Sunny Days and Stormy Praise
Yesterday, our local radio station played the new song, Praying for Sunny Days by Hyper Static Union.
Have you heard it? How does the theology behind this song mesh with that behind Praise you in this storm by Casting Crowns?
Should we pray for sunny days? Praise God IN the storm? Praise God DESPITE the storm… Praise God FOR the storm?
This isn’t just a word game. These are drastically different ways of looking at and dealing with life.
Do you pray for easy times and quick victories? Or do you praise God for all the junk in your life because you know He is using it for your good? Or do you mix it up a bit, pray for good times and “praise God anyway” while you wait?
Update: Wow, check out the comments people have left.
Table of contents for Suffering and Sunshine
Filed in: Recent Ramblings.
Amy,
I think you strike at the heart of some of the toughest questions in life and in our relationship with Christ.
I’ve spent months agonizing over the questions you pose and can share with you what I’ve learned so far (with much more to learn…).
I’ve learned two unquestionable facts: (1) This world is a very, very terrible place. VERY. (2) Those of us in Christ (see Romans 8, John 14) have hope. And that hope, does not disappoint us.
From these facts I conclude that when “good” times befall us we should never feel guilty but rather recognize the tremendous blessing God has given us and let it be a reminder of his power, and that he has in fact overcome this world.
Conversely, when the storm comes, I think Casting Crowns got it right. We should praise him in the storm…because of our emotions this can be very difficult, but we do grow through this.
My overall conclusion without doing a full treatment of the topic is that God is with us in the valley, on the mountain and everywhere in between. We must learn to trust…and I think God helps us learn this the most.
God is spirit and our sin blinds us to the spirit world which results in our being blind to God’s moving in our lives. That same sin stirs rebellion in us to resist the good he does in our lives and then blame him when bad things happen.
Through faith, however, we enter back into the spirit world, learning to trust God and seek his fellowship. This results in the paradox of life: to be with him and forever looking for him.
It is not easy, but as Peter said to Jesus: “Lord, to whom else should we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Outside of Christ, there is no hope.
Inside of Christ, we have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfullness and self control.
Wow, honey. That is quite a long comment. I hope you know that sets a precedent for commenting on my blog.
Well, I hate to be argumentative (um, not really), but I disagree with some statements made in the first comment on this post.
First of all, while I agree that the world we live in is not as wonderful as it could be, I certainly do not feel that “This world is a very, very terrible place. VERY.” As long as we Christians “have hope. And that hope, does not disappoint us” we can say with certainty that the “terrible” world we live in has hope, that hope being Christ Jesus, and we, His followers are meant to be shining beacons of that hope to a hopeless world. That hope is not something we hold in our pockets and take out only when we need encouragement, but it is a hope that we are supposed to spread to every creature around us.
Furthermore, by saying that this place is a terrible place, are you not also insulting the very Creator whose hand so carefully shaped this earth? I know that God did not create the evil in the world, but He did create the world. He created the majestic Rockies with their snowy peaks and rich, green valleys. He sculpted the intricate details of the colorful Palo Duro Canyon. He lead the Mighty Mississippi down the border of Arkansas until it spilled into the blue-green ocean. He continues to create new life every single day, which is proof that He believes that this world should continue forward. How can a person look around at the boundless beauty created by the hands of God and see the world, despite its darkness, in such a negative light? Perhaps it is better to say that there is much in our world that could cause us discouragement, but because we know that our Redeemer lives, we can look at our “terrible” world and see that Anne Frank may have been right when, after seeing the devastating effects of the Holocaust happen right before her eyes, she said, “Despite everything, I still believe that people really are good at heart.” If someone was able to face the horror of the Holocaust and still manage to see that there was some good in the world, how much more should we, as Christians who have the greatest hope of all, look for the good in everything?
And in answer to your question, Amy, I think it is both. I think we should “praise God in the storm”, but I also believe that we can “pray for sunny days”. If we can ask God for healing, and believe it will come to pass; if we can ask Him for peace in the storm, and believe it will come to pass; then we can absolutely ask God for good days, it doesn’t always mean they will come, but so many times we do not receive because we do not ask. The Bible says to ask! Ask Him for a good day or two along the path. After all, the worst He can do is to say no, in which case we get to exercise our faith and trust by praising Him in the storms of our lives, and that will bless us too! It’s a win-win situation!!!
I personally praise God in the storm, but I also praise him FOR the storm. Sometimes in my humaness I forget to turn to Him in everything and those storms keep my eyes focused where they should have been in the first place. I want to praise God in all things, good and bad. I want to be joyful for my blessings and joyful for my trials, because trials are where we grow. That’s just my 2 cents.
