{"id":14753,"date":"2013-09-20T00:01:20","date_gmt":"2013-09-20T05:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=14753"},"modified":"2013-09-19T23:15:04","modified_gmt":"2013-09-20T04:15:04","slug":"glorious-living-w-coach-megan-praising-god-even-hard-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2013\/09\/20\/glorious-living-w-coach-megan-praising-god-even-hard-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Glorious Living w\/ Coach Megan: Praising God…Even in the Hard Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GL<\/a><\/p>\n

More and more it seems that suffering and hurt are prevalent everywhere we look.\u00a0 Maybe you have recently lost your job or you are living with a chronic illness….\u00a0 Maybe you are grieving a loss or have recently been handed a major disappointment.\u00a0 If you are hurting right now while reading this, know that your tender, loving Father has His arms open and He is always ready to hold you if you just let Him.\u00a0 Many people who are hurting today are cursing God and some believers have abandoned God.\u00a0 They did not have Christ as their solid foundation.\u00a0 It is so important to have a strong faith through the best of times so when the winds blow, we will not be moved.\u00a0 Trials and hard times come for a reason and that is to grow closer to our Father.\u00a0 So, how can we praise Him during the darkest hours?\u00a0 Let us look at scripture for some clear examples.<\/p>\n

Remembering Christ\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

2 Timothy 2:8-9 says, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal.\u00a0 But the word of God is not bound!”<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 Remembrance of Christ and His death at Golgotha needs to be the centerpiece through which we praise God in the hard times.\u00a0 When we suffer, we can remember that He suffered, and His suffering gave us freedom!\u00a0 This is one reason some leave the faith…they forgot what even brought them into God\u2019s loving hand.\u00a0 Praise be to God, our Almighty King, that gave us the final sacrifice to atone for our sins!<\/em><\/p>\n

Trials and hard times come for a reason and that is to grow us ever closer to our Heavenly Father.<\/p>\n

Prayer\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Every time we connect with God in prayer, we are praising Him because we are acknowledging our need to set our burdens on His strong shoulders.\u00a0 Isaiah 25:4a says, “For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.”<\/em>\u00a0 These are things we can praise Him for while we are praying!\u00a0 He takes care of His children!\u00a0 Even in the darkest part of the storm, He is there as a stronghold to keep us standing against the crashing waves and raging winds.\u00a0 A woman on her knees in prayer can stand before any tragedy.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>Through Song<\/span><\/h2>\n

When you read Psalms, you can find so many verses about God\u2019s children singing praise even in the midst of hard times.\u00a0 David writes in Psalm 142:4b-7, “No one cares for my soul.\u00a0 I cry to you, O Lord; I say, \u201cyou are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.\u201d\u00a0 Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low!\u00a0 Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me!\u00a0 Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name!\u00a0 The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.”<\/em>\u00a0 This particular psalm was a written prayer, but it could just as well be sung.\u00a0 So many songs today are written straight from the Psalms.\u00a0 One particular song that has always touched my heart on this issue of hard times and suffering is \u201cThere Will be a Day\u201d by Jeremy Camp.\u00a0 This song always brings tears to my eyes as it offers so much hope!\u00a0 What songs speak to your heart as you praise your Father?<\/p>\n

<\/em>Time in the Word\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Anything that we do as Christians that focuses our time on God brings Him glory and praise.\u00a0 When we look to His word for healing and guidance, we again are telling God that we need Him and we praise Him for His sovereign nature in all circumstances.\u00a0 In Hebrews 4:15-16 it says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.\u00a0 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”<\/em>\u00a0 This is a passage of love that speaks to all who are hurting.\u00a0 Jesus was tempted in every way so we can be completely firm in our belief in Him.\u00a0 My fellow sisters, write these verses on your hearts.\u00a0 We can have confidence in our Father in all circumstances.\u00a0 Stay in the word!<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 It can heal the brokenhearted.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>Fasting<\/span><\/h2>\n

Fasting is an outlet that provides a spiritual and physical reliance on God.\u00a0 Fasting is not set on any particular facet.\u00a0 Many people fast from food for an extended amount of time, but fasting really involves giving up anything that means a lot to you in order to spend time with God instead.\u00a0 This is a precious way to praise Him!\u00a0 When you fast you stop \u201cme\u201d and focus on Him.\u00a0 He has sustained me every time I have fasted.\u00a0 The spiritual bond always grows with fasting because God is feeding that bond as you rely on Him…and you are creating the space He so desperately needs to move! <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>Forgiveness\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Forgiveness always reflects praise on the Father.\u00a0 We forgive out of obedience to Christ.\u00a0 We forgive because it is always the right thing to do.\u00a0 There is real spiritual maturity and growth when we can look at specific people who have wronged us personally and forgive them.\u00a0 This is because sin always comes from the devil and not from the individuals themselves.\u00a0 There is massive spiritual warfare fighting for us every day.\u00a0 Satan\u2019s legion of demons are always hunting.\u00a0 It is our job as believers to always forgive those who trespass against us.\u00a0 The true fault is always against the devil and his wicked schemes.\u00a0 Even Christ on the cross asked His Father to forgive those crucifying Him (Luke 23:34).\u00a0 May we all strive to be like that!\u00a0 Praise be to our Sustainer in all circumstances!\u00a0 The next time you are having trouble with another person, remember that your battle is NOT with them and it is not of the flesh….\u00a0 Your battle is a spiritual one and your Mighty Creator is BIG enough to guide you and sustain you to forgive.<\/p>\n

I would love to hear all about how YOU show God praise through the hard times!\u00a0 Please leave me a comment below all about how He is your Sustainer and Redeemer!<\/p>\n

Blessings,<\/p>\n

Coach Megan \ud83d\ude42<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More and more it seems that suffering and hurt are prevalent everywhere we look.\u00a0 Maybe you have recently lost your job or you are living with a chronic illness….\u00a0 Maybe you are grieving a loss or have recently been handed a major disappointment.\u00a0 If you are hurting right now while reading this, know that your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":10750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1977],"tags":[3804,144,217,218,2056,10,425,2073,2495,436,3796,3466,2430,3800,3798,554,2323,675,2703,3794,3214,791,3799,938,3795,3579,3707],"class_list":["post-14753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-glorious-living","tag-2-timothy-28-9","tag-bible","tag-christian-walk","tag-christianity","tag-fasting","tag-forgiveness","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-glorious-living-with-coach-megan","tag-glory-to-glory-christian-life-coaching","tag-god","tag-god-as-sustainer","tag-gods-promises","tag-gods-truth","tag-hebrews-415-16","tag-isaiah-254","tag-jesus","tag-luke-2334","tag-megan-smidt","tag-megan-smidt-cclc","tag-music","tag-praise-god","tag-prayer","tag-psalm-1424b-7","tag-scripture","tag-song","tag-trust-god","tag-who-i-am-in-christ","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/GL-header.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-3PX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14753"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14778,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14753\/revisions\/14778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}