Even When it Hurts

If you have read my blog for any amount of time, you know that I love praise and worship songs. I am not sure what it is, but they are so powerful and special to me. And most of the time, I feel like this is one of the main channels God uses to communicate with me and bring me peace or comfort. I don't know about you, but I find it pretty easy to praise God when I am in a good mood. Or when I am happy to be at church. Or I like the song that they are singing. However, there are those rare occasions when I don't necessarily feel like praising or worshipping.

There was a time very recently where I found myself in one of these situations. I had had a horrible day and week. I had also just had a very discouraging and heartbreaking conversation with a friend. I can't really describe how I was feeling. I know that I had never felt it before and hope to avoid it in the future. I wouldn't say I was mad at God, but I was definitely mad. I was confused and heartbroken and sad and mad all at the same time. I stood in church with my arms folded and my lips pursed. I wasn't going to sing or clap or raise my hands. I was just going to stand there in my anger. Looking back on that day, I realize that I was doing the worst possible thing in that situation. It's very easy to praise God when things are going great, but it's much more important to do it when things seem to be falling apart.

Hillsong United's new album is awesome. And everyone should get it. There is a song on it called "Even When it Hurts." As I am sure you can guess, it talks about this exact thought.
        "Even when my strength is lost, I'll praise You. Even when I have no song, I'll praise You. Even           when it's hard to find the words, louder then I'll sing Your praise. Even when the fight seems              lost, I'll praise You. Even when it hurts like hell, I'll praise You. Even when it makes no sense            to sing, louder then I'll sing Your praise."

Maybe I am the only one, but I have most definitely felt some of these. And I can definitely relate to the "ocean tears" the song mentions. But I just love the honest message of the song. That no matter what we are thinking or feeling, one of the most important things we can do is praise Him. There are going to be times when that is literally the last thing we want to do because it goes against everything inside of us. But how much more powerful is our praise when we are crying out God's name despite our circumstances? Our feelings, thoughts, relationships, and circumstances are ever-changing. But there is one thing that remains the same, and that it Jesus.