My opinion is that, for questions like these, it is best to turn to the prayer book of the Bible, Psalms. In it we see all kinds of prayers that may not fit with our personal style. There are prayers of questioning, prayers of frustration, and prayers asking for God to bring judgment. Also, there are prayers of praise and prayers that ask for God’s blessing.
What does this teach us? That there are some prayers that are better and some that are worse? I think no. (Perhaps there are some that come from a more mature understanding of God’s ways.) But I think that the important point that Psalms makes is that we should pray. Praise in the good and bad. Pray for God’s peace and blessing, and sometimes just pray in such a way that we spill out everything that is in us before Him.
Sometimes what comes out won’t be pretty, but in all of our laughing and crying, praising and (perhaps) cursing, words of faith and frustration, I believe that God is working something out in us through His Spirit, and we are telling Him that He is more that a heavenly vending machine. He is our perfect, heavenly Father. And, who knows, when we are done, maybe He’ll have time to say something to us.
Mark, Nicole, Debbie, Dave: Thanks for all of your great comments!
I must come to Mark’s defense and argue that he definitely was not insulting the Creator by saying, “This world is a very, very terrible place. VERY.â€
I believe he was accurately describing the world he has lived in over the last year.
Yes, God’s creation is beautiful, amazing, magnificent… but that doesn’t negate the painful, terrible loss that Mark and his family have recently dealt with.
ter·ri·ble
adj.
1. Causing great fear or alarm; dreadful.
2. Extremely formidable.
3. Extreme in extent or degree; intense.
4. a. Unpleasant; disagreeable
b. Very bad.
This world really is filled with terrible, terrible things. I don’t believe God’s feelings are hurt by my saying that. I’m sure He has noticed the sin, the heartache, the wars, prejudice, death, starvation, torture.
Even nature can be terrible. Very terrible. Rocky Mountains and mighty rivers don’t make Katrina or tsunamis or tornadoes any less terrible.
So there you have it. Our lives, our world, are filled with good and bad. Pain and pleasure. Destruction and delight.
How do we make sense of it all? How do those who call themselves Christians understand God’s measure of responsibility and control over both aspects of life.
The thing that interests me is that there isn’t one ‘Christian’ answer. Various groups of believers answer the question differently.
And that is why I posted this question.
I think I have to agree in part with Nicole, but more so with Mark on this one. This is a topic I have been thinking a lot about lately. I have been working on a post on this same topic for about two weeks now. I will finish it someday.
No doubt this is an absolutely beautiful world that God created. The problem is that the free will God gave us led to self-centered sin, which generates pure evil. This is a very terrible place when you think of the endless thousands who want to blow themselves up just for an opportunity to maybe kill an American, or a Jew. Then there is the whole sect of society that most people, even non-Christians, don’t know exists. This sect that comes out at night that law enforcement deals with on a daily basis. This is a terrible world because of terrible people.
When you think of what prayers God answers and those He doesn’t I can’t help but think of Bruce Almighty. How can you answer all Christians prayers without changing free will? How many of these prayers are simply self-centered (sin).
Did God want me to get ran over back on August 16, 2000 by John James who wanted to kill his wife? If that wouldn’t have happened, I wouldn’t be an officer in the United States Army. I probably would not have made the rank of Sergeant at the Sheriff’s Department. I certainly would not have the teaching and mentoring ability that I now have, not to mention the computer skills. That one act of evil opened the door for me to excel in ways I never thought possible. Did God cringe and allow that to happen, or did he purposely send it so I would become who I am today?
I like to think that the world meant it for evil, and God made it good!
I don’t really want to cause a major argument over this subject, but I have to say, I am so shocked to learn that so many Christians have such a negative opinion of the world we live in. It makes me sad, to be honest, to hear Christians who only take the time to talk about the large number of things that have been meant for evil that God turned to good. I’m not saying that doesn’t happen a lot, but there are also so many, many things that God means for good that actually turn out for good. More often that not the statement I hear is something like what Joel said, “What the world meant for evil, God made good.” Yet, I rarely hear Christians say, “God sent me an amazing blessing and I’m so thankful.” I have heard so many Christians who will “praise Him in the storm,” yet I never, ever hear those same people praise God for the sunny days. Why are we so quick to focus on the negative so that we can find the “silver-lining”, and yet so slow to thank Him on days when the brightness of the sun surrounds us?
