PRAISING THROUGH

I have been on a kick with the following phrase: Pray through and Praise through.

This has been a consistent prayer I find myself praying: Jesus, regardless of my circumstances I want to PRAY THROUGH trusting You. As well as, PRAISE THROUGH because You, God, are always good. He alone sets the standard for good by giving us eternal life through His only begotten Son; now that is goodness!

I believe it is safe to say, we all have experienced ‘goodbyes’. Whether it is on a smaller scale of leaving a place, a job, etc. or a grander scale of saying goodbye to a person, we all understand the cogitation behind the word. Goodbyes are tough; they do not get easier the more you say them. I have said a lot of goodbyes this year. Even the start of this journey was full of goodbyes. Goodbye to my mom, to my friends, to my church, to my jobs, to my car, etc. This is a life lived with constant goodbyes. I don’t mean to put a damper on it, but it is reality. Even the simplest of things come to an end, and you must start again: laundry, the oil in your car, that after-shower freshness. 

Thanks be to Jesus that we know this life is not the end, or else, we would be living in one big, constant Goodbye.

 The one unchanging constant is our God.

 Just yesterday my team left Johannesburg and the sweet family we had been serving alongside there. This was a very sad goodbye. Their family prayed over us, and the oldest boy who is 10-years old prayed, “Jesus, I pray the missionaries are able to come back before heaven.” Agh, my heart! We all weeped a lot. Then we got on a bus for 20-hours to travel to Heidelberg which is on the western cape of South Africa. You know what the constant all along the journey was? It was not the sweet family, not the fun memories, not what we had done during our time in Joberg, but rather, IT WAS OUR GOD.

Friends, when we grasp this it is the start to everything! Say goodbye to saying goodbye because with Jesus everything is brand new. If my team chose to complain we would miss the beauty of the Lord’s hand in this new place, because He is here. 

 In those times when we are sad, when we are happy, when the day is perfect, when the day is dreadful and all the other times in between: WE MUST PRAISE THROUGH. When we choose praise, I believe it is us choosing to say, God, we are aware of You more than we are of this world. 

We see David doing so all throughout the Psalms. Psalm 34:1 “I will bless the Lord at all times: His Praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 9:1 “I will Praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart. I will shew forth all thy marvelous works.” When we praise God the enemy flees; scripture says praise is a weapon (2 Chronicles 20:22).

 We went to our first church service this morning here in Heidelberg. It was vastly different from the church we were serving with in Johannesburg, but still so good! Because our God is the constant between, and He is what is good. The preacher spoke on non-other than, Praising God.

During the last time we met with the youth group in Johannesburg, Ettion, their incredible, worship leader led us in singing the song, The Goodness of God.

“From the moment that I wake up until I lay my head, Oh I will sing of the Goodness of God. All my life you have been faithful; all my life you have been so, so good….”

 Guess what song was sung in the service today, The Goodness of God. Because His goodness is running after us, we just must choose whether or not we will look for it. It still holds absolute truth regardless of where I am at or what I am doing. Because of nothing else, BUT HIM.

 When we choose to praise instead of complain, the atmosphere changes. That is when tiny bits of heaven comes to earth.

Do you believe the Father’s goodness is running after you today?

Let us Praise Through and change the atmospheres then.

 Guess what the Bible says we will be doing in heaven: PRAISING THE LORD!

Revelation 19:6-7 “Then I heard as it were the voice of great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Allelujah: for the Lord God omnipotent reignite. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him.”

 I desire to live my days praising God through and through. 

Hallelujah to the Lord, God, Almighty. Amen.

Your Beloved, Kel 

Below are a few photos of our amazing ministry-host family and our time spent in Johannesburg.