Praising Him in the Storm

You’re familiar with the song, “Praise You in This Storm” from Casting Crowns, right? The chorus goes has a line that says “I’ll praise you in this storm and I will lift my hand for You are who You are.”

I’ve repeated the words to that song numerous times, driving down the road, cleaning house, during a worship set at church and probably even running.

It’s often easier to sing the words of a song than it is to live them out.

I love to hear people tell stories about how good God is. Celebrating a victory with someone and giving God the glory brings me great joy.

We’re finally pregnant. God is good!

I got that job I’ve been praying for. God is good!

I finally found the man of my dreams. God is good!

I just paid off my last debt. God is good!

He is indeed.

What about when things aren’t going our way? Can we praise God the same as we do during the victories?

I know for me, it wouldn’t be as easy to say:

We’ve been trying for five years and still haven’t gotten pregnant. God is good!

I got fired and I’ve been living on unemployment for six months. God is good!

I’m 31 and still single. God is good!

Just when I start to see progress in paying off debt, I get hit with another medical bill. God is good!

I can only imagine the smile on God’s face when He hears His name glorified in the midst of trials.

It may be harder, but it’s not impossible. What if we chose to praise Him regardless of our circumstances, both in the good times and bad?

Does His sovereignty decrease when a trial comes our way? Is His power cut in half when devastation strikes? Does His love, mercy and grace for us diminish when we’ve made poor choices that leave us in the midst of sadness?

Of course not. God doesn’t waver, even when we do.

I’ve been making the conscious decision lately to praise God, even when I don’t feel like it. I’m going through a painful trial right now. I’m fighting fear, doubt, anger, sadness and more. But God is bigger.

When others ask me about the situation and I don’t have an answer, I say, “I don’t know, but I trust God.” My journal is full of this repeated sentence, “I trust You. I trust You. I trust You.

As I write this, the past 72 hours have been full of unknown answers, but I’ve chosen to praise Him in this storm. I don’t understand. I have questions. My heart hurts.

But I will praise God. 

I have to wait. I’m watching someone be hurt and I have no control over stopping it. There are nights I go to sleep holding my Bible because it’s the only thing I know to do. I cry, without understanding.

But I will praise Him in this storm.

Praise wasn’t just meant for victories; it was meant for our darkest hours. I can’t help but think of Job. I’m not even experiencing half of his tragedies. He lost his family—except for his wife—and all of his possessions, and he literally had to use clay to scratch the sores on his body for relief.

Yet he praised God in the storm.

We could all learn a few lessons from this guy. Perhaps I should name my first child Job. What do you think? It’s really a name of blessing, not a curse. Think about that. Once Job made it through all his trials and tribulations, still praising God, he was blessed with more than he’d had before.

Where are you at right now? In the middle of a trial, or sitting high on life? Either way, I hope praise is on your lips. I’m striving for it to be on mine. Though I still fail miserably, I will continue to praise Him in this storm.

At the end of this storm, there is sunshine, but I’m choosing to praise Him under the umbrella, through the lightning and thunder, knowing I may be soaked now, but I’ll be dry again.

Let’s praise Him together, friends.