By Faith, we can praise God even when we suffer (A repost)

In light of what my family has been going through recently, this seemed like a fitting post for today. I know we aren't the only ones going through a difficult season, so I hope it offers encouragement to you--wherever you may be. 

Because He First Loved me,

Shelley

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21[Prompted] by faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons and bowed in prayer over the top of his staff.

Hebrews 11:21 (Amplified Bible)

When we have spent time getting to know God for who He really is, and as our trust in Him increases, the only response that makes any sense is complete and wholehearted worship. Here we read that Jacob, as he was dying, relying on the strength of a staff or walking stick to keep him standing, worshipped His God as he blessed his grandson's with some of his dying breaths. What a picture of how faith is indeed the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. As we grow in our trust in God, our faith becomes the evidence to a seeking and skeptical world of that which we have placed our faith and trust in. It also becomes the evidence for believers who are growing in their faith as well.

In 2004 I experienced my 3rd and 4th miscarriages back-to-back. It was a very painful time, to say the least. I experienced something that fall that I'll never forget. Newsong was in concert at my home church one Sunday evening. It was a few days after I found out, at 15 weeks of pregnancy, that my baby had passed away. I was still pregnant, but with a child I knew was not going to be born. I was to return to the doctor's office on Monday morning to decide how we needed to proceed with what would come next for me. There was a part of me that wanted to stay home, in bed, and just cry. I don't think it would have been wrong had I done that. But for some reason, I chose to go to the concert. I don't remember much about that concert except for one song in particular, and one phrase more than any others: "Blessed be Your Name on the road marked with suffering, though there's pain in the offering, blessed be Your Name…" And as I heard, and then sang, those words, I began to realize what it means to offer a "sacrifice of praise." It's when by faith in my God, even in the midst of intense emotional or physical or mental or spiritual anguish, my trust in my God prompts from deep within me a desire to offer Him my praise. And when I choose to do this, something unexplainable begins to happen. That part of me deep within, where God's Spirit abides, begins to bring healing to my soul: my mind, my will, my emotions. Although still dealing with the realities of suffering, there is a peace that passes all understanding. His Joy does become my strength for that next step to take.

Whatever we go through in life, we don't ever, ever, ever have to go it alone. Even in the midst of suffering, when we choose to trust God's character and God's ways, we too, like Jacob, can worship God all the more. He won't force Himself upon any one of us—He is a gentleman—but He longs to be invited in. May we all choose to invite our God into each and every facet of our lives, choosing to offer Him worship in it all.