Standing Ovation for God!

Praise the LORD.

How good it is to sing

praises to our God,

how pleasant and fitting

to praise him.

Psalm 147:1

As I go through this phase of my pain treatment, things get worse before they can get better. Right now, my pain level is the highest I can ever remember. But then again, our brains protect us from remembering the worst. 

My philosophy is "Create a positive day!". I learned early on that in order to live with chronic pain, my focus must be on the positive and not on the pain or negative side-effects.

But, there is another step that helps even more, sharing the positive. Sharing joy multiples it. The positives in my life are many. God has blessed me with friends, doctors, and even some things (Max, MacBook, stereo w/remote, etc). But all those blessings are from the greatest blessing—God's love. God provides blessings because He loves me. He takes care of my needs and sends extra "treats" along the way, all because HE LOVES ME! That thought in and of itself is a wonderful blessing. Keeping blessings to myself, doesn't have the same joy as when I share blessings with others.

Praise: In its common usage, praise is the act of making positive statements about a person, object or idea, either in public or privately. The word refers specifically to extolling or exalting God and his attributes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praise)

A synonym for Praise is Applause. When was the last time I applauded God? When was the last time I gave Him a standing ovation? He sure deserves one! One thing about a standing ovation is that others join in.

 

Will you join me

in giving a standing ovation

to God?

Now, some of you are asking,

"If God is so great, why are you in pain?" 

The answer to that is very simple:

to accomplish His purpose. 

See, there are many things which I wouldn't be doing if I was healed. I wouldn't be writing this blog. I wouldn't be helping others who also live in chronic pain. I wouldn't be meeting the people in Dr's offices or hospitals,....the list is endless. In order for me to accomplish God's purpose, He decided that this was the best way. 

Just because I'm in pain doesn't mean that God doesn't love me. Rather, I think that I am MORE aware of God's love because I'm in pain. Before my injury, I knew God loved me, but was too busy to appreicate His love, or applaud Him for His love. Now, I am very aware of God, His love, and His blessings in my life. 

As you go about your day, take a moment to reflect upon God's blessings and PRAISE Him. If you create a habit of PRAISING God, you will be more aware of Who God is, and what He does for you. And when you are aware of God and His love, your day will be positive.