Praise Your Way Out!

PRAISE YOUR WAY OUT!

“Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.” 
(Psalm 33:1)

            Our team of missionaries was based at a church in one of the rougher parts of London.  We decided to put on an “international night.”  We printed up invitations, and spent a week on the streets encouraging the locals to come.  Our plan was to spend most of the evening entertaining them, then to ease our way into the Gospel.  When the big night came, about thirty guests had responded.  Half of them were young teens, and most of these had been drinking heavily and sniffing glue.

            We gave it our best shot.  The Swiss guy was funny, and the Korean flag dance was great, but our visitors were just mocking. Later on, in broken English a young Korean called Peter, (we couldn’t pronounce his real name), tried to share his testimony.  Someone threw a can of coke at him.  Peter looked up and said, “Before I Christian, Me, one punch, You, heaven!”  From that point on, anything could have happened.  I was the preacher that night, and due up after Peter.  Why me?    I recalled the words of a friend, “You will find yourself in situations that you just can’t pray your way out of; but you can always praise your way out.”

            And so I did.  In a room that was about to explode, I found God.  I told him how much I loved Him.  I thanked Him for taking me from the sewer and filling my life with joy.  I told Him what an honour it was to be in this place, on this night.  I was absolutely lost in His presence.  When someone tapped me and said, “You’re up,” the room was calm.  The ring leaders had left.  They must have gotten bored.  Those that remained settled in and I spoke for fifteen minutes on The Good Shepherd.  The end of the story is that three people came to know Jesus that night as Saviour and Lord.  Wow! 

            And so now I can say to you, “You will find yourself in situations that you just can’t pray your way out of; but you can always praise your way out.”  There is never a time when it is not fitting for the upright to praise Him.  That includes in anything that you face today. Chris Thompson is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and serves as the Senior Pastor of Enderby Chapel in England

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Jeremiah 32-34; Psalm 32; Proverbs 5

Compass Pointers: God often comforts us, not by changing the circumstances of our lives, but by changing our attitude towards them. S. H.B. Masterman

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1:Proverbs 31:30; Level 2: Proverbs 31:28-31

Anchored to the Rock: Prayer is the barometer of the church. Thomas