Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy and sing praises. Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn shout joyfully before the King, the Lord. Psalm 98:4-6
Praise when things are going well, when we are blessed by a great time of Christian fellowship and learning, or amid a large body of believers is usually fairly easy, but what about the dark days…the days of pain and suffering? As I’ve mentioned many times, music is important to me. I love to listen to it, I love to sing it, and I love to dance to it. What I love most is singing to praise God. As much as I love it, there have been two periods in my life that required a bit of effort to sing praise. The first was a longer period (several years) from the time it was determined that I was chronically ill until God began to instruct me regarding the value of trials and pain with respect to my soul. During that time, songs like “Blessed Be” and “Untitled Hymn” became very important as I struggled understand and to come to peace with God’s plan for me. The second period was the years from 2012 to 2015 in which we dealt in varying degrees with the various health issues of our fathers and their deaths. While I had previously learned about God goodness even in trials, the struggle was still difficult and there were many times that I had to will the praise out of my mouth. Rather than succumbing to the urge to be silent, I knew that praise to God is especially critical in difficult times. What makes it so critical is the message that it sends.
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7) The first reason that praise in times of difficulty is important is that it resists the devil. Praising God sends the message to him that we believe that God is sovereign, that the battle is won and that the victory belongs to our Lord. Scripture, prayer and praise defend our souls from his attacks Finally praise also combats his attempts to capture our thoughts and prevents us from succumbing to his lies as it also reinforces what we believe to be true. In short praise both repels his attempts to overcome us and reinforces what we believe in our own minds.
Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate. (Psalm 116:5) The second important reason is that it strengthens our relationship with God. When we praise God in our frailty, our weakness and trials, it says to God: “I trust you and I believe that You are who You say You are.” It says: “God I believe in your self-existence, spirituality, eternity, holiness, unchanging character, omnipresence, sovereignty, omniscience, wisdom, foreknowledge, truthfulness, absolute power, wrath, justice, graciousness, goodness, and love.” When we focus on God’s attributes, we can trust Him completely knowing that He is able, gracious, righteous and compassionate; and will provide for us exactly what is needed. Like any other relationship, communication and trust are key to its strength.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples. (Psalm 105:1) Not only does our praise strengthen our relationship with God, but it also proclaims our faith to those around us in two ways. The words tell the world about who God is, what He has done and what He will do. It proclaims Him as sovereign of all that exists. Further, the fact that faith is expressed in praise while we are hurting reinforces our words through our actions. It shows the world that only do we believe it to be true, but we live it as well. It declares to the world that He is able, truthful, loving and faithful.
Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God. (Psalm 43:5) Finally, we praise God in our despair for the benefit that it renders to us. Our praise reaffirms what we know to be true. It refocuses our thoughts. Our praise comes from our hope, but with our praise our hope increases and our souls are strengthened. In the humility of our praise during times of trouble, the doorway to our hearts and minds is opened for God to encourage and sustain us. It allows our fear and uncertainty to be replaced with confidence and joy. It turns our mourning to dancing.
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness. (Psalm 30:11) Praise to God is a powerful thing that comes in many forms. While we usually think of songs of praise, we may also praise God through prayer or reading scripture such as Psalms of praise. Whatever form it takes, it is vital for our protection, for our relationship with our Lord God, and for our testimony and for our self-preservation.
O sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonderful things! O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Will
If you would like to look into this farther, see also:
https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/ambushing-satan-with-song