From Pity to Praise

Obedience is hearing. The word that Hebrew for obedient is the word “Shema.” This word carry with the meaning of hearing, and obeying. Beadiant is not our only share measure of successful listening. There is a relationship between hearing and obeying.

Obedience in Hebrew means to hear, listen, to give attention to, to understand, to submit to and to obey.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said “One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.“

The word Shema for obey is a direct correlation between hearing and obeying. This is where we usually run into difficulty. We hear but don’t obey. Modern culture stresses mental activity in terms of relationship with God, but in order to have a deep relationship with God, we need to not only listen, but give attention, understand, submit, and obey.

To know, God and His voice, we need to first have an intention to do what it is we hear Him say. We must have the willingness of spiritual intent, and practice to prepare the soil of our minds and hearts who directly experience oneness with Him as we hear and obey.

“If you are willing and obedient you shall eat the good of the land“ -Isaiah 1:19

Willingness yoking yourselves to the will and Word of God. When we do, this, we will obey as we hear. As a result, just as in Isaiah 1:19, we will eat the good of the land, the rich produce that comes from yoking ourselves to Him. The produce is to shema (obey) what we hear from God. Unless we have harnessed our willingness to yolk ourselves with Him, and His instruction, we will no shema (obey) or hear the voice of God and obey, and subsequently, will not eat the good of the land.

In most cultures, listening is a passive mental activity, and hearing just means that our ears registered sound waves. In Hebrew, the word shema describes hearing and also its outward effects of taking heed, being obedient, and doing what is asked.

“But if you carefully obey His voice and do what I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and an adversary to your adversaries” -Exodus 23:22

For those of us who are parents already understand this biblical truth by the way we speak to our children and give them instruction. The fact that our children simply heard our instruction is not enough. Usually there is a physical, concrete action that they take as a result of their hearing us. When there isn’t, we often repeat it, even louder, until they hear and obey. It is only then that we consider that they in fact heard us. The same is true in scripture. Almost every place is used in the Bible it is translated to obey, rather than hearing, listening give attention, understand, and submit.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ” -Romans 10:17

It is fruitless for us to read God’s Word without committing ourselves to do what it requires of us. Actually, I think it’s worse than fruitless really because it dulls our hearing all together, and this is disobedience. How can we call ourselves followers of God, and ignore the transformative changes in our lives that He demands.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear” – Matthew 11:15

Jesus says, “He who had ears to hear let him hear!” he is calling us to put His words into action, not just listen. He wants us to be doers of the word, not hearers only. Our culture puts all our stress on what is it our minds, and tend to consider it action, this is just “dead works.” However, the biblical way of thinking is that we have not yet truly understood, until we put what we have heard into our hearts and allow it to transform the way we live.

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” -James 1:22

When we approach to God and His Word, it isn’t simply about an academic study so we can recite truth, it’s about having our lives changed and transformed. If my life isn’t changing because of His Words, then I haven’t learned anything, and biblical definition, I haven’t heard. The action of obedience is our only sure measure of successful living.

Life has a way of sticking us in situations that we didn’t choose, a season you don’t want it circumstances we have no control over. Maybe you’ve wondered, “God, what good can come from this?”

The Apostle Paul was a prisoner because he preached the gospel of Jesus. Yet, Paul was still took the time to write a letter to the Philippians thanking them for sending him gifts and Epaphroditus (a delegate from the Philippians church to encourage Paul). Paul wasn’t writing from a mountain top or beachside retreat -he was writing from a prison in Rome. Yet his words overflowed with joy, gratitude, and confidence in God’s purpose.

In Philippians 1:12-19, Paul would be under Roman guard 24 hours a day, and was permitted visitors in which Paul would teach the gospel of Jesus. It’s no doubt the guards heard the gospel directly and indirectly. I’m sure Paul’s time in prison emboldened many believers to speak out about Jesus. And some had impure motives that were intended to make Paul’s prison time more painful, but Paul didn’t let this discourage him. Instead, he rejoiced the message of Jesus was being preached. Paul remained confident that the prayers and the comfort of the Holy Spirit would deliver him from chains.

Instead of finding himself confined as a prisoner, Paul used his hardship to advance the gospel of Jesus. Paul’s imprisonment served as an illustration of the words of Jesus. “Unless a kernel of wheat dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies it produces many seeds” (John 12:24). Paul did not die, but his imprisonment sparked a boldness and courage to speak God’s message. Paul’s letters were not just preaching, it was considered public proclamation. The majority of people spoke about Jesus as they went about their day.

Paul does not give us specifics about who he is preaching to, but one thought is that Paul aimed to glorify Christ Jesus and get people to follow Him. Perhaps, Paul’s critics aimed to promote themselves and win a following of their own. Instead of asking “Have you trusted Jesus? They asked “Whose side are you on ours or Paul’s? There’s a similar theory that some believers in Rome had developed a rivalry and jealousy towards Paul. Yet Paul chose to see and hear the silver lining -that Jesus’s name was being amplified.

