Changes are hard.
No one is going to argue with you on that one, I guarantee it.
Moving, school changes, college, jobs, losing friends and making new ones, health issues, family problems; all of it’s overwhelming and no one ever likes it. This world is filled with pain. Our human bodies are sinful in nature and prone to experience hurt. So what do you do when you feel like you are breaking?
Is your first response to turn to your Creator?
Ask Him to Give You a Reason To Praise Him
One of my favorite songs about this is “Reason to Sing” by All Sons & Daughters. If you want, I’d encourage you to go listen to it.
A section of the lyrics go like this:
“When the pieces seem to shatter,
To gather off the floor,
And all that seems to matter,
Is that I don’t feel you anymore.”
How often have you felt this? Just complete helplessness to your circumstances. Your mind is weary and you can feel your spirit sagging within you. Sometimes it’s even a physical weariness.
Now, as much as we hate that spot, I feel like sometimes we want to stay there. I know, for me, I’m just too lazy to climb out. Or I like to wallow in it. But I can’t. When we reach that point, we have to get out. It isn’t healthy, mentally or spiritually. And, even if we want to deny it, we can’t get out of that hole by ourselves.
This is the part when we ask God for a heart of praise. Sometimes, we’re in so deep that we can’t even do that. We can only ask him for a reason.
“I need a reason to sing,
I need a reason to sing,
I need to know that you’re still holding
The whole world in Your hands.”
Believe me, when you ask him for something like this, he will give you what you need. I know that I’ve had times like these, and whether it comes in the form of a quiet whisper in your heart or a song on the radio, he will come through.
Praise Him For Who He Is
When you feel like you’ve got nothing to praise him for, I’d begin with praising him for his character.
Psalms 36:5 and Deuteronomy 32:4 both talk about God’s abounding faithfulness. What are the times you’ve seen God stick by you when everyone else left? Praise him for those times!
Daniel 9:9 and Matthew 26:28 are about God’s amazing forgiveness. When were you last struck with how much you’ve been forgiven? Praise him for that!
I can go on and on about things to praise him about, so there are a few to get you started.
Praise Him For What He’s Done
When were the times that you clearly saw God at work in your life? Maybe it was a form of protection against something, maybe it was miraculous healing in a family member. Those are definitely things to praise Him for.
In my own life, I praise him for the many doors he has opened and closed for my family. He’s led us on an incredible journey and we thank him for it.
In Joshua 4, Joshua commands the Israelites to set up twelve stones that would stand as a reminder for all that God had done for them. When their children asked about them, the Israelites would be able to tell them about how miraculous it was that they crossed the Jordan on dry ground.
When you forget what God has done for you or question the future, it’s always a good idea to revisit what God has done in the past.
When Change Does Come
“Will there be a victory?
Will You sing it over me now?
Your peace is the melody,
And you sing it over me now.”
When change does come, if you start to get really down, start proclaiming the little truths. Turn on a worship song and even if you can’t sing, just sit in the music. Ask God for a reason to praise Him.
It doesn’t have to be big, but we need to praise Him no matter what the circumstance. If it costs us something, especially if it costs us something, we need to continually lay our worries at His feet and thank Him for how far we’ve come.
Then, maybe we will begin to feel our hearts lift. Maybe we will feel life coursing through our veins again. Maybe our hearts will overflow with praise.
Even in the darkest spot, when we lift our voices and eyes to God, he most definitely will come through.
He will give us a reason to sing.
