"Praise Deception"

I was riding in my car early one morning and had this moment with God.  In that moment a song was playing and my mind flooded with total recall of God’s goodness.   I was in my ‘Happy Place”.  See God is good and at any moment we can be reminded of His goodness.  It can be triggered by a song, a thought in church, in your car even in your shower.  We can remember how gracious He is and we are caught up in a genuine moment of praise.  When that happens, our problems dissipate and the things that are troubling us feel distant.  FOR THE MOMENT.  When we come down from that moment of praise, reality kicks in.  Those bills are still there, the loss is there, the relationship drama has not moved, and the financial woes are still looming.  In a moment it seems that our praise was deceptive.

 DECEPTION 

Could it be that God has fooled us, and lulled us into a place of complacency and peace that is not at all real?  If we are not careful, we can begin to ridicule our own praise because we still have the same issues in front of us. Our praise may seem to fool us into thinking that somehow something got better.    

But the deception is not in your praise, it’s your circumstances.  

The things we are going through are deceiving us into thinking that our praise is not powerful, that our praise is not a weapon, that our God is not good, and He is not faithful.  But the truth of the matter is that OUR PRAISE is a reminder to us that we have not given up.  We are still expecting better in our life.  We trust God and know that things can turn around at any moment.   Praise does still the enemy, but it also strengthens us for the fight.  Praise is a precursor for victory. When done in advance, it confuses the enemy to the point that he fights against himself.  If we stay in there, do the things God has told us to do and allow God to do what He said He would do in our lives, our praise will escalate to another level.   There is FAITH in PRAISE!   Genuine Praise says I see better, believe better and expect better! 

PRAISE BREAK! 

So be encouraged, take advantage of those days that praise hits you, when you enjoy the presence of God and feel the joy and peace that comes with it.  That kind of praise is not emotional, though it touches your emotions.... it is a reminder of the plan and the promise that God has over your life.  And praise reminds you that you BELIEVE IT!  
Your next level of praise will be filled with testimonies of the things that God has done in your life.  So take time to enjoy the praise intermissions even in the midst of what does not seem praise worthy, because your God is always worthy!   

REMEMBER:   Your PRAISE is not DECEPTIVE, your PROBLEMS are.