Praise and Worship

A negative mindset is hard to live with. Today I wanted to share this short story and devotional to help change your perspective to see things more positively. This weekend my husband and I were fortunate enough to attend a Zach Williams Christian concert. It was incredible. Not just the performance, but to see the intense ferocity of the crowd worshipping. Anyone could feel the spirit moving and the joy emanating from the crowd. As we peered over the audience a thought came to my mind of how beautiful it would be to see this kind of intensity of praise and worship everywhere we go.

Shift Your Focus

Could you imagine if we didn’t only praise and worship like this at events or church, but instead gave God this kind of praise and worship every day? If we chose to shift our focus on our blessings instead of the shortcomings and struggles of life? Everywhere you look on the news, newspaper, or social media, you’ll see that mostly the negative posts get the most attention. Seeing this and hearing our pastor at Grace preach this past Sunday about how we complain when we have so much to give praise for brought several things to mind for me. One thing that it brought to mind is my job.

“If you’ve got pain, He’s a pain taker. If you feel lost, He’s a waymaker. If you need freedom or saving, He’s a prison shaking Savior. If you’ve got chains He’s a chain breaker!”
‘Chain Breaker’ song by Zach Williams

Embrace the Negative with the Positive

I have been unhappy with my job for a long time. It is very taxing and demanding. But I have decided now to stop seeing only the negatives and embrace the positives. Such as, this job enabled my husband and me to purchase our first home. Also, it has enabled us to live our life comfortably, tithe, take care of rescue animals, and so much more.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
Proverbs 3:5-6

Change Your Perspective

Once I started to shift my mindset to the positives, I was surprised at how many blessings this job has brought to my life. Allowing me to bless others as well. Blessings that I never considered before, because I was too focused on looking at the negative. We hear so much complaining. Especially, about the world. But, what if we try to look at it from a positive perspective?

“When the valleys that I wander, turn to mountains that I can’t climb. You are with me, you never leave me. There ain’t nothing gonna steal my joy.”
‘Old Church Choir’ song by Zach Williams

Thank God for the Good and Bad

Whatever negative situation that you are enduring, if you take the time, you can find positives that have come from it. Even if it is only growth or change that was triggered from it. So today I wanted to share this short story to encourage others to get out of the mindset that I’ve been in of only focusing on the negative. And instead, thank God for the good and the bad.

“A little more like mercy. A little more like Grace. A little more like kindness, goodness, love, and faith. A little more like patience, a little more like peace. A little more like Jesus, a little less like me.”
‘Less Like Me’ song by Zach Williams

Opportunity for Growth

For example, if something tests your patience daily, that’s likely pretty stressful. But, did you also consider that you’ve been given the opportunity for your patience to grow? Evaluate the battles in your life that you continue to face and see how God is working to grow you with those. We serve a wonderful and loving God who wants to give us hope and a future. He wants us to have peace and a sound mind. It is time to stop letting the enemy distract you and fill your mind with negative clutter. Start today by seeing the world through a different lens.

“The road less traveled has its battles. But, there’s no battle. Oh, that You won’t pull me through. In this running with the devil world, I’m going to walk with you”
‘Walk With You’ song by Zach Williams

Reflection:

Does this story resonate with you? What areas in your life do you struggle with only viewing negatively? Make a list and see if it helps you realize that maybe what you see as negative is an opportunity for growth. Or, the positive blessings outweigh the negative, but your focus is not where it needs to be.

Prayer:

Dear Lord,
I pray today to give you the praise and worship that you so deserve. Thank you for all of the blessings you have placed on my life. Forgive me for not always recognizing these blessings and allowing the enemy to distract me by cluttering my mind with the negative. Today I choose to focus on your goodness, mercy, and grace. Today I choose to see the positives. I ask that you help me do better with complaining and that I speak more positively.
Lord, please help me not to lose sight of what’s truly important. There are many distractions and it’s easy to give way to those distractions. I give you worship and praise for everything you’ve done in my life. I know that nothing that the enemy does for my harm will be able to harm me, but instead, you will turn and use for my good. So allow me to rejoice through the struggle, have faith through the pain, and give you the glory, every day, forever and ever.

Amen