Bill Johnson - Your Circumstances Cannot Steal Your Joy (02/05/2026)
Bill Johnson teaches on rejoicing as the gateway to joy and strength, drawing from Nehemiah 8 where understanding God's Word sparks great rejoicing before full obedience. Joy isn't denial of hardship but a deliberate choice that transforms us, aligns us with heaven's reality, and positions us for greater fruitfulness and destiny—commanded because it's always within reach through the Spirit.
Rejoicing into Joy – The Choice That Transforms
When you begin to join your heart, your mind, your words, your physical expression to that mandate of God, something begins to work inside. And this right here is the same thing. You can rejoice your way into joy.
Well, I don't want to be phony. Well, you're phony if you don't. You call yourself a believer, but you only do what you feel. Not you. It's them other folks.
There's a reality in God that you don't... you don't... you don't grab hold of it because you try hard. You grab hold of it because you said yes and you did what he said to do. And you find yourself holding the very thing you were hungry for, but you don't know how it happened.
Do not sorrow for the joy of the Lord is your strength. That's so fascinating because I grew up in a good environment, but joy was not a part of the expression, you know? Yeah. God forbid. Amen.
People who are so offended at Toronto, they say, where's laughter in the Bible? I'm thinking, ever hear of the word joy? Psalm 16, in his presence is fullness of joy. Is there a remote chance that one small portion of joy includes laughter?
The complaint was those people should be weeping and repentance. I agree. Unless that's what God's not doing. And sometimes he'll take you through the back door through an undeserved joy into a lifestyle change. And we watched it time after time after time.
Nehemiah 8 – Rejoice Because You Understand
So here it is. Don't sorrow for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Verse 11, the Levites quieted all the people saying, be still. The day is holy. Do not be grieved.
All the people went their way to eat and to drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly because they understood the words that were declared to them.
We're going to read that again, just a second here. Send portions. How many know when the last thing you feel like doing is being happy to receive the assignment to make sure everybody else is happy? It's send portions.
If you have a lot on your plate, share. Make sure that everybody around you has something to be thankful for. Send the fat. That's the more than you need. Pardon meat. Meat.
I remind you, for those of you who were not here, Proverbs says, the vegetables where love is, is better than a fattened ox where hatred is. It takes hatred to make meat less than vegetables. I'm just quoting scripture now. I'm just, I'm just trying to help.
Send portions of fat, drink the sweet to those who don't have any, because this is about a corporate expression.
Understanding Triggers Rejoicing – Not Achievement
But then look at this, verse 12. Send portions, rejoice greatly because they understood the words. I don't know if that stands out to you or not. That wrecked me some years ago. It's changed the way I have thought about this journey with the Lord.
Here it is. The word of God is read. The standard is here. Their lifestyle is here. And yet God says, because you understand the difference, it's time to rejoice.
You don't rejoice because you finally met the requirements. You rejoice because you understand, you get it. Something happens to the person who rejoices in response to biblical understanding that actually launches them into the very thing they ache for.
Joy is, I was going to call it the back door. Maybe it's the front door. It's the entrance into the things of God that for so many, for so long, have seemed out of reach.
And yet there's something about the obedience of rejoicing that does such a transformational work in us that we find ourselves living life at a level that we thought was out of reach. And it's joy.
Joy – Priceless Commodity and Strength
Joy is such a huge commodity in heaven that the father took joy. And it says, and Jesus endured the cross because of the joy that was set before him.
Joy was such a priceless commodity that Jesus could endure the most horrific thing to ever happen in all of human history. He could endure that because on this side was the reward and it was called joy.
So when the Bible says the joy of the Lord is your strength, it's not just a smile. It's not just a giggle. It's that internal combustion of the presence and the activity of God that makes everything else bow.
Everything else is inferior to that reality of the spirit of God inside of me that gives me an emotional, a mental encounter with the heart and mind of God at a level I've never known before.
And rejoicing introduces me to that. Rejoicing is oftentimes is the act of faith. It's the act of surrender that engages me to that heartbeat of God.
Joy as Evidence of Conversion
Joy is not just the fruit of things working well. It's actually the expression that causes things to work well. Suddenly, when you see these glimpses of grace in the Old Testament like this, things in the New Testament, at least to me, start making more sense.
