1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah, [a] because fire from the LORD had burned among them.
-Numbers 11:1-3 (NIV)
Praise is the Pre-Curser to an Uplifted Spirit
A popular Christian quote says, “When the praises go up… The blessings come down!” It is true that the Lord inhabits the praises of his people (Psalm 22:3). It’s true that praise moves our focus from our weakness to God’s indisputable, all-powerful strength. It’s true that praise makes us feel better (Psalm 42:5)!
For example...
Praise is the Pre-Curser to an Uplifted Spirit
A popular Christian quote says, “When the praises go up… The blessings come down!” It is true that the Lord inhabits the praises of his people (Psalm 22:3). It’s true that praise moves our focus from our weakness to God’s indisputable, all-powerful strength. It’s true that praise makes us feel better (Psalm 42:5)!
If all of the above is true, why do we complain? Any reason that we can articulate boils down to one word: CHOICE. Sure we all have seemingly more than our fair share of problems but we also have much more than our fair share of blessings. Complaining is choosing to focus on the areas of our lives we perceive as "limiting" instead of the empowering ways God has positioned us to succeed and live an abundant life.
The Downside of Complaining
Complaining attracts the wrong types of friends. It steals time that could be spent finding solutions. It prolongs and causes you to re-live the painful situation each time you recount the story. The main reason to avoid complaining is found in Numbers 11:1-3… God does not like it. It makes Him angry.
Praising God Shrinks Problems
Whatever your troubles, know this… If you are reading this devotional, your problems have not overtaken you. You are still here! You still have a reason to hope in God. Praise God that every breath you take represents a new opportunity for Him to do something amazing in your life!
Choose to magnify God instead of your problems and something AMAZING will happen! Your soul will be encouraged as you think about God reigning over every person, problem, situation and blessing in your life. Yes! God reigns over everything! Your issues may be too big for you but they are not too big for God! Praise allows you to raise your hands and literally give your situations to God and receive his strength (1 Peter 5:6-7 and Isaiah 61:1-3)!
Equipping Yourself to Praise God
Carry a piece of paper with you and, throughout the day, write down everything that’s going right that could be going wrong.
The hot water in the shower could be cold...
The refrigerator in your home could be empty...
The car in the drive way could have been stolen...
Your eyes could be without sight...
Your arms, legs, fingers and toes could be in pain...
Your errand could have been interrupted by a horrible accident…
The point of this exercise is to write down all the daily blessings that we so easily take for granted. Anytime you are tempted to complain, look at the list and start to thank God and praise Him for Today’s blessings!
Affirmation
I will Bless the Lord at all Times!
This is on time and has my name on it. Instead of complaining about my pay freeze, I'm praising God for having a job and so many of his blessings.
ReplyDeleteWow! In these tough economical times, This is just the reminder I need. God is supplying my every need and some of my wants. It is true the more praises goes up, the more blessings come down. He is worthy of all our praises.
ReplyDelete