30 for 30 RESET – Day 24

Gatheringplace   -   September 24, 2024

“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1 NKJ

Today I want to shift our focus to the power of praise. This has been more difficult for me since my wife passed, but I do it anyway. Let me tell you why.

Praising God is difficult when you feel like He has let you down. I have always taught, and still do, that being angry at God is misplaced anger. God is good, and perfect, and right, so whatever you are experiencing that is bringing you pain is not His fault.

However, one day I was reading a book about a woman’s painful situation and the writer said, “But she knew she still had God.” When I read the word, “God” I felt anger. It really surprised me. It was in that moment that I realized I was mad at God. In my mind I knew He is always right, and true, and good, but my heart was saying something different.

A pastor friend called me a couple of days later and I told him what was happening to me. He bluntly told me that I was believing an accusation against God, just as Satan made accusations about God to Eve – namely that God is not good. That He is a withholder. That He did not have her best interest at heart.

I contemplated what he told me for a couple of days. Finally, I decided that if what he was saying was true, (in my head I knew he was right), there was NO WAY I was going to give the devil the satisfaction of seeing me angry at God and distancing myself from Him. Once that lie was uncovered, I immediately felt the anger dissipating.

I was still struggling a bit in my personal praise life, but found it was much easier to praise at church. I’ve always said that there is a special grace on the gathering of God’s people, and I truly experienced it when I first returned.

Then I began playing worship music while I worked out. I chose Lauren Dagle because her music is so deeply heartfelt and honest. Many of her songs are lamentations, and/or psalms with hope infused throughout. I needed “praise aids” for a while – an anointed psalmist who could skillfully communicate the depths of my heart to God and proclaim God’s goodness back to me in the midst of my pain, until I could get my personal praise back. Thank God it is almost fully back now, and I am once again doing what Jesus taught us to do – which I will share in tomorrow’s post.

But I have a question for you today. Where is your personal praise life at? It is one of the most powerful tools for keeping your heart healthy and connected to God’s heart. This is one of the reasons God tells you to praise Him, not only because He is worthy of your praise, but because your heart needs it!

As you RESET things in your life, make resetting your praise life one of them.

John

QUICK TIP ON HOW TO SPEND 30 MINUTES WITH GOD (REMEMBER: This 30 for 30 is a tool to help you, not a rule to shame you. Just do your best and let God do the rest.)

“Upward, Inward, and Outward”

  1. Upward: Get quiet. Settle down. Begin to thank God for Who He is – patient, kind, merciful. A God Who forgives sins – Who has forgiven your sins. A God Who cares, Who listens to your prayers, a miracle-working God. (There are many other attributes you can thank Him for. Go HERE for a prayer guide as well as a list of God’s names that will help you thank Him for Who He is)
  2. Inward: Read a chapter in the Bible. I would suggest one Psalm per day. Start with Psalm 1 and go from there. Or read one chapter of Proverbs per day. Start with Proverbs 1 and go from there. And as you read, stop, and think about what it is saying. Take your time (even if you do not get through an entire chapter – it is okay!). Ask God to speak to you through it.

A deeper dive: For those of you who would like to read the Bible in a year, here is a fantastic way to do it. It will take more than 30 minutes per day, but it will be well worth it. It not only gives you a reading plan but each day there is a short, very well-produced video explaining what you are about to read. Go HERE for your one year through the Bible reading plan.

  1. Outward: Ask God to show you how He can use you to reach those around you. Then begin to pray specifically for individuals. Pray for your family members, your boss, co-workers, classmates, friends, your church, its members, its mission, and its leadership. Pray for our city and our nation – that God would rule and reign in every mountain of influence, raising up leaders who fear Him: Church, Family, Government, Education, Media, Entertainment/Arts, and Business. You will not be able to get to everything in 30 minutes, but that is okay, just pick an area or two per day.

PRAYER POINTS

Personal:

  • Closeness with God
  • Deeper devotion to Christ
  • Renewed vision
  • Renewed passion
  • Strength
  • Joy
  • A profound commitment to act as Jesus would during this election year.

Church:

  • And increase of God’s manifest presence.
  • To see more CHANGED LIVES!
  • An increase in Miracles
  • Salvation for those far from God (make a list and pray for them every day)
  • More young people joining the vision at GPC.
  • New building for GPC

World:

  • A mighty harvest in our city and nation.
  • That godly men and women will fill the seats of government at local, city, state, and national levels.
  • For our missionaries (Use the bookmark handed out at church, or go to our website and check out our Missions page HERE)