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything, give thanks. If the people of God, without the spirit of God resident in them, could step into that dimension, that reality in God, then how much more can those who actually have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside enable us to live with extreme, extraordinary joy?
I personally think in some ways, joy is the great evidence of conversion. And if you think about it, it's not just because things always work well, because then you'd be able to say, well, they're just good at their job, or they have a good family line, or whatever.
You can trace it back to natural things. But oftentimes, his most brilliant displays of joy are in people that just experience the most horrific loss. It doesn't mean that's what you have to experience first. It just means it stands out there.
It's like the diamond against black velvet on the jeweler's counter. There's a backdrop that makes this thing pop. And there's something about the joy of God that is not subject to circumstances.
It is not subject to world conditions. It is not subject to whether or not I got my dream answered or not. It lives because the spirit of the resurrected Christ lives in me. And his nature is a nature of joy. His nature is a nature of delight.
Joy Launches Rapid Growth – New Believers Encouraged
Rejoiced greatly, because they understood the words. I especially want new believers to get that one. Because sometimes it just seems like there's certain parts of life, they're just, they're insurmountable, so far out of reach.
And yet he invites us into this, this rapid growth process that starts because of joy. It runs at the pace of joy. It doesn't run at the pace of self-determination. It runs at the pace of joy.
And the person who has just such a hard time with whatever part of life, money, and you see what the Lord looks for and requires and anticipates from our life, and it feels so overwhelming.
And yet when you start to see it from his perspective, and I choose joy, joy, I find myself in joy, doing out of my nature, what seemed to be impossible and insurmountable.
There's something that takes place to the heart of a person that yields in joy. In many ways, the life of joy is, you're just kind of stuck with it. It's your birthright. It was designed for you. It was designed for you.
You were designed for it. A lifestyle of joy isn't living in denial that hard things are happening. That's not an answer. You know, pretending is not good for us.
But neither should I subject my heart, my mind, my personhood to the difficulties that are going on around me. Otherwise, they define me.
Character Built Through Difficult Choices
The choices that we have throughout life are where the muscle of integrity, the muscle of character is developed. In lifting weights, for example, if you lift a light weight a hundred times, it's not going to build muscle.
It's when you build something, it's when you lift something that really pushes your capacity. And maybe you can only lift that thing three times, but it's the third time that works the most. It's the hardest lift. That's what actually accomplished the most.
And when we have difficult situations rise up in our life, it's always for the purpose of building character. It's never to shame. It's never to mock. It's never to intimidate or humiliate. It's always the invitation to come into Christ, into a place of greater strength.
God's Will for Believers – Rejoice Always (1 Thessalonians 5)
That's why in 1 Thessalonians 5, he says, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks. For this is God's will in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Think through this now. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks. For this is God's will in Christ concerning you.
One of the most overwhelming, or I shouldn't say overwhelming, one of the most frequently repeated prayers or requests from this family of believers, especially including our school, is this heart to know God's will for our life.
And generally what that is reduced to is, God, do you want me to be a missionary, or a veterinarian, or a school teacher, or a pastor, or whatever. We want to do what he wants us to do. It's a legitimate prayer. It's a legitimate request.
I'm not sure God's as concerned about that as he is about this. This says, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks. For this is God's will in Christ concerning you. Amen.
This is the will of God for my life. I remember as a young man, you know, just past, starting to pastor in Weaverville, I was reading through Thessalonians, reading through these verses, and these verses just jumped out at me.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks. And I came face to face with the fact, man, I could only have those three verses, and it would take the rest of my life for me to learn it.
I mean, if I had nothing else to read with those three verses, I'd have a full-time job ahead of me, because to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks.
It just means you have disciplined responses to levels of difficulty and challenges and opportunities that you face. You have disciplined responses that help to form and to shape the character in us.
And remember, it's that character that is able to carry the weightiness of what God is doing in the earth. He's looking for people he can entrust himself to.
Thankful Heart Through Choices – Not Impartation
The whole impartation idea came as I've been thinking for years. I wish, if there's one thing I could ask of the Lord to be able to impart to people, it would be a thankful heart.
And you just don't get it through impartation. You get it through choices. Do you know, in Nehemiah, it's kind of a... to me, it's an awkward part of a story. It's in chapter 11, end of chapter 11, and all of chapter 12.
It has this reoccurring theme. There were people that were assigned to give thanks to God. Oh, what do you do for a living? Oh, I give thanks. I give thanks.
