For I Will Yet Praise Him!.....Food For Thought

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
   Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
   for I will yet praise him,
   my Savior and my God. 

Psalm 43:5

This topic continues to be on my heart...praising God. It's easy to praise God when things are going the way we desire. But what about when we face those rough times - the death of a loved one, a child who chooses to go in ways opposite of our faith, an accident, health problems, etc. 

Over the weekend my husband and I were discussing this truth. So often we breathe a prayer of "Thank you Lord for a green traffic light, thank you for allowing me this promotion...." But sometimes I can't help but wonder if the things we count as the Lord working, is more so our own selfish thinking. What if we're praising God for a green light, when another Christian is coming from the opposite direction and they have the red light? Do they grumble and complain about having to stop, or do they too choose to thank the Lord.

Ephesians 5:20 instructs us, "always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Today during our Sunday School class a couple received word that there house was on fire. They left in a hurry, and we all started praying. It turned out to be a false alarm, their chimney was pouring excessive smoke from their wood stove, but everything was all right. One our way home from church we stopped to check on them. We all commented about "Praise God it wasn't anything other than having to deal with a broken window from where the firemen had to break in to check on things." Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful they didn't have any issues. But it made me think. How often do we praise God in the good times, and forget to also praise Him in the bad times? It's often those struggles which draw us closer to God.

So, how are you doing on the journey of praising God in all circumstances?