sometimes all you can do is…..PRAISE!!

Sometimes life is almost too much.  There are times of financial stress, worrying about our children, times of illness.  God never said it would be easy.  I have learned though, in those times, all you can do is PRAISE.  Those are times to let out a shout with a voice of triumph and let the devil know we can’t be moved!  I have a dear friend in our church right now who just found out she has cancer…for the 2nd time.  Sunday, though, she was in church.  She wasn’t at home feeling sorry for herself.  She wasn’t in her seat with a downcast look.  Nope….she was praising God!  She was lifting her voice in powerful praise and awesome worship.  The enemy has not stopped her!  No way.  She says she has too much to do.  Her mere countenance brought me to tears. Sometimes…….all you can do is praise!  Praise Him for who He is, for all He has done for you.  During worship one time I stated “Lord, if you never done another thing for me, you have already done enough for me to serve you the rest of my life” He does not have to do another thing.  I gotta praise! When our bedroom flooded last week, I cried.  But, then something rose up within me and I

began to praise! Why?  I know that I know after all these years that God is up to something good.  I know when the enemy comes in like a flood (no pun intended) that God is right behind him sopping up the mess!  I know that God is already working the thing the enemy meant for destruction for my good!  So I praised!  I praised Him while I cleaned up my mess, I praised Him while I was throwing stuff away, knowing that He would bring me new things to replace what I had lost.  My dear friend with cancer knows the same thing.  She knows that all she has left is her praise.  That’s all she can do.  Praise and trust. Praise is a declaration.  A declaration of trust and of victory! It is a war cry saying to the enemy that you will stand strong and continue to trust in God.  So, people of God…whatever you are going through, wherever you are right now in your life…..PRAISE!  Let out a victory cry and let the enemy know you are standing strong in your faith. 
“I will bow down before your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word” Psalm 138:2. 

Stressed?

Today, I am stressed.  This week has been a very trying week for me.  There has been one thing after another after another.  School, work, illness, money woes, teens….well I could go on, but I won’t bore you.  I find myself longing for bed time each night.  Have you ever had a week like that?  What kind of human would I be if I never admitted I had a bad week?  I wouldn’t be a normal human for sure. It can’t be all doves and roses all the time.  We all have bad days, weeks, months.  It’s what we do with them that matters.  It’s how we react.  Here’s the thing. Satan CANNOT read your mind!  He is not omniscient, omnipresent, or all knowing.  To be so would mean that he is on the same wavelength as God.  We all know that is not so.  So, what does Satan “go” by?  Many times, he goes by our reactions.  Something happens to us and Satan (or one of his do-boys LOL) are sitting there waiting to see “how is she gonna take this?” He wants to know where our faith is.  Are we going to claim the word of God over our lives or are we going to poor me…….WHY GOD????  WHY ME????  I sadly, have done both.  This is when knowing the word of God comes in.  If the word is hidden in our hearts…..at the perfect time it will come forth.  We will know that Jesus is there, in our most stressful week, saying “peace, be still.”  I love the song that says “sometimes he calms the storm and other times he calms His child”.  There are times we have to go through things.  Not around them….the Bible says “though I go THROUGH the valley…” Sometimes there is no other way but through.  It is in those times, though, that my faith has grown.  It has been in the hard times that I have planted my feet and declared that no matter what, I will serve the Lord.  I will see the battle through…..I WILL simply trust.  That’s what it comes down to….trust.  Do we trust Him to bring us through the bad weeks?  Do we trust that no matter how it ends, it is all for His glory?  Do we trust that He loves us enough that He always, always has our best interest at heart? If we do, then the bad weeks, the stressful days, well they won’t seem quite as bad.  Psalm 85:8 says “I will listen to what God the Lord will say; he promises peace to His people, His saints.” I think that’s enough said. 
Here’s wishing you a stress free God filled weekend…….