Praise Him in the Storm

It is easy to worship God, when everything is going well. It’s easy to praise God for new jobs, health, wealth, good friends and family. What about when things don’t go so well? Often we come across certain unexpected storms in our life. Storms create panic and uncertainty.  Life seems bitter and meaningless.  Bible teaches us to praise God in times of storms.

There are some characters in Bible who praised God in unlikely situations. This article will inspire you to praise God when you don’t feel like praising Him.

The Death of David’s Son (2 Samuel 12:14-31)

While David was flourishing as a king, he came across an unexpected storm.

¹⁵And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

¹⁶David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.

¹⁷And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.

¹⁸And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?

The above verses clearly show how much David loved his son. David fasted for the healing of the child the whole night. Verses 17 & 18 show how much he was depressed and sad. He fasted for seven days. The servants were afraid to tell him the bad news. What he did after he came to know about his son’s death is startling.

¹⁹But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

²⁰Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and went to the house of the lord and worshipped God. I think this is Praising God in the storm. If I was in the place of David I would have never praised God at that time. He lost his son after 7 days of Fast.

This is the true worship amidst hardship. Of course, God had greater plans and rewarded his worship. And God blessed David with Solomon, who became a great king in the history of Israel.

Praising God in storm proves our faith in the verse Romans 8:28.

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Job’s Loss in Life (Job 1:6-22)

Job lost everything – cattle, servants, sons and daughters – in a single day. But still he woke up fell to the ground in worship. I do not think there is anyone else in the world who has gone through such a difficult situation like job. If he is able to worship even at such a situation, surely we too could do!

²⁰ At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship.
²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

God rewarded Job with double blessing after the Storm.

¹² The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters.

¹⁶ After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

Paul and Silas in Prison (Acts 16:16-31)

When Paul and Silas were on their way to prayer house, they had to deal with a slave girl with an evil spirit. They were falsely accused and imprisoned.

²³After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. ²⁴Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Paul and Silas being falsely accused without a trial, beaten up publicly, locked in the inner cell of the prison started to pray and sing hymns to God about midnight. They did not murmur, complaint about God, or curse the officials but praised God.

What followed that was nothing but a miracle from God.

²⁶Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.

³⁸The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. ³⁹They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.

Paul and Silas fulfilled a greater purpose by sharing gospel to the jailer and his family.
³⁴The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.

The message is clear. Walk by faith and not by sight. Trust God and praise Him irrespective of the circumstance.

Proverbs 23:18 There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

Is God real or just fake?

Worth to learn from Thomas

“Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my fingers into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:24-25).

At times Christians, better described as believers in Christ, may ask themselves whether God is real leave alone atheists.

When we come across disappointments and crisis in this life, we might feel just like Thomas did – Is God real or ordinary person like others say that he is just like a man who roamed around Jerusalem. When I read the life story of Thomas, I found many similarities with my character and observed a few interesting things worth to learn!

Who is Thomas?

Thomas being one among the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ was willing to give his life for the Lord.

John 11:8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?

John 11:11-15 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

John 11:16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

Thomas was once ready to give his life for God. He has seen the miracles of Jesus when He was alive. Later Thomas was filled with unbelief. He was discouraged. He had doubts whether God is real.

Doesn’t it sound familiar? God has done miracles in our life yet when we come across new problems, we may think those once-upon-miracles are just co-incidence and luck.

Is it hard to believe Others’ Testimony?

John 20:24-25 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

Sometimes we find it very difficult to believe others’ testimony about their encounter with God. Here we see Thomas, also known as Doubting Disciple, doubting his fellow disciples.

When somebody gives testimony about the goodness of God in the form of a new job, healing from cancer, blessed with baby after many years, new home etc. you may have doubts whether God can do the same to you.

What was Jesus’ response to Thomas?

John 20:26-27 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

I like this part because Jesus Christ was not angry with Thomas for his unbelief. But Jesus came back after eight days to rescue the one lost sheep.

Today you may be a lost sheep just like Thomas filled with doubts and depression. But Jesus comes to rescue you. This time He will give you a personal encounter not somebody else testimony alone.

Luke 15:3-7 ”Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that was lost, until he found it? When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing”.

Jesus knows your problems!

It is amazing Jesus come to the room and addressed Thomas face-to-face.

Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side:

We read later, Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus was not there when Thomas said to his fellow disciples “Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my fingers into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

Jesus knows our thoughts, our weakness, our desires and our dreams. He is not judgmental but full of grace and truth. Let us draw near to Him – He will help our unbelief.

Thomas in India

Nothing could stop Thomas from serving God the rest of his life. We read about the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:16-20 “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

St.Thomas was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel. He also crossed the largest area, which includes the Persian Empire and India.

It is believed that he preached gospel in south India and the early Christians were called as “Thomas Christians”.

LORD Had Closed Her Womb

http://www.hopeforhopeless.net/lord_closed_her_womb.htm

1 Samuel 1:5

⁵ But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb.

The other day I was reading this passage and I paused on the sentence Lord had closed her womb. Sometimes God delays or with holds some of our prayer requests. The waiting time between the prayer and the miracle is the tough time to bear.

