Praise Me now.

The temptation so often is to fret now and praise later. I want everything to be fixed and I want to know that every bit of my future is secure, then I’m ready to sing songs of praise.

But it’s easy to raise my hands when all is well and all my problems have happy endings. It’s easy to lift my voice when I can see how what I’m worried about will be resolved neatly like in those old sitcoms of yore where everyone always lived happily ever after at the end of every episode.

But to praise in the midst of uncertainty before I even know the outcome? That’s real faith.

That’s saying to God, “Your way is best, even if it’s not my way. You are worthy of my praise and worship, even if I don’t get my way in the end.”

The best testimony is to see a believer who has joy in the midst of trials — someone who can sing in the middle of the storm and not only when the sun is shining. That’s what gets people’s attention.

And that’s the kind of faith I want.