In the previous post entitled Go back to your first love with Him: The essence of Praise and Worship, we saw the meaning of praise and worship. We spoke a little bit about how through the book of psalms we are told to shout for joy to the Lord. Most importantly, we learned that praise and worship must come from a place of deep communion and relationship with God. We recognized that worshiping in this manner requires an intentional pursuit of God in our daily lives, and calls for sacrificing worldly distractions.
As much as it is so good to worship and praise God, if you are like me, you have found yourself, at some point in your life, in a situation where it was so hard for you to praise and worship God because of the circumstances you were in. Yes you know that He is worthy of Praise and you should praise Him no matter the circumstances but sometimes it is so hard. Maybe you were saying Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” all the time as I like to do it but you found yourself at the end exhausted, drained, and anxious. The thing is, we like to use that verse and try to press on but in reality we are misusing it. Many times I would find myself trying to do what God told me to do such as loving others, being gentle, slow to anger, quick to forgive, and so on, by using my own strength as if I have superpowers that allow me to do so. I may not have the superpowers, but my Father has superpowers, He is omnipotent, He has unlimited power; able to do anything.
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Sometimes I think about how much I am broken and imperfect and I get reminded how much God loved me so much and sent His only Son to die for me. Yes, I may be a broken vessel but I am loved and used by the Lord of Lords. Think about a broken vase that was put together imperfectly and a lamp was put inside of it. The light of that lamp will be able to shine through the cracks of that vase. If the vase was not broken, it would not allow the light to go through it. The same way, God uses His power to operate in this world through our cracks. His power is made perfect through our weaknesses, isn’t this amazing!?
In the prayer taught to us by Jesus, He said “Give us today our daily bread” Matthew 6:11. and in Exodus 16: 4 God said to Moses “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day.” and finally Philippians 4:6 tells us “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.“
It is really hard to not be anxious about anything while we have wars, hunger, corruptions, all over the world. Watching Tv for only ten minutes or scrolling through social media, we find ourselves anxious because the world is somehow shouting down slowly. But let me tell you, our God gives us enough strength to go through our day. We do not have to press on with our own strength but let’s make sure that we position ourselves EVERY DAY to receive the manna from God that was sent to give us strength for EACH DAY. The grace you get today will not be enough for tomorrow, you will need to position your heart again tomorrow which brings the intentionality and sacrifice needed each day to follow Jesus. Since Jesus is the bread of life (John 6:35), we need Jesus and ONLY Jesus to go through each day no matter the circumstances we are in. Only then, He will give us grace to not be anxious, and to worship and praise Him in every situation.
Maybe you are thinking, what is grace? how do I receive grace? Grace is the act of donating unmerited favor, it is when God gives us a gift we do not deserve. And the only way to receive it is through Jesus Christ. You need to give Him your time, which will requires you to be intentional each day by prioritizing Him over sacrificing other things you had on your to do list. You need to pray, be ready to receive His grace for the day and believe that you have received it. Then, make sure that, throughout the day, you listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in everything you do.
Prayer: Father God, thank you for your unmerited favor. Thank you for giving me grace to live each day according to your purpose. Thank you for sending Jesus to give me access to Heaven when I did not deserve it. Help me to come to you every day to receive your grace. Help me to worship and praise you in all the circumstances because you are worthy of praise. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Blog posts 