Getting back to Hannah’s story, generally we tend to highlight the prayer of Hannah than the suffering she went through.

Satan Provokes You. Based on what you don’t have (Which God has put on hold)

1 Samuel 1:6

⁶ And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.

Let us read the above verse by replacing the word rival with Satan.

⁶ And because the LORD had closed her womb, Satan kept provoking her in order to irritate her.

Devil brings doubts in our heart. He tries to make us angry at God and to create unnecessary confusion.

Your Faith in God will lead you to Provocation from Satan

1 Samuel 1:7

⁷ This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.

Please read again by replacing the word her rival with Satan.

⁷ This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, Satan provoked her till she wept and would not eat.

Year after year Hannah was faithful. She went to the house of the Lord without fail. The more she sought God the more she was provoked. Satan threw fiery darts at her till she wept and would not eat.

I have gone through similar situations in my life. There were times when Satan has pressed my mind with questions such as:

• What has God done in your life?
• God does not love you anymore; that’s why he has closed your womb (Blessing or Prayers). Agreed?
• You are a cursed one. Isn’t it?
• You went to church year by year but all you got is pain. Then why should you praise this God?
• At the end I was just like Hannah – wept and would not eat.

Human Love in the midst of Crisis

1 Samuel 1:4, 8

⁴ whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.

5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb.

⁸ Elkanah her husband would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

Elkanah gave double portion to Hannah because he loved her. In the midst of the crisis God gave Hannah a loving husband Elkanah. Whenever I come across Elkanah’s love towards Hannah I remember the following verse:

I Corinthians 10:13

¹³No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

In the midst of crisis, God comforted her through human love. Even in my life when I went through tough times God gave me a loving mother who was just like Elkanah. At times, our friends or family members are our Elkanah!

No man will understand your prayer (No human being will understand your problems)

¹² As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³ Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴ and said to her, “How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.”

Prayer of Hannah seemed like drunken woman for Eli Prophet. Some times in our life too, the cry of our heart may not be completely understood or may even seem to be a joke for others.

Delight In God

17 Eli answered “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”

18 She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

I remember the verse: Psalms 37:4

⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

All that Hannah did was to pour out her heart to God and then she went and ate and her face was no longer downcast.

…the LORD remembered her. ²⁰ So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the LORD for him.“

In verse 11, Hannah makes a vow that if blessed with a son, to give him to the Lord all the days of his life. Samuel grew in the Lord’s temple and became a great prophet of his time.

Even as Hannah gave back to God what God had blessed her with, she received abundant blessings. She was blessed with three sons and two daughters!

1 Samuel 2:21

²¹ And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters.

God withheld Hannah’s blessing for a reason – if she would have got the child normally she would not have experienced the divine plan for Samuel.

Moreover, God was gracious to bless Hannah with five children to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord.

God is good, all the time!

“IF YOU HAD BEEN HERE, MY BROTHER WOULD NOT HAVE DIED.”

Unknown Author

http://hopeforhopeless.net/whereareu.html

Bible Passage:
John 11:21 says
21″Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

We may have similar questions like Martha asked Jesus:

• If you had been with me, I wouldn’t have lost my job?
• If you had been with me, I would have got a job?
• If you had been with me, I wouldn’t have gone through this pain?
• If you had been with me, why am I suffering with such a disease?
• If you had been with me, why have you permitted such things to happen?

We might have plenty of other such questions like the above. Why God Why?

Good people God loving people can come across a bad situation

Who Is this Mary, Martha and Lazarus?

The Holy Bible says,

1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

2 This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.

3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

Mary, Martha and Lazarus were believers like us who believed in Jesus and loved Him. But still they were in to a crisis. Please do not believe if some one or some modern churches in today’s world say that if you are a child of God you will never come across crisis. There are enough proof in the word of God that Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus. But still their brother died at that stage.

Lazarus Died, Jesus did not come immediately

5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

6Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

Some times in our life too, though God knows about our situation, He will not show up until His time comes. Though Jesus was aware of Lazarus’ sickness, He stayed two days more where He was. At those waiting times, we may feel that God is far away and may come to a wrong conclusion that God does not love us anymore.

What ever happened in your life is for God’s glory

4When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

Many a times, we tend to conclude that Lazarus is dead – we put a full stop for hope, faith, and trust.  But He says, this sickness (crisis) will not end in death. It is for the glory of God.

It is too late God it is all over

Mary and Martha thought it was too late for Jesus and the life of their brother Lazarus has come to an end. It is all over. Lazarus had been laid in the tomb (a cave with a stone laid across the entrance) for four days. However, Jesus had another plan.
23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Jesus did that because He was moved with LOVE and COMPASSION eventually for God’s glory.         35Jesus wept.  36Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
He loves us unconditionally. He will not leave us in pain and confusion during crisis. Surely, there is an end for our hope – a happy ending.
All we have to do is to BELIEVE in JESUS. 40Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
Remember, God is neither too early nor too late!

