Praise On

Hab.3:17-18 (CEV) “Fig trees may no longer bloom, or vineyards produce grapes; olive trees may be fruitless, and harvest time a failure; sheep pens may be empty, and cattle stalls vacant—but I will still celebrate because the Lord God saves me.”

Have you experienced defeat, little or big, and how have you dealt with it? The third ‘D’ that attempts to stop our cheer and keeps us from rejoicing is defeat. God has helped us dismantle depression and demolish doubt. Over the next few days, God is going to take apart defeat and show us how to cheer up when we feel defeated. In life, there are ‘little-defeats’ and there are ‘big-defeats’.  A little defeat could be, you are in a hurry and you are approaching the traffic light. You know you can make it across before the light turns to red. But just then, the car in front of you decides to stop. The lights change to yellow and then to red, and you feel defeated.

A big defeat, on the other hand, could be graduating from the university with a supposedly good grade, but you have to sit at home because no one is hiring you. Meanwhile, those who graduated with a pass all have jobs in reputable firms. It feels like a big defeat. I have had to endure this; to wait, to pray, to knock and to kick until the door opened. Whether little or big, God is going to empower us to cheer up in spite of the defeat and overcome defeat, in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Basically, I would define defeat as when you have given your all and it is not enough. It could be in your marriage; you have given your all but it is not enough. Erroneously, people think if they do their best in marriage, everything will be fine. Some things are just out of your control.

It could be a child, or your job, or even an exam. You read for the exam and sat for it. You expected to ace the exam but instead, you fail horribly. Whether it is a small defeat or a big defeat, Jesus has a Word for you. John 16:33 (GW & CEV) “‘In the world you’ll have trouble. But cheer up! I have defeated the world.’” In the world you will have trouble, things are going to happen because the world is broken. So many things are going to be outside of your control. How your spouse behaves is outside of your control. How your boss behaves is outside of your control. How your mother behaves is outside of your control. You will soon discover that how your children behave is outside of your control. 

Jesus assures us that we are going to have troubles, but He says, cheer up. Why? Because He has defeated, overcome the world.  So in spite of the economic situation, in spite of the big or little defeats, you and I can cheer up Jesus forewarned us and Jesus overcame.

Prayer (song): Lord, You are so good, You are worthy of all my praises. Lord, You are so good, You are exalted You are the Lord Most High. It doesn’t matter what the people say… Amen!