The Unstoppable Praise

DAILY IN THE WORD

June 1, 2021

 

The Unstoppable Praise

 

Luke 19:37-40

³⁷ And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; ³⁸ Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. ³⁹ And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. ⁴⁰ And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear? Maybe you don’t, for if you do, instead of telling me to stop sharing the marvelous works of the LORD, you could have felt the unstoppable praise of your soul, for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, or the fingers write.

Experiencing God’s goodness is a matter of choice; a matter of perspective, and most of all, a matter of faith. Sometimes, there are things that will happen beyond our control, but we can always choose how to respond to it. Remembering some bad and sad memories in my college days when life was so hard makes me even more grateful and appreciative of God’s goodness today: my parents were jobless, no source of income; while we were eating breakfast, the minds were already thinking where to get our next meal. Yes, that’s how difficult life was. There were times that I was hesitant to go to school because of my empty tummy, but I believe that it was God’s wisdom to make me decide to choose to be in school because what I thought of during those days was, whether I go to school or not, the feeling would be the same, my stomach won’t change, so I chose to be with my classmates and professors: the blessing there was, because I was the class mayor in our section, many invited me to join them during recess time: and because I was honest enough to share to them my real status in life, I enjoyed all the free food, and my professors ushered  me to their department head to become her student assistant. Did I feel bad about it because it made me look so pitiful? Absolutely not! Because the more honest I was, the more I won the respect and trust of my classmates and teachers, something that I did not ask and expect to happen. What’s more interesting was, they knew about my poor scholastic background in elementary and high school; majority of them were honors students; me? I was not, it was even hard for me to go to the next level, because I hated school those days that much. But still, they opted to make me as their class mayor for those three consecutive years, until we graduated. Everything was God’s favor! So how can I stop declaring the goodness of God, if He’s so real to me in good times and in bad times: when you’re walking and living on it? Whether you believe it or not, my life is a living testimony of His goodness, grace, and mercy. God is worthy to be praised, and He deserves all the glory. So, if I continue to write, expect that He is always there. It’s Him who brought me where I am today, so you can’t stop me if I’m making Him as the main character of the story.

 

THE PRAYER

 

Dear Jesus,

 

I praise You, dear LORD, for everything that You allowed me to see and to hear. How amazing it is to realize how true Your word is when others tend to let me see the other side of the world. When You let me hear all the negativity, all the struggles, all the pains and sorrows from time to time, the more I understand how blessed I am to have You in my life, because you constantly remind me from day to day that You are the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. You daily teach me how to rest and sleep in the midst of storm, knowing that You are in control of all things. Dear God, it is my prayer, that You will also allow them to see and to hear what You allowed me to experience. Please let them desire to seek and hear You, more than their circumstance. I know it’s hard, but with You nothing is impossible when we believe. These things I ask and pray in Jesus name. Amen!