Praising God in All Circumstances

In response to Pastor Trifon’s amazing message on Psalm 34 last Wednesday, I wanted to share a very simple tool I learned as a teen in my youth group.  

Psalm 34:1 says, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

At all times?  Continually?  Even when there’s cancer?  Even when I'm robbed?  What about when I lose a loved one?  

Yes.  Continually.  

We can praise God no matter the circumstance, because He doesn’t change.  He is always God.  He is always good.  He is always on His throne, and He has you in the palm of His hand.  We can rest in the hope that He has a good plan for us.

As Trifon said, “We praise God because Jesus died for us!”  Our praise should not be dependent upon our current circumstances.  Our trials and tribulations are but light and momentary compared to the glory that awaits us in heaven!  It helps to keep that in perspective.

So… about this tool I was talking about.  Sometimes when I pray, I get in a rut or I find myself immediately jumping into my prayer requests, treating Jesus more like Santa than my Lord.  I was taught a simple acronym to help me remember all aspects of prayer.  This is not a “formula,” but just a tool that helps keep me focused.  There are several out there, but the one that sticks with me is ACTS:

A: Adoration - Praise God!  Describe how awesome He is.  Praise Him for the wonderful things He has done in your life.  Call Him by the many names He is known by (more on that in a bit).

C: Confession - This isn’t talking about going to a priest and listing off all your sins to get you off the hook until next time.  This is a one-on-one with God, your Father.  Be honest with God about the struggles with sin that you have.  He already knows.  Take the time to truly repent and turn from the sin you are in bondage to.  He has already forgiven you.

T: Thanksgiving - We don’t do this enough!  Thank Him for clean clothes, for your refrigerator, for the good food you eat, for running water.  Thank Him for dying on the cross for you.  Thank Him that He is ALIVE today, and that we will live with Him for eternity.  There is so much to be thankful for.

S: Supplication - This word means more than just asking for something.  It means to ask someone for something earnestly and humbly -- even begging for something.  Matthew 7:7 says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”  God is a good Father -- He wants to answer your prayers according to HIS will.  Try keeping a journal of your prayer requests and how God answers them.  It will help you branch out in prayer, and it will encourage you later as you look back at how faithful God is.

Since we are talking about praising God continually in Psalm 34, there is one more tool I want to share with you regarding the “Adoration” portion of the acronym above.  When I was a teen, our youth group was at a conference in a huge stadium filled with thousands of spiritually hungry youth.  The guy leading worship asked us to just go through the alphabet and speak out words that describe or name God.  Moments later, one teen broke the silence and boldly spoke out, “God, you are Almighty.”  Then another called out, “Lord, You are Beautiful.”  And yet another called out, “Father, you are my Creator,” and so on, until we had gone through the entire alphabet.  It was a beautiful way to get a glimpse of God’s multifaceted character.  

I often do this when I’m “stuck” in prayer and am not sure how to praise God in a current situation.  Praise is the gateway into the very throne room of God.  It truly brings us into His presence and fills us with the faith needed to boldly ask God our requests.  

Don’t forget that God is not only our Friend and Father, but He is the Lord, worthy of our praise!  

Psalm 71:8 says, “Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory all the day.”  

The Tactics of the Enemy

You have an enemy.  

He studies you.  He knows your weaknesses.  He knows your strengths. He is on a mission to derail you and deceive you and entrap you in fear.  He will tell you enough truth to sound believable, but lies will be intertwined throughout. He hates God and all who follow Him.  He seeks to divide and distract.  He condemns you and brings up the past.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Nehemiah and the Israelites had some physical enemies, specifically Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem.  In Nehemiah 6, we read that Nehemiah and his people were super close to finishing the wall around Jerusalem.  All they had left to do was hang the doors in the gates. This is when the enemy got very persistent and tricky, trying to get Nehemiah to “just come meet with them,” because they knew the gates were about to be hung and the wall would be completed.

Nehemiah could have just quit there and said, “Well, this is close enough.  We’ll just post a couple of soldiers at each gate and call it good.” This would have left them very vulnerable!

Think about the areas of your life where you are weakest in terms of temptation.  These are the areas where we MUST close every gap, or else we are leaving ourselves very vulnerable to the enemy.  Practically speaking, that means getting rid of every form of temptation possible and replacing those things with Jesus.  If drugs are a temptation for you, say goodbye to your friends who do drugs, and surround yourself with strong believers that can check in with you.  Move out of the house if drugs are there.  Stay out of situations that could lead into temptation, and stay busy serving others and doing new things that will build you up and others up.  Get into the Word.  Be at the church every time the doors are open.  Pray, pray, pray.  Close the gates to the enemy who so wants you to fall into temptation “just this once.”  Don’t give him ANY opportunity.  

Ephesians 5:11 says, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”  And James 5:16 says, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

There is no shame in confiding in a trusted believer if you are struggling with ongoing sin.  They can commit to pray with you.  Exposing those sins are half the battle.  And the rest is left up to the Lord -- He has already overcome and given you victory on the cross!  You just have to recognize that and step into the victory He has for you.  Every temptation presents itself with a choice -- accept or ignore.

You have a Savior.  

He pursues you.  His grace is sufficient for you, for His strength is made perfect in weakness.  He is on a mission to reveal His love and truth to you as He reminds you that He died on the cross to set you free from sin.  He can only tell the truth -- it is impossible for Him to lie. He loves all -- even those that don’t love Him back -- and He desires that all are saved.  He seeks to unify and focus our minds on eternity.  He forgives our past and loves us unconditionally.

The more you fill your mind with the Word, the less room for temptation there will be.  We WILL be tempted, and we need to expect it and be ready for it.

Do you know what Jesus did when Satan tempted Him (Matthew 4:1-11)?  He simply answered back with the Word of God.  Besides some of the practical ideas I listed above, this is ALL we need to do.  God’s Word is sufficient - it is POWERFUL, it is LIVING, and it has the power to crush anything the enemy throws at us.

Satan himself knows this, so he will try everything to distract you and keep you from knowing God’s Word yourself.  It is SO important to be in the Word so you can grow closer to the Lord.  Even Satan knows the Word (he just doesn’t follow it), and he will try and twist it to deceive you.  2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Back to Nehemiah 6 verse 3… The enemies kept asking Nehemiah to just come and meet with them.  He responded with, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”  I love this!  When God calls us to something, we need to set our minds to it and commit to it.  Nothing should stand in the way, and we should never leave our post in order to go meet with the enemy.  That leaves the entire work and all the people there vulnerable.  It makes YOU very vulnerable.

Stay surrounded by believers who will keep you in check.  Be in the Word.  Pray.  Be honest with others.  Keep your guard up.  Know that you have an enemy.  But most importantly, know the Lord.  And know who you are IN the Lord -- a child of God, righteous and redeemed.