Praising God in the storms

The holidays are not always cheerful for everyone, although we can all rejoice in the presence of God, let us learn to walk in His ways in His Spirit and tarry on in His peace.

We will never learn to praise God in the storms until we learn to praise Him in times of peacefulness.

Praise rises up from our souls when we learn to surrender our all to Him.

We are unable to do this without the guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit.

When life is going pleasantly we need to surrender all we are and all we have to Him then when we are downtrodden we need to surrender all our burdens to Him.

He alone brings joy to our lives as we face each day, in the midst of triumph in the midst of sorrow, He brings comfort in the midst of celebration or crisis.

Praising God should never be based on how we feel, our emotions betray us, praising God is rooted in His love, goodness, kindness, patience, and gentleness with us.

God’s word says:

“As a deer longs for flowing streams, so I long for you, God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long people say to me, “Where is your God?” I remember this as I pour out my heart: how I walked with many, leading the festive procession to the house of God, with joyful and thankful shouts. Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God. I am deeply depressed; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your billows have swept over me. The Lord will send his faithful love by day; his song will be with me in the night — a prayer to the God of my life. I will say to God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?” My adversaries taunt me, as if crushing my bones, while all day long they say to me, “Where is your God?” Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God.”
Psalms 42:1-11 CSB

“For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs — heirs of God and coheirs with Christ — if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits — we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:14-17, 23, 26-27 CSB

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”Galatians 5:22-25 CSB​