Don't allow what you see to determine your praise!

Some say it is hard to praise God in the midst of a storm. I disagree! I believe that your best praise comes forth from the midst of your storm! Your loudest hallelujah and strongest yes, Lord comes out of your darkest hour! My friend, one thing I know for sure is that the God that we serve will never leave us nor forsake us! "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."~Deuteronomy31:6 ”Now that right there, is enough to tilt your head back and give God a shout of praise! The scripture does not just let us know that God will never leave us nor forsake us! The scripture lets us know that we are to not be afraid! No matter what it looks like! We are to not be terrified! No matter how dark it may seem! We are to be reminded that the God we serve goes with us! What a promise from God! To know that we know that we know that God will never leave us nor forsake us! 

Have you ever watched a sports game and you just could not help but root for the under dog? You just had hope and confidence that even though they were not the ones that the commentators picked to win that they were going to walk away victorious! You need to be reminded today that even though the odds are stacked against you, that because you serve a God that can do all things but fail you have the victory! I need to remind you that we DO NOT go by what we see! We serve a God that is eternal! We do not focus our attention on the temporary! We focus our attention on God! Yes, trails are going to come! Yes, you may want to throw in the towel! Don't do it my friend! You know what makes us root for the under dog? We root for the under dog because of their heart! When your heart is right it does not matter what is stacked against you! Our God looks at our hearts! "But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”~1Samuel 16:7

A lot of times we try to figure everything out! We have to get to a place that we understand we do not have to figure everything out! We are not going to figure everything out! We have to fully understand Isaiah 55:9! "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." What peace there is in knowing that God is not looking at the situation the way we are looking at it! What confidence we should have in knowing that when we are trying to figure something out God is truly already working it out! When you feel yourself getting to a place where you want to know everything, remind yourself that you do not need to know everything! Rejoice in the fact that your serve a Loving Daddy that knows EVERYTHING. 

Make up in your mind that this temporary set back will not keep you back! Make up in your mind that this temporary upset will not determine your praise! Praise God in the midst of the trail! Praise God because He is worthy to be praised on your good days, on your bad days, and on each and everyday that you have breath in your body! Don't allow what you see to determine your praise! We serve a God who can do all things but fail! So my dear friend, put your trust in the one who is able to make your way straight! Put your trust in the one who is able to calm your fears! Put your trust in the one who is able to cause your enemies to slip and be destroyed! You my friend, are more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus! Remain anchored in Him and even when the winds and the storms rage you will not be greatly moved! Again I say, don't allow what you see to determine your praise!

Praise God today for your Victories that were Clothed in Defeat!

It can be easy to look at a closed door as a bad thing. It is easy to think that a closed door is a sign of defeat. When we are really wanting what is on the other side of a door and we do not have access to it, we can get discouraged. In my time of reflecting on God's greatness today I ran across a journal entry from April 2009 and when I say it blessed me that is what I mean. I wrote it before corporate morning prayer and it spoke to me today 3 years after God deposited it in me. I wrote, "I thank you for every victory and for the victories that were clothed in defeat! For I know because I am in you I am made victorious in everything I do." Now that right there makes me want to stop typing and go back to praising God for His faithfulness! In order to praise God for what we see in the natural as defeat we have to be confident in who God is in our lives.

We have to remember that God is responsible for the open doors as well as the closed doors! His word declares that He will open a door that no man can shut and He will also close doors that no man can open! This lets us know that it is God alone that is responsible for those closed doors. It could mean that it is not time to go through that door or this could mean that what is behind this door is not for you my friend. We have to get to a place in Him where we can rejoice over what we see as set backs. Rejoice over what you see as a denial! Rejoice over what you see as a failure! Rejoice over what you see as a detour! Rejoice over your victory that is clothed in defeat!

Thank God for the plans that did not come to pass! Thank God for the rejection that you faced that brought you to the place that you are in Him now! Thank God for the friends that He moved out of your life! Thank God for the job that you did not get! Thank God for the house that you did not qualify for! Thank God for the promotion that you did not get! Thank God for the heartache you had to endure! Thank God for every "no" that you have received! Thank God for your victory that was clothed in defeat! Again think it not strange that certain things or people were removed from your life. Also think it not strange that certain things or people were not placed in your life at certain times.

I am going to leave you with one of my favorite scriptures. We know this scripture but now we have to stand on this scripture! "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."~Jeremiah29:11 We each have an expected end! We can live off of that promise for the remainder of the year! We can get so caught up in the beginning portion of this scripture that we do not take God at His promise that we each have an expected end! We serve a faithful God! So I encourage you today my friend to praise God for your victories that were clothed in defeat!