Yeah, like, what does that look like? Well, they just give me a list. And I stand before God. And I say thank you. And I mention what we're thankful for.
That sounds so formal and so ritualistic that there's no life in it. And yet there's a secret in that routine. You bypass the limitation of your own emotional condition.
And you make mature choices, which activate your emotional condition to get into line with what you're doing. See, complaining empowers the inferior to undermine your faith.
Complaining only happens when we are more mindful of a problem than we are of God. It's impossible to complain when you're more aware of the goodness of God than you are of a problem.
You actually violate to do that. You'd have to violate your conscience, your sense of purpose, your sense of being the sense of God's presence. You have to violate all of that just to start complaining.
I'm glad I've never done that. It says rejoice always. That means, like, in the original language, always actually means always. Just always. Just, you know, no matter what happened, choose joy.
Well, I don't feel like it. That's why it's a choice. Do you think He would have to command it if we did it naturally? The only reason it's a command is because here's a chance for you to flex a muscle.
You said you want to grow. You said you want to carry the weightiness of God into the earth. Here's something you can learn to do.
Joy in Barren Seasons – Command to Shout (Isaiah 54)
Well, what is it? Well, you're going to miss your flight. No, no, not that. Not that. Here, I'm taking you deep into my personal life. When I miss a flight, I come up to the gate. This has happened. I've sat on the tarmac forever.
Because they can't find a place to park my plane. And I look at my clock, I go, my other flight's boarding right now. Boy, am I thankful. Boy, am I feeling rejoicing right now.
And I just sit there for a half hour while my plane boards. And we're just sitting there on the tarmac. And then I notice my plane. And then the one I'm on finds a place to park.
My first response is not rejoicing. And I've got to admit to you, it's not my second either. It's rejoicing is like way down the list. I've got to experience a few other things first.
I've got to explore the emotional tundra before I end up in rejoicing when that happens. When somebody passes you on the freeway. No problem. You can go as fast as you want. Not a problem for me.
Pulls in front of you and then slows down. It's not a big deal. It's just wrong. It's just wrong. Have they no conscience? Where is the conviction of the Spirit of God when we need it?
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Rejoice always is choosing joy. It's actually... It wouldn't be commanded if it wasn't within the reach of a choice.
Joy is the part of the kingdom. So it's at hand. It is always within reach. I have... I'm a powerful person. Say this with me. I am a powerful person.
Joy is always within reach. So our personal strength in life is actually equal to our joy. We'll not be any stronger than our joy. We won't be any stronger than our joy.
That's actually true. That's our place of strength.
Today we're going to look at a chapter that... Isaiah 54, believe it or not, actually follows chapter 53. Just want to make sure everybody's awake. Chapter 53 is the great chapter that talks about how we are healed.
For example, it says that he bore our pain and our sickness. Our sorrows, our griefs, but the Hebrew words are pain and sickness. So he actually bore them to the cross and redemptively purchased our right to be healed.
Divine health, but not just in the natural, in the spiritual, the forgiveness of sin. So it's that chapter that sets up this chapter.
Sing O Barren – Shout in Barren Areas
So beginning with verse 1 of Isaiah 54. We're going to read several verses, so please just follow along.
Verse 1. Sing, O barren, you who have not born. Break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child.
For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman. Enlarge the place of your tent. Let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings. Do not spare.
Lengthen your cords. Strengthen your stakes. And you shall expand to the right and to the left. And your descendants will inherit the nations and make the desolate cities inhabited.
Verse 4. Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed. Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame.
For you will forget the shame of your youth and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. For your maker is your husband.
Now remember, we're talking about bearing children in the first verse. Your maker is your husband. The Lord of hosts is his name. Your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
He is called the God of the whole earth. Jump all the way down to verse 13. All your children will be taught by the Lord. Great shall be the peace.
That word peace is shalom. It's well-being. Spirit, soul, and body. Great shall be the well-being of your children.
In righteousness you will be established. You will be far from oppression, for you shall not fear. And from terror it shall not come near you.
Fear as Access Point – Joy Closes the Door
Look at that verse there again. You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear. It doesn't say, it doesn't say, you will be far from oppression, therefore you won't be afraid.
It's saying, you're not afraid, therefore you'll be far from oppression. It's important to see that, because fear is the access point.
