Praising God in the Storm

How do we gather the strength to rise up out of our dire circumstances and praise God in spite of them?  Is it even possible? Where does that strength come from?

1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 : ¹⁵ See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. ¹⁶ Rejoice evermore. ¹⁷ Pray without ceasing. ¹⁸ In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Giving thanks to God is the last thing we feel like doing, in our human nature, when times are troublesome, overwhelming, catastrophic, but that is exactly the answer to our situation.

How do we gather the strength to rise up out of our dire circumstances and praise God in spite of them?  Is it even possible? Where does that strength come from?

Job who lost his children, his wealth and his health in a matter of minutes, yet still praised God, is an ancient example from Scripture of this amazing strength.

Job 1:21: And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

Job 13:15: Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.

Job 19:25-27: ²⁵ For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: ²⁶ And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: ²⁷ Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

We can find more illustrations in the life of King David, for example, in Psalm 57, which he  wrote when he fled from Saul into the cave. 

Psalm 57:3: He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.

Psalm 57:5: Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.

Psalm 57:7-11: ⁷ My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. ⁸ Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. ⁹ I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations. ¹⁰ For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. ¹¹ Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

Matthew Henry’s commentary explains:

“But if our souls trust in the Lord, this may assure us, in our utmost dangers, that our calamities will at length be overpast, and in the mean time, by faith and prayer, we must make him our refuge. Though God be most high, yet he condescends so low, as to take care that all things are made to work for good to his people. This is a good reason why we should pray earnestly. Look which way we will on this earth, refuge fails, no help appears; but we may look for it from heaven. … And when David was in the greatest distress and disgrace, he did not pray, Lord, exalt me, but, Lord, exalt thine own name. Our best encouragement in prayer, is taken from the glory of God, and to that, more than to our own comfort, we should have regard in all our petitions for mercy.” (See https://biblehub.com/commentaries/psalms/57.htm)

In another instance, David wrote Psalm 63, after having been betrayed and while fleeing for his life.

Psalm 63

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; ² To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. ³ Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. ⁴ Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. ⁵ My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: ⁶ When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. ⁷ Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. ⁸ My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. ⁹ But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. ¹⁰ They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes. ¹¹ But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

Here are some of my notes from a sermon that my pastor gave on this Psalm:

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It is a choice to mediate on God in the midst of trouble, suffering and trial.  What we do in the mind either feeds or starves the heart. God’s love is better than life.  The Spirit of God will help you lift up the Lord.  In the wilderness, we must remember “God loves me. Since He loves me, what I am going through is not at the behest of the devil.  God is using this wilderness experience (1) that He might be my pleasure and (2) that I might know a treasure that I would not know apart from this wilderness.”

David’s once comfortable and secure life was destroyed, but he had joy and it deepened, as he beheld his God.  God made him a sanctuary.

In 63:1, “Oh God, You are my God” is a statement of desperation and declaration.  Wherever you are, He is your God. By stating this declaration, we are confessing the strength that we do have, despite everything. God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness, if we cry out to God, knowing that no one else can satisfy.  There are things you learn in these circumstances that you can’t learn anywhere else. 

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David had a relationship with the Lord, and I believe, deeply understood, knew and trusted in his heart of hearts, the character of God.  Because of this relationship, David’s knee-jerk reaction was to believe that no matter what, God was good and would make good out of David’s suffering (see, e.g., 2 Samuel 16:11-12).

We also have modern examples of this tremendous strength.

Corrie Ten Boom’s story of giving thanks for the fleas in Ravensbruck concentration camp. Here are some links to the story.  It is worth a study.

Betsie and the Fleas: True Story of Courage and Thankfulness in Trial

http://vancechristie.com/2016/11/22/giving-thanks-circumstances-corrie-ten-boom/

John Wilds’ mother.  If you watch John Wilds’ “Waymaker” video, at about 7 minutes and 30 seconds into the video, he tells the story of his mother who was praising God in the midst of being evicted.  I wonder if, in that moment, when she was kneeling, praying and praising God, she knew that her action, her example, right then and there, would be used by her son, as a testimony of inspiration and hope to the thousands of people to whom he would later relate her story of faith.

I think that some closing notes from my pastor’s sermon sum it up:  As long as Jesus is with us we will go and do.  We need Him more than our desired outcome.  Not his stuff, Him. We get to the point of saying “I am willing to stay in these circumstances so long as God is with me.”  We can treasure what our sufferings can produce in us and for us.  Suffering serves our joy.

Please feel free to leave a comment.  Thank you and God bless you.

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Notes/Disclaimers:

*”ASV” refers to the American Standard Version of the Bible and “KJV” refers to the King James Version of the Bible, both of which are in the public domain. Links are to the New International Version on BibleGateway.com.

**I am not affiliated with any of the websites that I may have mentioned above (other than I may have donated a time or two), nor have they endorsed this website in any way. I am just listing them because I have found them to be very helpful references.

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