Praise Under Pressure
1. I will bless the LORD at all times, His Praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof and be glad.
3. O magnify the LORD with me and let us exalt His Name together.
Psalm 34:1-3
Adjusting for the Pressure
The atmospheric pressure of earth is extremely important not only as weather indicators but it can also impact our bodies. For example, if you decide to go scuba diving, you must be aware of the pressure of the water as you descend and ascend to and from the water or you could suffer serious health consequences. The same is true if a person were to go higher into earth’s atmosphere. The body has to adjust to the change in pressure or the sudden change could cause physical damage. Even when we travel up or down a mountainside, the ears will pop as the body adjusts to the difference in pressure. When you ride an airplane, the cabin pressure is adjusted so that you will be able to travel and not be adversely impacted by the atmospheric pressure. The body reacts to changes in the atmosphere whether you go up or whether you go down, all sudden changes will have a physical impact on the body.
Let’s apply this principle to spiritual matters. The question is how do we adjust for the pressures of circumstances, troubles, and hardships? Is there a way to mitigate the pressure of such situations? In other words, how do we adapt to changes on the mind, body, and soul that is caused by sudden shifts in the spiritual atmosphere.
God, who made the heavens and the earth also knows the pressure His people must deal with. To help us cope with spiritual changes, we must rely on the power of God’s Word. There is a wonderful verse from 1 Corinthians 10:13 that addresses the issue of spiritual pressure. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience … and God is faithful … He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand … when you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. NLT. In other words, God will not allow the pressure from the outside to become greater than His Power on the inside. In addition, God will adjust the pressure and you so you can bear any situation or struggle that may arise. The key is to allow God to adjust the tension. But that is where the problem comes. In our self-willed attempt to account for the struggle, we end up damaging our life as well as our reputation. Thankfully, God does not cast us aside when we fail under the strain of tension; He continues to work on us and through us in order to demonstrate His faithfulness. Under no circumstances will God allow us to be destroyed by the negative forces of life.
Please understand that every person is under some kind of pressure. There is no one who is exempt from struggles. The moment you enter this world, you are jolted by someone who slaps you to see if your lungs are working. We must also understand that it is our nature to figure out the type of struggle. In other words, we are born with a Google mentality when it comes to the issues we face. We want to know what it is. We want to know how long it will last. We also want to know if there are any long term side effects from the pressure. The biggest question we face is the need to know that we will be okay. So, it is critical to find the appropriate solution or response to the pressure.
If there is any way possible, most of us want to get a handle on the situation so we can move on with our lives. But, what if I told you, that God sends the pressure for a reason? What if I said that some pressure helps to build character and resilience? I know that is a hard concept to understand, but the Scripture does say that we are to consider it pure joy when we fall into various trials (under pressure). To help us understand the appropriate way a believer should respond to stress and struggle, we turn our attention to God’s Word.
Praise Works even Under Pressure
Let me introduce praise from a different perspective. Most think of praise in the positive context. What I mean by that is: praise is the expression of gratitude when God does something good. But shouldn’t we praise God no matter what the situation or circumstance brings? Or do we just hold back until something wonderful comes our way? Please note the Psalmist is clarifying his position on praise and does not limit the glorification of God’s Name to times of blessing. He states boldly, I will bless the LORD at all times, His Praise shall continually be in my mouth … My soul shall make its boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. If you knew the situation behind that verse, you would be amazed. Scholars associate this particular passage with an incident when the warrior David was under intense pressure.
This pressure or stress came upon David’s life after he was anointed by the Prophet Samuel. He did not ask for the anointing nor did he request a position as a result of the anointing. But the funny thing is, when God has chosen you for an assignment, he makes the offer that you really can’t refuse. This new anointing to become the next king of Israel came with some growth challenges to say the least. The current king was still on the scene and did not take kindly to David’s courage, influence, and energy that came as a direct result of the anointing of God. King Saul was jealous and his rage drove him to the point of wanting to kill David. To evade Saul’s attacks, David ran to the Philistine city of Gath to find refuge. If you are a Bible scholar, you probably recognize that city as the hometown of Goliath, the giant that David killed in battle. Of all the places to run, that is where he fled, and yet God would use that stressful period in David’s life to inspire one of the greatest praise admonitions in the Bible. It was a matter of David growing under pressure.
