When Life Gets Tough...Just Praise!

I was reminded of a sweet lesson this morning... some people, in my life, that I love very much are going through some pretty rough times...there's more than one and all of the circumstances are different.

This morning, as I sat down to enjoy my 'daddy time' (I'm borrowing that from my friend J., who's daughter calls her snuggle time with her earthly daddy, her 'daddy time'), my heart was very heavy for each one of them.

In my devotion, Echoes of Eternity, the author wrote, "Rejoice and give thanks until you are so grounded in Me that nothing will be able to shake you..."

Rejoice and give thanks...that's what I needed to do. My Heavenly Father knows the burdens of my heart, I needed to remember who He is... I've started journaling again, but this time instead of journaling a prayer for my friends, I just wrote every name and attribute of God that came to mind... and my heart started to lift...

And then I remembered a wonderful story in 2 Chronicles 20, where Jehoshaphat and the Israelites have received word that a vast army is coming against them. Jehoshaphat cries out to God and this is what God tells him, (verse 15 & 17) "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.... You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.' "

Israel worshipped and then Jehoshapat, instead of preparing a great army, appointed singers to sing praises to God. When they went to see what was happening with the enemy, they were all dead...they had turned on each other and killed themselves!

Israel prayed, trusted His Word, and praised and God took care of it! There's a theme here, but my devotion yesterday said, "When your will is in harmony with Mine, no power can resist or defeat you." When we are walking the path that God has for us, it doesn't mean it will be easy, but it does mean that God will accomplish His purposes, no matter what...there is NOTHING that can stop Him.

That is the lesson that I learned over and over through the adoption process... God had a plan...we simply obeyed and took each step, one at a time, that He showed us to take and He worked it out...you could say He fought the battle for us.

There were times of frustration and discouragement...but those were the times that my eyes were off of Him and the times when His time schedule wasn't turning out to be what I wanted it to be...

But praise is what draws our eyes and hearts back to Him and gives us the courage and determination to persevere, because it magnifies who He is and that will ALWAYS, 100% of the time be INFINITELY bigger and more powerful than whatever obstacle or challenge I may be facing!