Praising God Through the Trials

There’s been tears, yelling, pain and confusion.

Psalm 100:1-5

Reference: Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. (‭Psalm‬ ‭100‬:‭4‬ NIV)

Explore: I’ve had a hard week. While I can’t go into details, it was one of those weeks that made me question who I am and what my future may be.

There’s been tears, yelling, pain and confusion. And then I read Psalm 100 – Shout for joy to the Lord.

I’m a big believer in praising God through the trials, but this last week has given me a greater clarity of what that looks like.

To begin with I prioritised going to church on Sunday. I made sure I was there in time for the sung worship at the start.

For anyone with children, you know this can be a challenge to achieve on any normal day, let alone one where you’re struggling to drag yourself out of bed! But I knew I needed to be there.

To be honest, I didn’t sing. Every time I started to join in my eyes would well up with tears. So I stood there, allowing everyone else’s worship to wash over me.

To someone looking on, they may have thought I was not worshipping. But I was connecting with God in a powerful way.

As the week went on, and my situation actually got worse, I struggled to pray. I know this is a key part of worship but I just struggled to find the words.

And so, I asked some close friends to pray for me. They spoke their prayers over me and offered up silent prayers in my absence.

And while I struggled to find the words myself, I continued to call out to God and share with Him all my pain.

Application: If you look at my two acts of worship – singing and prayer – you may not think they are the typical acts of praise and adoration. However, I entered into His presence with openness, honesty and a desperation I had not felt for a long time.

My dire situation is still not over, and yet, I know God is real. I know He has connected with me through other people’s praise and He has drawn close to me through other people’s prayers.

And while I do not know my future, I wait to see what God will do through me.

Prayer: Lord, I don’t always have the voice to sing and pray, but know my heart and my need for You. Amen.

What does your worship look like at the moment?

pain, praise, prayer, Psalm, trials, worship