Praising God through the good AND bad of life...

I was touched by the following article posted today on Lies Young Women Believe.

 

It IS so easy to forget all that God has done in our lives.  Perhaps that is why I keep a blog.  It is, in essence, my prayer journal.  Like this young author, I seem to flourish when I can write out whatever is on my mind.  Thankfully, as the Lord has carried me throughout the storms in my life, I have become more dependent upon Him and less upon myself. 

 

What about you?  How do you remember all that God has done in your life through the good AND bad?

Praise Him today, and every day, in the good AND bad.  Indeed.

 

Check out Psalm 103:

Psalm 103

 ¹ Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

 ⁶ The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

 ⁷ He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

 ¹³ As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵ As for mortals, their days are like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
   and his righteousness with their children's children—
¹⁸ with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

 ¹⁹ The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

 ²⁰ Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding,
   who obey his word.
²¹ Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
²² Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion.

   Praise the LORD, my soul.

What happens when disaster strikes?

Found here: http://www.liesyoungwomenbelieve.com/index.php?id=682

Faith posted by Erin Davis on 03/03/11

Our readers love to talk about God's truth. Several months ago, we offered the chance for LYWB.com readers to submit posts for our blog. The response was overwhelming. You'll be able to catch the writing of these one-time guest bloggers in the coming months. These are readers just like you who are striving to live out God's truth. Since these are guest bloggers, their style or approach may be a little different than you're used to, but we've read every word and we think they've got something important to say. In fact, check out his great post by Marlise Jean-Pierre.

 

What happens when disaster strikes? What happens to the mind as it attempts to cope with the uncontrollable? Early last year on January 12, 2010, a fierce earthquake swiftly and suddenly shook Haiti. I watched helplessly as Haiti, the land of my mother and father, was battered, beaten, and stripped naked by the unforeseeable tremors of the earth below, causing frenzy and catastrophic loss. Haitians all over the world sank into deep depression and anxiety as they prayed fervently for their country, their family, and, most importantly, for hope. I sat in my room at college thousands of miles away and poured out my anxiety, depression, and sense of hopelessness into words. The ink in my pen was my only release. My notepad was my only solace as I cried out to God. "I've never felt grief like this before," I wrote on January 15, 2010. "Everyone is trying to cope with the situation but it is still hard.... I guess the idea that 'life is not fair' is really, really true." As I closed my journal, I felt a sense of relief—I had told my story to the One who promises to carry all my burdens.

Since I became a Christian three years ago, I have written my prayers, hopes, and anxieties in a journal dedicated to God. Day after day, I poured my heart and emotions to God just as David did. If I liked a guy, I wrote to God about it. If I felt happy, I praised God for the day. If I felt sad, like after the earthquake, I wrote to God but still praised Him through the tears. Psalm 62:8 says, "Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." As I wrote more and more to God, I began to develop a more intimate connection with Him. God became my confidant, my best friend, my lover, and my everything. My day would seem incomplete without writing to God and surrendering my hopes, fears, and desires to Him in prayer.

Every so often, I would look back at my previous prayers and I couldn't help but praise God for answering them. Sometimes He would answer them in ways that I would never have expected. Sometimes it took months for God to answer my prayers. Other times God answered my prayers immediately. I started to realize that without my prayer journal, I would never be able to see clearly the impact that God is making and continues to make in my life. Getting into the habit of documenting prayers allows for me to not only experience God but to truly be grateful to the Lord for all that He has done. It's amazing how quickly we can forget. I encourage each one of you to keep a prayer journal so that, as David writes in Psalm 103, we can praise the Lord with all our souls and forget not all His benefits.

About the Author: Marlise is an English major who is crazy about Jesus, reading, and writing essays. She has been reading LYWB blog posts religiously since she accepted Christ as her Savior three years ago.

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Mary E.Hickcox
www.CalvaryBaptistSM.org
http://mary-neotes.blogspot.com/