Praise You Now For Later

One of the first books given to me after I became a Christian was called, I think, Power in Praise. I was so new to faith that I didn’t know what to think of the guy’s theology. But (if I remember it correctly) basically it was built on the idea that God works all things together for good for those who love Him. So, if I remember it correctly, why not praise Him now for whatever you’re going through. Because you know eventually it will end up good. And, even more than that, I think the dude argued that there’s power in praising God for the crap we’re in, that praising Him now will somehow help bring about the good.

I’m still not sure about all of the theology of that, but there is some of that kind of thinking in today’s reading. In Psalm 54, verse 3 is all, “I’m getting attacked!” but in verse 4, ‘God is my help.” Then in verse 5 slander is hitting, but in verses 6-7 God is being praised for deliverance from troubles, a deliverance He hasn’t provided yet in this situation.

In Psalm 55, the first 15 verses are filled with, ‘I’m attacked, I’m distraught, I’m attacked,” and then the rest of the Psalm has God hearing the call for help and saving and bringing down the wicked – but it hasn’t actually happened yet.

What if we had the kind of faith that saw the future as if it’s now? That saw things that weren’t as if they were? What if we believed in God enough to praise Him now for the good He’ll bring from the crap we’re currently stuck in? Might it help bring about that good? I don’t know, but it sure couldn’t hurt.