I know some of you might not want to praise the Lord, when you can’t see what to be joyful about, and not want to be joyful at all. OK, lets say your anticipating that holiday you have paid for since last year. Give praise for your job, and thus the means to pay for it as many are not able to do this. If you take time to stop and think there are many many things to give thanks for, green lights – when you to get somewhere in a hurry, you partner wishing you to have a good day at work, am I sinking in yet?
On the other hand you could be waiting for your exam results? You could be waiting for a partner – to share your life with. NOW is the time to praise the Lord. Those of you that know how I met my wife. (One of these days I’ll share how we met & my testimony).
Psalm 27: 13/14 “..I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord..”
I hears a prayer that goes like this…
“It is hard to wait Lord, sometimes waiting takes a big toll on me,
and in the midst of waiting and yearning I forget to praise you,
help me to remember you whether I’m waiting for something
potentially painful. Teach me patience and the gift of
resting in your goodness as I fix my eyes on you”
I’m sure that ‘discouragement’ is not discriminating, or does not matter which Country you come from, some seem to suffer more that others. For when evening falls across the land and a hush comes over the night. When getting ready for bed, which we all have our rituals, like washing your face; cleaning your teeth; letting the dog out; making sure the doors and windows are locked; even alarm set. ‘Discouragement’ comes in many guises, it could be a fit (like Epilepsy), that has been going on for years, it may also be born out of tense family feuding, or a physical ailment (of which I bear witness as I have a broken spine), or it could be a career that has left you some what down. May be your discouragement comes from a recent moment that has left you feeling discouraged and deflated.
Oh dear, we have all felt the discouragement at one time or another. The question is what are we going to with it? It’s all to easy to to wallow in discouragement and turn your face away from hope. This sort of apathy is not of the Lords thinking. However it does deliver you straight into the devils hands, now the devil is laughing as your 100% focus is on the problem, instead of on our Saviour. Instead of wasting time & energy on things we need to worry about.
Psalm 31:9/10 “..Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; My eye wastes away with grief, Yes, my soul and my body! For my life is spent with grief..”
I know many of you have felt this way, with many of you going through these times right now. If you are, before we go any further, stand up (come on don’t be shy), now shake your arms, now shake your legs, OK now your body, now sit and continue reading*. Having shaken off your old feeling, it’s time for a new feeling a new attitude. Now to help[ with reading the following I want you to stand again, then read the following Psalm ...
Psalm 31:14/17 “..But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me. Make Your face shine upon Your servant; Save me for Your mercies’ sake. Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You..
Our enemies are wanting us to give up the fight, and for us to look down cast at the days to come ...1 Peter 5:8 .. “..Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour..” … The devil is sleeked, and wants nothing more for us than to trip us up and lying face flat down in the earth. He will use every trick up his sleeve to keep us there. It is time to put on those work books because no matter how discouraged we may feel there is always new hope for a better hope for tomorrow.
In Romans 5:5 it clearly says that this hope does not disappoint us, God’s love has already been poured out in to our hearts .. Romans 5:5 “..Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us..”
You may not feel a lot of love right now. You may not even see any victory a head of you, you don’t even know how you can change thongs. Because of this you may not have any thing planned out yet. Even not sure what it is you can do to turn things around. The thing is you don’t need things figured out yet, just lean on the only One who is the author of your unique life’s story. He will how ever use this disappointment your feeling, and turn them around for good. Always remember when your down, the good times are just around the next corner.
When hope is your heart and the unfailing love of God is on your side, you can over come every obstacle in your path, for God is with you where ever you go. I read this next statement along time ago, but concludes this sermon perfectly …
“You may feel an over whelming sense of God’s hope permeating
in your spirit tonight , as you approach the Lords throne,
you may see God for He is - king over your life - and worship
Him in gladness for He is doing a good work in you”
