I have known about God my whole life. Knowing God and knowing about God though are two radically different places to be. Let me try to explain.
We have all heard the God will work all things together for the good of his people. Or maybe you have heard God has plans to prosper you not to harm you. How about with God all things are possible. Knowing these things give me so much joy in my heart. It lets me know God is on my side, or more accurately as long as I am on his side then I can’t fail.
Now that we know that praising him when we see those great things becomes so easy. Honestly shouting praise in those times is second nature. “Thank you God for the job!” “Thank you God for the promotion!” “Thank you God for the clean bill of health!” “Thank you God for all that you have given, for all that you have allowed, and for all that you have entrusted me with!” Honestly those are great to see and amazing to see. It warms my heart every time. As a believer I know what he is capable of in your life.
How about when things are going bad? Praising him doesn’t seem so easy. “Thank you God that I got fired!” “Thank you God for the loss of a loved one!” “Thank you God for the troubling medical report!” “Thank you God for all that I have lost, for all that has been stolen, for all that you took from me!” We never see those, and to be quite honest sometimes in that moment it’s hard to lift up his name when you don’t feel like you can even lift your head. I know I’ve been there.
While these are the hardest they are going to be the ones that change the non-believers in our life. Acts 16:16 tells us the story of Paul and Silas in prison. These to guys cast out a demon while they were spreading the word of God to the people of Rome. They were beaten with rods, the Bible says severely, and then thrown into the inner cell of a prison with their feet in stocks. At this time most of us would’ve given up. Getting stripped and beaten for teaching about God would’ve caused some to change their mind or at least question what they were doing, but not Paul and Silas. Around midnight these two were praying to God thanking him and singing hymns of praise to him. They were doing this in spite of the situation, without regard for who was around, and with zero concern about how it would affect their physical well being. That is a love and dedication like we can only find when we fall in Love with Jesus.
Lives were changed by the events that day. The guard, his family, and to be quite honest mine as well. I am not a bible scholar, only over the past few years have I even been concerned with following Christ, but knowing what they went through to win souls to God, and how they praised him through it all is Earth shattering. So thank you God for all that you’ve given me, thank you for all that I wanted that you removed because it wasn’t good for me, and thank you God for all of the troubles coming my way, because I know they are coming and I know that you will be with me through them.
I love you.
bradglenn79 