Praise Him in the Storm? How?

~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18~

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

~Philippians 4:6~

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Can I be honest with you?  For me, those above verses are some of the HARDEST in the bible.  They're the hardest because of those words I highlighted and bolded.  Those verses tell me I'm supposed to ALWAYS rejoice (or praise God) and ALWAYS give thanks, no matter what is going on in my life.  What? How?

It Seems Impossible

How do I praise Him in those times when I feel alone, or angry or sad?  How do I praise Him and give thanks to Him in the midst of a storm, when all I know to do during a storm is run for cover?  I WANT to praise Him.  I know it's good and needed and refreshing.  I WANT to delight in Him.  But how, when your in a place of despair, do you rejoice?  How are you supposed to be thankful when all you want to do is break down, cry your heart out and run for it?

I suppose if you're a "good" Christian, you "just give it to Jesus".  I've been directed that way many times by Christians that either don't want to give their time or don't know what else to say.  You know how I know it's one of those two things?  Because, when I ask them how to do that, the answer is always, "You just do. Pray about it."  "Just give it to Jesus" is the Christianeze cure all.  It gets you out of being involved in what a Christian brother or sister is going through.  Ftr, I'm fully aware giving our problems and sorrows to Jesus is biblical, but it isn't meant to be used to brush the hurting away.  It's meant to provide hope.

But I digress, how do we praise and give thanks in everything, especially when we don't "feel" it or everything in our heart cries out hurt.  I know first hand the difficulty in praising and being thankful in the midst of despair.  So what do we do? Or rather, what do I do?

Run For It!!!

When the storm comes it's natural and necessary to run for refuge and cover.  So in our daily life, when the storm is laying waste to us, with full force, don't try to be Lt. Dan from Forrest Gump.  We're not meant to "weather the storm".  Ultimately we're fragile and dependent on Him, so run to Him for refuge.  Psalm 91:9 & 10 say, 

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”

and you make the Most High your dwelling,

no harm will overtake you,

no disaster will come near your tent. 

That's not saying storms will never come.  On the contrary, if there were no storms, we wouldn't need refuge.  And I know that's just as abstract an idea as "just give it to Jesus".  Here's what I've found taking refuge in Him looks like to me (I'm certain I'm not the only one either).  We take refuge in Him by taking refuge in the truth of His Word.  Since Jesus is The Word, when you take refuge in the truth of His Word, you're taking refuge in Him.  For me, that means verbalizing scriptural truths about who He is.  Things that remind me He IS love, He IS good, He is FOR me, He will NEVER leave or forsake me.  Even when I am not able or don't feel it would be genuine for me to lift up a "joyful" heart, I can get in His word and recite some very specific truths about Him.  I think that pleases Him.  When our heart feels alone and desperate for relief, simply calling out those truths can bring comfort and prepares the way for God to make His presence known and comfort you.  I love the way the AMP translation addresses Job 22:21. It says, ²¹ Acquaint now yourself with Him [agree with God and show yourself to be conformed to His will] and be at peace; by that [you shall prosper and great] good shall come to you. We acquaint ourselves with Him by knowing what His Word declares

Here's a couple verses I typically declare:

• Ephesians 3:19
• Deuteronomy 31:6
• Romans 8:28
• Psalm 91:9-10
• Jeremiah 29:11

That's just the ones I use, maybe you have your own.

Bruce

This is what Christians do...

Just a reminder while we stand and scream at each other over this Chick-Fil-A controversy.

Here's a 5 post  series I wrote in 2010.  This is just a reminder (and maybe some perspective) on what happens when people are hurt or offended and what our responsibility as Christians is, with regards to hurting and offended people.  Read on...



Hurt People. (Part 1)

Hurt People, Hurt people. (Part 2)

Loved People. (Part 3)

Loved People, Love People. (Part 4)

Hurt People, Hurt people. Loved People, Love People. (Part 5)

Itching Ears

"A loving God would never send anyone to hell."  "God hates homosexuals."  "If you give enough of your income, God will make you rich."  "If you pray hard enough and claim it, you'll have everything you ever wanted and never have hardship." "We're all climbing the same mountain that leads to God, we're just on different sides of it." "God understands that you struggle with pornography and He loves you just the way you are, it's not a big deal because He has grace."

