James 1:2-8; 12-14 - "Broken Hallelujah"

The Lord woke me up singing "Broken Hallelujah" this morning.  I love when He puts a song in my heart the first thing.  As I was singing, I started praying for ones who have a choice of praising Him with a "Broken Hallelujah" or turning away from Him.  When we get to the point in life where we feel like "Everything is crashing down, And I wonder where You are" we need to make sure we seek the Lord.  His strength will get us through.  His power will enable us to overcome whatever is before us.  Sometimes He puts us in situations to see what choice we will make.  He wants us to deepen our faith through trials.  We must remember that when we cry out to Him He is "…the one that can hear my heart."    Sometimes we want to know the outcome of the situation from the very beginning.  For some they always want to know the outcome.  The important thing to remember is even though He knows the outcome we don't necessarily need to know it.  The words in this song are words we need to believe in...

Even though I don't know what your plan is,
I know You're making beauty from these ashes.

We also need to remember to give Him our broken hallelujah through the good times and the bad times.  Praising the Lord is about Him, not about us.  Praising Him begins when we are in His presence, worshipping Him.  It is our offering in love and adoration to Him.  Praise can ooze out of us even in trying times.  It's our choice.  Anytime I get discouraged with life's circumstances I turn to the first chapter of the book of James…

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstablein all they do.

12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.  13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Woo hoo!  These words are a blessing to me.  When I persevere through hard times, my faith will deepen.  As my faith deepens, I will draw closer to the Lord.  The end result will be eternal life with Him.  That is such an encouragement to me.  When we are going through tough times, it's not easy to be joyful but it's possible.  One of the best ways to draw closer to the Lord in tough times is to praise Him.  I found these words and want to make sure to keep them…

Praising Him contradicts the reality of what life looks like to us sometimes...

Praising Him overcomes doubt

Praising Him overcomes sin

Praising Him overcomes sorrow

Praising Him overcomes pain

Praising Him overcomes our own unbelief

Once again the words to this song come to my mind...

I've seen joy and I've seen pain.
On my knees, I call Your name.
Here's my broken hallelujah.

Dear Jesus,
I come before You, Lord, to start a new day.  Father, there are so many people going through tough times right now.  I pray for Your presence to come down upon them in a way that they will know You are there….

• the two couples separated that need reconciliation
• the one with two family members with serious health conditions that is seeking what she can do for them
• the one that needs a miracle in her physical body
• the two dealing with health issues with many unknown factors 
• the one newly saved that is fighting the darkness of his past
• the one seeking more of You and feeling like she is in an uphill battle
• the three with physical issues who need wisdom on what to do 
• the one going through relationship issues with a sibling

Father, thank You for accepting my "Broken Hallelujah" in a way that enabled me to deepen my faith.  Thank You for Your mercy and grace.  But most importantly thank You for Your love.  Lord, more of You and less of me is my prayer for this day.  Direct my steps, give me Your words and Your attitude with all around me.  I pray for opportunities to be You to others.  I praise You Father for being My Greatest Encourager.  Amen.