Today, I was feeling a bit down. There are certain areas of my life that I struggle with in finding the Lord and His peace. I try not to ask the question “Why?” but it just slips out sometimes.
As I was praying through this, I heard “put on your garment of praise.” My mind began to see a picture of what a ‘garment’ of praise would look like, and these words came to mind: glory, joy, light, colorful, beautiful, comfortable, royal. My spirit began to lift up.
King David overcame his heaviness when he praised God, and in Isaiah 61:3 it says:
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness
I saw that the garment I had on was different than the garment of the Lord, and I made a decision at that moment to put on His garment of praise – to clothe myself in His glory. I began to sing and speak praises to the Lord, and thank Him for His goodness and mercy. The spirit of heaviness left me and my heart was filled with joy!
An important part of this lesson I was being taught was that I had to choose to put on the garment of praise, and not stay in the spirit of heaviness. When I did that, my perspective changed. Although the struggle I was dealing with did not change, I began to feel hope and my faith in God rose to a higher level. Nothing is too difficult for Him!
God turned me around this morning, and now this is what I’m shouting – Praise God!
Psalm 100: 1-5
Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
Thoughts from “The Porch”
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