In Spite of.....

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—  Psalm 103:1-2



In the above text, David had the right mindset that in spite of all he has been through, whether he brought it on himself or not, he was going to praise God.  And the reason he was able to do this was because he remembered all that God had done for him and brought him through.

We as so called believers tend to forget that small, but important concept.  We sing about it, preach about it, but don't live it.  There are so many songs out there that say, Lord if don't do anything else for me...you've already done enough.  Really?!  Is that really how you feel?  I don't think so.  If God only took care of our need, as He says in His word, would we still worship Him...would He still be worthy of all the glory, honor and praise (in our eyes)?  YES!!!  But would we give it to Him...that is the real question.  Pastor John P Kee used to say that there are only two times to praise the Lord.........
                         1.  When you feel like it  
                         2. When you don't

It is time for the Body of Christ to come out of our state of being SPOILED BRATS!  We are so much like the Israelites in the Old Testament that it is scary.  The God we serve is an awesome God and He has done so much for us and even orchestrated things that we have not even seen yet.  There should be an aching in us to praise God and a frustration when we don't.  It has often been said that when praises go up, blessings come down.  I don't believe that.  God has said that when we praise we release the blessings that are already around us and we open our eyes and our heart to the truth of His word.  That is what I believe,  for the Word of God says that "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Cor. 3:17).  Well if God is always with us and His spirit resides in us, then why would He come to us empty handed?  HE WOULDN'T!   His blessings, miracles, and everything else are with Him. 

So inspite of whatever and whomever.....BLESS THE LORD!  Don't let your situation or the people around determine your level of praise.  Let your love for your God, who has proven that He is your strength, your peace, your everything that you will allow Him to be.....let that determine your praise.


Blessings and Love,

Pastor Nichica Melton