Praise Him

Nothing seems to be going right. It  feels like the enemy is weighing down on my back, leaving me no escape from the pain. I’ve taken every pill I possess, but I cant even lift myself off of the floor. The hospital couldn’t even help me. What else am I supposed to do?

Praise Him.

But how can I praise the Lord when all I feel is hopelessness? How can I thank God for letting me wake to see a new day, when I was woken up to nothing but pain and darkness? How do you expect me to thank God when I’ve lost my health, my job, my car, and irreplaceable time with my family?

Because the devil wants to win. The devil wants the glory. The devil wants you to stay sick and miserable. Don’t give him the satisfaction. Make him flee by praising the Lord.

When Job lost everything he possibly loved and possessed, what did he say? “Blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21)

When Paul and Silas were in the midst of a prison, having been stripped, beaten, and shackled, what did they do? They sang! And the praise produced something so powerful that the shackles and doors were unlocked from not only their cells but from all the cells in the whole prison!

Word of advice, create a playlist of praise and worship songs and listen to it. Listen to it all day long and all night long if you can. Embed songs of praise in your head. Memorize the lyrics. Start your day off surrounding yourself in that place of worship and stay in it. Remember, when you are filled with the Spirit, there is no room for the flesh.

Regardless of how you feel or what you are going through, God loves you. You are beautiful to Him. You are His child, and even if you feel like you have nothing else to be thankful for, be thankful for that. When you are speaking praises to His name, there is no room for negative words.

In the spirit of heaviness, put on the garment of praise.

– Isaiah 61:3

How many times does the Bible speak of praising God with a loud voice, of singing and dancing, of making a joyful noise unto Him? There is power in our words. Stop speaking about the destruction in your life or the pain you are feeling and start speaking words of praise to God. Honestly, what would you rather be feeling? Use the power in your words to make that feeling come to life.

My medication failed me more times than I could count. Even emergency room doctors could never get the pain under control. First instinct is to cry and complain. But instinct is man-made. Where would it even get me? It would only cause more stress and tension, which is never good for our health.

But what happens when you start to sing? Your body relaxes. From my own experience, when I remember to not let the devil steal my joy and my health, I begin to sing. The more I sing praise and worship to God’s name, the closer I enter into His presence and the further I become from my own suffering. Even when man’s way fails, God’s way brings complete wellness. If I just keep pressing in with praise and rebuke every attack the devil throws at me, my pain has been proven to go away completely.

While the Bible tells us time and time again to praise the Lord, Psalms is especially adamant about it (e.g. Psalms 148). King David was a great musician who used his talent to continually praise the Lord, oftentimes just for God being such an excellent, loving, merciful God. He couldn’t even keep that passion to himself, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.” (Psalms 150:6)

He inhabits the praises of His people. – Psalm 22:3

In II Chronicles 20, when a multitude of armies came against God’s people, God told them not to be afraid or discouraged, for He was with them. They went out against the armies, not with weapons. Not with strong, well trained men. But with, guess what – songs of praise! And in singing these songs of praise, their enemy was destroyed!

Your relationship with Christ is a marriage, a commitment, through sickness and in health. Through it all, He is there for you, and that alone deserves praise. You’re not dead yet, which means God still has a story to tell. Praise Him for that honor of speaking through you.

Revelations 4 speaks of a particular group of angels that surround the throne of God, and their sole job, unceasingly, is to praise, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

No matter what you are going through, strive to be in that same place.