What I have feared has come upon me, that statement in Scripture. Fear is the entrance point or the access point for the thief who comes to kill, steal, and destroy.
He frequently enters through the open door of fear. Everybody in this room has areas of fruitfulness, and every one of us have areas of barrenness.
Every one of us have things that just, they haven't worked like we've prayed, like we've planned, like we've anticipated. We have great testimonies, we have extraordinary things that God has done, but we all have experiences in barrenness as well.
And here he's saying, shout for joy, and then he says cry aloud. That word cry is actually the word scream. So we're talking about deliberate, extreme expressions of joy.
It's not a scream of pain or fear or terror. It's a scream of anticipation. Now, how many believe this is true? All right.
So this is what it says. It says, shout for joy while you can't have kids. Face the thing that you have the least breakthrough in, the most barren area.
It may be the salvation of your family members. It may be a health condition. It may be you lose job after job after job. It could be any number of things, but there it is right in front of you.
And the instruction in scripture is to shout with extreme celebration before the answer comes. Now, some would say, well, that's not reasonable. It isn't reasonable from human perspective.
It's totally logical and intellectual from God's perspective. It's the intelligent response when you see the promise and the eyes of the promise giver.
The one who has never lied. The one who has no respect of persons. The one who's the same yesterday, today, and forever.
When you see that, then it's the perfectly intelligent thing to do. Because from the one who gave you the promise, he lives in eternity, and in his sight, it is already completed.
So when he gives us a promise, he goes into our future, and he brings back the word that is necessary to get us where he saw us.
So he brings us the word that actually enables us to enter the very realm that he intends for us. So it's the intelligent thing to do. To get happy before you need to.
Joy Prepares for Destiny – Inheriting Nations
You know, it's... That's all right. I like it. I like it.
So he says, all right, don't just give emotional expression. I believe emotional expression is vital. In fact, in this case, the emotional expression is the clearest evidence of faith in this chapter.
To try to do the Christian life without emotion and emotional involvement, emotional expression, is to void the nature of the gospel. Because the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy.
Two of those are felt realities. When the Bible says, laughter is good medicine, it actually means, if you look it up in the original language, it actually means, laughter is good medicine.
It actually means, here's some medicine, laugh. Well, I want it to be real. Well, laugh till it is. It's not complicated. It's so funny.
People don't want the counterfeit so much that embrace depression. I just want it to be real. What you're in isn't real. That hole you're in, you dug that one. That's not real. That's right.
So here we've got Michael who loses the ability to be fruitful and put her next to the barren woman who surpasses those who have been able to have children their entire lifetime.
You've got bookends. You've got this amazing story of what fruitfulness looks like in the kingdom.
Yeah, but joy isn't laughter. Well, it's close. They are related. I think Randy Clark says it best. He says, tears are to repentance what laughter is to salvation.
Tears are to repentance what laughter is to salvation. The point isn't to have a meeting where everybody laughs. The point is to have a lifestyle of joy.
Of taking time, you know, just to celebrate with joy, the kindness and the goodness of the Lord. It's that rich expression of faith that just says... You know, as Steve Backlund tells us all the time, let's just laugh at that.
Let's just laugh at that. Let's just take the biggest obstacle. Let's just laugh at it. Really, that's the concept that's presented in this chapter.
But it's not just saying, if you choose joy, I'll fix this problem. He's saying, if you choose joy, I will actually prepare you to inherit the nations you've asked for.
It's just a lot bigger. It's a lot bigger than the physical issue that you have that you want healed. Yeah, it includes that, but it's bigger than that.
It's actually about our destiny. Our destiny is to what? Do what? Disciple nations. Our destiny is to do what? To see cities transformed that represent what it looks like to be under the lordship of Jesus, living the beauty and the bounty of his world.
That's our destiny. How do you get there? Joy is a pretty integral part. It's actually celebrating with joy before the answer comes. It's actually what makes it...
Can I put it this way? It's what... I don't know if prove is the right word, but I'll use it. It's what proves to the Lord we are ready to disciple nations so that he gives...
You don't take nations for him. He already has the nations. Well, we're just going to take possession of the nations. No, you don't want to do that because they belong to him.
That's why it says ask of him for the nations. He already has them. He's looking to entrust the influence to culture, to values, to atmosphere of entire cities and nations to a group of people.
