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I am overwhelmed with the mountain of bills again. Again, I am faced with navigating how to make that paycheck stretch to get all to-dos completed and have enough left over for fun, emergencies, and gas for the car. As my mind continues to wander and worry on a Thursday afternoon, I tell my mother and brother that beginning this day, we are going to start doing family devotions every night.
We are all together already, washing clothes. and so I whip out the book from my backpack. The impactful read is called, “Jesus Calling, Family Devotional, 100 Devotions for Families to Enjoy Peace in His Presence” by Sarah Young.
And what do you know? The verse of Romans 12:2 is brought up. This verse focused on having our minds renewed. That we must focus our minds on Jesus and be intentional about what we choose to dwell on. Are we dwelling in the pain or lifting up praise? The devotion that night encouraged us as a family. It reminded us that when we desire to focus on our problems, we lose sight of the beauty of God’s creation, God’s favor on our lives and the divine provision He has for us.
It lit a fire within me. No matter how dire it may seem, God has come through, and is coming through for my family, the world, and I! All I need is found in the presence of a mighty King! A song that reminds me of this hope in the power of praise to our worthy King, is this song, titled, “In the Presence of Jehovah” by Terry MacAlmon, when it states: ”In the presence of Jehovah, God Almighty, Prince of Peace. Troubles vanish, hearts are mended. In the presence of The King.” There are blessings that flow from that quiet time, that prayer time, that fasting time, that Bible reading time, that speaks peace to your thirsting soul. And, sis, it's all because you decided to PRAISE your heavenly Father, your Provider.
I yearn to get to a place in my life, where I will praise God because of his character rather than based on my circumstances. When I am feeling so blessed, I can shout and be gleeful, yet when things are rough, I develop a bitter and angry attitude. I want to be able to be content and anchored to God’s unchanging nature and hand in my life. I want to ingrain in my mind that God is so personal with us. He wants to give us the courage to stand on the hardest days and to still give him all the praise with more than just our lip service, yet with our lifestyles. Ultimately, God is getting us to a point where our praise is based on his character rather than our circumstances.
So, sis, after a long, tiring, and hard day at work, go ahead and blast that worship music in your car and cry it out during the traffic. Go ahead and take a gratitude walk and start thanking God about the seemingly little and big things He has done for your life.
AND I am telling you, you will be utterly relieved, refreshed, and renewed on how much lighter and joy-filled you will feel! Get to praising your Father, sis, for then would have unlocked HIS POWER!
Weekly Scripture
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Romans 12:2
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This Blog was written by Marlene Michel, HDC Blog Team
Feel free to follow Marlene on Instagram at @marlene__michel
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