How will I serve Jesus?
With all my heart.
How will I praise Jesus?
With all my heart.
How will I trust Jesus?
With all my heart.
I cannot begin to tell you how often I have been or almost been the victim of my emotions. I am not exactly a "weeping man" sort, keeping my emotions to myself most of the time, but discouragement provokes debilitating emotions. Failure can bind the heart. Destroyed expectations, disappointments, missed opportunities can leave you with an emptiness, which is the worse emotion of them all. Yet none of these things matter when it comes to our responsibility to praise God.
Most of us will allow ourselves to become a victim of our emotions. We will allow despair to separate us from God. Even though the Word says nothing can separate us from his love, we allow ourselves to feel separated by negative emotions; we will neglect our responsibility to praise our God. But we are expected to praise our God in all circumstances of life because of his character of love and faithfulness. He is our hope and he is with us all the way as we go all the way with him.
So how do we do it? How do we praise him when circumstances have despair knocking on our door? Would you hate me if I told you it is a simple matter of your will and your words?
I will praise you, Lord,
with all my heart
and tell about the wonders
you have worked.
2 God Most High, I will rejoice;
I will celebrate and sing
because of you. (Psalm 9:1-2)
"I will" are the most powerful words you can use in the face of emotions that want to undermine your will. I will praise you. I will tell about your wonders. I will rejoice. I will celebrate. I will sing. I will shout. I will dance. I will proclaim. I will speak goodness. I will declare your praise before my enemies. I will send those shadows packing as I allow your light to shine in me.
It is not positive thinking. It is not sticking your head in the sand. It is trust. It is faith. It is trusting that Jesus is who he said he is. It is trusting that he will keep his promises. It is faith in the power and will of our Father to strengthen and equip us to go all the way. He may not remove us from the circumstances but he will enable us to overcome those circumstances with the power and authority given to us by Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
How do you overcome? Lift up the name of Jesus. Don't feel like it? Who cares what you feel like. What have your negative emotions ever done for you? How are you better off with despair, or loneliness, or anger, or hatred, or depression? What have they ever done for you? Nothing but destroy you! Now what has Jesus done for you? Everything! So who do you want to spend time with?
Get your butt up off that chair, turn up the worship and start dancing and shouting the praises of Jesus. Watch what happens. I guarantee you will not be left the same. You decide. You make up your mind. You make the decision what will have power over you. Decide and then do something with that decision.
All praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ who did not leave us on this planet, weak, miserable or powerless. Praise him for his love that overcomes everything that would try to separate us from him. Praise him for know all of our days and laying down his plans to accommodate them. Praise him that nothing surprises him and he is here to make sure we win. Praise him that we belong to him and not this place. Praise him that we are in his hands and nothing else matters. May the whole earth shout the praises of our King!
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