There is a line of a chorus we sing, “I can’t afford to ever stop praising the Lord”. When I meet adverse circumstances in life, I need to run into God. Only in Him will I find the grace and strength to navigate the path through the trial. In reading some of David’s Psalms, we find him struggling with his circumstances, but in finality, he encourages himself in the Lord. Psalm 22 reveals David’s struggles with dire situations. After he has poured out his emotions to the Lord, he declares that God inhabits the praises of His people. When the going gets tough it is time to learn how to abide in the sanctuary of His love, practising the Presence. Far better to worship the God of my circumstances, than focusing on the problem.
I will never soar like an eagle when I am grumbling and complaining like a chicken! Attitude determines altitude! Psalm 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint”.
You cannot praise God and complain at the same time. A belief in the impossible demands a refusal to believe the obvious. Where is my focus?
When we focus on our circumstances, we get distressed. When we focus on the Lord, learning to lean on Him and trust Him, we prove the secret of abiding in the Vine, the Lord Jesus Christ, (John 15). Treasure your negatives, see them in a positive light as you rest in the everlasting arms, proving God’s faithfulness.
The poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox is a powerful message that our personal choices, rather than our circumstances, dictate our destiny:
“One ship drives east, and another drives west,
With the selfsame winds that blow,
‘Tis the set of the sails, and not the gales,
That determines the way the boat goes.”
May we set our sail on Jesus, learning to abide in His love, confident in His finished work of Calvary. The resurrection ground He won for us is our birthright. It is not determined by our feelings but by the word of God, and Jesus, who is the Living Word.
As this new week unfolds, may we remember there is never a reason strong enough to ever stop praising the Lord. “God inhabits the praises of His people”. Make the choice to choose Life, and set your sail on Jesus!