Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Monday)

Are You Going To Praise Or Pout?

Psalm 42:5 (Amplified Bible)
5Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my God.

My daughter came to me with some news, as she relaid this story, I found myself becoming agitated. For any other person I would have been happy, joyful and even ecstatic, but because this person had hurt me deeply and done some things to make my life tough and very painful I became angry. In that moment I looked up to the heavens and said, "Lord , I praise you, I worship you, I pay my tithes, I give my offering and I am living the life before you, that you requested of me, and yet, you are allowing this person to be blessed, it is not fair, and I do not understand." As I uttered my last few words, I could hear in my spirit, that the blessing comes because of you and not in spite of you. Then I was reminded it is all in how you look at it. That God could be testing me and how I would respond in this situation. As my anger diminished and my head cleared, I began to realize that things happen for a reason and we do not always understand God's reasoning and His timing for things. This evening as I sat on my bed I could hear, well are you going to praise me or are you going to pout? I laughed, because I knew God was giving me the answer to my deliverance and the key to my intended break through. So I just wanna stop to say "God I just want to Thank You!"

So many times we as believers are faced with injustices, challenges and trials in our lives. We are striving to live holy and it appears that the unjust, and those lacking integrity and God's truth in application in their lives are benefiting from our prayers, our foundation, our time and even our resources. We often want to get mad with God and with the person who is seemingly benefiting. But there is something that we are missing in that response, it is God's foresight and insight. We have no idea, what God is up to. If we are looking at a spiritual manifestation, through natural eyes, it will frustrate us, aggravate us and cause us to lash out irrationally. It will cause us to remind of God of all we think we are doing and have together, and cause us to over look all that God has still yet to do in us, or what he might be trying to bring to us. In our haste we waste time, energy and effort being upset and becoming unglued and unfocused by events we have no control over anyway. My Grandmother use to sing a song and the words were, "Hallelujah any how never let life's burdens get you down, when life's trials come your way lift your head up high and say, hallelujah any how."

What is God waiting on a praise response to in our lives? We can miss our opportunity to receive all God has for us because we choose to pout instead of praise Him through it. It is time to get refocused and to get God back in our line of sight so we can say , no matter what Lord, I just want to thank you Lord. I may not understand it Lord, but I thank you, for what you are doing. It is time to take a praise break and a break from pouting! It is about time to open our minds and visualize God's goodness, open up our hearts to receive the fullness of God's love for us (understanding He wants to give us the best), and lastly opening up our mouths and praising Him for all He has already done, what He is going to do, what we understand He is doing and even what we do not understand! No matter where we find ourselves know God is working it out for our GOOD!