Sadly, the above list aren't things I've heard people outside the church say.  These are things I've heard inside the church, from Christians.  Even more sad, some of them are from pastors claiming to preach the word of God.  It wouldn't necessarily be such a big deal if these "christians" didn't twist scripture to make it sound as if this stuff was biblical, but they do.  AND, many of them have whole followings of people that lift of the same cry, simply because they're either too gullible or too lazy to pick up the Bible, read it and realize it doesn't say ANY of that.

Our generation, as a people, have not taken serious the warnings littering the pages of the New Testament pertaining to false teachers within the church.  These warnings are directed right at us and we still fall into the traps they warn against.  Warnings like, Jude 3 & 4 which say:

³ Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. ⁴ I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Ungodly people have indeed wormed their way into The Church.  They stand on a platform in which things that couldn't be farther from the Gospel message are delivered as the Good News Jesus "meant" to teach.  But, if you look for it in the pages of God's divine revelation to man, the Bible, you'll not find what they preach.  Oh, you may find a scripture verse, taken out of context, that if twisted just the right way seems to lend credence to what they say, but it's a hard sell.  The truth is, some of the stuff, being preached as Jesus' message, couldn't be farther from the Gospel message and has effectively made them (as a church) not Christian.  It is SO important to know where, what the preacher is teaching comes from.  1 John 4:1 says:

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.

If what is being taught does not agree with the whole of scripture, run!  The only way you will know if it does is if you read the Bible yourself.  At out church our Lead Pastor encourages the congregation to "not just believe what he says", but to go home and read it for ourselves and allow God to speak it to our hearts.

Here's a couple clues to help determine whether the church you're attending is not teaching Jesus.  These aren't all inclusive and at the very least you should do some biblical checking if you see any of these in your church.

1.  They don't say the name Jesus.  If the pastor never (or even rarely) says Jesus, his message may not be about Jesus.  We should be unashamed of the Good News about Christ (Romans 1:16).  Part of that is not denying His name and who He is, because if we do, He will deny us (Matthew 10:33).

2.  If they suggest "there are many roads to God".  There aren't.  There is one way to God and it's through Jesus, He said so Himself (John 14:6).

3.  If every Sunday sermon is somehow linked back to "God needing your money for His work to be done".  He doesn't need your money, He's God.  He does, however, need and desire your obedience and trust, and part of that is tithing.

4.  If they use the word "HATE", other than to refer to God hating actual sin.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard "christians" say "God hates fags."  It turns my stomach EVERY time.  If that's the case, "God hates sleaze ball adulterers", "God hates sluts (this includes anyone that is promiscuous - that is anyone that has had sex with more than the person they are married to)", and "God hates anyone that doesn't follow all ten commandments to the tee". This is crap and not even close to truth.  God IS love.  He hates sin, because He's holy and it separates us from Him.  With that said, He did everything necessary to reconcile us to Him because He doesn't hate us, but loves us (ALL of us) without measure.

5.  If excuses are made for sin because "it's a part of who you are".  As Christians we are not to copy the ways of the world, but we're to be transformed into a new person (Romans 12:2).  And if we are children of God then we are called not to continue sinning (1 John 3:9).

6.  If what they teach and believe is NOT biblical in basis and does NOT line up with scripture.  If they teach out of any other text as a "supplement" to or further revelation of the Bible, they are not teaching Jesus, thus not Christian.

There are other indications, some may not necessarily mean they're not Christian, but they may have their priorities set wrong.  If they are more concerned with your feelings, rather than your holiness, they may be catering to your itching ears rather than feeding your soul.  If they are not actively engaged in seeking the lost and serving the needy, they may be Christian, but they are not carrying forward the mission of Jesus. 

All the above stuff is simply cultures way of presenting a "gospel" that is pleasing to hear and requires little from us.  We don't take seriously Paul's words to Timothy when he warned,

³ For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

Many are chasing myths, because it's easier than the alternative - a life of servanthood in which we take the hard steps to love others with the love of Jesus, forgiving trespasses against us and pouring ourselves out for the sake of others.  But easier isn't better.  In this case, it's destructive.  Don't just believe what you're told by a passionate speaker with a pulpit.  Seek truth, in the pages of the Bible.

Seeking Truth,

Bruce