Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord alway and again, I say rejoice.
     -Philippians 4:4

A very popular verse, we quote it all the time, we even sing about it, but the new question is, can we live by it?

Hey, Michael here, and today I want to talk to you about rejoicing and giving God praise in every situation.

I know a lot of people look at this verse and think, 'So I have to praise God every second of my life?'

I am no famous commentator, and the Lord reveals things to us differently, so perhaps, you will get something completely different from this verse.

I don't think this means that every second we need to be speaking praises to God, though that would be wonderful if we could, as much as it is telling us to praise in every type of circumstance. We should be able to praise Him when life is going great for us. We need to praise Him when life is going OK for us, and even praise Him when life just seems too hard.

Its easy to praise God when everything is going good, isn't it?
But what about when the bills come? Do you praise Him then? What about when we lose a loved one? Will we praise Him, or blame Him? I've been there. You see, I was the one pointing a finger at God, asking ‘Why?' As if I deserved an answer.

Praising Him in the hard times is what defines us. If we can praise Him in the hard times, we can praise at all times. But if we only praise Him in the good times, what does that say about us? What does it say about our faith?

Have you ever praised God in the middle of your hurting? If s, have you noticed a sense of peace sweep over you? That's what happens, God will send his comforter to help you.

Now, let's look past ourselves, when we praise God in the middle of our storms, how do you think that makes Him feel? I would say that makes Him one proud Father. As children, we seek to please our parents, so why is this any different?

Let's seek to please God by giving Him praise the next the bills come, or the next time we get a pop quiz, or the next time we just have a bad day. No matter the storm, let's give Him some praise.

Consider it, a challenge.