Put on the Garment of Praise by Jacqueline Erasmus
Colossians 2:6-7
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving”
It is not always easy to maintain a positive attitude and remain energised in the midst of challenging circumstances especially when we start to run out of steam . “I can’t take this any more ” is usually what we either say out loud or what we think when life gets hard and when we seem to experience one consecutive knock after another.
Life often presents us with platters which consists of battles, dissapointments, frustrations and various forms and degrees of rejections . Some disappointments are bigger than others and some battles and storms are more fierce. Life is not always easy. Fact.
So ……….. How do we get through the storms and battles of life ? How do we remain positive when others don’t give us the time of day ? How do we overcome obstructions? How do carry on when we feel just plain tired? The Apostle Paul and Jesus Himself tells us that as followers of Christ we can experience joy and peace in the midst of tribulations and trials.
I think we can do a lot of things in difficult times to keep ourselves going. We can pray, we can read the Word, go to church and even surround ourselves with people who will encourage us. These are all very good things to do. There is such safety and protection when we surround ourselves with Christian friends who will pray with us when life gets tough.
So why do we sometimes “crack up” during the difficult times in our lives? Why do we so often falter when the Word of God tells us that “we are more than conquerors”? Why do we so often falter even when we read our bibles, pray and even fellowship with other people?
I am not suggesting that we minimise our feelings about our problems nor do I suggest that we underestimate the pressure of being spiritually attacked by the devil and his demons. The latter things are all realities which are usually present when we are in pressure cooker- kind of situations.
I want to propose today that the reason why we falter so often during difficult times is because we lose perspective. So often we lose our perspective because we forget to be grateful and thankful to the Lord for our blessings (that comes from Him).
We ought to praise and thank God at all times because He is good. We often magnify our problems in difficult times and instead of putting on the garment of praise, we put on garments of heaviness through our attitudes of ungratefulness. Instead of thanking God for giving us strength and wisdom for a particular situation, we murmur and complain about the situation. I have been around this mountain so many times, that I can assure you that I know the garment of heaviness very well.
One of the keys that we need to pick up and apply in order to remain sane and victorious is to continue to be grateful and thankful to God. So in other words: We need to decide to put on the garments of praise.
Praise and thanksgiving cannot only be reserved for Sundays when we go to church. Praise and thanksgiving and gratitude towards God have to become part of our daily walk with Christ. We have a lot to be grateful for if we really think about it. Some of us live in countries where we can practise our faith without much obstruction from the government. There are many Christians today who are constantly persecuted (even onto death) because they confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. We have a lot to be grateful for Church in the West!
Decide today to put on the garment of praise and thanksgiving. God is for you my friend so who can be against you? You can either pour your energy into complaining about your situation or you can decide today to pour your energy into praising God for your victory! The decision is yours. The decision is mine.
The decision to put on the garment of praise and thanksgiving does not mean that you deny your difficult circumstances. It does not mean that you do not acknowledge your current battle or storm. The decision to praise and thank God reflects two things:
A) It means that you actively place your confidence and trust in God and
B) it means that you believe that God is a good God who is for you!
The garment of praise is spiritual warfare. The enemy wants you and me to be discouraged. Put on the garment of praise and you will see victory in your life in Jesus Name!
Psalm 100:4
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!”
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