All the way home I was thinking about this, carrying my too
heavy bags, tired from a long week that still has one more day to go before I
can have a rest and get ready to start all over again. I was feeling like the
same old grind was going to go on forever, and that living in the present,
though a nice thought for people who are on a beach somewhere, is not a nice
thought for me right now. As you can see I needed an attitude adjustment, and
thank God for the Holy Spirit because He stepped right in and started talking
me out of my slump.
The first thing He had me do was start to sing a straight
forward praise and worship song. “Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto
the matchless King. Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto the matchless
King! Lord I praise your name I bless your name, all praises belong to you!
Lord I praise your name I bless your name, all praises belong to you.” Strangely
enough when I just looked up the song to give the writers credit, it took me a
bit of time to find it. I found every other song I know like it, plus some that
I’ve never heard before, but then it finally came up, and I think the writers
are Clint Brown – LaRue Steward/Ernest Collin. That’s how it’s written on the bottom
of the page, though some of it looks like it’s written in Dutch, so I really
don’t know for sure. It’s a song we sang all the time in church, so I can’t
figure out why it’s not easier to find, but it’s in my heart and my mind, and
that’s all that really matters, though I do like to give credit where credit is due.
Praise is a weapon. When we feel like there’s nothing left
in us to keep going, we can always praise God, because there is always
something to remember from what He’s done in our lives. It’s not living in the
past, it’s remembering His faithfulness in the past, so we can keep walking in
this present that isn’t the way we want it to be. When we start to praise God,
even through our tears sometimes, something starts to move and shift in our
situation. The first thing that happened to me when I started to sing that song
is that I started to remember the things that I had to be thankful for, and I
started to feel how beautiful the evening air was during my walk home. This is
my favorite time of the year, and the days have been spectacular, and the
nights just perfect. Even though I’m not doing what I want to be doing, and
things are not going in directions that I can see that are the way that I want
them to be, the weather itself is something to be thankful for, and being able
to enjoy it is a blessing. Then when I got home, I had a bill in my mail box from
one of my credit cards, and that was actually a good thing because I used to
have so much debt and it’s been getting paid off, and that is a miracle of God
all by itself. And then I came inside and looked around my very messy
apartment, and realized that it’s so messy because I’ve been blessed with so
many beautiful clothes from the thrift stores He's shown me, and blessed with other things that bring me joy like plants and
pottery. Even my kitchen is full of delicious food, and everything that I had
lost has been restored and even more than I had lost. That’s what God does, and
it was the act of praise that helped my tired eyes open to see His blessing and
provision.
Life can be beautiful when we let God speak to us. The things
that are difficult are things that He can help us with, and things do change.
He brings change, and when we are dealing with situations and people who are
bringing us to a place of feeling down or weak, discouraged or depressed, when
we start to open our hearts and our mouths to praise God, He will make His
throne in the place of our praises. In Psalm 22:2-4 King David writes, “O my
God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; and by night, but I have no rest.
Yet, You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In You
our fathers trusted; they trusted, and You delivered them.” There is something
that happens when we praise – God will come to us in all His glory, and He will
make His throne in the very place where we are praising Him.
God hears the cry of your heart. The delay you face is
temporary, and it won’t last long. In the time that you are waiting, just
praise Him, and you will feel His presence like a breath of fresh air on a
balmy September night, the air that comes off of the water, cool but warmed by
the sun from a beautiful fall day. Take a deep breath and praise Him, and while
you are waiting, you’ll be renewed and strengthened and given the hope you need
to keep going, because you’ll be reminded of what you already have, and how
much He has already done.
Blessings,
Jannie Susan
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