I Can't Hold Back My Praise

What a year 2024 has already been. I resigned my position at the church I was on staff at. I've had regulations come up that may end up shutting down my business. We have been going through a difficult phase of toddlerisms with our daughter. I have experienced slander and rumors that are completely unfounded. Our household has been sick more often than not it seems, as our daughter has been in daycare for the first time, bringing home illness after illness. Then we found out some unfortunate health news for the family member that I am closest to.  From the outside looking in, these things could add up to a difficult few months. Surprisingly though, I'm writing today to share with you how much we have learned that our circumstances do not define us. 

See the last few months have been some of the best of our lives. When faced with uncertainty, we have found it incredibly easy to run to the only thing that is certain, the love of the Father.  I’ve been fortunate to be in the midst of an incredibly busy time of the year in my bible college program forcing me into the Word continually.  Some days diving into the Word is the last thing I want to do.  Some days I’m frustrated, I’m tired, I’m exhausted from what seems like a never ending uphill climb.  And that’s okay.  As long as we continue to dive into the Word, and we continue to run to Him.  Through the difficult days, the time in the Word is what has reestablished my perspective.  

It is so incredibly easy to want and to try to pave our own way in life.  It is easy to not trust His plans for us and try to create the path ourselves.  But when we completely turn over control to Him, the resistance becomes much less and the journey becomes much easier.  Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  There have been times that I have questioned some of the decisions I have made over the last year, but when I seek him in prayer I am confidently reminded that it was Him who led me to those decisions.  It was significant time in prayer that gave us the answers to make those decisions. It was Him walking with us through those decisions.  See He was leading me away from something that was holding me back in order to prepare me for something so much greater. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 spells it out pretty clearly, “Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”   I am lucky to have a wife who reminds me of this frequently, and through this time we have never stopped praying.  We have not stopped giving thanks to Him for all he has given us.  It wasn’t that long ago that our daughter Oakely was born.  She will be 18 months old in a few weeks, and she is a constant reminder of the blessings He constantly showers us with.  As many know, Oakley is our miracle child.  Before and after her arrival to this world, we went through painful losses.  Instead of living in the pain of those losses, we have found joy in the Lord for providing the miracle that our daughter is.  We have continued to give him thanks.  

It is easy to praise Him when we are standing on the peak, but our faith is truly tested when we find ourselves in the valleys.  And I will tell you this, as for me and my house, we will praise the Lord in all circumstances.  So this morning when I stumbled upon a video of a church I love singing “I Can’t Hold Back My Praise”, I found myself emotional because truly, today, I can’t hold back my praise.  I am so thankful for Him and His perfect plan for our lives. I am incredibly thankful that he prepared us for such a time as this.  I am thankful that he placed pastors and people in our life that didn’t allow us to take a break.  His plan was in motion long before we knew what was coming.  Today it is those relationships that make it a little easier to keep pushing onward.  To keep discipling.  To keep leading.  To keep Loving.  To keep giving thanks.  To keep praising.  

So today, “I Can’t Hold Back My Praise” is truly my anthem.  We are so blessed by the Father to have the people that we have in our lives today.  To love and be loved by so many. We continue to lead an amazing Life Group full of people truly seeking the Lord and discovering more and more who Jesus is.  We are blessed to be leading a Financial Peace University class for several others that are working together to find freedom in new ways.  We have invested in continuing relationships that continue to draw us closer and closer to Him.  The list of things we have to be thankful for today are endless.  It would be easy to focus on the uncertainty, or the stresses of life, but when we take a step back, the list of things we have to be thankful for is far longer.   So today we choose to not hold back our praise.  Our praise for a Father who loves us immensely and continues to bless us endlessly.  

No matter what you are going through, I challenge you to identify the list of things you have to be thankful for today and choose to praise Him through it all.  When repeated regularly you won’t be able to hold back your praise.  He is a good, good God.  We are undeserving of the gift of salvation, yet He offers it freely.  We are undeserving of the countless blessings that he showers us with, yet he never ceases.  I am so thankful to serve a God that loves to love us, even when we question everything.  I am thankful that we serve a God that is patient and loving through it all.  I pray that I continue to not be able to hold back my praise! I pray that I, above all else, continue to be thankful for all He has done!