A life rooted in Jesus can see hardships in a different light.

Paul probably thinks and sees differently because he sees life through the mind of Christ Jesus. We all have the Spirit of Christ Jesus -the Holy Spirit, at our salvation. But like every believer it had to grow, and we have to intentionally put this way of life at the forefront of our daily lives, especially in challenging times.

Paul says in Colossisns 3:2-4 “Set your mind on the things that are above, not the things that are of the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

A heavenly perspective redeem obstacles into opportunities.

God sometimes uses a strange tools to promote and advance His Word. The same God who used Moses rod, Gideon’s pitchers, and David’s sling, used Paul’s chains. Little did the Roman’s realize that the chains they fixed to his wrist was release Paul instead of binding him. Paul did not complain about his chains, instead he consecrated them to God and ask God to use them..

The secret to redeeming Paul’s chains, as tools was having the eternal, heavenly mindset and perspective. Paul did not find his joy in ideal circumstances, he found his joy in winning others to Christ. And if his circumstances promoted the gospel, that was all that mattered.

What if we thought and looked at our difficult hardships, long seasons, every day circumstances, or even inconveniences, as opportunities to grow in the discipline of a heavenly perspective, and glorify God? What if a workplace wasn’t a prison but a platform to share the joy and goodness of God? What if that delay was God‘s protection? What if it changed your plans was moving you into a divine opportunity to care for or minister to someone? Learn to see the heavenly perspective and redeem those opportunities.

When we keep a heavenly perspective, we can see the silver lining, the bright side, and the possibility of the situation turning into good, or the truth that God is working. I’ll be honest I have days where I don’t see redeemable opportunities, the silver lining, or the bright side.

Paul was uncertain of his future on earth, but he knew that he would never be ashamed of how he lived. He was not completely certain what was going to happen next, but he never faltered between being with Christ Jesus and continuing to live to help people grow in their faith. Paul believed he would remain alive to visit again and give them even more of a reason to boast the power of Christ Jesus. 

Our heavenly perspective knows this truth: Joy doesn’t exist in the absence of hardship, joy exists in the presence of Christ Jesus.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight” -Proverbs 3-5-6

Life rarely unfolds the way we expect. Plans change, doors close, and sometimes we can find ourselves walking through seasons that feel uncertain, painful, or confusing. In those moments, trusting God can feel difficult.

Scripture tells us that trust is not based on our understanding -it’s based on God’s character. He sees what we cannot see. What feels like a detour to us may actually be part of His greater plan.

Think about Joseph in the book of Genesis. He was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, and imprisoned unjustly. For years, His life was a series of setbacks. But God was working behind the scenes, and eventually Joseph was placed in a position where he could save many lives.

Joseph’s account reminds us that God’s silence doesn’t mean His absence.

Trusting God doesn’t mean everything will always make sense. It means believing that God is faithful even when life is unclear.

Trust grows when we keep walking with God, even when we cannot see the entire path.

Our Praise Makes A Big Impact

Living a life of praise is not only the most enjoyable way to live, but it’s also one of the most powerful ways to change our lives.

Praise shouldn’t be like a caboose that just follows the train and brings up the rear. Praise is more like the engine of a train that makes things happen. Our faith isn’t complete without praise. Colossians 2:7 says, we are to be an “rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving.” So, without thanksgiving we can’t abound in faith.

Praise affects us, it affects Satan and it affects God. It touches everything and every part of our lives. Likewise, a lack of praise affects us in a negative way, it turns Satan loose in our lives, and doesn’t bless God.

We have to this area of our lives aligned with the Word of God.

I spent many years trying to help someone to come to place of praise in their life. She has destroyed her life by speaking negatively over her life. Sadly she can’t see the connection between negativity and the problems she has in her life.

Everyone agrees that praise is good, but very few feel any responsibility to praise God when they don’t feel like it. I don’t know anyone who wakes up and plans on being depressed. They would like to be full of joy and praise God, but they don’t feel like they have any control over this. They think praise is just a response that happens and that if everything goes right, they will automatically do it. But this isn’t the case.

Jesus instructed His disciples the night before His crucifixion to not let their hearts be troubled “John 14:1) This wasn’t a suggestion. It was a command. Yet today most people find this command was insensitive and unreasonable. That Jesus wasn’t being understanding or compassionate.

These disciples were about to see Jesus arrested and then flee in fear for their lives. They would see Jesus unjustly condemned, crucified, and buried. And He was telling them not to let their hearts be troubled. Heck, I can’t even watch a movie about Jesus being crucified and buried without crying, and yet Jesus said “Do not be troubled.”

