What is the first response we have to our troubles? For some it may be to give into the emotions of the moment, to cry, scream, yell and get mad. For others it might be to shut down all together and go into a state of temporary shock. But would our first response be to worship and praise the name of the Lord? Well, that was Jobs first response when he found out that he had lost all of his property, his children and his servants. I can’t even begin to imagine the turmoil Job felt; the heartache and pain he bore all at once; it would be completely devastating!

Job could have understandably chosen many other things to do and say during that moment, but he chose to worship and praise God! As a matter of fact, during his second test, when his body broke out in boils, his own wife told him to curse God and die. And Job told her that she was speaking like a foolish woman!

Praise is a very important tool in winning all of our battles. Just as with Job’s troubles, ours too, come from the spiritual realms.

We are able to see in vivid detail how Satan wages war on us in the book of Job. We actually get to witness conversations between God and Satan, and we can benefit from watching and taking notes from Job’s reactions to each test. And we also can trust that when we praise the Lord, refuse to curse him for our troubles and continue to worship him; He will give us wisdom and guidance, and He will bless us and RESTORE us so that we will be much better off than before the trials and struggles.

The importance of praise and worship is so vital to our relationship with the Lord, and we miss so much if we do not give Him the praises He so greatly deserves. We know that Lucifer fell because he coveted God’s praises; and make no mistake; Satan still desires to be praised. And when we fail to praise the Lord and start naming our problems, listing our troubles and sinking into a trap of self pity; we are praising Satan. We are in effect glorifying him and saying that he is doing his job so well that we can’t even offer up praises to Almighty God, because he has us so down. It’s not intentional, but that’s what we do; we steal and waste precious time that we could sing of Gods wonders just to cry in despair as Satan works to steal, kill and destroy everything dear to us and the glory that belongs to our Lord and Savior.

When we look at it like that, it’s easy to see why we are to praise God in everything! And when we do, He will bless us. I was actually thinking back to a story I read on this site close to a year ago by Diane. I tried my best to find it, but I couldn’t and because I don’t want the details to get too mixed up, I can only share that I remember Diane writing a post that seemed to read like a PRAISE REPORT about how her daughter’s car was broken into. I remember reading it and feeling “Wow, she is so faithful in her praises that not even that can stop her from praising!” She knew that something good would come from it, but she didn’t know what; nor did she need to know; she just trusted that God had a plan! Well, I did find the second post, which proves that praising God – no matter what – will open up the heavenly realms for God to use those moments to bring glory to our Lord. In the end one of the items stolen, a cell phone, was returned! Diane pointed out that if God can return a cell phone (something the enemy has stolen), He can return our spouses too. He is in control; COMPLETELY! So I encourage you to look back and read the post titled God Returns a Cell Phone by Diane. And remember that this post was written a few weeks after the first one, which described the details of how her daughter’s car was broken into; worded so powerfully with praise that God stepped in!

If we want God to step in and make our situations glorify the Lord, then we have to consistently praise him, worship him, and never blame or curse him for where we are in life. Everything we go through has purpose. Think of how many millions of people have been touched by Job’s story; In fact, the book of Job is said to be the oldest book of the Bible! In that case, Job didn’t have any other written words to rely on; he didn’t get to learn about God’s Word from others, or get to read the Psalms in troublesome times as we do.

We serve a powerful, amazing, loving God; let us never stop lifting His name up! Our whole lives will begin to change dramatically as we just thank him!

Are we anxious for our spouses to return home? Are we feeling miserable, worn out, or fearful that God’s timing may never come? Are we listening to the advice of those close to us who tell us to give up on our stand and let the dream go? Just as when Job’s wife told him to curse God and die, let’s continue to praise God! Let’s get excited and start calling those things that are not as though they are, just like Abraham did! Let’s be thankful in everything, content in all circumstances, and expect a miracle! God will get his glory; we just have to give Him room to work! And we as a ministry will move mountains together to end the cycle of divorce for all of our families. We can see so many wonderful things happening among all of us. We are on a roll of restorations, and more are to come; MANY more! FAMM is growing, and we are being blessed as we get to witness some awesome miracles, so stay encouraged and keep praising God with all of your mind, body and soul! May The Name Of The LORD Be Praised!

Posted Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 7:11 am in Seeds Of Faith.