Praise the Lord Anyhow

Things go wrong in life.  When you are a Christian, problems still occur.  Some people get angry and feel like God has deserted them when life is a struggle.  We are not promised that life will be easy.  But we are promised that God is there to take us through difficulties.

A couple evenings ago my husband was in a car accident.  I am thankful that in spite of a couple broken bones, his internal organs were not damaged.  He will mend and will be OK.  We now have only one car to use.  He’ll be out of work for several weeks, so our income will be lower.   I will have to take time off work to get him to doctors’ appointments.

But I have learned over the years to praise the Lord anyhow!  When darkness tries to close in on us, we can lift our eyes to Jesus and give thanks and praise.  We can still count our blessings.  We can rejoice in our relationship with Him.

1 Peter 1:5-8 shows us the attitude that the Holy Spirit within us gives us as we go through trials.  It mentions that we greatly rejoice in our salvation even though we are grieved by various trials.  The genuineness of our faith is tested by “fire,” which gives us opportunity to praise and glorify Jesus Christ.

Sometimes the trials serve to turn our eyes back to Jesus when we are drifting away.  Sometimes they serve to bring us closer to friends and family.  Sometimes they serve as a witness to those who do not know Jesus, as they see us go through difficulties with an attitude of praise.

I noticed today on Facebook that my son-in-law, who has been going through different testings and trials, had posted a link to a video of the song “Alive Again,” by Matt Maher.  It ministered to him, and it spoke to me as well.  If darkness has been trying to close in on you, please watch, open your heart, and pray as you listen.