I Will Still Praise You Lord

I was greatly troubled and feeling low and Thy faithfulness lifted me up...
Blessed be the Lord, Because He has heard the voice of my supplications! The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him. (Psalm 28:6-7)

In my soul there was a sorrow, but Thy faithfulness lifted me up...
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. (Psalm 42:5 )

Standing before the throne of grace, this revelation came, that my complaints should turn to praise...
Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! (Psalm 47:6)

The revelation came, and my soul rejoiced. My mouth opened and now I could hear, a sacrifice worth giving, to give Him my praise...
O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:15-17)

I looked away in my torment of soul, but my heart stood fast as it gazed back upon You; the lifter of my soul...
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise. (Psalm 57:7)

As the darkness of night came and I finally found the solace my soul was seeking, I can only lay in bed thinking of you, for great is Thy faithfulness...
When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:6-8)

Loving and kind You are always and my lips let them utter so, for Thy faithfulness, Thy faithfulness is great, yes great I say so...
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. (Psalm 63:3)

From the beginning from my birth, You so faithfully were there. From this day and forevermore allow me to be in Thy praise and Thy glory all the day long...
By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You. Let my mouth be filled with Your praise And with Your glory all the day. (Psalm 71:6, 8)

Great is Thy faithfulness and longsuffering with me you have been. Therefore my hope is in you, yes my hope is in you renewed again and again...
But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. (Psalm 71:14)

I rise and I rest, every moment calculated by Your grace. Giving thanks, singing praise, declaring everyday given me, Thy faithfulness is great...
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night. (Psalm 92:1-2)


Beloved, from my phone at the edge of my bed, with tired eyes and a spiritual, emotional and mental exhaustion I write these words to you at the late hour of (2:29a.m.)

For the last two days a heaviness has come over me, and I was feeling quite desperate to get out of it. It seemed like the more I wanted to rejoice and be glad, the more I grew aggravated, angry and sad. It was shameful to say the least and I wasn’t seeing myself as honoring my God who blesses me always and eternally.

I hit a snapping point. I called out to God in my desperation, but this call wasn’t of praise to Him but of complaint. I went on and on why I was feeling this way and what I needed to feel better, but then something miraculous happened. From complaining I started to praise God, even though I was not in a place desiring to do so.

I started to praise God for my day and my blessings. This is my praise to Him:

I praise you because I am safe today and so is my family.

I praise you because I did not go hungry nor thirsty neither did my family.

I praise you because I have a bed to lay down on and a pillow to rest my head on and so does my family.

I praise you because you are always there, even in my lows.

I praise you because it is cool outside and not hot.

I praise you because the house is quiet and calm.

I praise you because I have the ability to praise you.

I praise you because when I was low, praising you brought me high again.

I praise you because you are so faithful to me and have been faithful all my days.

I praise you Lord, because you give me life!

I started to say to my God, “My countenance glows, because You my God love me so!”

I repeated again, “My countenance glows, because You my God love me so!”

I said it a third time, “My countenance glows, because You my God love me so!”


Beloved, if you’re like me, there are many times you feel a heavy burden to reach out to people in the manner God has gifted you, to let them know how much God loves us. And if you’re like me, many times you don’t see the same enthusiasm for God in others as you have in yourself.

In these times, your morale may be low. You aren’t being encouraged by anyone, or you feel alone in your quest to make God’s love known to a hurting world.

You may want to give up! Take a break. You may be asking God, “is this really what I’m supposed to be doing?” You may be saying, “why doesn’t anyone respond or care?”

But I can confidently say now, that in these moments complaining, asking questions even prayer isn’t going to lift you out of the pit you find yourself in. The only thing that will lift you up, is anchoring yourself to the Lord, and to lift Him up in praise! When you lift the Lord up in praise, you are inevitably lifted up. Amen.

You may not feel like praising God, but these are the moments where your faith is really tested and your loyalty to your God is on the line. The enemy knows it, and he won’t back down from his assaults on you! This is the time to dig down deep, and even though you’re not feeling it, you need to lift the Lord up in praise! Even though you can’t possibly imagine yourself praising God right now, right where you are, you can envision yourself with a rejoicing spirit, a song in your heart and a praise in your soul to the Lord that has your face glowing and your voice singing out to God, “My countenance glows, because You my God love me so!” Amen.

Envision God being lifted up by your praises, because when the Lord is lifted up, a people are lifted up. When the Lord is lifted up, you are lifted up!

Tell God, “I’m down but I’m not out! Things aren’t going the way I wanted them to or thought they would be going, but I will still praise you! The fight may not be over, but my God, I have a lot of praise deep in me for you yet. I will still praise you!”

My countenance glows, because my God loves me so!

Beloved, I always look to lead out by example as that is the will of God for my life, and in upholding that will, and honoring my God in doing so, it means I must be transparent about what I am going through, and where I am at.

As I pray these words will encourage you, when you feel discouraged and low, I ask that you pray for me also, to be encouraged when I am low. And that I will continue to lift praise up to my faithful God, even when I don’t feel like it and the world around me will say, “You should not do so.”


As always... YOU ARE LOVED.

3:29a.m.
1/25/13