I...Will...

I was sitting by the piano with a heavy heart. You probably know the feeling. When you are overwhelmed because of something that is happening in your life and you are helpless to do anything about it. And that's how I felt. There were many things I really wanted to say to God at that moment but His Spirit led me to Psalm 145. In this psalm the psalmist writes "I will exalt you...I will praise you...I will proclaim your greatness..." And then the psalmist goes on to talk about the beauty of God: His mercy, His unfailing love, and how good He is to us.  I was convinced right there and then that God was leading me to praise Him.  To praise Him despite what I was feeling.  And as I began to praise God the heaviness resting on my shoulders was not as heavy as the testimony that lifted my spirit to worship the Lord.

Right after I finished reading this psalm I just started praising God there on that piano.  "Oh God you are so good, you are my rock, you are my Redeemer, Oh Lord there is no one like you." As I continued praising the Lord, tears began to flow from my eyes, but they were no longer tears of a heavy heart, they were tears of a grateful heart. Peace rushed in. I could breathe in the Presence of God. That is when I discovered that the more overwhelmed I feel, the more I need to praise God. And it is a decision. The psalmist said, "I WILL praise you every day."  He was determined to praise. He made the choise to praise. Because praising God is a choice.  In other words, we don't have to be bound by our circumstance or our feelings. It is in our power to decide. Not even satan himself can take that away from us. No matter what he puts our way, we can still CHOOSE to say "I WILL praise the Lord." And when we choose to praise God despite our circumstance, miracles happen.

I actually wrote a song that day titled "Psalm 145".  And I love to sing it at the top of my lungs, especially the part that says "Great is the Lord!" Indeed He is great! There is so much to praise God for. I encourage you to praise Him, no matter what your eyes see or even what your heart feels and you will see heaven's gates opening and flooding your heart with His love and strength.

:)

PS: I totally recommend you read Psalm 145! :)