A Highway of Praise

It is no secret that I struggle with what appears to be the endless need for medical intervention in my life.  I have never liked going to doctors, and am often irritated when they are necessary.  My first choice is healing through prayer, then essential oils, and as a last resort I walk through the doors of the medical world.  The past two years I have had more than my share of people in white coats poking and probing and giving me reports I do not want to hear.  I am not sure why the world of doctors is traumatic for me, I expect it could be unraveled somewhere within.

So when I had to have a biopsy for a spot on my back, anxiety flared.  The results were good.....on the edge, but still good.  Still, I needed a surgical excision, so on Wednesday I had "more" removed around the spot.  We were surprised that such a small area is now a 3 inch incision with 7 stitches.  They needed to make sure that there were no more severe dysplastic cells left. Even those words sound menacing, don't they.

I believe that this "next thing" I went through is covered by the same verse that God has given me so many times. (28+)

"The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still."

 It is also the reason that God gave me a flurry of devotionals and quotes about praise early this week.  Praise has the power to heal, to keep our eyes on Jesus, and to fight Satan's desire for destruction in our world......in our bodies/ Seriously, I know that sometimes a cold is just a cold, but sometimes the enemy uses sickness and disease to discourage and destroy God's children.  Praise and worship is a good weapon of warfare.  Evangelist Ruth Heftin said, "A voice of praise is always a voice of victory.  That is why the enemy hates it when we praise."

Praise is not only a weapon, it is a place we rest.  This praise, is a place of remembering who God is and how much He loves and fights for us,  It is where we can take a deep breath and just lean back into our Papa God's arms no matter what is going on around us.  I cherish these moments, while declaring this place will be a way of living for me, for all of us.

This procedure and results may seem minimal to you readers, and it has been expressed that way to me.  At first my response was that maybe this person has not walked in my shoes.  Then shame surfaced.  I could list a number of reasons and even excuses for the anxiety I have felt again in the past week.  I won't.  I also refuse to carry the shame that surfaces when fear rises.  They both are a lie from the enemy.  I will instead share honestly my continual journey with releasing fear and rising from those ashes into a spirit of power, love, and sound mind.  Transforming the mind.

God wants us to live a life connected to Him and His promises, so he provides the way for us to live in victory.  Praise is one of the ways Jesus has called me to counter the fear I feel in this area of my life.  And in praise I encounter God!  We all do.  Praise becomes worship, and worship brings us into the Presence. And in the Presence we find rest, trusting the One who is trustworthy.  We praise you Jesus that you are with us, in us, around us.  We praise you Jesus as our Healer, our Provider, our Protector. We praise you Jesus, we love you Jesus. Oh yes we do!

I love using music to praise God....Worship music that touches the soul, whether it be hymns,  praise music, or the latest from Hillsong or Bethel, which is where I lean mostly.  Praising through music creates worship and worship is a way to be intimate with God.  According to Ruth Heftin worship brings His glory~ His presence in many ways.  "Glory is to Heaven's atmosphere the way air is to earth's atmosphere."

Another form of praise is in prayer.....and using a prayer language if you have one.  Speaking in tongues edifies us and builds us up.  It also connects our spirit to God's in love and worship.

It is no secret that sometimes a person just does not feel like praising God and that is okay.  I will say though, that if God wants praise from us, it will only benefit us if we are obedient in giving Him praise.  Even if it is a sacrifice of praise like the Bible mentions.  It becomes a way of life, and the side effects of praise are all good!!

Yesterday I read from Dr. Brian Simmons a great Facebook "whisper" that mentioned being on a "Highway of Praise".  Can't you just visualize that?!  I love it.  We walk through life on a highway of praise.  What a wonderful way to live in His presence.  Praise is one of the keys that brings us into relationship with God in the now.  There is nothing more we really need beyond that, is there. Intimacy with our Papa God brings us into a beautiful relationship with the Him, and having a relationship with Papa, enables us to abandon ourselves to trusting the One who is trustworthy, no matter the circumstances.