It is so incredibly easy to praise God when things are going really well, isn't it? When I see the hand of God working in my life, when I receive answers to my prayers, when my life is going pleasantly, then "Praise ye the Lord!!!" But what about those times that things are not going well? When it doesn't appear the hand of God is anywhere near my life, when I don't receive answers to my prayers, when my life is not going pleasantly, then "Praise ye the Lord!!!!" does not come pouring off of my lips so easily. I begin to fret and worry, complain and grumble; begging God to please straighten out the mess, to take it away from me, and to quickly fix it. I want to be in the middle of the solution, because then I feel something is being done. However, in the midst of all this, I am prompted to do something unthinkable, something that goes against all of my feelings. I am prompted to praise.
I have been sick. I counted it up the other day. 5 times in 5 months. It has stopped a lot of my activity and changed my days. My focus is no longer on getting a list done, but more on getting out of bed, taking a shower, and hopefully getting the basics done. I have no idea why I have been so sick and it is completely out of the norm for me. I'm a once a year sick person . . . not 5 times right in a row. I found myself last week, sick again. I found myself completely at the end of my strength, slouched in a kitchen chair, crying; so tired of being sick. And yet, prompted to praise. God had been so good in teaching me about focusing on the unseen and not on what is seen. Focusing on Him in the midst of the trial and praising Him. Focusing on the promise of what happens to me in this physical world has no affect on my spiritual life. What a promise!
The first couple of days, it felt a little easier to tackle this challenge. However, as the days have gone on, the more negative thoughts have come. With each thought, though, I would capture it, say no to it, and replace it with praise or with a verse. Have I reacted to everything perfectly? Noooooo, I haven't. I would love to tell you that I have been perfect in this. But, I have snipped at my husband, been a bit more grumbly, and I have had shortened patience. I would like to tell you that if you do steps one, two, and three in praising God during the tough times that everything mellows out, the problem gets fixed, and life goes back to normal. That is the thing, it isn't a magical formula and we can't treat it like one. Sometimes things still remain unchanged and unseen. But that is where the rest of it fits in.
A couple of days ago, I was reading in 2 Chronicles and came across the 20th chapter. I got all fired up reading it. An army was coming to attack Judah. Judah sought after God, God answered them, they praised God, and God defeated the enemy. AMEN! Hallelujah! I was so excited about the power that is in our praise to God . . . and yet, I kept feeling like I was missing something. One verse kept bugging me. The question kept coming back to me, but what about when we can't see the victory taking place? What about when we still feel like we are struggling? I have praised, praised, praised, recited verses over and over . . . . but right now I am still sick. Right now, I still feel at the end of my rope. And this is what I felt God share with me today:
There is power in praise. Not because it is magical or super christian of us to do it, but because our praise in the midst of storms, trials, sickness, and before we ever see the victory, speaks of a strong faith settled way down inside of our Spirits. 2 Chronicles 20 records of a time in King Jehoshaphat's life, in which he was at the end of his rope. A vast army was coming to attack Judah. He did not know what to do, so He called out to God. "Help us! We are not capable of defeating this enemy. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are fixed on You!" (Paraphrase mine) God responded so beautifully. He said "Do not be afraid, do not be shattered or broken. Do not feel like this is the end of your life. You will not need to fight. This battle is not yours, it is Mine. Set yourselves firm, stand still, and watch me save you." (Paraphrase mine) All of the kingdom fell down in worship and the Levites stood up and began to praise God. King Jehoshaphat appointed singers to be on the front lines as they approached the enemy. The singers sang, "Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever." As they began to sing, the Lord set ambushes for their enemies. This is the part that originally got me fired up! Yeah, as they began to praise, God conquered their enemy! There is power in our praise! Yes, I will praise and God will conquer all my issues for me . . . . but then why I am still feeling defeated, frustrated, and weak? Harumph.
It is two verses down, that has answered my question. It is the verse that bugged me. 2 Chronicles 20:24 says, "When the men of Judah came to the place that over looks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped." I had imagined in my mind that Judah was able to watch God defeat their enemy. Yeah! The way that we like it, right? We like to watch God give it to our enemies good. Come on, be honest. I can't be the only one that likes to have those moments. We like to see justice done. But that is not what happened here. They didn't get to watch it. When the men of Judah got to the Desert of Tecoa, the enemy had already been conquered. They had no idea of the battle God was fighting on their behalf as they praised God and marched to face their enemy. The power of their praise came in their faith in God to fight a battle they could not even see.
We often feel we have to do something big to prove and show our faith. We need to be part of performing a miracle, speaking in tongues, cast out a demon. It can almost become a bragging point. "I had enough faith, so the healing happened", or I had enough faith so God gave me the ability to speak in tongues". These kinds of statements only bring condemnation to those who have not had these experiences. It is easy to respond sadly and with a bit of pity to those who have not experienced something like that, "well, you must not have had enough faith." If we are one of those people, it is easy to beat ourselves up for not having enough faith. But the Bible says, all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed and we can move mountains. A mustard seed is a teeny, tiny package with the promise of a very large result. Faith is believing without seeing. It is steadfast, set firm, staying still, while allowing God to do His work whether we can see it or not.
I am not saying that there is anything wrong with miracles, signs, and wonders. They most definitely have their place. However, we cannot use signs and wonders as a comparison about who has the most faith or who can perform the most miracles. It is a misuse of them. The focus is on faith the size of a mustard seed. A small package, filled with a big promise.
Praising God, especially in the hard times, can seem like such a small thing. We want to be a part of something "big", in the middle of the action, part of the solution. Instead, I can see Jesus gently picking us up, moving us to the sidelines, out of view of the battle, saying: "you don't have to fight. This battle is mine and I will fight this battle for you. You stay here, set yourself firm, be still and watch me save you!"
So then, let us praise Him! Our feet set firm on the Solid Rock, with our voices raised high; praising the One whom we have put all our faith in to fight our battle for us whether we can see it or not! Praise can seem like a small act in the midst of turmoil and trouble. No matter how small an action it seems to us, though, it is filled to the brim with faith in our warrior Jesus Christ, our Alpha, our Omega, our El Shaddai, our Jehovah Jireh! That is the where the power of praise comes from. Our faith.
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