THE ENEMY’S TACTIC is to convince us that we’re struggling alone. He wants us to believe that God will have to work extra hard to rescue us.
God is faithful, and His promises are simple. Living by faith is not complicated. He is a faith God, and we are His faith children. The principles of faith work from generation to generation, and they still work today. No matter how impossible our circumstances seem, God has made a way for us.
Years ago, I was in a season of struggle. Everything seemed to be going wrong. One day while driving, I felt frustrated and overwhelmed and cried out to God. But instead of finding relief, I sank further into the pit. Then I heard the Lord say gently, “ReJeanna, not that way.”
My flesh argued, “Yes, this way!” But I knew there was a higher way—the way of praise.
PSALM 84:4–7 (AMP)
4 Blessed and greatly favored are those who dwell in Your house and Your presence; they will be singing Your praises all the day long. Selah.
5 Blessed and greatly favored is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways
to Zion.
6 Passing through the Valley of Weeping (Baca), they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power]; each of them appears before God
in Zion.
Praise shifts our focus from our strength to His. When our hands are lifted, we can’t carry burdens. When our eyes are fixed on God, we see His goodness, faithfulness, and truth. We remember that He watches over His Word to perform it.
If we focus on our circumstances, we lose sight of Who He is. Instead of relying on His strength, we try to solve our own problems, like Sarah did. She took matters into her own hands and ended up with Ishmael. Instead of trusting in God’s faithfulness, she devised her own strategy.
What did Abraham do? He believed God.
ROMANS 4:19–21 (NKJV)
19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.
20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,
21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
Because Abraham counted God faithful, the promise came to pass. We are of the same faith as Abraham, and we are to operate as he did.
Abraham’s praise flowed from his relationship with the Father. That relationship made him fully convinced.
Likewise, when we look to God, our faith grows. It starts like a mustard seed, but as it develops, the impossible becomes possible. Even if circumstances don’t change, we know that the truth in us is more real than what we see, taste, hear, or feel.
Faith sustains us and propels us to overcome. When we face a trial, our best response is praise.
Once the Holy Spirit told me, “There’s something on the other side of your shout. If you knew what was there, you’d start shouting now!”
Whatever you’re facing, now is the time to start shouting!
People often wait until their situation improves before they praise. But faith meets your praise, and the promise manifests. You won’t be surprised when your answer arrives because you will have already received it by faith. Praise is the highway to your breakthrough.
We can take the long way and cry or travel back roads and go slow. But if we take the highway of praise, we’ll reach our destination faster than we imagined.
Let’s stay filled with joy by praising God daily. We don’t need to be polished singers. As we sing, praise becomes the exit plan from our trial. When we choose praise, we choose victory.
Author
ReJeanna Jolliff
Share this Post