Praise the Lord! How often do we say those words? Usually they\nspill from a heart overflowing with gratitude because God has shown himself\nstrong for us. He\u2019s done something amazing. Something we begged him to do. And\nhe answered with an overwhelming yes! Of course we respond with praise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other circumstances, not so much. What about when he\nanswers with a firm, heartbreaking no? What about when he delays and we see no\nanswer at all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Long ago in a conversation with my teenage daughter, we\nrejoiced together over a prayer God had answered just as we desired. I said, \u201cGod\nis good!\u201d With more wisdom that I expected to come from her young years, she\nsaid, \u201cGod is good, whether he does what we ask or not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s a lesson I\u2019ll never forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God is <\/em>good. That is an indisputable fact. My circumstances don\u2019t alter that fact. My unanswered prayers don\u2019t leave that fact in question. God is good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God is good. That is an indisputable fact. My circumstances don\u2019t alter that fact. My unanswered prayers don\u2019t leave that fact in question. God is good. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n He is sovereign, and I can trust him always to do what\u2019s\nbest for me and those I love. I may not understand his dealings and delays. But\nI know he is good and I can trust him. That doesn\u2019t mean I never struggle and\ngroan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an old journal note, I poured out my soul. \u201cLord, I am\nfocused on the impossibility of it all. I will focus on you. You have never\nfailed me. I just can\u2019t see how you can ever make this happen. All the years of\nsitting at your feet have taught me you have a purpose. Only you can make sense\nof my life. I will keep doing what I\u2019ve done in the past\u2014trusting you and\nfollowing with my whole heart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fact: God is always doing something bigger than we can see. And he has a way of making sure we know he did it. Unconditional praise for something yet unseen (but seen with eyes of faith) is an expression of my absolute confidence in God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God is always doing something bigger than we can see. And he has a way of making sure we know he did it. Unconditional praise for something yet unseen (but seen with eyes of faith) is an expression of my absolute confidence in\u2026 <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s easy to praise God for what is seen\u2014present or past. It\u2019s\na tough thing to praise him for what is unseen\u2014the future. Remind yourself of\nthis: it is the promised<\/em> future! When\nGod makes a promise, I don\u2019t have to see it fulfilled to believe it will happen\njust as he said. It\u2019s a done deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Praise and trust are conjoined twins. We can praise God no matter what when we trust him unreservedly, though sometimes we praise and trust through tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why wouldn\u2019t we trust God? I can think of only one reason: we\ndon\u2019t know him well enough. I love this dialog between Moses and the Lord. That\nman knew God! And he trusted him. Moses said, \u201cShow me your glory.\u201d The Lord said,\n\u201cOkay.\u201d (Read about this exchange in Exodus 33:18-23).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moses knew God well enough to trust him and to ask a favor. If\nonly we knew him so well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How would we develop that kind of relationship? By reading\nhis Word, communicating with him in prayer, walking with him in obedience, and\ntrusting him always\u2014even the hard places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I find myself in a hard place, I run to Jesus and cry\nout, \u201cLord, I trust you for grace and rest with confidence that whatever you\nbring into my life is for my good and your greater glory!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s all about the g-words. Your grace! My good! Your\ngreater glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I praise the Lord today, I praise him in my present\ncircumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Praise is the cure for grumbling, the cure for fear, the\ncure for discouragement. Praise is an ointment that cures all my spiritual\nmaladies. Nothing declares my confidence in God like praising him in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCome and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare\nwhat he hath done for my soul\u201d (Psalm 66:16 KJV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth\u2026Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!\u201d (Psalm 47:1, 6 NKJV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a9 Dianne Barker 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Praise the Lord! How often do we say those words? Usually they spill from a heart overflowing with gratitude because God has shown himself strong for us. He\u2019s done something amazing. Something we begged him to do. And he answered with an overwhelming yes! Of course we respond with praise. In other circumstances, not so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[109,9,72,67,438,484],"class_list":["post-1238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-confidence-in-god","tag-dianne-barker","tag-god-is-good","tag-hard-places","tag-living-the-maximum-life","tag-praise-and-trust-are-co-joined-twins"],"yoast_head":"\n