What's that You Say??

Oh, boy! We are in a mess and I just don’t know what is going to come about. What is happening to our country? I don’t know how I am going to make it in this economy! Did you wash your hands??? You know we’ve got that pandemic going around!

Do these comments sound familiar? I agree. Things are bad! But Jesus warned us of that very thing while He still walked among us. He said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Now, it is very easy to fall into the trap that satan has set for us but we have the only hope for the world and we are to continually point to the hope we have in Christ. But how? By just doing it! We must continually have His praise on our lips even when we don’t “feel” it. I remember very well after Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast one of the first reports we received was that First Baptist Church Long Beach was gone…little did we know that most of the coast was wiped away but hearing that the church was gone was devastating to me. I had not lived there in many years but this was the place where I had surrendered to the ministry. This is where I was married and had the funeral of both my parents. I took it hard…I began to focus only on the loss and before I knew it I was in a state of depression. It was strange that this would have such an affect for I had been through much worse than the loss of a building but it did. One Sunday afternoon, however, I went to my piano and began to sing “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord….you give and take away…you give and take away…my heart will choose to say…LORD, blessed be Your name!” Just praising Him in the midst of my depressed state brought such joy. My soul was lifted from despair to heights of joy! I “took heart!” There is great power in praise! The church was still gone, but I had hope that God was still in control! That made all the difference. It is about our focus!

Praise often is really a holding on to the truth of God in the midst of great emotional upheaval. Jesus told the woman at the well that one day people would worship God in Spirit and in Truth. (John 4:23) I believe that many times we worship Him only in spirit—with our emotions-- and when things are going well, we praise Him but when they aren’t, we fall apart. That is where the truth comes into play…the truth of who God is…the truth of what He says He will do …the truth that He has overcome the world! It is the truth that holds everything together and gives hope in the midst of the storm.

Think about what comes from your mouth when you talk to others about the world circumstances? I am not saying we need to be oblivious to the situations…as I said, things are bad…but what comes from our mouths shows what kind of faith we have. It reveals our heart!
I want to challenge you today to read Isaiah 40: 21-31 and Psalm 42. In these rich verses you will discover who God is, what He is capable of but also what He promises to those who are called by His name. Place your focus on Him! Yes, things are bad…but the Psalmist says, “Why are you downcast, Oh my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”(42:5)

This is the offering we have to give the world. We have a God who knows about tomorrow and lavishes us with His love today. From that perspective…it’s all good!!!