Worship through the worst
2019 was a difficult year for me. It honestly felt like a year of losing. It started out wonderful, and then went downhill as a few things went wrong health-wise.
It was a strange time, because I was still in rejoicing mode from my miraculous healing from Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia the year prior. To this day, doctors still can’t figure out how every trace of those severe conditions vanished. And since that night at my prayer service, I never experienced a single symptom of those diseases again. They are gone without a trace. They don’t show up in my bloodwork or on any of my scans. God is truly a miracle-worker. Bless His name!
So imagine my confusion when mid-summer 2019 rolled around, and everything seemed to be going haywire, again. I was thinking, God, didn’t I just get out of this valley? Did you raise me up out of my bed of affliction only to confine me to it again?
None of it made sense. 2018 had been absolutely amazing. I was teaching the gospel, ministering at my local church, traveling around the globe sharing my testimony of healing, and witnessing God move by His mighty power in tremendous ways through the ministry.
2018 couldn’t get any better, and 2019 felt like it couldn’t get any worse. Yet, I was resolved to push through the pain and worship through the worst. After all, if Job in Scripture could do it, so could I … and so can you.
“Worship through the worst days, because you have a promise of better days. If you don’t give up, you will see that promise come to pass. The best truly is yet to come. Hold on! ”
Just think of how Job felt.
He was in the land of Uz minding his business, loving God, living righteously, enjoying his family, and living off the wealth the Lord had given him. But Job’s idyllic world was turned upside down when four different messengers arrived on the scene with horrible updates.
In Job 1:15, he got word that all his sons and daughters were killed. And before Job could even wrap his head around that, another messenger showed up with more bad news. To illustrate just how unrelenting this barrage of bad news was, the same phrase gets repeated in verses 16, 17, and 18, which is this:
“While he was still speaking, another messenger came…”
That means the bad news delivery boys left no space for Job to breathe. They delivered one gut punch, then another, then another, and yet another, until Job knew that everything he had was gone. It was all so unimaginably awful, Job tore his robe and shaved his head –two perfectly understandable and logical displays of grief.
But what was not logical is what Job did next. He worshiped.
In verse 21, Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”
Wow. That’s some response, isn’t it? In this passage, Job is doing the very thing we are told to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, which says, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
When it hurts, give thanks. When you’re crying, give thanks. When you feel like you’re losing, give thanks. When you don’t understand what God is doing, give thanks. When it looks like you’ll never bounce back from a horrible setback, give thanks.
As you give thanks through the rough days, you have to know that better days will come. Just as God restored Job and gave Job more than he had before (Job 42:10), God will restore you.
But as you go through your process and are waiting for God to release all the good things He has in store, worship through the worst. Let the sentiments of Habakkuk 3:17-18 NLT be yours. These two verses are what I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration. And they say, “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!”
As you drink down the contents of your cup, keep a praise on your lips and a song in your heart no matter how rough the road.
I can testify from experience that as praises go up, God lifts you up from your low place and proves Himself faithful once again. By His power, He’ll turn things around in your favor if you keep the faith, and don’t give up.
Now, let’s pray.
God, I will praise You in good times and bad times, because at all times, You are worthy. Though I may be in a low place, I am confident that You will lift me up and grant me increase, favor, and restoration. It is mine. I receive it by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you desire prayer, please allow me, along with my intercessory prayer team, to stand in faith with you for breakthrough. We would be so honored. We have seen God work over and over again. There is power in agreement. Click here to request prayer now.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
