By: Sarah Geringer
How has your week gone? Mine has been so busy, it's been hard to keep my head above water, in terms of all the responsibilities. Family. Work. Exercise. Cooking. Cleaning...on and on.
Some sad things have haunted my heart this week. Hard things. Unchanging things. Things that tempt me to give up hope.
Some sad things have haunted my heart this week. Hard things. Unchanging things. Things that tempt me to give up hope.
When life is tough, praising God can feel even tougher. You might wonder how you can honestly praise God if things are going rough in your life.
When I feel discouraged, I remember Job's story. Job's suffering was on the Olympic scale. He had literally lost everything and had every right to complain.
But Job chose to praise God even in the midst of his hard times. I love this verse and the hymn that is based upon it:
I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
Job 19:25 NIV
Because God's character never changes, we can always praise Him for who He is. Job praised God for being his Redeemer, and praised God for His infinite nature. We can praise God for the same things. We can also praise Him for these qualities mentioned in scripture:
Savior
Friend
Father
Provider
Counselor
I can think of dozens more...how about you?
No matter how bad things get, we can always praise God for who He is.
Savior
Friend
Father
Provider
Counselor
I can think of dozens more...how about you?
No matter how bad things get, we can always praise God for who He is.
I often challenge myself to praise God for the opposite of whatever situation I'm in.
For example, when I feel tired, I praise God that He never sleeps (Ps. 121:4).
If I'm frustrated, I praise God for being slow to get angry (Ex. 34:6).
If I'm sad, I praise God for capturing all my tears in His bottle (Ps. 56:8).
No matter what your struggle is, you can praise God for His holiness and perfection. You can praise Him for being sovereign and transcendent over your circumstances. Like Job, you can praise Him for being your Redeemer.
Let your praises rise up today to the God who loves you.
Blessings and God's peace to you,
Sarah Geringer
Finding Peace in God's Word
Finding Peace in God's Word
Photo from Canva.com
Note: A version of this post originally ran on this website on 4/6/2018.
Reflection questions:
- What is your biggest struggle today?
- How can you use this struggle as inspiration for praise?
Our church has just been reading through 1 and 2 Kings. So many times, the situation in Israel was dire. But God was always working behind the scenes. That's been such a good reminder for me that He still is, even while we pray for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. There's always something to praise Him for. I love the thought of praising Him for being the opposite of my situation.
ReplyDeleteI love tracing God's hands after the fact...he is always good!
DeleteLove this encouragement to praise God in all situations! I'm especially struck by praising him for the opposite of whatever we're struggling with. What a great idea.
ReplyDeleteGlad this encouraged you!
DeleteThanks for this wonderful encouragement! I am struggling a lot with loneliness so I am praising God today that I am never truly alone and abandoned. He is always by my side.
ReplyDeletePraying for you in your loneliness, friend.
DeleteOh Sarah, yes this is wonderful and encouraging. This will be so helpful "If I'm frustrated, I praise God for being slow to get angry (Ex. 34:6)." I also love that He captures our tears.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad he collects our tears too.
DeleteThank you for this encouragement, Sarah, as it was needed this morning :) I'm going to put some praise music on now & tell my soul to look up! :)
ReplyDeletePraise music always lifts me up! Thanks, Joanne.
DeleteThank you for your encouraging words here Sara. I am finding that as I mature in Christ I am better able to praise him through hardships and boy what a difference it makes.
ReplyDeleteI agree...the more I grow in faith, the more praise-filled I am!
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