I have been intrigued by David and his life quite a lot this year, and have loved watching his emotion be expressed in so many of his psalms. He is angry, sad, depressed, confused—so many emotions we tend to stuff and pretend God doesn’t want to hear about. David is very honest about all of them, and I love that God receives it. The other thing I’ve noticed about David’s writings is how much He focuses on praising God, even in the middle of less-than-ideal circumstances.
This man had a rough life. He was running away from people who were trying to kill him often—sometimes they were enemy armies, and sometimes they were people who were supposed to be allies but betrayed him. His own son ended up making him run for his life. David made a lot of mistakes, and the Bible is very honest about them, too. We are never under any fantasies of David being perfect with a perfect life. But still, he praised God and thanked Him for His love and faithfulness.
I read recently that studies have shown that anxiety and gratitude cannot coexist in your brain. If we are focusing on gratitude and praising God, even in the middle of suffering and struggle, we don’t let the anxiety have free reign in our brain. Praise actually becomes one of our greatest brain weapons. We are able, no matter the circumstance, to stop and praise God. We may not be thankful for the situation, but we can thank Him for His love and faithfulness just like David did. We may be in physical pain, in mental anguish, or in emotional upheaval, but we can still worship Jesus and lift our spirits. I find it fascinating that Paul and Silas in Acts 16 were singing praise to God WHILE in prison AFTER they had been flogged. Yes, God busted them out, but they were singing before that happened and while in massive physical pain!
I do believe that praise is a sacrifice sometimes. We want to complain and lash out at God when we are in pain. And I think it’s ok to do that too. The real change, though, happens when, after we have offloaded our pain, we turn around and thank God for who He is in our lives anyway. This brings such joy to our God, as He hears His children reaching for Him even when things are hard.
Interestingly enough, this praise is actually good for us! When we offer up gratitude for God’s love and mercy no matter what, we allow our brains to relax a little as the anxiety has no place anymore. We are feeding the part of the brain that allows us to see past the situation at hand to trust that Jesus is going to shepherd us through it as well.
Whatever your situation today, bring your sacrifice of praise to Jesus, recognizing as David did His lovingkindness, grace, and faithfulness. I think it will completely change your perspective as the anxiety is forced to run away.
I will worship you, Yahweh, with extended hands as my whole heart erupts with praise! I will tell everyone everywhere about your wonderful works! I will be glad and shout in triumph. I will sing praise to your exalted name, O Most High. Psalm 9:1-2
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Broken & Hopeful
Featured Image by Daniel Reche from Pixabay
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