Julia Melatis – Author

The verse above was the verse for the day on a group page. It reminded me of 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18,

And Philippians 4:4-8,

It got me thinking. How can we praise the Lord at all times, thanking Him in all circumstances?

What it boils down to is our attitude toward our circumstances and whether we’re trusting God with them. We can’t decide to trust Him when things are good and then when times are hard decide He isn’t capable of handling things by worrying, being afraid, and trying to figure things out by ourselves. In my experience none of that works out very well. Even if it seems like God is taking too long to answer our needs, we must remember He is perfect in all His ways and timing.

It wasn’t until Abraham had Isaac bound on the altar, knife in hand ready to plunge it into his son, the son of promise, that God provided the ram for the sacrifice instead (Genesis 22 all).

God is never late, but He is also not early. He moves at just the precise time, after we have done what He requires of us. Abraham did everything to prepare to sacrifice Isaac, but he also believed God would provide. He trusted God’s promise that Isaac was the son that would lead to his descendants as plentiful as the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5 & 22:17). God always has a part for us to play. As you read the Word start looking for the places where there are “if, then” types of statements. God says, “if you…” (aka obey me), “Then I will…” But we must make sure we’re doing what He directs and not making our own desperate attempts to fix the situation. We often make matters worse. If it seems God is late, perhaps we are missing His direction for what we are to do or we are afraid of the direction He has given to us. In either case we need to press in, listen carefully, and do what He is directing us to do. If we’re unsure, we can seek confirmation. God will usually give confirmation in some way – through Scripture, a friend, a book I’m reading, one time God even used the dialog of a TV show to get my attention when I was not listening.

We must always be listening for the voice of Holy Spirit, make time for silence in our lives, time in the Word and prayer which are the ways He most often speaks. But if we allow our lives and thoughts to be so full of noise all the time, it makes it almost impossible to hear His voice speaking to us.

Getting back to our attitude. Have you ever asked God for an “attitude adjustment?” I have and do. Holy Spirit helps me recognize when my attitude leaves a lot to be desired, I ask (with sincerity, repentantly) and He delivers and pretty much immediately. Attitude is a key component when it comes to faith matters. Paul writes,

Both of these passages are pointing to the same thing; a humble, righteous, and holy attitude like Jesus. We are His, made in His image, made new creations in His death and resurrection, and the attitude adjustments are a part of the process of the ever increasing glory we are attaining as we are being transformed into His image through the refining process (2 Corinthians 3:18, Malachi 3:3).

The more time we spend with the Lord, the more in tune with Him we will become. The more attuned to the voice of the Lord we become, the more we will know and trust Him with our circumstances, and we will be able to join David in exclaiming,
“I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1)!

Blessings and peace,

Julia

©2019 Julia Melatis, Hope & Joy Ministries. All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce in any manner, including electronically, without permission.

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