Is any of you in trouble? He should pray.
Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of
praise.”
Jas. 5:13 (NIV)
James shares with his readers the secret to conquering
trouble and disappointment; we are to pray. He also tells those same readers
how they, and we, can rejoice when happiness is in the heart.
We sometimes forget to pray until we have exhausted every
other avenue of dealing with a circumstance. We find ourselves praying after we
have worn ourselves out with worry. We should pray first and pray until
something happens {PUSH.}
From time to time, I wake with a praise song or a hymn going
through my mind. On other days, I have a tune I hum. This one particular tune
is from a chorus we sing at church but I can’t remember the words. But God
knows the words and I believe the Holy Spirit sings that praise song to God in
my behalf.
I wonder. If we each took our favorite scripture passage and
found a tune that fit the mood of the words and sang it to God, wouldn’t He be
pleased?
While I input this and edited it, I heard our next door
neighbor’s voice outside my window. I heard a faint knock on our outer door.
When I went to see for sure that they were there, she and her significant other
stood on our stoop. He held their pet lizard, called a bearded dragon. I am not
one to take to exotic pets. When I saw it on his hand, I stiffened. (I had to
struggle to get a C in Zoology in college.) The facts they shared with us were
pretty interesting. Hubby had told them I would be skittish around it. I didn’t
hold it. Let’s say I was distantly curious. Why is this praiseworthy? They do
our yard work and snow removal. We have known him since he was born. The real
praise is they wanted us to see it.
I can praise God for this experience because He is in control
of my life and my reactions to things that happen to me.
Graphic:www.upliftingwords.com
Hi Cecelia! I really like that idea of putting a favorite Scripture to song! Well, as we know, people named Cecelia like music :)
ReplyDeleteI think I would be a bit freaked out by seeing a bearded dragon myself. Yikes! But your held it together and isn't it fun that they wanted to share their precious pet with you? Your opinion meant so much!
Have a great Monday!
Ceil
Ceil: Thank you for your marvelous thoughts.God is so very good. A dear friend bought me one of those name cards. And guess what it said, "Musical"
DeleteWe have know the man since he was born. He has lived next door to us intermittently most of his life.
Through a "spiritual mom" of mine, the Lord has directed me to this very thing...dwelling on praise of Him when I'm down. I think this is something He's really wanting to teach me right now, and your post is a confirmation. Yea!
ReplyDeleteRhonda: Thank you for your warm thoughts. Paul tells us to "Praise God in all circumstances." Ann Voskamp tells us we will have hard Eucharisteo. We need to search for one tiny thing to give thanks for when we are down, discouraged, and wrung out.
Delete