For more than 40 years, the Israelites ate manna. It was their breakfast of champions, their morning oatmeal, their (literal) daily bread. God provided, they expected, and food was there every dawn except Sundays and that was ok because following God’s instructions, they always got double portions the day before.
Fast forward to 2008. Our manna isn’t always as easily seen, is it? We can’t walk outside every morning and physically see the result of God’s provision all of the time.
So what if you’re reading this right now and you’re missing the manna? What if you’re waiting for the job? Waiting for the paycheck? Waiting for the test results? Waiting for your husband to come home? What if that daily sustenance, that holy blessing from God you are desperately craving today, just hasn’t really shown up? Not from your viewpoint anyway?
Praise Him anyway.
Those are tough words, I know. But I was reminded of this important point by a very wise and godly lady a few weeks ago. We were talking about Psalms and she brought up the fact that so many of the psalms start out with the psalmist under dire straits – desperate, lonely, hurting. But that quite often, he ends his lament with praise for God. Not necessarily because all of his problems have gone away – but because God is God. And the psalmist praises Him because of it. And through his praise for his creator, he expects good things to come. He reminds himself that it’s ok, that despite everything he is going through, God is still in control. And if you notice, the psalm ends on a higher note. A better note. We feel better about the situation we’re in when we praise God regardless of our circumstances.
It makes sense. When we look to God and remember all of the good He is and does for us, we forget ourselves. We forget our troubles. And we remember that God is God. He can heal, He can rescue, He can comfort, He can be leaned on.
So let’s think about this as military wives. I have to say, it is tough to be going through a deployment and praise God anyway. It is tough to feel like your heart is in two, missing your husband, feeling the weight of your emotions and then praise Him anyway.
God doesn’t expect you to do this with a happy face. It’s ok to cry. It’s ok to get mad. And we can praise Him anyway.
God, I don’t understand why I’m going through the situation I am, but I praise you because You do, because You know and You can see where I can’t.
God, my heart is breaking right now because I miss my husband and I’m tired of being by myself but I praise you because I know You’re with me, and You haven’t left me. You are still here.
God, I praise You for bringing the sunshine and rain because without the other, we wouldn’t know the difference.
A passage from Psalm 77:11-15…
Once again I’ll go over what God has done, lay out on the table the ancient wonders; I’ll ponder all the things you’ve accomplished, and give a long, loving look at your acts.
O God! Your way is holy! No god is great like God! You’re the God who makes things happen; you showed everyone what you can do -
You pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble, rescued the
children of Jacob and Joseph….
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