OUTLASTING PRAISE

Posted by David A. Pierre, Senior Pastor Of Spirit-Filled International Church



CAN YOUR PRAISE OUTLAST YOUR MOST DIFFICULT MOMENTS?


Simply put, life as a result of sin is hard. Adversities, trials and tests come our way unexpectedly. Even without unexpected moments, life’s hard. When you add things like losing a job, a family member or news like the Haiti earthquake, life gets even harder. What do you do when life gets hard? Do you get in a funk and fall under the spirit of depression? The question is: can your praise outlast your most difficult moments?

In John 10:10, the Bible says “The thief (satan) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy....” So we understand who the initiator of our most difficult moments is. His intention is to kill, steal and destroy everything good in your life. His idea is to keep us in a depressive state.

The biblical name for depression is “Spirit of Heaviness”. Number one, realize that depression is a spirit. It is a dark shadow and burden which envelopes the soul and swallows happiness. Those under the attack of this spirit feel: depressed × low × weak × faint × confused × hopeless. Depression darkens our countenance: our hearts are down cast. It dims our vision, robs our hope, and as a result quenches our faith. It causes us to isolate ourselves. It definitely skews our perspective.

Most will at one point or another fall under its grip. As long as it is temporary, the danger can be minimized; but, there is GRAVE danger in remaining within its grip for a long time. Even a mighty man of God like Elijah had fallen under its control. I Kings 19:1-6 state: “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!" 5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat." 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again". Elijah prayed that God would kill him because he was so depressed and had no hope or faith for a better tomorrow. At that point he had more faith in the words of Jezebel: she would kill him, than the power of God to protect him. So you can see that even the best of us can fall under the prey of the spirit of depression.

Yet the Bible, out of Isaiah 61:3, has given us the remedy for the spirit of heaviness: “To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness...” PRAISE and WORSHIP is at the heart of overcoming this spirit. There is something about praising God that takes away depression. The spirit of heaviness seeks to destroy our praise and worship; that is why we must praise by faith, even when we don’t feel like it. We’ve got to command our mouths, hands and bodies to praise especially at times when we don’t feel like it.

On days when we let the difficult moment block our views of God’s greatness, on days when life’s trials make us not want to get out of the bed, we’ve got to physically “put on our garment of praise”. We also have to force ourselves to remember His goodness in the past and the assurance that He would do the same in the future. Our praise has got to outlast our most difficult moments.

Can your praise outlast your most difficult moments? Please post your questions and comments on this topic.



Verses are from the New King James Version