Praise in the Midst of Hardship A message from Jesus "Can you take what may seem to be a truly tragic, hopeless, desperate situation and allow it to kindle your faith in My power so much that you burst into praise, knowing that I will overcome, that I am greater, that I am in control, and that one way or another, I will bring ultimate victory?—Not to mention countless other benefits along the way. Praising even though you haven’t seen a hint of victory yet, praising even in spite of apparent defeat, is powerful. When you fight with the weapon of praise, the details of the situation become almost irrelevant, except that you are thankful that the situation, no matter how bad or ugly, has paved the way to the victory that I can bring. You’re so thankful for My goodness, My mercy, My love, My wisdom, My care, My ability to use absolutely anything for good, that you overflow with praise to Me, because you are honored with the opportunity and have the blessing of seeing Me move and act. This doesn’t mean you’re ignoring the seriousness of a situation; it means you’re doing something about it. You’re looking past what’s in front of your eyes and you’re seeing behind the scenes. You’re working with Me to overcome and bring My power into the situation. You’re choosing to rise above. Fighting for a victory by choosing to praise is actually doing something to help. When you only sympathize and feel bad and show concern, you’re essentially a bystander in the spiritual warfare. It’s human nature to pull away from ugly things, to want to hide your face. It’s human nature to not want to be uncomfortable. And certainly it’s human nature to feel that sympathy is the only appropriate response to pain and hurt. Learning to go beyond your natural reactions and use praise in those situations takes My supernatural anointing and power. But I can give it to you, and I will."
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 04:16:19 +0000