He's just waiting for his people to be happy enough to entrust it to him. Yeah, that is a good word.
Joy Always Within Reach – Command Implies Ability
All right. I heard of a guy. I went in to his doctor and got a report. He had some sort of a terminal disease. I forget all the details now.
He asked the doctor what he should do, and he said, you know, if I were you, I'd just go home and watch every funny movie you could find. You know, rent every funny movie and just watch them.
And he did. I don't remember the length of time now, but it was quite a few weeks, as I recall. And by the time he was through, he didn't have that terminal disease anymore.
And it's, you know, for some reason, people can embrace laughing at a funny movie but not just choosing to laugh or to be joyful.
And yet the Lord would not command me to do something of that nature if it were not within the reach of my will.
He wouldn't say, as he does in Philippians, rejoice, always. And again, I say rejoice. He wouldn't say rejoice unless it was actually within the reach of my will to obtain it.
You would never, you know, tell your child who has a $5 a week allowance to buy you a new car. I mean, it'd be cruel. You'd never expect that unless you were going to take them down and supply them with the resources to buy the car.
The point is, is that you would never command them to do something of themselves that they were not capable of doing.
So when the Lord tells us to rejoice and to celebrate before the answer comes, it means it's actually within the reach of our will. This is something I can actually choose to do.
So joy is within reach always. Joy is the kingdom. It's at hand. It's always within reach. It's always within reach.
It is always a reasonable solution for what I'm facing. Because the most meaningful times of Thanksgiving is when I've got a battle over my thoughts.
The most meaningful time to rejoice is when I feel anything but joy. The most meaningful time, the things that train my heart to respond to Him, to recognize Him and respond to Him, happens in those difficult times.
And the lesson that was given in Scripture on the gates to the city of God made out of solid pearls, pearls are formed in irritation.
So the picture is giving God praise in the middle of irritation or difficulty or disappointment. And so God is bringing us into, I believe, a greater place of authority and experience in the area of praise, specifically in the area of Thanksgiving and praise to grab moments that seem to be so opposite of what we would normally feel like giving Him, you know, celebrating His goodness.
The very opposite, moving contrary to emotion and circumstances and voices and all the stuff that is going on around us and giving Him an offering is the most profound effect on the condition of our heart and the actual ability that we have to maturity and to reflect the nature of Christ.
Set Mind on Things Above – Eternal Reality Over Temporal
Paul gives us this instruction that is, I think, is more significant than maybe most of us have realized. It's in Colossians 3. He says, set your mind on things above, not on things below.
And we know through Scripture that the unseen world is eternal. The seen world is temporal. So the greater reality is in what we can't see. The inferior reality is in what we can see.
The carnal Christian lives from the visible and from whatever we emotionally feel, whatever we think, without Christ at the center. All of that is carnal Christianity. It is always inferior and is always needing to be rescued.
The carnal believer who lives from their senses, I don't feel forgiven so I must not be. I don't feel healed so I must not be. Living from tangible physical senses, from the circumstances that define us, living from that is a carnal Christian. And they always need to be rescued.
Paul and Silas – Praise Shakes Prisons
Paul and Silas are put in jail, in prison for preaching the gospel. They're in prison, they're behind closed, locked doors, they're chained, they're locked.
And it says, about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God. And the prisoners were listening to him. And suddenly, there came a great earthquake so that the foundation of the prison house was shaken and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened.
That's amazing. I can imagine an earthquake shaking and doors being opened. I can't imagine an earthquake picking locks. Somehow, in the shaking, angelic presence was released and they were actually released from their chains.
What was that in response to? That was heaven, a greater reality. Set your mind on things above. They chose to live from this reality and as we do that, we give thanks because he's worthy of it now even though what I'm facing is overwhelming.
He is more overwhelming. And we align our hearts with the reality of heaven and when that takes place, heaven literally invades earth. It comes and there is a shaping of circumstances and situations.
Demonic powers that are involved in various situations that we can't see, that we don't always understand, we don't always discern accurately. Even in that offering of Thanksgiving and praise, something happens where earth is invaded by heaven and there is a change that takes place.
Old Testament and New Testament, Book of Acts.
Isaiah 30 – Musical Instruments as Weapons
One of my favorite stories is actually in Isaiah chapter 30. In fact, there's two here that I'll read to you. One, it says, for the voice of the Lord, Assyria, by the voice of the Lord, Assyria, an enemy nation, will be terrified when he strikes with the rod.
