Praise Turns the Worst of Times Into the Best of Times

Psalm 84:5

Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

Blessed is the man...

You and I are interested in the blessing, aren’t we? So we need to understand what this verse is talking about because it’s a little unclear in the King James version of the Bible. A little explanation will bring the message He’s trying to convey to us into better focus.

In the Hebrew, the term, “ways of them,” means the ways of the people of God’s blessedness. That is, the ways of God by which God’s people are blessed, or stay blessed; the ways by which they receive His blessings when tests or trials seek to bring them low!

He’s talking about God’s way of turning the worst of times into the best of times;  your way of escape from that low spot you are in (I Corinthians 10:13).

The Amplified Version makes this extremely clear. Pay particular attention to the words I have capitalized for emphasis.

Psalm 84:4-7 (AMPC)

BLESSED (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are those WHO DWELL IN YOUR HOUSE AND YOUR PRESENCE; they will be SINGING YOUR PRAISES all the day long. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whose STRENGTH IS IN YOU, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

Passing through the Valley of Weeping (Baca), THEY MAKE IT a place of springs; the early RAIN also FILLS [THE POOLS] with BLESSINGS.

THEY GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH [INCREASING IN VICTORIOUS POWER]; each of them appears before God in Zion.

Woah! Now that’s a little clearer!

These verses are telling us that those who spend time in the presence of God during times of hardship, praising Him and rejoicing--they DRAW strength from Him (as we read in Ephesians 6:10 AMPC). By doing so, they turn the hard time they are going through into a time of refreshing and strength. By praising and rejoicing in faith, they tap into the power of God that gives them the victory and the blessings of God. Abraham DREW his strength from the Lord by praising (Romans 4:20). That’s how He got so strong in faith, by giving glory to God!

Romans 4:20 (AMPC)... but he GREW STRONG and was EMPOWERED by faith AS HE GAVE PRAISE AND GLORY TO GOD.

He GREW as he DREW! He grew in faith as he drew on the power of God through expressing his faith in praise! It not only brought sufficient strength to Abraham to continue standing, it brought the power of God into his circumstances to change them.

Victoria Osteen said, “When you enter into God's presence with praise, He enters into your circumstances with power.” Why is that? Because your praise draws down the refreshing rain of the Spirit into your circumstances!

Here in Psalm 84:4-7, He’s talking about how to tap into the power of God and turn your situation around! Believers (faith people) need to always remember that it’s the anointing that destroys the yoke (Isaiah 10:27). But, it’s faith released through praising and rejoicing that draws upon that anointing and enables it to do its mighty yoke-destroying work.

Praising God and rejoicing in faith is the way to stay tapped into the power of God for victory so you can walk in the blessings of God ALL THE TIME, regardless of circumstances!

You may be in a low spot in your life right now...a depression...a hole. But, by knowing this truth we’re sharing with you, you should also get a revelation right now. You should look around at where you are and think, “You know what? This would be a great place to build a pool. I think I’ll start praising the refreshing rain of the Holy Spirit down on this low place I’m in so that this low place, this dry place, this depressed place--fills up with refreshing rain and turns this place into a place of blessing!”

See, it’s an opportunity. Make that place work for you (II Corinthians 4:17). Say, “Here’s an opportunity to count it all joy and be filled with the Holy Ghost and get soaking wet with the blessings of God! I think I’ll praise Him!”

Turn it! Turn it back on the devil and make him eat it. Make him wish he had never thrown you into that hole he put you in because you just turned it into a high ole’ time--doing the backstroke in the blessings of God!

Get ahold of that phrase, “THEY make it...” in verse 6 (Psalm 84:6 AMPC). YOU are the one who makes those low places in life something other than what the devil intended them to be--NOT GOD!

YOU have the authority in your life to make those difficult, dry places a place where the power falls, the refreshing rain of the Spirit falls--a place of blessing! A place where you’re blessed RIGHT NOW!

Don’t wait on God to “make it.” You start a construction project right now that turns that hard place into a place of blessings! How do you do that? Through praising and rejoicing right in the middle of those circumstances!

So when the devil puts you in a hole, or a low spot, lift up your hands and your voice and say, “We’re starting a construction project right now! I’m gonna make this place a place of blessings!

Philippians 3:3

In order to experience something you can’t produce by the efforts of your own flesh or by your own abilities, worship God right in the middle of your circumstances--rejoice in Christ Jesus THERE. Just have a yoke-busting time!

As you praise the refreshing rain of the Spirit down, and the waters begin to rise, they’ll lift you up out of that low place and put you in your rightful place, far above. Also, a part of that lifting will be that you’ll be lifted up out of your own low thoughts of defeat, failure and bondage into His higher thoughts of what He has done for you in Christ. Your praise will lift you out of the heaviness that your own wrong thoughts were producing (Isaiah 55:9).

Proverbs 15:15 (AMPC)

All the days of the desponding and afflicted are made evil [by anxious thoughts and forebodings], but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of circumstances].

Job 22:29

When men are cast down (brought low or made heavy through tests or trials), then thou shalt say, There is lifting up.

Now we know where to find that lifting up He’s talking about and how to enter into it--by entering into praise!

Isaiah 61:1-3

From verse 1, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me...verse 2...to comfort all that mourn. Verse 3...to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

The strength which stands by waiting on the draw of your faith is more than enough to get you up out of any hole the devil wants to throw you in. How much can you draw from that strength? Well, how much do you need? Even better yet, how much do you WANT? The fact is, you can draw as much as you desire! Whatever the hole demands and your faith calls for!

Each hole calls for its own level of draw to get you out of it! Sufficient draw will provide sufficient strength, lifting, anointing and blessing.

Know that His strength can afford a mighty draw!