God seems to give me a word for a “season”. Often though, these words carry through many seasons, which I like because they penetrate a little deeper with each season I walk through. They carry more weight and grow to have more meaning in my life, more than just what the dictionary definition of the word is.

Back in 2014/2015 my words were “identity” and “beloved”. In 2016 my word became “trust”. And in 2017 my word became “faith”. For the last year or so, my word has been “praise”. It’s fascinating to see how these words build on each other. Everything is built on me knowing who I am and WHOSE I am…cliche I know, but so very true. Big faith requires unwavering trust. And because I have big faith in a God I trust deeply…I live a life of praise.

The Merriam-Webster definition of praise is:

1. To express a favorable judgment of; to commend.
2. To glorify (a god or saint), especially by the attribution of perfections.

The next definition we need to talk about is commend. What does commend mean?

1. To entrust for care or preservation.
2. To recommend as worthy of confidence or notice.
3. To mention with approbation; PRAISE.

The past couple of years have come with its fair share of challenges for me. I was planning to move to Georgia when much surprise to me, I ended up leaving the country for 5 months to squad lead for the world race. That season was good, but also incredibly hard for many different reasons.

I was in a serious relationship and then I wasn’t.

Life plans were made and then they all came crashing down.

I started the journey to foster, which was a different kind of hard than anything I have experienced before.

And the 2 girls I cared 8.5 months for, were reunified back home. It came with the mixed emotions of being incredibly happy that their family was restored, but…it was also a loss for me. It was sad and something I had to grieve. (Incredibly thankful to still have some contact with them!)

My heart has been through the wringer the past couple of years. I have felt weak and like every good thing that came my way, was in one way or another, taken away from me.

I’ve been learning about the power and strength that comes when we sing our praises to God, because I’ve seen it firsthand in my own life. Praise is our way of battling the enemy.

The idea of praising Jesus seems like such a basic thing. But there is such a depth that comes when we choose praise DESPITE our circumstance.

When our heart is broken.
When we feel forgotten.
When we battle loneliness.
When we feel unseen, unnoticed.
When we are in pain.
When our health fails us.
When we feel scared.
When all understanding has left us.
When we feel God is holding out on us.
When Hope is fading.
When financial burdens are real.
When it seems there are too many unanswered prayers – is God even here? Does He even care?
When we’ve experienced so much loss.

It’s one thing to praise God after the breakthrough…when you’ve reached the end of the tunnel, or when you are on the mountain top. It’s a whole other level of faith and trust when we choose praise BEFORE the breakthrough. When you don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. YET. When you’re in the valley. When you’re making your way up the steep incline of the seemingly never ending mountain.

In the midst of a really hard time, I heard on a podcast these words that have stuck with me (though I can’t even remember who said them): “There is a way to grieve and be in joy. There is a way to dance while the tears stream.”

At the same time God highlighted the words of Psalm 35:28 to me,

“Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise ALL THE DAY LONG.”

These words became my anthem.

Fast forward to today….

My devotional this morning was about Job. (I read Job 1:1-2:13 just in case you want to read it too.)

And the part that really stuck out to me was in verse 22, “throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.”

He did not blame god. For anything.

He lost his family. He lost everything he owned. And He didn’t blame God.

“God why would you take my children from me?”
“God, everything I owned, all that I possessed, GONE. How could you do that to me?”

I would have had zero problems blaming God for taking everything I had and loved. I mean, to be honest, I’ve done that in my own life. And I haven’t even come close to losing it all.

But this is where PRAISE kicks in.

To live a life where our tongue is telling of HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS and PRAISE all the day long, requires a choose on our end. Do we choose to believe in His goodness anyway? Do we choose to give him our praise anyway?

Sometimes it seems to require all the little bit of strength I do have to choose to praise God, even though every part of my flesh wants to run away. To hide in the corner. To get under the covers and not come out. To wallow in my sadness/grief/pain and say “poor me”.

BUT.

When we sing out our praise, even when…

When we call on God, even when…

When we cry out to Him, even when…

When we declare His goodness, even when…

When we surrender and say “Have your way”, even when…

Hope rises.
Faith deepens.
Love comes.
Doubt crumbles.
Fear leaves.
Worry fades.

The problem doesn’t immediately go away, the trial you’re facing doesn’t just disappear, the circumstance doesn’t change necessarily. But the posture of your heart does.

There is a shift that happens. I think it’s because we are shifting our focus away from the “problem” and putting our gaze back on Jesus. We go from blaming God/complaining/“poor me” to “God I don’t know what you’re doing, I don’t have an ounce of understanding, this really hurts, but I know who you are and I trust you completely.”

(And we can trust Him completely because we KNOW that He cares for us. He loves us. He delights in us. And he is for us. If you need Scripture to back that up, let me know!)

So therefore, I will praise you anyway.

Joy and hope start seeping in and suddenly, you’re dancing with tears running down your face, and you’re singing His praises in the midst of a broken heart. Healing happens and strength rises.

Choosing to praise him before the breakthrough is laying __________ down at His feet and declaring his righteousness and praise all the day long. Even when.

Friend, I don’t know what trials you are facing, how you’ve been hurt, or what your deepest struggles are right now, but I encourage you to have a moment with God.

I’m so serious right now.

Go to your room, a closet, the bathroom, your back porch, your car, it can literally be anywhere. This may be uncomfortable for you, honestly this is a little uncomfortable for me to be typing right now…I didn’t want to include this part but I feel so strongly that someone needs this…

I encourage you to kneel before god, I’m talking drop down to your knees, and just sit in silence for a minute or two, embrace the awkwardness, and just be. Let go of whatever burdens you’re holding. Surrender. Lay them at his feet. Have your moment (or moments) with god.

Then, pick up your bible and turn to a psalm. Any psalm. If you’re feeling real brave, ask god what psalm he wants you to read.

Then DECLARE, speak OUT LOUD praise(s) from the psalm. For example,

Psalm 100:
God, I praise you because you are good.
I praise you for your faithfulness. I praise you for your love endures forever.
I praise you because you are Lord!

Here’s a great song to listen to!

Friends, when we choose praise, we are keeping hope alive.