Why is that so unusual? Why is that profound?

These past few weeks I've discovered the writings of Merlin Carothers. Perhaps his most famous book is Prison to Praise but the first book of his that I read (no, devoured hungrily) was Power in Praise. It is a book rich in truth, Biblical backed truth, and it is exciting to me. Here's why.

God is God. So often on this earth we do not trust that God is taking care of us or that His sphere of influence doesn't reach into our lives far enough and, consequently, we make the grave error of taking on the task (whatever it is) ourselves. We Christians, then, begin cajoling and manipulating our way through life always hoping God is blessing our choices, always hoping we don't stumble, always hoping that the ways we choose, at least, have some of God's blessings on it. We somehow know that God's Hand is too busy with running the universe to be bothered with every little detail of our lives.

But, in truth, God is God. He is not limited by our perception of Him. He is not the least bit concerned that we THINK He is not with us every second of the day and night. He's just…God. That is all there is to it. God is everywhere and in every time.

Merlin's divine insight is that we should praise God for everything whether we would label it "good" or "bad." The good stuff is easy to praise God for but what about the bad stuff? There is a blessing on the other side of everything that happens to us. The Bible asks us to "Always be joyful. Always keep praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." I Thess. 5:16-18

Always? Always is a long time. It encompasses the present, the past and the future. If you are steeped in a problem that seems insurmountable right now, "always be joyful" includes this problem. If you are knee-deep in problems that appear to be laid on you by someone else, "always be joyful" includes this.

God is God. Period. End of story. How do I know this? Because the truth is in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Listen carefully to this: If you are beset with problem after problem after problem with no end in sight, begin to praise God for them SINCERELY and watch them fade from your life. Yes, new problems will still surface and you'll still want to praise God for them, but with sincere and deliberate praising of God, God's mighty hand can part the Red Sea, tear down the walls of Jericho, and win the battle that you had always felt was defeating you. But, beyond the winning of this battle (through Christ, of course), there will be a gradual and certain joy that will encompass your life, a joy, that perhaps, you've rarely felt but it will grow because you are letting God be God, you are allowing Him to complete His work in you.

Merlin Carother's books are filled with illustration after illustration of people's victories in Christ, once they quit pleading for the symptoms of their pain to be vanquished and began praising the pain instead. Merlin states that praising the negative symptom does not mean that we are actually looking for and worshipping pain. It means that we are acknowledging God's hand in the circumstances and are willing and eager to let Him finish the good work He has started in it. When our attitude shifts and we are no longer blaming others for our pain and running from the symptoms (like Jonah did when he did not want to go to Nineveh as God had asked), then our whale-like problems will spit us out and, like at Nineveh, God's judgment, God's message, God's fire will not have to happen (or will not have to continue).

Praising God for everything? Oh, yes, yes, yes. I want to shout it from the rooftops. I want it to echo through the valleys of torment and suffering that we go through so that His healing love can bind and stitch the wounds we have. I want to yell it to the ocean waves so that this message can come ashore, to all of our shores, and be driven into the sands of our minds, pounded in by the waves of God's love for us. Oh, how I want to shout my praises to the Lord who, at last, through Merlin, but most, through Christ, has given us a message that resonates simply and beautifully for all to hear: God is God.

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