I Will Still Praise You

If you’ve spent a little time in the Bible, you have probably come across verses about singing praises to the Lord and rejoicing in Him. And if you have listened to Christian music long enough, you’ve probably heard at least one song about how we need to praise God through things we can’t understand and things that bring us pain just as much as we praise Him through the good in our lives. They’re often powerful Scripture verses and song lyrics.

But how often do we skim over them? How often do we sing through those songs as just another song on the Sunday set list? How many of those Scriptures can we recite but we don’t actually let sink in and take to heart?

One of the things God has been teaching me is what it actually means to praise Him through the pain and the confusion and frustrations that come about as a part of life. He is teaching me what it looks like to command my soul even when it is the farthest thing from what I am feeling. And it is so hard. Because every time it is a choice. It’s a choice of what I allow to shape my perspective. It’s a choice of where I’m going to keep my focus, and therefore, my heart. And when emotions and pain are involved, it’s not like it’s an easy choice. Sometimes it is a moment-by-moment kind of thing.

I heard a speaker recently talking about what it meant to boss your soul around. She was talking about how, as children of God, we already have victory through Jesus, regardless of our circumstances or our feelings. She brought up Psalm 42:5. It says, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why are you so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

Y’all, I love David. I mean, I know he had his issues and all but like, I love how real he is. Psalms is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Because this is just one example of David taking a hot second to have a breakdown and then saying, “But I KNOW my God. I TRUST my God. I WILL PRAISE Him. I will remain CONFIDENT in Him.”

Sometimes we have to get in our own faces  and declare over ourselves where our true hope lies. We have to tell our souls who is in control, and it ain’t us. And we have to CHOOSE to praise God despite the circumstances.

It is one of the hardest, most freeing, most incredibly beautiful things I have ever done.

I love Philippians 4:4 that says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” But I think we can all agree that always is really hard. That when we read “always” we don’t exactly think about always. I’m pretty sure everyone has a hard season of life they can quickly remember, or are even walking through, when God’s praises weren’t the first things on their lips.

But that is such an encouraging verse to me. Paul wrote Philippians while he was imprisoned. He wasn’t sitting on a beach tanning himself somewhere in Greece, reading a good book, and drinking a Coca-Cola. He was sitting in a jail cell because of his faith. I’m not sure my first thought would be rejoicing, let alone telling other people. But he is practically commanding them to rejoice ALWAYS.

If you’ve ever tried it, rejoicing and praising God despite your circumstances and your feelings until you reach the side of hope and victory, I think we could probably agree that  Paul knew what he was talking about. Because like I said, it is one of the most beautiful things. It’s pretty life-changing actually. I mean yeah, honesty and reality say the pain is still there. Those hurts are still there. The circumstances are still there. But they don’t overcome anymore. There’s a freedom and hope that are so much stronger.

I don’t know what life looks life for you. I don’t know what you’re relationship with the Lord is like. But my prayer is that you take hold of the hope that God has given you. That you tell your soul today is the day you’re going to focus your eyes on Jesus and choose to praise Him regardless. And that in your shift of perspective, you find a freedom and a healing you have never known.