Every blow of the rod of punishment which the Lord will lay on him will be with the music of tambourines and lyres. You didn't realize that when these guys were playing their guitars, they actually had bazookas in their hands.
That God takes the simple strumming of the guitar, the simple lifting of a voice, the melodic violin. All these things are actually instruments that in the spirit world wreak havoc on powers of darkness.
Now that's more real than your amen. It's reality. See, in heaven, one of the most... There's two things that I would say are the most dominant... Well, I can't make a list. I'll give you two things that are dominating features that exist in heaven continuously.
One is the love of God, the glory of the Lord. But two is the continuous worship, every blade of grass, every flower. They all contain light and they all contain sound. And everything in heaven has this harmonious sound that continuously gives God praise.
There is an overwhelming atmosphere of glory to the Lord because they see without interference. No one who sees without interference can think of any other response but to bow and worship and to give praise, to give thanks.
The big problem that you're facing now, what will you think of it in eternity? Will you still be impressed with its size? Or will you see God put it in its place? See, in heaven, we will see everything that we face now that we struggle with. we will see how God orchestrated and put it in its place inferior to this amazing one who spoke the worlds into being.
How in the world could I fear a problem that's this big when I serve a God who's unlimited in size and in heart for me? I don't think most of us have a problem with imagining God's greatness and significance to fix issues. We just don't always think He's for us.
Set your mind on things above is to literally draw from the reality that exists that heals every inferior perspective that we have on life and purpose and destiny. Heaven heals. Awareness of heaven heals.
No Problem Bigger Than Awareness of God
I try to live in such a way that no problem ever gets bigger in my consciousness than my awareness of God. As soon as the problem I'm facing gets bigger in my thinking theologically I can always answer God has the answer God is bigger God you know I can always give you the right answer but that's not always what I'm feeding my soul on.
That's not always what drives me. And anytime I do I start reacting to the problem I start allowing the problem to shape my thinking and my behavior.
Anxiety comes from feeding on a problem. feeding on a lie. feeding on inferior things So when I'm feeling that anxious thing going on it's only because I've been eating the wrong meal.
He's not asking me to pretend that His world is greater. He's commanding me to become aware of the greatness of His world. Because I could never again bow in any kind of fear or anxiety, bow with any kind of reverence towards a problem once I've seen the nature of His world, once I've seen the vastness of His promise.
If the problem that you're facing right now, or should I say problems, plural, I can give you my list, but I won't. If the things you're facing now, if in eternity, they will only be testimonies of God's grace, for which you will give thanks. We might as well give Him thanks now.
You see, I can hang my head and I can sing of God's worth. He's worthy. Basically for me to rejoice when I'm in pain. And for me to give thanks when I'm in confusion.
See, that faith muscle is to be exercised in radical obedience. I'm a believer, not a feeler. I'm recognized in heaven and on earth and in hell as one who believes for the impossible.
Which means that it's vital that in my little world, where I got stuff going on that I don't understand, can't fix, can't control, that I can rise above that. I can't change anything, but what I can do is I can make sure that I literally live from the reality of heaven towards earth.
Paul told us, we were, the apostle Paul told us, we were seated with Christ in heavenly places. I am in Christ. Christ is in me. That is reality. Any thought contrary to that is to slowly pull me from my awareness of Him and His world and then disengage me from purpose.
What praise does is it keeps me connected to His character. It keeps me focused on His presence. It keeps me devoted to what is the most important. That God in this moment where I face this challenge or that trial, He is as good now as He's ever been in all of eternity.
He's as good in this moment for me as He was in the virgin birth, as He was in the resurrection of Christ, as He was in all the stories of Scripture. He's as good as all of those put together right now in this moment, even though I face something I can't fix.
So I can either live under the influence, the shadow of an unrepairable problem, or I can rise in my call, purpose, destiny, design, as a living instrument to declare His greatness.
God, You are perfect. You're wonderful. You're the ultimate Father. There's no one like You. You rule over the earth. You rule over my heart. Everything about You is good.
And we rise into these moments, and we give Him praise. The side note is, the enemy cannot stand it and He flees. And I'm happy about that. But I don't want to watch Him run. I want to watch Him smile. I want to see His delight.
So, that's your design.