With this we introduce the first principle of praise under pressure. It takes a crisis to demonstrate how much we need God. It is not clear why David fled to Gath to escape Saul’s death threats, but that was like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. The townsfolk of Gath knew who David was. They even quoted to king Achish the song that was sung when David killed their hometown hero. “Saul has killed his thousands, but David has killed his ten thousands.” 1 Samuel 21:11. Then they replied to the king, this is the king of Israel. This shocked David, not merely that they knew him, but that he was the anointed king of the land of Israel. As David thought about those words, he realized that he was in deep trouble, but rather than giving God praise or saying a prayer, he did something highly out of character for him. David pretended to have lost his mind. 1 Samuel 22:13. David needed God but for some strange reason felt that he should fake insanity. Did it work? Yeah, but. There were consequences to this course of action. Achish certainly did not want him around Gath. Secondarily, the men he was leading watched his behavior and I’m sure they had questions about his ability to lead. The crisis was a turning point for David and he learned very quickly that God was to be honored at all times. I will bless the LORD at all times, His Praise shall continually be in my mouth … My soul shall make its boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof and be glad.
The second principle that came to David was his need to act like a king. In the above scenario you have an anointed king acting like a madman in the presence of a king that just lost their giant. David was a king by anointing and his actions on the battle field had proven it. But now, due to a stressful circumstance he was acting out of character and is ignoring who he is because of the situation he was in. That should never happen to a child of God. What prevents such a thing from happening is praise. Deep and devoted praise will always bring us back to our spiritual senses. It will always cause us to remember the bountiful blessings of God. Praise will always catapult the believer into the realm of faith and confidence in the Hand of God. If God delivered David from the lion’s attack, then God would move mightily in Gath. If God delivered David from the bear who attacked the sheep, then God would deliver from the folks in Gath. If God had given victory to David against Goliath, then the same God would deliver him from every enemy. Praise would have been the better option, but David chose the route of insanity and he later realized his dreaded mistake. Praise God under pressure!
Not only does praise help us to discover the Greatness of God in a crisis, as well as helping us to act according to our identity in God, Praise also establishes us firmly in the Goodness of God. What do I mean by that? In Gath, David’s fear of man caused him to lose his spiritual footing. As a result, he was uncertain of his calling and has lost sight of God’s Goodness. When you lose that – you lose it. The prophet Gad said to David that he needed to go back to the land of Judah. 1 Samuel 22:5. That encouragement reminded David that God was still watching over him and would not allow his enemies to destroy him. That is spiritual footing. In times of stress, we can stand firm on the Promise of God.
This valuable lesson of Praise under Pressure applies to all believers. Regardless of the storms we face, God is still God and He is still Good. The child of God can forever stand on that promise. When the Praise of God proceeds from our hearts, we automatically re-identify with God’s Power rather than our weakness. When God is exalted, something inside of us comes to life. That is Praise Under Pressure. I will bless the LORD at all times, His Praise shall continually be in my mouth … My soul shall make its boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. Why should a temporary circumstance cause us to doubt the faithfulness of God? The child of God should always be encouraged and realize that no matter where they are, and no matter what the situation, God is still in charge. Praise God under the pressure of sickness. Praise God under the pressure of struggle. Praise God under the pressure of financial hardship because God is your Ultimate Provider. Praise God when you stand before enemies. As a matter of fact, Praise God at all times for that is what you were called to do. David learned that valuable lesson and by God’s Grace has passed it along to us. I will bless the LORD at all times, His Praise shall continually be in my mouth … My soul shall make its boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. Praise God under Pressure and you will always come through your crisis with deeper faith in God. Amen.