Praise Through the Hard Times

Have you ever fallen on hard times? Whatever the case may be. The wife of Jacob had a problem. Leah could see that Jacob favored his other wife, Rachel over her. Rachel, after all, was who Jacob wanted to begin with. But because of the custom of the day, Leah had to get married first, being the older of the two sisters.

In Genesis 29 we find the story of Leah beginning to have sons by Jacob. She has one son. She named him Reuben. And she says, in verse 32, "It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now." But Jacob still didn't show her the affection she wanted.

She has another son. This time she named him Simeon. She said, in verse 33, "Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." But again, Jacob isn't showing her the affection she wants from him.

She has a third son. She names this one Levi. In verse 33, she says, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Except he didn't.

She has a fourth son. She named him Judah. But something different happened this time. She stopped feeling sorry for herself. She realized her worth didn't lie in her husband. She realized her worth was in God. God helped her to understand that praising Him is what it's all about. She said in verse 35, "This time I will praise the LORD."

And you know the cool part about this? When she finally decided to praise God instead of throwing a pity party, God blessed the lineage of that son. It was Judah that the promised Messiah would one day come to rescue Israel and the world.

You see? When we praise God, He does great things. Yes, it may take a while to see them. But this is a hard learned lesson sometimes. Trust me. I've had to learn this the hard way.

I've had such troubles over the years with finding a job. But I began to realize that praising God is step one. Focusing on my relationship with Him is the priority. And when I realized this, God began to bless me in ways that still dumbfound me.

And yes, I'm still learning this lesson. It's an every day, often multiple times a day, battle. The devil isn't going make things easy for me. But as long as I keep my eyes on God, the world around me can fall apart. But my God will supply all my needs, according to His glorious riches.

So when you're tempted to feel sorry for yourself, do yourself a favor, and don't. It only hurts you. Trust me. I know from experience. God is all that really matters. Rise, take up your cross, and follow Him.

Forgiveness

What do you do when old feelings of resentment and anger resurface? When you thought you had forgiven someone of something a long time ago but something you saw happened to reignite the fire of anger?

From 4 years old till almost 11 years old, I was in a 3 child, single mother home. Mom worked hard to bring home the necessities. During those years, when mom had to work, I stayed other family. One particular family member would call me by my middle name and was the only one I would answer to when called by that name.

I loved him and thought the world of him. And then I found out some things. Things that I won't post on this blog, or likely anywhere. My respect for him dropped like a hot rock. I no longer wanted to have much to do with him. And once a certain event happened, he didn't really want to have much to do with us either.

For years I've kept the memory of being called by my middle name buried. I've almost resented my middle name for years. But this is where the power of choice comes in. I have to choose to let go of the past and forgive. I have to let go of the bad memories and attachments that have accompanied my middle name.

Forgiveness doesn't always happen immediately when practiced between sinful humans. In fact, we can't do it without God's help. It's a theme all throughout the Bible. When we genuinely repent, God forgives us and throws the memory away. It's as if we never did it in His mind. And having received this gift, shouldn't we pass it along to others?

Matthew 18:21-35 is the parable of the unforgiving servant. The lesson of this story is that we must pass on the gift that God has so graciously given us. If we don't forgive, God can't bless us. If we don't forgive, it WILL have a physical effect on our physical person. People have been known to have ulcers from holding on to anger. Some may even have a heart attack.

We have to let it go for our own sake as much as for the offender's sake. If Jesus, who did not deserve punishment in any way, died on the cross and forgave a criminal who justly deserved his sentence, then we have no right to refuse that gift to others.

I know it may take a while to forgive and not think about it again. And God will help me to get there. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13. Meanwhile, let's all give the gift of Jesus love and forgiveness to those who need it. Sure, it may take some time. But ultimately, we will be better for it and most importantly, closer to Jesus.