Praising God During the Storms

    Recently I have been convicted on how much I practically beg God for something I don't like to come to an end. Then when He may see fit to lift that trial, I even forget to say "thank you" and praise God. Or perhaps I do remember and half heartedly say a hurried prayer out of a sense of duty.
    In the forward of my devotional, Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Joni Eareckson Tada said, "Most of us are able to thank God for His grace, comfort, and sustaining power in a trial, but we don't thank Him for the problem, just finding Him in it." page 12.
    I want to encourage us for this prayer focus to praise and thank God for any burdens, trials, or frustrations that we might be going through; remembering that it is often the heart-aching experiences that draw us closer to God where He shapes and molds us into the person He has made us to be.

Psalm 34:1&19-I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth (italics
                         mine).
                         Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Psalm 66:10-12-For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through  fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance (italics mine).

    Sometimes we need to be reminded that every discouraging or depressing situation isn't a punishment for a sin, or Satan getting after us, but that God purposely gives us these to grow in. But He will faithfully bring us out on the other end, having shaped us to become a more clear reflection of Christ because of that specific trial. We can choose to whine and get all down over these hardships, refusing to look for what God is doing in us; or we can choose gratitude and praise God for whatever He might be doing, and He will take that heartache, and transform it into a beautiful thing.
    So let's take some time today to give thanks for those storms that God has given us, even if the reason why we must experience them isn't clear. Praise Him who is faithful.

    "Can we really be thankful at all times, even when our eyes are filled with tears?" page 122 Yes!

    There are all sorts of ways to praise God and say thank you, singing being one of them. So when you have finished praying, I encourage you to look up 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman, and Whatever You're Doing by Sanctus Real and sing along.