"Praise the Lord"

When the sun above us shines,

And our lives are doing fine,

We are thankful for those times,

And we praise the Lord.

When His blessing we receive,

Almost more than we believe,

And our stress has a reprieve,

We just praise the Lord.

But when the storm is raging black,

And we know the strength we lack,

And there is no going back,

We still praise the Lord.

To worship when we cannot see,

Broken-hearted bend the knee,

Faithing for what ought to be,

In all things praise the Lord.

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV)

God’s word is God’s will. But when God’s word says “this is God’s will” we should really pay attention. The normal Christian life is one of habitual praise. This can be extremely challenging when we are emotionally low because of our circumstances. But one of the greatest expressions of faith is giving thanks during a season of adversity. When we do, we are recognizing Jesus’ lordship over the situation, even though we may be unsure how things will turn out. Praise Him in all things. It’s God’s will and it’s what the Holy Spirit will energize us to do.

Lord, teach us to praise You in every circumstance, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bruce Greene, brucegreeneart.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Bruce, and God bless you.