“My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praises all day long.” Psalm 35:28 NIV
If you want to control the weather in your life, develop a lifestyle of praise. I was listening to a conversation between Will Arnett and Dax Shepard on the Armchair Expert. Will made a comment about being happy. He said he’s happy because he makes his own weather. In other words, it’s up to you how happy you are in life. For him, he’s found happiness by focusing on the “low-hanging fruit,” as he calls it. He’s appreciative of his kids, his wife, their good health. He’s grateful for what he has, which creates his own weather of happiness. We can do the same thing. We create a forecast of joy by living a life of praise.
We create a forecast of joy by living a life of praise.
We can praise God for the same “low hanging” fruit that Will does. Our families and friends, our jobs, our health are all “low hanging” fruit. Living in America, we have access to one of the greatest health care systems in the world. If our health suffers, we have the best help in the world at our fingertips. Some of the fruit that is higher to pick but just as valuable: the air we breathe, the food we eat, the clothes we wear. Even higher still, God’s intricate presence in our lives, His perfect timing that intervenes at the precise moment, His desire to create us from the love He has for us, all things worthy of His praise.
On the other hand, we can create a hurricane in our lives by trying to control it ourselves. When we take matters in our own hands, not waiting on God, we create storms. When we strike back at someone who has harmed us, we create a storm. When we gossip instead of praise, we start a tornado. When we lie, steal or cheat, we’re creating havoc in our lives that can erupt into a storm at any moment.
The type of weather in your life is determined by you. In order to have joy in our heart, we must have praise on our lips. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians instructed us to give thanks in all situations (1 Thess. 5:18 NIV). He’s not saying to be thankful for bad situations. He’s instructing us to find something within the situation to be thankful for today. If you look hard enough, you can always find something to praise God for, even in the darkest of situations.
Corrie Ten Boom, in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany, thanked God for the fleas. The fleas kept the guards away so the prisoners could study their Bible. In the darkest of situations, find a flea to praise God for within it. Create your own weather today.
Question of the Day
What kind of weather do you want to create for yourself?
Further Reading: Leviticus 1:1-3:17 NIV, Mark 1:29-2:12 NIV, Psalm 35:17-28 NIV, Proverbs 9:13-18 NIV
