Praising God In Our Upside Down World
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Phil. 4:4-7
Today there are many people whose world has been turned upside down. Many people are doing things they never thought they would ever have to do.
I can remember when my world was turned upside down. I remember thinking that I was never going to be the same. In July of 2018, my dad was put on hospice and we were told to prepare for what was to come. Let’s just say that I was a daddy’s girl even as an adult. I am the baby of the family so I was spoiled rotten. I can remember driving to my parents’ home from the hospital and thinking: I need to quit my job; I need to move back home; I need to help my mom take care of my dad. After speaking with my mom, she wouldn’t let me quit my job and move back to help her. So over the next several weeks I cut back on my hours at work, just so that I could drive to San Angelo to spend the night with my parents. Sometimes it meant getting there late in the evening and leaving early in the morning. I love my sleep, but this was a sacrifice I was willing to make in my upside down world. Then the day came when I got that unwanted call, that my dad only had a few days of life. I jumped in my car with absolutely nothing but my wallet and phone to take an hour and a half drive to get to my dad’s side. That drive seemed like it was never going to end. I can remember just praying, singing worship songs, and of course lots of crying. About halfway through my drive I felt peace and comfort start to just take over. Then I began to think and tell myself: you’ve got this because God’s got you!
The last days of my dad’s life were spent with lots of praise and worship and just praying. One of my favorite memories is when we played my dad’s favorite song “Levanto Mis Manos” (In English: When I Raise My Hands). The song talks about raising your hands to worship even when you don’t have the strength. The next thing we saw was my dad raising his hands to just worship and praise. In my dad’s upside down world, he just praised God to the very end. My dad went to be with Jesus on September 21, 2018.
I tell you this story to remind you to never stop praising, even when your world is upside down. Some days it’s going to be more difficult to bring out a praise, and other times it will be easy!
Final thought:
When your world is upside down, let God’s word rise up out of your heart and come out your mouth!
Questions:
- What are some ways you can praise God in your upside down world?
- What are some things you can do to help remind you to praise God, even in the hard times?
Prayer:
Father God, we love you and thank you for our many blessings. Many of us come to you today with overwhelming feelings of not knowing what will happen next, which is scary for most of us. We ask for peace and comfort in these times. We also ask that you will help us to praise you in the storms just as much as we do in the good times. In Jesus name, Amen!
