Praise God

It is much easier to praise God with joy in your heart when times are going well. It is so easy to get on your knees and thank Him and bask in His wonderful glory. It is easier to give someone encouragment and remind them that in "their" dark hour that God is there and He has a plan and His plan is perfect. It is easy to give God glory in times of plenty and abundance.
But, when times are hard, even though the words come out of my mouth, it is much harder for my heart to feel that "joy." It is always easy to declare the Lord's glory and His magnificant grace and His abundant provision, it is just harder for my heart to feel that joy. It makes me realize my depravity, my constant need for Him, how truly sinful and selfish I can be. It can shame me to my core to know that when times are good, I feel good, but when times are challenging, I feel bad.
Paul was beaten, put in a prison cell, persecuted by all, shipwrecked, stoned, and bitten by snakes and he constantly gave glory to God and praise to God. His attitude was always one of "joy" in the Lord. He counted all things as gain. I wonder if he ever had a mental battle within himself--of course he did, he tell us in Romans that he sometimes did the things he did not want to do, and the things he wants to do, he cannot.
So, then I stand back and look at my life (slap myself across the face and say "snap out of it") and I see the abundance of blessings. No, I see the OVERabundance of blessings in my life. Things that some people, even in their prime of life, do not have, and I weep for my selfishness. Please Lord, forgive me.
My husband may not have a job after March 24, but TODAY, he has a job--thank you, Lord. My family is healthy--thank you, Lord. We love each other--thank you, Lord. We all know that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no man comes to the Father, except through him--thank you, Lord. Every night we lay our heads down on comfy pillows and snuggle up in our warm beds--thank you, Lord. Every morning, afternoon, and evening, we get up and eat food out of our plentiful pantry--thank you, Lord. Every day we get up and put clothes on our body and shoes on our feet--thank you, Lord. We have cars to drive, gadgets to entertain us, and a roof over our head--thank you, Lord. We have friends who love and encourage us in Christ--thank you, Lord.
So, truly, what is there to be depressed about? There IS cause for rejoicing. There IS cause for thankfulness. There IS cause for joy.
But, even if all those things are taken away--there is still cause for joy. In this life, we can suffer, we can be beaten, imprisioned, shipwrecked, lose all our family, and be persecuted by every man we know, but we will always have the hope that after death, our precious Lord will take us to be with him and bask in His glory forever.
It is an eternal perspective. My actions, thoughts, and attitude during this time of life are chiseling an eternal perspective on my family and when it comes down to it, that is what I will take with me when I stand before God.