Praising God at All Times

Life is pretty difficult. I thought I’d mention the obvious. Sometimes it is full of happiness and excitement and other times it is full of sorrow and despair. I have found myself in the depths of that sorrow and despair fighting to hold on to every ounce of hope I had left on more than one occasion. It wasn’t easy to hold on. The world was taking hits at me left and right, threatening to take me down with every swing. I was struggling to keep my grasp, my hand tightly bound to the hope I had in Jesus Christ. At that time in my life, he was the only good thing I had going for me. Sure, I had friends who were there for me, but Jesus Christ was there for me all the time when I really needed him. He was there to pick me up when I let the world tell me who I was instead of the one who created me. This is a time in my life when I found such great solace in music. It could take me from the pit of despair to the throne room and at the feet of Jesus, where I would weep tears of joy for all that he had done for me, instead of tears of sorrow over my circumstances. If you have ever been in the pit of despair, you know how incredibly difficult it is to sing praises to God when you are so low you don’t even want to get out of bed in the morning. You know how difficult it is to even function as you normally would when all you can do is think about what you are going through.

There I was deep in the pit, holding on to the Lord, and I was listening to “How Can I Keep from Singing” by Chris Tomlin. In fact it was on repeat and I was even playing along on my guitar and singing too. It brought up a good question. How can I keep from singing? How can I keep from singing praise to God? The one who has given me so much? How can I stop praising him? I realized that just based on his love for me alone, I had more than enough reason to praise him, even in the midst of some very scary circumstances. God loves me! He deserves my praise and so as hard as it was to praise him when I was feeling utterly hopeless, I gave everything I had to lift my voice in praise. There were other songs that helped me praise him during this time too. “Praise You in This Storm” by Casting Crowns was one. “I’ll praise you in this storm and I will lift my hands, for you are who you are no matter where I am” It reminded me that God was still God no matter what I was going through in my life and he was still in control. “Love Lifted Me” , a hymn that says “when nothing else would help, love lifted me” The love of God that came from him through his children helped to lift me out of the pit of despair I was in and helped to bring me back to living the life that God has called me to. The love of God is such a powerful thing! Why? Because He is such a powerful God and the sacrifice he made on the cross was a powerful sacrifice made once for all. Now, there is a point to all this. When I read Psalm 34, I was reminded of the time I spent in the pit of despair and I was reminded of how difficult it was to praise God in the midst of it, but reading this psalm showed me that David understood this as well. David struggled with desperation. You can see it in practically all his psalms. He struggled with fear. That is there too! Yet, in every psalm he doesn’t forget who God is and he doesn’t forget to praise him.

“I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart. Come let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt his name together. I prayed to the Lord and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow will darken their faces. In my desperation, I prayed and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles.” (1-6)

Wow! David had such great hope and confidence in the Lord! He knew what it meant to praise God at all times and he did! He praised God when things were going well for him and he praised God when he was fearful for his life. He truly was a man after God’s own heart. God was most certainly with David every step of the way. He heard David’s cries and he answered them. He blessed David and he loved David. He loves you too! He hears you when you cry out to him!

“The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time” (17-19).

The book of Psalms should be an encouragement to anyone, especially those who are struggling right now. If you have found yourself in the pit of despair, there is hope. You are loved. Despite what the world tries to tell you, or what others may even be telling you, you are loved greater than you can possibly imagine. God’s love for you is powerful enough that he sent his one and only son to die on the cross as payment for your sins. Jesus has paid that debt in full. He loves you greatly. If you are struggling in the pit right now, it is my prayer that you would hold on to that hope and that you would cry out to God. He will hear you. Call out to him and he will save you. He is right with you as you read this. If you are struggling and you can’t think of anything to praise God for, simply praise him because he loves you. God is good all the time. He loves you all the time. If you aren’t in a place where you are struggling today, what a good opportunity to thank God for rescuing you! What a great opportunity to spend some time praying for those in your life whom you know are struggling. When is that last time you stopped to praise God for loving you?

“Taste and see that that Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” (8)