Given December 2008

The Lord showed me an encouraging picture recently about praise that I have shared personally with some friends but wanted to share it with a wider audience of believers who need encouragement.  If you or someone you know needs encouragement, read on.  Picture this:

A believer is walking down the Path of Life and the burden he’s carrying is becoming increasingly heavy.  Sickness, broken relationships, financial problems, doubt, and fear are draining his strength to the point he can hardly go on.  So he sits down beside the path and begins to cry out in pain.  A little demon, who has been following him around oppressing and harassing him all along suddenly appears, “Yeah, it’s pretty bad isn’t it?”  “I wonder where your so called God is.”, he smugly retorts.  The guy glances over at the demon and replies, “Yeah, I’m wondering the same thing.”  “Things are pretty bad for you now and they’re going to get worse.” the demon says.  “Why don’t you just curse God and die?  God doesn’t love you!”
(Have you ever been in this position?  Are you there right now?  Read on.

Upon hearing that God doesn’t love him, the believer’s mind drifts back to a song from Sunday School class years ago, “Jesus loves me, this I know.  For the Bible tells me so.  Little ones to Him belong.  They are weak but He is strong.”  The Spirit inside him says, “I’m still here and I still love you.”  The demon feels something is amiss and looks right and left.  The believer says, “I’m sorry Lord.”  The demon hears and replies, “What did you say?”  Then another song begins playing in the believer’s mind from church, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face.  And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”  The demon thinks, “Oh oh, what’s going on here?”  The believer turns his tear-filled eyes from the dust beside the path upward to the sky and says, “Thank you Jesus, I praise You, I worship You, I love You, forgive me.”
(If you’re on the side of the path now, do the same.)

Peace begins to gently fall on God’s child and the darkness, dirt, confusion, and fear swirling around his body begins to slowly dissipate.  The demon, now beginning to tremble, sees what’s going on and interrupts, “Now wait a minute!  Remember what you did yesterday.  What about that pain in your back, your bank account is empty, and your friends have rejected you!”  The believer glances over at the demon briefly then returns his eyes skyward and to praise, “Glory to God, Father I worship and praise You, I depend on You, I cast my care upon You, I love You, I love You, I love You.”  The demon screams, “This is not the way it’s supposed to be!  Shut up!  You’ve got terrible problems, you’re supposed to be crying and complaining!  Stop it, stop it, stop it!!!”  However, the peace that passes understanding and the love and compassion of God continue to fall in ever increasing amounts on the praising believer.  The demon cries, “No, no, I can’t stand this!  Stop it!”  And, with his hands over his ears, he runs away screaming.

The believer, sitting on the side of the path and now soaked with the love of God, feels himself being pulled close by strong arms to God’s chest.  He can hear God’s heart beating as God says, “It’s OK son, I’m here.  I’ve always been here and I always will be.  Let’s go on now.  I’ve got a wonderful plan for you.”  The believer gets up realizing his strength has returned and the heaviness he was carrying has gone.  Jesus is standing there on the path with His hand stretched out, “Let’s go, you can make it now.”  Oh what joy, peace, strength, and hope now swirls around him as the believer and Jesus continue down the path.  The demon and all that came with him are gone.  Thank you God!

If you are this person sitting on the side of the path with burdens you think are unbearable, begin to praise God, do it out loud, and you will see that He is there, He loves you, and He inhabits the praises of His people.  I have done this at times when I felt weak and it seemed like the harassment would not stop.  Always, the Spirit of God moves in and comforts me.  I may not be out of the situation but I know God is there with me and He will lead me through.  By faith, praise God in the middle of your situation.