Use your power tools

Today June Hunt continues her presentation of seven strategies we can use to train our brain to forgive (Chapter 7, How to Forgive) by discussing how to use your power tools of thanksgiving and praise.

3.  Use you power tools: thanksgiving and praise.  June encourages you to being your mornings by expressing gratitude for God’s many gifts or for certain people He’s brought into your life.  In his book Our Heavenly Father, Dr. Robert Frost describes what can keep you from being offended at God for the adversity He allows in your life:

“There is nothing more precious to God than our praise during affliction. . . . What he does not protect us from, he will perfect us through.  There is indeed a special blessing for those who do not become offended at God during adversity.”

Ms. Hunt observes it is impossible to perpetually view yourself as a victim or dwell on “an eye for an eye” justice when you are intentional about thanking God for the blessings in your life.

4.  Pray for your enemies.  During the times you struggle to pray for those who wounded or offended you, it is important to realize that your enemies aren’t spiritually healthy.  If they were spiritually healthy, they would not have hurt you.  June points out the benefits of praying for our offenders:

“Praying for others helps us to see them as God sees them.  It paves the way to forgive as God forgives.  Praying for your enemies enables you to more easily take them off your hook and place them onto God’s hook.”

Today’s question: What has been an encouragement to you to use your power tools of thanksgiving and praise?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Wounds from a friend”

 

Use your power tools

Praise through

“After you pray through, you need to praise through.”- Mark Batterson

Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 14 of The Circle Maker with the bold statement that we should praise God for disappointment because it drives us to our knees in prayer.  Responding to disappointment in a God-pleasing way can restore our prayer rhythm and resurrect our desires.

Such faith can seem like a denial or reality.  Pastor Batterson states the reason is the reality we are holding onto by praying through is more real than the reality we perceive with our senses.  However, Mark writes, when you have prayed through the next step is to praise through:

“True faith doesn’t just celebrate ex post facto, after the miracle has already happened; true faith celebrates before the miracle happens, as if the miracle has already happened, because you know that God is going to deliver on His promise.”

Mark explains that prayer is asking God to do something, future tense, while praise is believing God already has performed the miracle, past tense.  It is important to emphasize that this isn’t a “name it, claim it” scheme.  The sole purpose God does miracles is to spell His glory.

Although it is most difficult to praise God when He doesn’t answer the way we want, that’s when our praise is most pure and pleasing to God.

Today’s question: Describe a time when you made a deliberate choice to praise through a situation.  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Dream big”

 

Praise through

Courageous praise

“Give thanks in all circumstances. for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”- 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Charles Stanley concludes Chapter 6 of Waiting on God with the final principle for persevering through dark times-courageous praise.  On the basis of our relationship with Christ, we express our thankfulness to Him regardless of our circumstances.

Dr. Stanley readily observes that it seems absolutely counterintuitive to praise God when “the stresses overwhelm you, your dreams are shattered, all seems lost, and you struggle just out get out of bed in the morning.”  Yet, without exception, Scripture admonishes us to praise God in every situation, for only praising God will minister to our spirit and lift our heart.  Our perspective changes.  We actively look for God’s help and deliverance rather than ruminating over the negative aspects of our life.

Especially during our darkest moments, giving thanks to God enables us to keep our focus on Him rather than dwelling on our circumstances.  As we find more and more areas of gratefulness, before we realize it we will be thanking the Father for the trial itself.  The greater the hurt we experience, the closer we draw to Him, as Dr. Stanley explains:

“You can express your gratefulness that He is teaching you to think as He thinks; love in the unconditional matter He loves; and forgive freely the way He forgives you.  Because when you do, it honors the Lord greatly, refreshes your spirit, and helps you endure courageously and victoriously.”

Today’s question: What has most helped you to endure your vocation loss with courageous praise?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Soar on wings like eagles”

Courageous praise