I’m not trying to argue here either. And I agree with you, Nicole, that we should do more praising and thanking God for all the wonderful blessings he continually rains down upon us. However, He did not say “in this world you will have trouble” for nothing. He wanted to prepare us and remind us that he has overcome the world. It’s easy to praise Him when your uncle was not murdered in November and your 16 year old niece killed in a car wreck in December. Those events make it difficult to praise. But I still praise Him daily for my three beautiful children who are healthy and happy, and for my home, and for my husband who has a great job that allows me to stay home and raise my children. But I think the point is, that storms do come and we need to remember that we have a Savior who died on a cross for us and who loves us, or we might not want to even get out of bed on those tough mornings. It is because I am so blessed, and I do recognize that fact, that I can even continue on. My whole point, and I think some others was to praise God in ALL things. When things are going great, praise Him. When things are not going so great, praise Him.
My apologies for sounding so insensitive, but in my defense, there is no way for me to ever know the situations of those that comment on blogs unless they explain that. I was NOT trying to point any fingers. In my last comment I was talking more about people I know personally. However, I will say nothing else on the subject on this blog.
I think it is very important to praise God for all of it. I am incredibly blessed. I have 2 beautiful children, a wonderful relationship with my sisters and my parents, and I have felt Gods love overwhelmingly. I have also known pain, fear, and stupidity. We often don’t see Gods plan, and why he lets things happen, but he will make good out of it. Example: Without Jami’s influence, my Husband probably wouldn’t have made it out of high school, and in turn without Chad, I probably wouldn’t have made out of high school 5 years latter, and I’m talking made it out alive or without a record. I’m not proud of the things that I did, but also God has taken my intense stupidity in high school, and used it to reach youth. I’m not proud, but I do praise God for it. It has made me the person that I am.
Praise God on the good days, and thank him for the teaching and his comfort on the bad ones. Thats my thought.
I wasn’t trying to get sympathy. My point was that yes, there are wonderful things in our world. There are also crummy, evil, nasty things as well. We as Christians have hope through Christ and can praise Him even in the trials. My point was trying to be that there are many out there going through the same kinds of storms without the hope of Christ, and that’s who the songs mentioned in the original post I think are trying to reach. I was not offended in any way, I know that Nicole does not know me and did not expect her to have ESP or something. I was just trying to make a point. I will now close this subject for myself as well.
I agree with a lot of previously stated comments- but I did want to say- I think the reason why some people may not always talk about God’s blessings so much is that maybe they don’t want to feel like they are bragging. I will be quick to share with my closest friends- but seriously feel like I am showing off or something if I just tell everyone I know. But I guess I should just get over that and be like “Praise God! I just got a brand new house with an awesome interest rate and decent monthly payment in the neighborhood we had desired! And I am having a baby girl- who I had so desperately prayed for! My husband got a new job- along with extra income opportunities for the summer! We are blessed and very thankful for all that God has done!”
Yikes…I went out of town for a few days and missed out on this discussion.
This is the best kind of conversation…one where we Christians seek to learn more about God and his Will.
Nicole, your words and your attitude are awesome. Do not ever lose your outlook…and I certainly apologize if I was insensitive when I described the world as a “very VERY terrible place.”
I never intended for anyone to think that God’s workmanship, nor his providence are without effect. Quite the contrary! I was referring very specifically to the actions of sinful people, the actions of the “prince of this world” (see Ephesians 6) and quite frankly the vast amounts of pain and suffering that happens on this planet.
I used to only focus on the positive…and if I had stumbled upon this post in May of 2005 I probably would have written words much like your own. And you are completely right, you had no way of knowing my personal journey or anyone else’s.
My point was really meant to be this simple thought: God is with us and blessing us in and through all of life’s circumstances.
Many of the other comments here have shared experiences in the valley and on the mountain tops. Each of our journeys on this earth will contain times at both of these extremes and much time in the middle.
In Christ, however, we can rejoice that even when we observe an evil person murder a loved one, or an innocent girl’s life ended by the short twist of a steering wheel, or the many other terrible tragedies which happen every day on this planet, in Christ we can rejoice!!!
Every day I pray for my loved ones to experience blessing and happiness. Without a doubt God answers those prayers.
But there is a day in the future when each of us here on this blog discussion will experience the pain of sin in this world. My parents will die, for example. Hopefully not for a long time…but I know from the reality of our universe and the truth of Scripture that day is coming.
The storm will come. And on that day I will remember all the days of incredible sonshine I have experienced, I will remember the truth of Christ’s promised return, I will remember and trust the truth of His words which promise Resurrection…
…and I will praise him in the storm.