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I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Psalm 34:1
I received a phone call one day from the wife of a friend of mine. ‘Jerry’ had gone into the hospital the day before for tests. He was already considered disabled as a result of an illness that kept him from working. He’d lost his job, was forced to sell all of his ‘toys’ and now his wife was back in the workplace. The doctor’s report wasn’t good. It was determined that the disease had progressed to the point where he wouldn’t be able to take care of the kids while his wife was at work.
After talking with Jerry’s wife for a bit I decided to make the trip down to the hospital. On the way down I was praying for Jerry and his family, wondering what it would be like to have lost everything, thinking of how lucky I was to not be in his position. I also prayed for wisdom to be able to say the right things to lift my dear friend’s spirits during this most trying of times.
The walk down the hallway to his room was excruciating. I looked inside and saw him still connected to all sorts of tubes and wires and my heart sank. “Lord, help me know what to say,” I whispered under my breath as I entered the room.
Everything changed once Jerry I entered that hospital room…everything in my attitude that is. We sat and talked for nearly 45 minutes. During that time Jerry did most of the talking. He talked about how fortunate he was to have Jesus in his life. He talked about how wonderful his wife was. He bragged about how well his kids were doing in school. With my help he showed me a verse he’d read the day before and how it had blessed him. There was little said about the doctors, the tubes, the disease or his future. None of that mattered to Jerry. Jesus would take care of that.
I left the room wondering what had just happened! I was supposed to be the one to encourage, yet I was encouraged by the very person who should have been down. I was spoken to in a real way that day. The passage Jerry had shown me was Psalm 34. Psalm 34 was written by someone else who was in dire circumstances: King David.
When David wrote this Psalm he was running for his life from King Saul. He’d taken refuge in enemy territory and acted insane to save his life. He was humiliated, homeless; he’d been betrayed and felt completely alone. Still, in the midst of his despair he was able to praise his God.
The reason David was able to sing praises in his despair is because he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that no matter where he was, no matter what had happened in his life, no matter what lay ahead of him, God was with him to guide, provide and protect.
What struggles are you facing today? Is your past haunting you? Have you been betrayed or rejected? Do you have health, relational or financial concerns? Remember what Jerry and David remembered. In our times of deepest need we need only look to Jesus for comfort and strength. Trusting in Jesus doesn’t take away the pain of life, but it does give us strength and wisdom to move on.
PRAYER: Holy God. I thank You for the promise that you will be with me in every situation. I praise you because you know better than anyone else my pain, sorrow, frustration and fears. I ask that you would strengthen me to move on in life. Help me to put life in perspective so that I can be an encouragement to others regardless of my own circumstances. Amen.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5
One of the unfortunate things about ‘church’ today is that we tend to categorize our spirituality into activities and not life style. We go to church on Sunday. The rest of the week is ours to spend time as we wish. We focus on church as a building and worship as a set of songs and/or hymns that we sing at some point in a service to direct our attention and praise to God.
Old habits die hard. Our tendency to place our spiritual activities in categories isn’t a new one. The Israelites had the same tendency. Just as today worship was often built on an object or an activity and not a person. That’s what got them in trouble when Moses was up getting the 10 commandments. They were without an object to worship so they made a calf.
Worship isn’t about activity and praise isn’t related to circumstances surrounding you. Worship is a lifestyle and praise is dependent on WHO God is and what HE has done. Praise and thanksgiving are not based on the mistakes we’ve made in the past, the guilt or shame we bear or the amount of money in our bank accounts. PRAISE AND WORSHIP ISN’T ABOUT US.
One of the great ‘Psalms of praise’ is Psalm 100. In this short song of praise that was written by King David we are instructed to praise the Lord for the many things that He has done for us. But hidden within the song we are directed when and where to praise Him.
David tells us to offer thanksgiving and praise in ‘His courts’ and ‘His gates’. These terms were references to places outside the temple! In other words, David is telling us that our praise and worship of Jesus is to be a part of our everyday lives. It isn’t to be hidden within the walls of some building someplace or placed strategically at some place and point of time.
Take time to focus on what God has done for you. Don’t let your current circumstances influence the way you feel. Don’t be general in your thanks or go back to some point in history of what ‘He did back then.’ Take time each day to focus on just one aspect of Jesus’ love that won’t change regardless of your circumstances. Maybe it’s Jesus’ unconditional love or His unending mercy, patience, grace, forgiveness, understanding. Make your own list. Be specific. Take these praises with you everywhere you go.
Let the world see Christ’s love in you at the grocery store, in rush hour, in the long lines at your favorite discount store or at the coffee shop. Wherever you go, focus on what Jesus has done for you. You don’t need to put on a show! His light will shine through you to others. Words and songs of praise aren’t nearly as effective as a lifestyle of praise and worship.
PRAYER: Holy God. I confess to you that too many times my spirituality is categorized. I show a ‘different me’ in every situation. My praise of you is limited to time and based on my changing circumstances. Thank you that you never change. Help me today, to focus my attitudes, actions, words and activities on who you are and not who I am. Amen.
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. Philippians 2:14-15
Saturday Night Live introduced us to a person named Debbie Downer. Debbie had a knack for making any situation dark. While the rest of the crowd was celebrating Debbie would douse the positive feelings with statements that drained the joy from everyone within earshot. In her world nothing was right.
