State of Praise

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice.” Philippians 4:4 reminds us to have a spirit of praise in all circumstances. It does not say to rejoice in the good, when ministry is smooth and all things are going the way you pictured them. Nor does it say to give up in times of struggle. It says to ALWAYS rejoice, to be in a spirit of praise through thick and thin!

The past few weeks have been a battle. Living in Uganda means you are surrounded by images of poverty, brokenness, and death on a daily basis. That alone will encourage anyone to lose a spirit of praise. But of course, that is not all I deal with. Lately, it seems like everything is coming down at one time. Dear people in my life are struggling, including people back in the States. These are people who I use to be there to hold a hand through difficult times, and now they are going through something else and I am halfway around the world. A couple have confessed they wished I were there instead, and no matter how much I want to be there for them, the truth is I am where I am suppose to be. They understand. I understand. But it still puts an aching in each heart. I keep fighting attack after attack when it comes to ministry, and the last blow came at the immigration office, where they said they would not extend my stamp to December, but I would need to go home a month early. *Disclaimer* I have discovered a few different options and should still be able to stay in the country. These are all blows to my heart, which weakens my spirit. This is the state the enemy wants me. Here he feels as though he can pull me away from the work God called me to. If I let my aching heart lose hope, then I will walk away from the people God wanted me to love on.

I must keep a spirit of praise. I need to always be rejoicing in the goodness of my Savior. When I am in a constant state of praise, then I find myself in the presence of God all the time. During times of sorrow, there is no other place I rather be! In His presence, I always have loving arms to cry in and Someone to wipe my tears away. He strengthens me to keep fighting, and reminds me of His love on the cross, which brought me salvation. Even through the heart break I find myself in, I continue to praise God. He fills me with hope, as I remind myself that Christ is coming back. He is coming back to rescue His bride, the Church. I refuse to miss that day! And I continue to praise Him because I can do nothing to repay such love. Even through the times of people I continue to pour into do whatever they can to hurt me, I will continue to pour into them so they can join me on that glorious day.

I choose to rejoice in every situation. This is what God calls me to, and I know it is for my good. I have been called to always rejoice, and rejoicing always I will aspire.

*Final Disclaimer* I really don't know everyone who reads my blog, and I don't really write it for people. I write it because it is great therapy! But I realize this post makes me sound like I am losing my zeal for this whole missions thing. Totally the opposite! I love what I do, and thank God everyday that He called me to a life of missions. However, there are days where it feels like my heart is being ripped out of my chest, and I get discouraged. Yet I still have a giant smile on my face every day out of pure joy for what I do. I would not change my life for anything in the world!