1 Kings 8:56-57 (NLT) “Praise the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us.”
Hello Beautifuls,
Sometimes, you go along in life without a care; everything going so well, you don’t even think that there could be a hiccup in your good fortune. (Or, you have enough on your plate; nothing else could possibly be added.) Then it happens, out of nowhere you are faced with an issue that you have to deal with and absolutely have no control over the outcome. (Someone flips the plate out of your hands.) What can you do? Pray! And then do what God tells you to do. In this instance, the “devil on your shoulder” will say, “you only go to God when things are bad,” and try to make you feel guilty about going to God. Even if you do only pray when things are bad, what good will come of trying to face a trial on your own? God absolutely cares about your good times AND your bad times. If you happen to pray less when things are going well, it doesn’t mean that He’s going to hold a grudge and forsake you when things go badly! He wants to communicate with you!
There’s a vamp in a song that goes: “when the praises go up, the blessings come down.” It’s a great way to inspire people to give God praise but we don’t have to do something to get a blessing from God. We should praise Him because He is so good to us, not just to receive a blessing. He wants to bless us regardless of our praise. When we praise, our own hearts and minds are uplifted to the good things of God and in that, we are blessed. In Matthew 5:45 I found: “For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” That means that everyone will get a blessing whether you deserve it or not. He does delight in our praise, and ultimately He wants us to follow Him, accept His salvation, live our lives in such a way that brings Him honor and helps others along the way. As humans (children) we fail Him all the time, but He hasn’t turned His back on us. God wants us to live in such a way that He is first in our lives. He wants us to give it our best effort, no matter how many times we get tripped up trying to live right.
So while facing this trial, this test, this obstacle, this MOUNTAIN, I challenge you to remember that God is bigger than your situation. He will see you through this. He has not forgotten about you, even if you have forgotten about Him when you were laughing and skipping in the sunshine (smile). And praise Him while you make your way through. It will make the burden a little lighter.
Love,
Kelli Raí
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