Hand clapping, toe tapping, hand lifting, dancing, jumping, shouting, waving, singing, playing skillfully or not so skillfully on your musical instrument – these are all acceptable forms of praise. If you don’t know how to play any of those other instruments, you can at least play the ten-stringed one, your palms… clapping, with your fingers serving as the strings. Lol.
You see, praise is a good way to stay connected to the Almighty because He lives in the praises of His people. So each time you praise, you create the right atmosphere and God invades your space. And when He shows up, light takes over while darkness and its associates flee.
Praising Him for who He is builds your faith and your confidence in Him, His character and ability, and makes you better able to receive from Him the wonderful things He’s promised. Praising Him for the things He has done takes you down memory lane as you recount the mercies and miracles you’ve experienced. Once again, your faith is built and you begin to think like Tye Tribbett sang ‘If He did it before He can do it again; same God right now, same God back then‘.
If you’re wondering why building your faith is so important, it’s simple. James put it this way: If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
I find that I’m often joyful after praising God and this isn’t surprising when you consider the fact that there is fullness of joy in His presence. (Psalms 16:11) That joy is what we need to draw water from the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:3) – to draw from God those things that are necessary for our survival.
So praise will equip you with faith and joy, two ingredients that’ll help you access God’s supply for your sustenance in every season. If you are not maximizing this resource yet, you can start now.
Apart from the ‘not-so-common sense’ strategies that are widely advised for implementation during a recession, what more can one do to outlast this season of adversity? It’s interesting that the answer to this question will vary from person to person. You may even find that there are some people who don’t need to do anything new or different, and they’ll be just fine, but it’s important to know and to do the right thing.
In Biblical times, recessions were referred to as famine or dearth and people responded to it in different ways.
Abraham went down to Egypt and his grandson, Jacob, did the same. Isaac went to Gerar and God appeared to him and asked him to remain there and not go to Egypt like his father had done. God promised to be with him and bless him, and God kept His word. Isaac believed that word to the extent that he sowed in Gerar and in the same year he got a hundred fold return.
David engaged God and found the reason for the famine his people were experiencing. He made amends and God spared the land. That particular famine was triggered by a breach in a covenant. All previous efforts to put an end to that famine had failed because the root cause had not been addressed.
Elijah’s story is quite intriguing. First of all, God told him to go and hide by a brook which would be his water source, then God commanded a raven to feed him. The raven brought bread and flesh in the mornings and evenings. After the brook dried up, God asked him to go to Zarephath where He had commanded a widow to sustain him. In obeying God, both Elijah and the widow’s family were supernaturally provided for until that famine was over.
It isn’t always on record whether the response of these recession survivors were direct commands from God but we know that God orders the steps of the righteous and if we depend on Him for direction, He’ll lead us along the best pathway for our lives. One good thing for us to do in such a time as this is stay connected to Him and follow His leading. Stay connected through prayer, worship, praise, meditation on His word, and so on.
Reading and meditating on the word of God is a safety measure on this journey of being led by God because it keeps you aware of the ways of God, His nature and His character such that when thoughts, ideologies, and suggestions that do not align with Him are presented to you in any form or manner, you’ll be able to tell right away.
Recessions can be quite a storm, but hey, why should you fear when the One who calms the worst of storms is in your boat? Stay Connected to God!
Looking out my window, I see a tree. It looks absolutely healthy and full of life. Its flexible branches sway this way and that in the gentle breeze and all I can see from here is life, peace, well being. Nothing missing, nothing broken. This tree is happy and content.
In seasons like this, where nations are experiencing recession, one could very easily begin to envy a tree like this. It’s nicely located and it drinks water from the rains of heaven, and in these parts, that rain isn’t lacking at all. Almost everything this tree needs is in its immediate surrounding and other resources are brought to it as a result of different laws, systems, cycles, and natural mechanisms. This tree is totally cared for.
It may interest you to know that just like this tree, you can also experience the care and nurture of a very loving God and Heavenly Father and His criteria is achievable. The Psalmist put it this way:
Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked…. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the river bank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
There really is something about this ‘law of the Lord’, this Word of God. It is about this same law that Moses said:
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be successful.
Well, I believe that for this season, this is a habit worth developing – taking delight in the Word of God to the point that you read and meditate on it frequently and regularly. There is much treasure to be found in there – wisdom, guidance, instruction, comfort, encouragement, and the perspective of a God with whom all things are possible. So just in case you’re not on board with this yet, I invite you to come along on this journey – one I’m sure you’ll never regret.
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