NOTICE: The following
article is written by the author itself and not by me, I am not trying to
violate their copyright. I will give some information on them. I chose this as
the devotion of the week as it is the first anniversary of Unit 1012: The VFFDP
on this date, October 12. I hope this song comforts those who lost their loved
ones through homicide.
PAGE
TITLE:
CBN Daily Devotional
ARTICLE
TITLE:
Praising My Way through Grief
DATE: 2012
AUTHOR: Elaine Creasman
AUTHOR
INFORMATION: Elaine Creasman is a freelance
writer and works part time as a mental health tech. She and her husband have
two grown daughters and a granddaughter and live in Largo, Florida. Visit her
at her website:
www.elainecreasman.com. Read her blog: http://elainecreasman.wordpress.com/
and tune in to her radio show "Hearts Set Free with Elaine" on www.wtis1110.com
Praising
God when things are going well seems the right thing to do. But when my world
seems to be shattered, praising God can feel unnatural. And so it is.
This
is why God rejoices when I do it, and my life is transformed in the process.
There's
no doubt that the Word instructs me to keep on praising the Lord—no matter what
my circumstances are like.
I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1 KJV
What
a challenge this has been in my Christian life. Too often I want to "bless
the LORD" with my praise only when all seems right with my world.
When
it feels to my near-sighted soul that He has withdrawn His blessings from
me–such as when tragedy or trouble comes–I want to withdraw my praise.
The
course in the midst of troubles has too often been: I will praise Him when
things get better—when He is blessing me again.
The
truth is God never stops blessing me. Every day and every moment of the day He
pours His grace on me. He helps me through my troubles—if I'm willing to
receive that help. His love for me does not change—even though my circumstances
may.
Praises
can cease when I start judging God– accusing Him of bringing calamity to my
life for all sorts of unholy reasons. The truth is God remains holy and
righteous through every season of my life. His view of me does not change just
because I think it does or because the way I see Him becomes skewed. He is not
punishing me through trials just because my wayward soul determines it is so.
When
tragedy struck on February 28, 2012 due to the suicide of my brother, there was
a part of me that wanted to stop praising God. How can I praise a God who
refused to intervene to save this precious life? But those thoughts were
short-lived as I determined to stay in praise no matter what my emotions told
me.
As
I have stayed in the Word—especially in the Psalms—I've been reminded that God
is deserving of all my praise. Praise the Lord! I've recalled all He has
brought me through. Praise the Lord! I've recollected how at times He has
carried me when I've felt too weak to go on—both in this tragedy and in the
midst of calamities in the past. Praise the Lord!
Not
only do I praise God for His faithfulness in days gone by and in my present
struggles, but I also praise Him for His promise to be faithful in the future.
I feel excited about what He is going to do next to continue to bring good out
of this latest heartbreak as He has done with every challenge in my life.
I'm
still going through the valley of grief. This month is hard because it's my
brother's birthday. Suddenly at times I've felt overwhelmed with guilt and
anger again. Guilt over not doing more to reach out and encourage. Anger over
the devil's taunts that he has won the victory in this tragedy.
When
I look at what has happened from God's perspective, I see Him bringing triumph
from tragedy. Hearts are being drawn closer to Him and to each other. I've
never felt closer to the Lord.
My
heart echoes what David said in Psalm 43:5
…for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (NIV)
Will
you say and do the same?
Copyright
© 2012 Elaine Creasman, used by permission
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