How can we thank God for all that is good in our lives, if we then turn around and blame Him for all that is wrong in our lives?

The question?  How could God allow that to happen to me?  Ok, how about this one, how can God love me if He did that to my family?  Or,  where were you God when I really needed you?

I think an experience I had many years ago might help to put the focus of this blog post into perspective.  When I was around the age of seventeen I lost two close friends to an automobile accident. I happened to be with their uncle when he was told. The first thing their uncle said was "hallelujah, praise the Lord".  I immediately thought,  Really?  How cold hearted could he be?  At first I thought he said that as if  he were happy they were taken and not able to continue the horrible life they were leading.  My two friends had not been following the most righteous path in their lives to that point.  And to be honest, I kinda felt maybe it was best they were gone.  But his reaction and statement was not meant in any disheartening way.  He was simply praising God. 

You would have thought he would be questioning God, angry at God, disappointed in God, or even glad they weren't around to continue living their reckless lives any longer. But it was simply "hallelujah, praise God".

Praising God is a simple thing to do. But what are our intentions when we do praise Him?  And why on earth would we want to praise Him at such a horrible time in our lives  It's easy to praise and thank God when the going is good and wonderful.  But when the going gets tough we begin to change our tune and doubt God and wonder where He is.

So many times I've raised a fist and shaken it at God for the terrible things that were happening to me.  I cursed Him, hated Him, and walked away from Him for doing all that He was doing to me.   I never thought to praise Him for what was happening to me.  When I walked away from God all those years ago I began to live a life of blaming God and damning Him for my misery and pain.  But God never gave up on me.

Our perception of what is a blessing is somewhat skewed.  I would be willing to bet nearly everyone thinks a blessing is what good comes from bad and the unexpected "blessings" that come our way.  But when something happens that makes life difficult, hurts us, causes emotional pain, or a strain on life, we don't consider it a blessing and don't think to thank God for it.  But we should be thanking Him!

Praising God in difficult times is nearly more important than when life is good.  God gives us the strength and courage to work through the times when we least expect things to work out and when we least expect God to be there for us.  Our focus should be on Him and not on our inability to either cope or deal with the struggle we are having.  When we focus on our failure, or perceived failure to deal with things, it takes us so far away from God and what we know He can do to help.  God doesn't wave a wand for us and make it all better.  If that were the case then we wouldn't be trying to live better lives through Him and seek His grace.  Life would become stagnant and serve no purpose.

I praise God for all that happens in my life.  I had a severe water leak in my home and when I ripped the wall out to fix it, I found we had bare wire behind the wall.  So I praised God for the water leak that made me rip the wall open to be able to find the bare wires.  I thanked God that my son's car was damaged in an accident because if it weren't, my son would not be here with us.  I Thanked God I had to spend an entire day repairing his car and spending the money I did.  I thanked God for the miserable weather that caused me to spend the day indoors, which then gave me the time I needed to sit down and work on my next book that I kept putting off.

And in a situation such as a tragic event as my mother sustaining a severe head trauma in an auto accident, I praised and thanked God.  As a result, our family has healed from decades of pain and separation.  And mom is doing well and slowly recovering.

Next time you want to curse and yell at God, raise your hands and thank Him.  Next time it seems as though it could not get better and the worse might be happening, praise Him.  When life seems at its lowest, exalt and lift Him up in glory.  God is good, God is gracious, God is salvation.

In everything there is a blessing.  In everything there is God.  In everything there is grace, love, forgiveness, healing and salvation. 

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

1 Peter 4:11

If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.