Bible Examples:

Worship in Spirit (True Worshipers)

Unknown Author

http://hopeforhopeless.net/Worship_in_Spirit.htm

John Chapter 4:24

24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

We find in this passage Jesus was talking about the true worshipers. He explains to us the true character of a worshiper.  He says that the true worshiper must worship in spirit and truth. In Bible often we see that the opposite of Spirit is flesh. So I came to a conclusion that there is Worship in spirit and worship in flesh. All over the world we see young generation passionate about the worship. It is sad sometimes they forget the meaning of true worship. I am going to differentiate between the Spirit worship and Flesh spirit

Worhip in Spirit and Truth	Worship in Flesh
No matter what circumstances you are in  you will worship God	Flesh looks at the circumstances .Flesh only worships when you are happy. when problems comes one stop worshiping

16David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.
18Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to our voice. How then can we tell him that the child is dead, since he might do himself harm!”
19But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.”
20So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he requested, they set food before him and he ate
Here is the story of David where he loved this child so much .but god struck this child. David was praying all night. at last child was dead. Look at the 20 verse. it says David rose from the ground came in to he house of god and worshiped him . This is the true worship. He has lost his child he has prayed for the child when god took it he went and worshiped.
Job 1
19and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
20Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped.
We see here job has lost every thing in life but still he worship god

Habakkuk 3:17
17Though the fig tree should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
8Yet I will exult in the LORD,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

Worhip in Spirit and Truth	Worship in Flesh
No matter what place you are u will still worship god	Flesh Worships  when u have good choir,  worship team  and church which has professional singers.

There are times in my life when I selected churches based on the worship team. Some times our worship is dependent on the external things. But the true worship is from your heart .no matter what church you are in, you will worship God. worship must be spontaneous .there is no need of something to push you in to worship I am not against instruments or worship leaders and i never depended on them but one time in my life I was not able to worship God like I did b4, so I thought of buying a guitar .I thought the guitar will help me worship God, so I brought one new costly guitar.      But still I was not able to worship god. Later God explained to me that I was depending on the guitar to worship Him.

Bible Example

Acts 16:25 (New American Standard Bible)
25But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;
Paul and Silas are apostles they were arrested and put in to cells.  Paul and silas did not have any instruments in prison nor worship leaders. They did not depended on anything to praise God but
They praised in the worst place.

Worhip in Spirit and Truth	Worship in Flesh
Remember the wonder god has done in your life	Flesh  forgets the miracles and wonders god has done

The movement you close your eyes for worship you will remember the good things that God has done in your life.  I Have been worshiping god in flesh for very long time . Every time I start worship in church. My concentration is more on what song they are singing why is sound so unclear ,why is the sound engineer adjust some bass  . these are thoughts which comes in my mind .True worshiper will remember the things God has done to him

When the Israelites were travelling in the wilderness each time when they come across a problem they forgot the miracles God had done to, so they stopped worshiping Him.

Worhip in Spirit and Truth	Worship in Flesh
Spirit Worship Makes Jesus Happy	Flesh worship makes people happy

Bible Example

2 Samuel 6 /13
13 When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.
Today we have standards for everything like ISO 2000 for quality .Christians has created their own Standard for worship.
Where David tried to please God. He danced with all his might.
Sometimes we try to please people. We make fake worships. We try to imitate others

Philippians 3:3
who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

Manasseh: for God, said he, hath

made me forget.

http://hopeforhopeless.net/past.htm

Sometimes, events that happen in our life make us feel tired, burdened, or regretful. We spend too much time thinking about a horrible deed we’ve committed, even though we no can no longer change it. Still we long to forget it .  I suffered for Eight months trying to forget the tragic incidents that happened in my life. Once when I was reading the story of Joseph I came across the word Manasseh- for God, said he, hath made me forget   .

Genesis 41:51

⁵¹ Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”

Pain and Injustice Joseph Went

through

Pain and Injustice Joseph Went through	Pain and Injustice We face today
His own Brothers hated him	Some times in our life too We are hated by our parents or brothers
He was sold into slavery by his own brothers	Sometimes we are betrayed by the people we trust most.
When he was unjustly accused by Potipher and thrown into jail	Sometimes We are punished and accused for something which we have not done
The Cupbearer Forgot Him When he needed  him most	People we trust forget us when we need them the most.

These incidents are real pain it is very hard to understand and forget the past. We all need a Manasseh in our life.

Joseph could have wasted his life dwelling on the injustices he suffered. As a youth, his brothers sold him into slavery, and he was forced to live in a hostile land. He had to spend his teenage and adult years away from his beloved father. Joseph even spent time in prison. In spite of all he endured, he harbored no resentment. In fact, he named his son Manasseh, which means “forgetting.” He explained, “For God…hath made me forget.”

I tried several times to forget my past with my own strength but I failed a thousand times. every time I tried I was filled with thousands of questions in my mind .It is not easy to forget our things in our own strength we need Holy Spirit help to that

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit”, says the Lord (Zech. 4:6)

“But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” – Philippians 3:14

When we obey him he not only promised Manasseh he also gave Ephraim to Joseph

Ephraim- For God has caused me to be fruitful

in the land of my affliction.”

And the name of the second son he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

My heart was filled with Joy when I saw the second name Ephraim. Now I know some day god is going to bless me in front of land where I was afflicted.