Praising when is counterintuitive

How hard is it to praise God when we just received bad news? When our circumstances give us no reason to rejoice?

Yesterday, I was at an event in my local church, and the message had the title: Praising when is counterintuitive. It was such a beautiful message, and I would like to share some insights here, along with some personal experiences.

I have a friend who has been facing cancer for almost ten years. At the time of the diagnosis, she was struggling to accept this news, obviously, not an easy thing, even being a believer. And God talked to her through a song playing on the radio. The song was about this verse:

"Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord!

I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Since then, I have never read or heard about this verse without thinking of her, and all the things she is still going through. I admire her so much.

Praising God in difficult situations shows that we trust the Lord more than we trust our circumstances. Let's remember the story of Paul and Silas:

"Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations.

All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”

The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.”

And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized."

Acts of the Apostles 16:25-33

Paul and Silas praised the Lord even while in prison. Also, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the furnace because they were not afraid to praise God. All of them were delivered! These two events show us that our God is much greater than our circumstances!

Changing the perspective

Instead of complaining, “I don’t deserve to be going through this,” or "I'm such a good person, why this terrible diagnosis over me?", look at all the blessings you have (family, friends, food, home, job) and say, “I don’t deserve any of these blessings, but God has allowed me to have them.”

Also, remember that if Paul and Silas hadn’t been arrested that day, the jailer and his family wouldn’t have been saved. God used their unjust imprisonment to present the gospel to a whole family!

We may not understand at the moment, but there is a ripple effect when we go through hardships. We just have to trust the Lord and praise, leaving the results to Him.

A whole family was saved because of a difficult circumstance for Paul and Silas. What might God be doing right now during the hard times you are going through?

Are you praising?

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9