While Debbie is a fictional character, we all know people like her who seem to be able to find something negative to say about anyone and anything. They point out the faults of everything from dress and hairstyles to political opinion. We are surrounded by a culture that seems obsessed by finding the negative in things.
Negative reactions are like one drop of black ink in a gallon of clear water. They can turn an otherwise joyful or good day bad. One negative comment, whether intentional or not, can destroy an entire day, or even a relationship.
Negative reactions imply, intentionally or otherwise, that God isn’t ‘doing His job’. If we truly believe that God is sovereign, and that He loves us then our attitude should show all those around us that He is a good God who can be trusted in the worst of circumstances.
King David states, in Psalm 139 that God has ordained or planned every one of our days from the time of conception until the time of our death. He is involved in every second of our existence. Our Father doesn’t ‘make bad things happen’ randomly to annoy us. He doesn’t bring ornery and mean people into our lives because He is vindictive and enjoys seeing us suffer.
We can say we love Jesus and our desire is to show the world His love but how does that play out when we are cut off in traffic? How do we show Jesus’ love when the server at the restraint gives us lousy service and doesn’t seem to care? How is ‘Grace’ shown when a co-worker accuses us or leaves us a bunch of work because they ‘weren’t doing their job.’?
Paul tells us that as Christ-followers we can make a huge statement by how we react to adversity. Adversity is inevitable. Finances, health issues, natural disasters, politics can seem to stack up against us. People are mean, selfish and demanding. All sorts of things can keep us in ‘Debbie Downer’ mode.
Paul’s words encourage us as Christ-followers to shine as lights of positive thinking in a world of ‘Debbie Downers’. As Christ-followers we don’t deny the fact that adversity exists. We don’t downplay the pain of physical, natural or relational disaster. But we do maintain a thought process that tells the world that in spite of the bad things happening around us we are encouraged because we know there are better days ahead because of Jesus’ love for us.
A proper view of God’s love defeats negative thinking every time. Negative thinking says, “While I believe in God, He’s proven to me that He is either unable to help in time of need or my needs are too small to be important to Him.”
Positive thinking doesn’t say: “Because I believe in God everything will be good and happy, Positive thinking says: “My faith in God will enable me to weather every storm that attacks me because I know that He is love and He will care for me regardless of what happens.
PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you today realizing that all too often I find myself either in ‘Debbie Downer’ mode or surrounded by others who are. I ask that you would empower me by Your Holy Spirit to live about the negative influences in my life. Help me to be a light shining in the darkness. A light that shows the positive aspects of Christ’s love living through me. Amen.
Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. John 12:35
Jesus was coming to the end of His earthly ministry and many were questioning Him concerning His teachings about the Messiah, or the ‘Son of Man’. The people were sure that they had the whole picture of God’s deliverance figured out. Their religion had built a comfortable box around their concept of how God would work and how they would, in turn, benefit.
Unfortunately, the people of Jesus day had the same problem many of us have today. We think we know exactly how God will work in a given situation. We expect that He will work the same way one time as He does in other times and circumstances. But God works in His own way and on His own timing and wisdom. Even while Jesus was on earth He didn’t heal people in the same way every time. God works in different ways at different times according to His wisdom and glory and not ours.
In John 12:35 Jesus teaches us an important lesson about the journey we call life and there is a sense of urgency in His voice. Jesus says, “Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you.” There is a nugget of wisdom in this little phrase hidden in verse 35. Life won’t always be as we see it now. Those of us who have lived a few years on earth are amazed at how life has changed socially, politically, economically and even spiritually.
Jesus tells us to walk. Walking is not standing. As a Christ-follower we cannot ‘stand’ for we are either progressing in our relationship with Jesus and others or we become stagnant. Stagnancy in the spiritual realm is the same as going backwards. It doesn’t do you any good, in fact it harms you. To avoid being stagnant in your spiritual walk it’s important to discipline yourself to read God’s word regularly, pray often and plan to fellowship with those who love Jesus as you do.
Jesus not only tells us to walk but He warns us to not ‘let the darkness overtake you’. When you walk in the evening it’s always a good idea to plan your walk wisely. Be aware of the surrounding changes in light, weather and topography. If you walk too far from home you could get lost in the darkness and not make it back safely.
The same is true somewhat in our spiritual lives. If we are not careful we can walk right into danger without realizing it. Wise walking means that you are careful not to allow yourself to be trapped by the enemy. As Christ-followers Satan will do whatever he can to sidetrack you from your mission to live for Jesus by bringing darkness unexpectedly into our lives.
The darkness he brings upon can be like shadows of our past which haunt us continually with guilt for poor decisions, the pain of broken relationships and doubts about our abilities to recover. His darkness can bring the worry and anxiety of the future, infecting us with fear for our own well-being and the safety of our children.
But Jesus tells us to avoid the darkness. Light destroys shadows and Jesus is the light! The closer we walk to Him the less effect the darkness will have on us. As we walk with in wisdom, aware of our surroundings, His light shines the way to show us safe passage through obstacles the enemy lays before us to trap us.
Walk. Don’t run. Don’t stand. Don’t waiver. Move on in life through the light that only Jesus can offer you. In Him is all you need to travel this journey called life.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I thank you for being the light of my world. I praise you that you alone will show me the way. I trust in Your promise to keep me from being trapped by the shadows of darkness that Satan throws across my path. Empower me with wisdom to walk in your way and strength to keep on when the way grows weary. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 