“Praise God”
By Rev. Everett R. Kimble, Sr.
“I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2-My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. 3- O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:1-3).
One of the things that I have come to realize over the years is that praise is a natural inhibitor of sadness. When I lost my job, I praised God. When I lost my mom, it was hard, but I praised Him for the years. Whenever I am feeling down, struggling and fighting with things in life, I’ve learned to find a way to praise God. I usually begin my prayers with praise, and I can truly say God has never failed me yet.
Praise has a way of reminding me that no matter how bad things may seem, no matter how hard my back is pressed against the wall, and no matter how many tears I have had to cry, I am blessed and a brand-new blessing is on the way. Praise helps me remember that God has always been true to His word and He will never leave me nor forsake me.
Our verses today are poured from the heart of David after he has gone through things that potentially made him doubt if he had really been anointed to be king. He had run from Saul, acted foolish for Abimelech, and hidden in a cave with a ban of misfits, but God protected him through it all. There were many times when things could have gone sideways, but David made it through it all and he knew exactly why. God was with him every step of the way and he pauses to give God the praise.
Some of you are headed into a storm, fighting your way through a storm, or coming out of a storm right now. Wherever you are, whatever you are going through take time to give God the praise. Praise will break through despair. Praise has a way of snuffing out the fire of doom. Praise is a powerful force and it will snatch you back from the brink of depression. The devil will try as hard as he can to break you and hold you down, but don’t ever lose your praise.
Tremaine Hawkins has a song that says: I never lost my hope, I never lost my joy, I never lost my faith, But most of all, I never lost my praise.
God is there, He hears you, and He knows exactly what you need so hold your head up and give Him the praise! Have a blessed, powerful, and praised filled Friday!
