{be loving} Yet I Will Praise

Suffering isn’t ideal. Lets just get that out there. We all experience pain to varying degrees at different points and it effects us and influences us greatly. There’s no shame in hurt and I would go as far to say never feel bad for feeling bad. Feeling bad isn’t a decision but what you do with those feelings IS a decision (and an incredibly important decision as well!).

While pain is inevitable and often outside of our control, we are in control [Gal. 5:22-23] of how we respond to it and we CAN and ARE able to respond though Christ.*

“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” [Romans 5:2-5]

Your feelings, although valid, aren’t always the most trustworthy thing. Especially when we’re in dark places, we are often far from the truth about who we are in Christ and what’s really going on. This is why it’s so important to talk and spend time with Jesus and to seek counsel if necessary. Feelings are SO important (and I’m a big feeler!) but our truth is rooted in scripture.

This means we have a decision to make to align with scripture and stay near to God. This doesn’t mean to stuff down our feelings or ignore them. To me, this means to acknowledge the feelings and also acknowledge the truth.

“Yet I will praise” is an attitude. It says to God, “no matter what comes, no matter what I’m experiencing right now, no matter how much hurt, despite everything, I will praise You.”

“There is a song for every season of the soul. Lifting Him up with radical praise (in the dark night of the soul), is not ignoring the issues. Instead it is saying: ‘though we face the grave,’ we will continue to sing through it and continue to say, ‘You are God, and You are good.’ It’s important to let praise flow out of your mouth even if you head disagrees.” – Brian Johnson

It is beyond freeing and empowering about declaring the name of Jesus over your life especially in those moments of pain. Personally, I’ve been suffering though intense headaches in addition to migraines for the last 10 years. Late fall last year they were so bad that any noise, let alone worship in church was painful and I felt so disheartened because I absolutely love to sing and praise God. Through this all I had a man speak into my life essentially the same quote above. We sometimes have to look at our lives that are broken and messy and say: we will sing though this, we will continue to praise You, no matter what.

Joy is so often a choice. That doesn’t mean you decide to be joyful and you are jumping off the walls happy with all your problems disappearing one by one. It means that you acknowledging the hurt, but know there is something greater.

Daniel 3:18 beautifully designed and presented at the top of this post [read Daniel 3 in a new tab], is found at a point in the story of Daniel where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego all tell king Nebuchadnezzar that they will not worship or serve other Gods.  In verse 15 Nebuchadnezzar states:” …But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

In the face of death, they respond by saying that there is no need to answer him because if that’s the case, that God is able to deliver them. They continue, in verse 18 by explaining, “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

This is an incredible story of faith and assurance in God. They are faced with the reality of imminent death yet they praise God and deny any others. They stand firm and say, “But if not,” knowing that God may not keep them from burning in the furnace and focus on the reality that He is able. 

Our God is ABLE. That doesn’t necessarily mean your pain goes away the second you pray, or that you get healed the first time you ask. That also doesn’t mean you don’t :)

Have faith, be comforted, have wild expectation. He is here.
Ready always.

…

[*This post is done but I wanted to take this opportunity to put this out there as well: if you are experiencing a lack of joy even in the midst of aligning yourself with scripture, spending time with God, praying, responding with faith, etc., it might be something more. I have been to counseling/therapy and there is no shame in asking for help. Sometimes we need an extra push in a loving, safe, and nurturing environment to help us get back on track. You have done nothing wrong to feel the way you do and you don’t deserve to live in pain and despair. His hope is SO real and tangible in your life and not only do I want you to know and experience that, our Father truly wants you to know and experience it as well.]