Are you tired of the constant barrage of negativity that seems to permeate our world today? Have you ever felt like your own thoughts and emotions were being weighed down by the overwhelming pessimism around you? If so, then it's time to consider embarking on a journey of transformation through a negativity fast. https://revtrev.link/fast In today's fast-paced and often chaotic world, taking a step back from the negativity that surrounds us can be a powerful way to reclaim joy and allow God's strength and joy to flourish within us.
Imagine waking up each day with an overwhelming sense of joy and peace, unencumbered by the weight of negative thoughts and emotions. The idea may seem too good to be true in our current societal landscape, but with dedication and intentionality and the power of Holy Spirit it is entirely possible. Learn more in The Joy of the Lord is my strength.
Listen to Negativity Fast Reflection - The Joy Of The Lord Is My Strength
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The joy of the Lord is my strength. I praise him in the storm. I thank him before the answer comes. His joy bubbles up in me. I celebrate every day. He rejoices over me with singing. It is good to sing praises to him and thank him in all situations. He is my joy.
I have felt his joy in my life lately?
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Praising God with our whole heart is one of the most fundamental things we can do as followers of Jesus Christ. It may seem like a small thing, but it effects everything we do. Learn how to know if you are praising God with your whole heart and what to do if you find you are not. If you want to learn more check out http://revtrev.link/heart
When I was a young pastor I found a Psalm that said:
Psalm 119:164 I will praise you seven times a day because all your regulations are just.
Now I knew that 7 was the number of completeness and wholeness and I knew that psalmist was poetically saying “praise him fully, praise him completely, don’t hold back when you praise him”
But I had the thought… what would it be like to praise Him 7 times a day?
I can’t remember the technology I had, but the iPhone hadn’t been invented. It was probably a watch I had that could have multiple alarms on.
Whatever it was, I set it up notify me 7 times a day. I titled it - Praise Break.
Honestly, sometimes it was a little annoying to hear that ding. But I can also remember a number of times I was lost in my own thoughts and suddenly I was reminded to think about God for a few minutes. And it was really good. I can remember a couple of meetings when it might seem rude to have a notification come up, but it turned the meeting around. One in particular I was being yelled at for something by someone I didn’t really know, so I just stopped his rant “Praise Break” and I thanked God for the opportunity to see what He wanted to do…and the atmosphere shifted.
Have you ever tried to interrupt your day with praising God?
It’s an interesting exercise.
Since then I’ve come to realize that one of the 7 things the Bible tells us to do with our whole heart is to Praise God. The other six I’ve found if you’re interested are…
Trust God
Thank God
Love and Serve God
Seek God
Forgive others
Work as unto the Lord
These are the things we’re told to do with all our heart.
We’re also told to praise God with all our heart.
Psalm 86:12 With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever,
Psalm 9:1-2 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvellous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.
Did you catch that? If you’ve been around for a while you know the Hebrew understanding of heart is more than just the seat of our emotions… it’s also the seat of our decision and the seat of our action.
I will tell of all the marvellous things you have done. (action)
I will be filled with joy because of you. (emotion)
will sing praises to your name, O Most High. (decision)
Problem - We can go through the motions or we can ignore the motions.
We can go through the motions of praising God. We can sing the songs when we gather together and not let them change us so we leave a different way than we came in.
We can avoid gathering as the church or routinely come late or come and stare at the words, or more likely our phones and not even pretend to be praising God.
And yet we’re to praise Him with our whole heart. I don’t think that means for 1 hour a week when we gather.
What happens when we gather needs to be a a natural response to how we live our lives.
When we live our lives with our whole heart - when we choose to trust God, and choose to thank God, and choose to love and serve God and choose to seek God and choose work as unto the Lord and oh yah, keep account short with others and forgive them with our whole heart. When we do that praise is our natural response.
Everything we’re are told to do with our whole heart makes praising God with our whole heart a natural response.
Why does God want us to praise Him?
That’s a great question. I’m so glad you asked.
Psalm 135:16-18 (Psalm 115:6-8 as well) They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and mouths but cannot breathe. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.
What’s the principle?
We become like what we worship
Who is the One we praise?
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty saviour. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17
Praising God with our whole heart can spring from any part of our heart
Sometimes praising God with our whole heart springs from emotion
Psalm 126:1-3 When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.” Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!
It’s usually easiest to praise God when times are good. When you slow down to notice the blessings He’s entrusted to you. When you you choose gratitude and to thank God with your whole heart, praising Him with your whole heart becomes a natural bi-product.
Sometimes praising God with our whole heart springs from a decision
2 Chronicles 20
Jehoshaphat prayed a prayer, a prophetic answer came to take up their positions, stand firm and see the deliverance of the Lord, so the next day he sent out the praisers ahead of the army to face the three armies coming against them and as
2 Chronicles 20:22 they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.
Sometimes praise is choice. We speak to our soul and say, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” Psalm 103:1-2 It’s a decision that we need to make. It’s a decision to forgive and a decision to seek God.
Sometimes praising God with our whole heart springs from action
Joshua 6
God told Joshua the game plan and he priests blew the horns every day they marched with the warriors around the walls of Jericho. And on the seventh day, when they marched around it seven times, the horns gave a long blast and all the people shouted and the walls of Jericho came down.
Joshua 6:15-16 On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town!
