Psalm 34:1 ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.’

DAILY READING Matthew 27:32-66; Deuteronomy 7-8; Job 7

In 2018, China cracked down on churches, requiring them to register and submit to government control. While most of the country’s Protestant House Churches operated underground, one particular Church was not afraid to operate openly. The Early Rain Covenant Church was one of China’s most prominent unregistered churches.They often preached and evangelized openly.
After receiving warnings from the Chinese authorities, finally in December 2018, the government swooped down on the Early Rain Covenant Church. On December 9th and 10th, government officials arrested leaders and members of the Church. They detained the pastor, his wife and about a hundred people from the congregation. .
However, the Church members reacted by thanking God for this persecution at the hands of the Government.
Shortly before his own arrest, their leader wrote a letter to the Church citing 1 Peter 4:12-14. He asked his fellow Christians, “Are you rejoicing in the fact that you are suffering with Christ because of this Church? Do you know that we are blessed?”
He then thanked God for being with them during the ordeal, training them through the days of hardship and sculpting them through the persecutions.
He expressed their willingness to pay an even greater price to bear witness to the Gospel.
He wrote “We are willing to have 200, 300 or 500 people arrested and imprisoned.”
He then encouraged other Chinese Christians to be filled with hope, no matter how heavy cross they were required to bear for the sake of the Gospel.

Despite their many trials, most Chinese Church leaders refuse to be discouraged or lose their joy. Rather they choose to see each season of pain and persecution as only training them and strengthening their faith.

At some point in life, every believer will face seasons of adversities and difficulties. However, how we handle these pressures of life often reflect the depth of our spiritual growth.
While change is inevitable in life, growth is optional.
It is your choice to either grow through adversity or groan through it. You can choose to either become better or become bitter.
The way we respond in adversity shows our readiness for our next level. When we choose to give thanks to God in every situation, it shows we can be entrusted with greater glory. Indeed our attitude of gratitude will determine our altitude in life. Certainly, praise will always precede the victory. To rise to the mountaintop, we must be willing to praise God while still in the valley.
Every time you praise despite the pain, you’re making preparation for the rain. In the scripture rain represents blessing, favor, increase. As we continue to bless God even in the midst of adversities, things will begin to shift spiritually in our favor.
You may not see anything happening outwardly, but behind the scenes, God begins to move to change your story and justify your reason for praising Him.

When Paul and Silas were put in jail, there was no outward sign that they would experience deliverance. Yet instead of despairing, they chose to praise God even in their pain.
Bloodied and bruised, they mustered up strength to pray and then sing loudly. As they praised God, He came down suddenly in an earthquake and delivered them from that prison.
Today, you may be facing difficulties and adversities, but you can praise your way out of it. Shake off the desire to grumble or complain and just keep thanking God for His goodness and faithfulness. As you continue to praise, rain is coming your way. You will soon experience downpours of favor, blessings and abundance of God’s goodness.
However, the ability to praise God effectively is through faith imparted in our heart by the Word. This is why it is important to diligently study the Word. The more the Word fills our heart, the more the joy of the Lord will strengthen us to be victorious over every conflict.

PRAYER: Lord, I know You are always good and faithful. No matter what happens around me, I know You are in perfect control of my life. Please grant me the grace to always give You worthy praise at all times in Jesus Name.

QUOTE;
Your attitude always determines your altitude in life. –WORDBITE 222.