Day 5 - Even When It Hurts (Hillsong UNITED)
Sometimes, it takes me a while to catch a melody and the heart behind a new worship album; Empires, by Hillsong UNITED, was one of those, but after listening to them in the car, in the home, searching out the lyrics to follow, I began to feel the depth of these songs which often become my own prayers. I returned to this particular song back in late 2016 into 2017, a time when life did hurt. This song was hard to sing, because I knew the truth in it, but it expressed so much of what my heart was feeling, which meant I wanted to sing it and believe it.
Even when my strength is lost I'll praise you
Even when I have no song I'll praise you
Even when it's hard to find the words
Louder then I'll sing your praise , I will only sing your praise
I knew that no matter what I was walking through, no matter how I felt, I had to praise; I wanted to praise, I would find God in that place of praise. Praise takes your focus off the circumstances and on how awesome, how powerful, how loving and faithful God is. It meant that every time I had said to others, “you need to praise through it”, or “lean into God for your breakthrough”, I had to practice what I preached. I knew and had experience the power of praise, but not so much in a season of pain. But this is when I found the strength in praise.
Take this mountain weight Take these ocean tears Hold me through the trial Come like hope again
This song also highlighted the place that I needed to go to; the change that was needed in my heart. This second verse is a pray, casting our worries, our heavy burdens, our tears to God, asking Him to be close and to be the Hope in our lives.
Lord my heart burns only for you You are all you are all I want And my soul waits only for you
And I will sing till the miracle comes
I’m reminded of the verses from Habbakuk 3:17-18 that says:
“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!”
This picture in Habakkuk is dire! No harvest, no food, no crops, no evidence of life or growth, YET, wow the power of a three letter word, yet the prophet chooses to rejoice in the Lord and to be joyful in Him!
I hope that you are encouraged today to find strength in praise, ‘even when it hurts’.
Think about / Meditate on:
Read through Habbakuk 3:17-18 and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you through it. Are you walking through something now that you need to praise God through the challenge? Or do you know others who are, who you can pray for today?
Listen to this song (https://youtu.be/3Sv_876eqxg) and declare in your life today that you will ‘sing’ you will praise, until the miracle comes, that no matter what, you will choose to worship
Thank God today that we can praise Him at any time, at any place. He will draw near to us when we draw near to Him.
Written by Senior Pastor Charmaine