Sometimes it’s a action - we need to intentionally carve out time or take time that we’ve carved out to praise Him with our whole heart - not just say the rote prayer but actually feel thankful when we pray it. The action could be raising our hands or singing in the car with the praise music being played.
Yes, we praise Him in the good times.
Yes, we praise Him in the storm.
Yes, we praise Him before the battle and we praise Him in the battle.
It is a decision. It is an action. It is an emotion.
You know you are praising God with your whole heart when joy fills your life. When we praise him we enter his presence (Psalm 22:3) and in His presence is fullness of joy. Psalm 16:11
When you praise God with your whole heart your life is filled with joy.
What is holding you back from praising God with all of your heart?
Ignorance: Didn’t know you could praise God with your whole heart - now you know.
Arrogance: If you don’t think God is to be praise - need to grow in your knowledge of God.
Sin: Sin separates us from God - confession and repentance is the key
Offence: Has God done something that you don’t agree with or not done something you expect him to do? Learn to live unoffended at Him. He will work all things together for good.
When you live whole hearted you praise God with your whole heart. Out of the abundance in the heart, your speech overflows.
A - Agree to trust what He is doing. Jeremiah 18:6
I - Imitate His Love. 1 John 4:19
S - Savour His presence. Psalm 16:11
E - Enjoy His creation. Psalm 8:3-5
P - Present each day to Him.
Romans 12:1 (Whatever you do…as unto the Lord)
Start the day off praising Him. Decide to praise Him.
Do I start my day praising God?
R - Remember what He has done.
Isaiah 64:3-4 (Thank God…)
Feel what it felt like when you first realized what He was doing. Praising Him with your whole heart requires emotion.
What can I remember God doing in my life?
A - Agree to trust what He is doing.
Jeremiah 18:6 (Trust God…)
What does does trust look like? Trust is often an action.
Do I trust Him to work it all together for good?
I - Imitate His Love.
1 John 4:19 (Love and Serve God…)
Praising Him with our whole heart requires our obedience to Him.
What does love look like today?
S - Savour His presence.
Psalm 16:11 (Seek God…)
Practicing the presence of God.
Do I spend time in His presence each day?
E - Enjoy His creation.
Psalm 8:3-5 (when right with God and right with others so Forgive…)
Enjoy the seasons - buds of spring, green of summer…
Am I taking time to be in awe of His creation?
Review
P - Present each day to Him. Romans 12:1
R - Remember what He has done. Isaiah 64:3-4
A - Agree to trust what He is doing. Jeremiah 18:6
I - Imitate His Love. 1 John 4:19
S - Savour His presence. Psalm 16:11
E - Enjoy His creation. Psalm 8:3-5
Challenge
Remember what I did all those years ago? I want to encourage you to try it out for yourself. Seven times a day for the next 30 days…
Praise break!
Praise God 7 times a day. Set a notification that you’ll notice seven times every day for the next 30 days. When the notification goes off - engage your whole heart - decide to praise God, zero in on the feeling of joy and do some action to praise God - raise hands, write it out, speak it out, sing it out…
The question is not about how to enjoy life. The question is how to live a life worth living.
No one is exempted from struggles. Even Bible heroes like Moses suffered several challenges in his life.
For this reason, peace and happiness have become challenging goals that every human being seeks. But it is not easy to find.
3 Ways to Achieve a More Peaceful and Happy Life
Achieving a more peaceful and happy life is not an easy achievement. Here are 3 secrets that can help you live a more peaceful and happier life:
1) Pray/meditate
We are taught to
pray without ceasing(1 Thessalonians 5:17, NKJV).
And when in trouble, we must not fear and be anxious. But, pray in every situation and present these prayers and requests to the Almighty (Philippians 4:6, NIV).
Praying provides peace of mind. And a peaceful mind leads to a happy life. It’s one of the most powerful forces in the world. Why? Because praying is a gift to mankind to connect with our Maker. Regardless of religion, one simple prayer can turn everything around.
Praying and meditating with God helps us accept everything and develop our sense of fulfillment and direction in life.
2) Embrace what is
In Matthew 6:33-34 (NIV), we are taught not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
God is already there. That's why we don't need to fear the uncertain.
Yes. Whatever you are facing now, someday, it will come to an end.
We all encounter obstacles now and again, but our response defines how we can resolve them. We just need to have faith and think positively.
Here is why you should stay positive about life.
BENEFITS OF POSITIVE THINKING
Improves depression
Better quality of social relationships
Higher quality of life
Better coping strategies in times of stress
Reduces vulnerability to disappointment
3) Practice gratitude all the time
God woke you up today. Isn’t it a wonderful feeling to know you got another day to enjoy life?
We are blessed for this life. “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good…” (Psalm 107:1, NKJV).
Life may be filled with challenges and difficulties, but it’s not all about it. It’s just part of living.
Focus on the good. And be grateful for what you have. No matter how little or much you have, it’s still a blessing.
These are what you experience when you practice gratitude:
More positive emotions
Feeling of liveliness
Better sleep
More compassion
More kindness
Stronger immune system
Ready For a More Enjoyable Life Ahead?
Life is never easy. Happiness and peace start with us. It begins when we decide that we will pursue them.
If you’ve decided to pursue it or are on your way to achieving it, we’d love to hear from you. Share your own secrets.
Let’s make this world a happier and more peaceful place, one person at a time.
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