Choose a mindset of praise, even in troubles.

Jesus ended His talk with His disciples that evening with a promise that they would have trouble (John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” What an understatement that is. Yet He said to be of good cheer. How is this even possible? He said it is possible because He had overcome the world.

When Jesus said that He hadn’t even been crucified, much less resurrected and seated at the Father’s right hand. It was because of faith that the disciples were supposed to rejoice. He had promised that He would be resurrected and then reign, and if they were in faith, they would rejoice in that -and so should we.

We live in a negative world, a fallen world where it seems that the ungodly are getting more and more prominent. So much of what we hear and see is just negative, and we have to make a deliberate effort to be positive and counter the culture we live in. Praise is a great tool to help us achieve that. We need to check our praise pulse, to see if we have a spiritual pulse, just as if someone were passed out we would check their pulse to see if they were still breathing. If we don’t live lives that constantly give thanksgiving and praise to God, we are not spiritually healthy. Some people may take offense to that thinking I just don’t know their situation. But Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).

It’s a command, not a suggestion. Paul didn’t say it once he said it twice. He didn’t want anyone thinking he had made a mistake or that there were exceptions to what he said. We are always supposed to be rejoicing in the Lord. It’s a command, not a suggestion to do it if or when we feel like it.

Paul lived what he preached. When he was beaten and thrown into the deepest darkest part of the dungeon, he and Silas broke out in praise at midnight (Acts 16:22-26). They didn’t just do this as spiritual warfare. They weren’t praising God through gritted teeth, just to get out of their problems. Even when the walls of the prison fell, and they were set free, they didn’t leave. They were actually praising God because they loved Him and were worshipping with a pure heart. It affected the other prisoners so that not one of them left either.

Joy is always available but we have to choose it.

We may not always feel joyful, but Galatians 5:22 says, joy is the fruit of the Spirit. If we have the Holy Spirit, we have joy. We may not feel that joy, but we can choose to lift our hands and speak praise to God by faith. Learning to praise God even when everything is going badly can change our hearts, make us much more effective, and cause our faith to abound.

Choose to reject worry and walk in faith.

We have to accept responsibility. We are not just elevated animals responding to stimuli. We are created in the image of God. We can choose to say that we are going to give thanks and rejoice in the Lord. But until we do, we can easily live as victims. We have to get rid of the excuses and just do what the Word of God says. Philippians 4:6 says,

“Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

The Greek Word for “nothing” means nothing. It means there are no exceptions. Yes, we might have problems, but we don’t have to worry about them. We don’t have to be careful about them. We can go to God in prayer with thanksgiving and make our requests known to Him.

Jesus demonstrated the right way to bring our requests to God. He used something called the “sandwich technique,” where we sandwich our requests in between two slices of praise. We start with praise, and we end with praise.

Matthew 6:9-13 tells us how Jesus prayed. He began by pausing God with “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” And He finished by praising God with “For thine is the kingdom, and power, and the glory, for ever.” That’s the way to do it.

Even in the Old Testament, believers were told to “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise, be thankful unto Him, and bless His name” (Psalms, 100:4). But the nation of Israel didn’t always do this. In fact, God said that because they did not serve Him with joyfulness and gladness, for the abundance of all things, He was going to bring judgment on them (Deuteronomy 28:47-57). This shows that God holds us responsible for rejoicing, praising Him, and being thankful for all the good things He’s given us.

Fight Satan and bless God by choosing praise.

We face a lot of tough situations in this life, and the world expects us to fall apart when trouble comes. But God told us to respond a different way -to not let our hearts be troubled. We get to choose (Deuteronomy 30:19). We have the option of following Jesus’s Words and acting on the Word of God. I have experienced what praise has done in my life and what negativity does also. I will take praising God any day of the week, because praising destroys the works of Satan and his minions. 

If we want to stay under God‘s covering of protection we have to stay submitted to his authority. Simply put we don’t get Kingdom privileges without obedience to the King.

I called a friend the other night because I hadn’t heard from her in a couple of days. It turned out she was in the hospital from a fall. Her potassium level got so low that she passed out. My first thought was her obedience to God. I knew she had been doing some things I would consider risky and had let her prayer life slack off. Now am I in know way judging and I do not know if this was her getting out from the covering of God’s covering of protection.

But I do know God acts as a shield, refuge, and fortress, protecting us from fear, Satan’s devices against us, and destruction. God provides. An active covering that provides peace, strength, guidance, and wisdom.

Isaiah 59:2 explicitly states that iniquities build barriers between people and God, causing Him to hide His face from us.

“But your iniquities have separated you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”

To restore the sense of closeness, Scripture encourages us to honestly confess our sins, allowing God’s mercy and grace to restore them to a place of protection and peace.