Contributing Author: Sara Beth lives in the Northwest and has spent her entire life dedicated to serving God and studying His word. She loves to share God’s words of hope and His promises with other women to encourage them in their Christian walk.
How do we “keep the faith” in the dark and through unending struggles?
How do we truly praise Him and have joy through it all?
1. It’s a Decision
The song lyric phrase that caught me contained the phrase: “I’ll fight to bring You praise.” This is based upon God’s track record that we have seen in our lives and other’s lives. One purpose of the Bible is to prove God’s amazingness.
And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. - Luke 19:37-40
From Luke 19:37-40 I personally assembled and memorized this declaration for when I’m too mentally/emotionally muddled to do other than speak something from memory. I even had it put on a wall decal in my home as a reminder and reference while I memorized it for weeks:
Blessed be the King Who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in Heaven and Glory in the Highest.
Do not remain silent. Cry out! Rejoice and praise God with
a loud voice for all the mighty works which we have seen!
MEMORIZE God’s word straight from scripture or from hymns. Spiritual songs are good but they aren’t as powerful as God’s word. God’s word is Alive with Power! His words literally drive away everything in opposition to Him.
Praise God BEFORE you see a breakthrough.
The Israelites shouted BEFORE Jericho’s walls fell. (Joshua 6)
Author Merlin Carothers teaches people on his website: FoundationOfPraise.org to PRAISE GOD IN ALL THINGS.
2. Maintain, Strengthen, Deepen your connection with God
Use the quiet times to prepare for the difficult times. Make one or more quiet times per day for
God alone as appointments on your calendar. Is He your priority? Spend with God in prayer,
reading His Word, memorizing His Word, thinking and writing, reading/taking christian life
books/lessons etc. Time dedicated to abiding with God. Minimum once a day. More is better! But not to neglect your responsibilities.
Study the Word to get to know God. Stir up the living spirit He gave you. Ask God what do you
need to learn from Him in order to MOVE ON THROUGH the struggle. Keep your eyes on God, your mind on His truth, your heart synched with His, your actions obedient to His guidance.
Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:14
We are not responsible for the sins of our forefathers, but strongholds and curses often remain to block our healings and blessings. Ask God how to lighten your load of these. Look up all words in the Bible that mention curse, cursed, curses etc. and you’ll be surprised. The devil loves any and every way to vex us. May we each cross over from darkness to light — a moment of “no turning back!”
Suggested Resource: message “How to Pass From Curse to Blessing” by Derek Prince which can be listened to on YouTube.
3. Focus Outside of Yourself
Ask God for a bigger perspective outside your trial. Yes, we all have times of weeping, pain, fatigue, dizziness, poverty, confusion, etc. etc. Suffering is unavoidable. …
...weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. -Psalm 30:5b
Think on the examples of others that you have known that were strong in the faith, prayer warriors, faithful servants that chose focus their thoughts on God and His promises. Memorizing scriptures and building strong a connection with God before troubled times come upon you will serve you well.
Read about the men and women of faith listed in Hebrews 11 and be inspired by their stories.
What is this based on?
This is based on WHO GOD IS. If you haven’t experienced “mighty works” in your own life, or in your current time of struggle, there are unlimited testimonies of WHO GOD IS, and the MIGHTY WORKS WHICH HE HAS DONE — in the Bible, and from Believers world-wide through all time. God has a proven track record. I came to a brick wall in my life wherein the only way forward was to trust God 100% with the EVERYTHING of my life. My hesitation was overcome by looking back at God’s mighty works in my life during the previous decades. Yes, I can trust Him! No matter what! My heart’s fear was overcome by my spirit’s mind that could not deny reality.
Sally Motley
Thank you for your inspirational thoughts. They are so very uplifting and well put together.