Praising the Lord at All Times

My husband Bill and I were speeding along a deserted highway in wide-open country, hurrying to reach our destination miles away. The road was smooth and straight, with no other cars in sight for as far as we could see. No houses either.

Bill was the passenger and I was driving, as I frequently did, for he often got sleepy and asked me to take the wheel. We were going fast because we needed to reach our destination as quickly as possible.

It was good to be together again after such a long time, and yet I felt uneasy. In the passenger seat to my right, I could see Bill fumbling with his super-size drink cup without a lid. The cup slipped from his hand and the drink spilled all over the leather seat and center console and ran down onto the carpet. He grabbed a handful of tissues and tried to mop it up, but the tissues went to pieces and added to the mess.

He opened the power window and to throw the tissues out, along with the cup that had held the drink. Tissues and liquid went all over the car, inside and outside. Now we really had a mess on our hands.

As I instinctively reached across to help him, the car veered off the road, and the next thing I knew we were driving in tall grass that reached almost to the top of the car windows. We were still parallel to the road—I hoped—and still going fast, hardly slowing down at all.

I swerved left to get back on the pavement, and to my relief, the maneuver was successful. We were back on the road, still in the right lane and going the right direction. And ours was still the only car on the road as we continued at high speed.

Suddenly, four patrol cars appeared with lights flashing and sirens screaming. Oh-oh, I thought, they're after us for littering! I slowed to a stop with two patrol cars in front of us and two behind us. No other traffic was going in our direction, but lots of cars were now zooming by in the opposite direction.

Four officers got out of their cars and walked toward us. I rolled down my window, then opened the door at their command and prepared to step out.

Before I could get out of the car, I woke up, wondering what the strange dream meant. Why had I dreamed of Bill again after nearly eight years? Where were we going in such a hurry? To a hospital emergency room? To a doctor's appointment? To help a family member in crisis? To find help for our own crisis?

When I woke up the emergency was over. The chaos was gone. Or was it? The fallout from Bill's suicide eight years ago continues to poison our family.** I wish I could wake up and find the chaos gone. I wish I could wake up and find relationships all healed and everybody living happily ever after. That would be a dream come true.

Since Christmas I've been working my way through a book entitled The Prayer That Changes Everything: the Hidden Power of Praising God.* I'm slowly learning, and trying to practice, the discipline of praising God in all circumstances.

It's pretty easy to praise God when everything is going right and life is a bowl of cherries. It's a lot harder to praise him when you're carrying a heavy basketful of problems with no solutions in sight.

But in Philippians 4:4-7 that's what we are told to do: “ Rejoice in the Lord always . I will say it again: Rejoice! …Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything , by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving , present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

The number one thing I'm learning is to focus on God instead of on the problems. He is bigger than all my problems. When I praise him because of who he is and what he does , my confidence grows and my faith is strengthened. I can commit myself, and everything that concerns me, to him for safekeeping, and trust him for the outcome.

As Paul faced martyrdom in Rome he wrote to Timothy: “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12). What I commit to him is safe with him. He guarantees it. That's better than any bank vault or any security system. With him in charge I can lie down at night, and sleep without a worry. And I do.

The Bible gives us many reasons to praise God. Here are three prime reasons for praising God in all circumstances.

1. He is our Creator and our heavenly Father, who loves each one of us, and loves each of our family members , with an everlasting love. He proved the extent of his love when he sent his Son Jesus to die in our place. “God demonstrates his love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Who among us would be willing to do that? How could I not praise him for a love like that?

2. He is a good God , a holy and righteous God, whose plans for us are for good and not for evil, to bless us and not to harm us, to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). This is a promise that I'm praying and claiming for everyone in my family. It encourages me to know that I'm not alone in wanting the best for them. God does too. He gave Jeremiah this message of comfort for the rebellious and disobedient people of Judah when they were in imminent danger of being carried off to Babylon for seventy years of punishment.

“ With God all things are possible ,” said Jesus concerning a demon being cast out of a boy (Mark 9:23) and a rich man entering into heaven (Matthew 19:26; Luke 18:27). Things that are totally impossible for us are possible for God!

God deserves our praise at all times . David wrote in Psalm 34:1, “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be on my lips.” He wrote this when he was a fugitive in danger of being turned over to King Saul for execution. Things didn't look good for him, but he trusted God and praised him, no matter what the outlook. And God did not let him down.

All of us face problems, and some of us carry heavy burdens that no one else knows about. On Wednesday nights we come together to share our concerns and pray for one another. Health problems usually top the list : medical tests, cancer, heart problems, stroke, injuries, accidents, and families grieving the death of a loved one. Next come problems that are harder to talk about : marriages falling apart, families in crisis, mental illness, addictions, teenagers out of control. And some of us have secret struggles we would not dream of mentioning: struggles with temptation and sin, lust and greed, bad attitudes, anger and resentment, pride, or an untamed tongue.

Believe it or not, all of these problems are occasions for praising the Lord—not for the problem, but for his power and protection, his provision and deliverance. Whenever we face a problem of any kind, we can offer praise to God that he is bigger than the problem and he has the answer. The very act of praising him will give us confidence that the answer is on the way.

Here are three prime times when we need to praise the Lord:

1. When we are plagued with anxiety, fear and discouragement (Psalm 3:4-6).

“To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.”

2. When we struggle with doubt (1 Peter 1:6-7).

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

3. When we see things going wrong and we feel powerless (James 1:2-4).

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

And that is God's purpose for each of us: that we be mature and complete in him, not lacking anything. Amen.

May 11, 2005
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* By Stormie Omartian, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene , Oregon , 2004.
**The dream came the night of April 22, 2005, eight years after Bill's suicide on May 17, 1997.

© 2005 by Shirley McMillan