Have you ever looked outside and breathed-in the fresh air of God’s touch and suddenly felt praise rising up from someplace unknown inside of you?
Have you seen beauty that takes away that same breath and felt another kind of praise overwhelming the dark places of your pain?
There is something to be said for that hollow place inside of us that has been made to worship the one who made us. After all, the same one who created our souls created the beauty surrounding us and the air that fills our lungs. He dwells within the praises that gush forth unbidden.
After a recent medical procedure that was labeled “minimally invasive,” my body yet carried a pain that felt very invasive, no matter how it had been labeled. I found myself sinking into that pain. The dark nights surged with shocking currents of pain. But into that darkness, from somewhere deep inside, praise for the God who still dwelt within me began to rise up.
And when the light of morning dawned, the beauty of fresh sunlight poured over my aching head. And another burst of fresh praise swelled up and overflowed. Yes, HE will stir praise in the midst of our pain. And HE will inhabit that very place of praise.
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
Psalm 22:3 ESV
If you look into the meaning of the Hebrew word for “enthroned” at BibleHub, it says: “To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle.”
Will you join me over at the Chronic Joy Website for this month’s Prayer Prompt? In these 4 Scriptures and prayers, one for each week of the month, we find that even in the middle of our pain, we can praise the Creator of the Universe who dwells here within our praises.
Click here to join me, for the audio blog of these words and this month’s prayers.
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You may remember that a few weeks ago, Chronic Joy Ministry shared my Allegory on “Concern and Worry.” I am so excited to announce that they have offered to donate a copy for a giveaway of one of my favorite allegories, Hind’s Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard! I will be drawing a name from comments here and on my Facebook post, later this week on August 9. Check back here on next week’s post to see who won!
I am linking with: #RememberMeMonday #GraceAndTruth
BettieGsRAseasons 
I always find hope in your ability to praise God in the midst of unimaginable pain. I am reminded that I am blessed to not be in chronic pain any longer. Thank you and may today be a day with moments of forgetfulness of the pain for you.
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Thank you so much for your prayers, Dear Regina! Today I am actually beginning to feel a slight decrease in the headpains! Every bit of relief has become such a gift from Him. Blessings to you today.
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beautiful thoughts of praise this morning. SO excited that you will be giving away Hanna’s book. It will be a blessing to someone.
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Amen! I pray that God will send that book to just the right person. It was (and still is) such a blessing to me. I’ve read it several times, and each time I find something new in it.
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He is the one to stir our praises. How comforting. Continuing to pray for you Bettie. What a reflection of God’s light you are!
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Dear Lynn, Oh, yes, He is the One to stir our praises. Even in the darkest days, HE does bring us His beauty somehow. Thank you for all of your prayers and your sweet encouragement, dear friend. They mean so much to me. I pray that you are encouraged with His blessings also!
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Good morning, Bettie, we “meet” again 🙂 Thank you for putting words to that place in me, that place I see in Jackson, where dark becomes light and pain becomes praise. I pray His light surrounds you today in the work He has planned for you. Love, Julie
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Dear Julie,
I am so very thankful that the Lord is stirring such precious praise deep within the heart of your dear son. He finds a way to show us such beauty when we least expect it. It is HIS grace for us, HIS light in those dark days. Thank you so much for sharing your encouraging thoughts with me! What a gift. And thank you for all of your dear prayers too. Love & Hugs for you!
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Getting ready to go outside, Bettie. Lifting you to Our Morningstar. Love and hugs right back to you sister
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Thank you for your thoughts and prayers! Be blessed as you enjoy our Lord’s beauty in your walk.
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Oh yes, I have! Nature’s beauty tends to easily bring forth praise, as does dwelling on life’s good things and God’s gifts of grace. But the deeper kind that stems from a place of hurt and pain? It’s not usually so easy to access, unless God gives us the means. I think that praise which arises from our broken state, our deep woundedness and pain is treasured all the more by God because He fully knows how much it can cost us. And I’m awed time and again by how often it rises in you, my dear surrendered friend. You are such a light, a source of great encouragement and inspiration for me and many others. May God grant you more dawn awakenings like that and less severe pain to have to live with. Blessings, love and hugs! xoxo PS: I’ve commented over on the Chronic Joy site as well. 🙂 ❤
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Dear Joy,
Oh yes! I have read such beautiful word-pictures of praise pouring forth from your poems too, my dear friend. And those poems have often served to bring praise rising from the deep places in my own heart then. What a gift that God would allow us to share with each other, and to stir us on to see Him. Truly He brings that to us just when we most need it. I have been so in awe of HIs working that way! Any light that I might shine is only because He has brought His own to me in these dark and dreary days. I am so grateful for your encouragement my friend. May you feel that praise rising in your own heart as He lifts you above your pain filled moments also. Sending so much love and hugs to you! xoxo PS. And thank you for following me over to the Chronic Joy site too!
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In January, I had spinal fusion surgery – and as my muscles adjusted to new places and the pain was high (they cut through the muscles attached to the spine from t-1 to L-2) – it was praising God, keeping focused on Him that made all the difference. In a particularly painful moment, the night nurse who recited with me the 23 Psalm until she finished flushing out an IV is a moment I’ll keep close to my heart for the rest of my life – it was such a God-in-It moment! God doesn’t leave His daughters to suffer alone! Praying for you, praying 2 Kings 4:26 – that all is well – and that God heal you completely!
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Oh thank you so much for sharing your precious story here! God truly does bring to us those “God-in-it-moments” at just the right time. As that nurse was such a gift to you, what a gift you must have been to her also. And thank you for your precious prayers for me also. May I trust Him more and more that all is well because He is here. Blessings to you today!
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Oh yes, Bettie. Breathing in the fresh air of God’s touch can surely strengthen our hearts to praise Him, even in these dark days when we hear yet another trial and another pain and our hearts grow heavy at the mess this world is in. But God! I’m so grateful for your testimony of how HE stirs up praise in the midst of your pain. Thank you so much for all your encouragement and prayers, my friend. Praying God will further strengthen and sustain you! Love and blessings to you!
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Dear Trudy,
Oh yes, this chaos in the world sets our hearts at such places of agony, besides the pain that our own bodies and hearts might be feeling! I am so grateful for the encouragement that He brings us when He stirs that praise from the deepest places. Thank you for the encouragement and prayers that you always bring to me. I pray that the Lord would continue to draw us deeper into His rest and peace. Love and hugs to you dear friend! xo
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The way you can continue to praise and be so grateful right in the midst of such pain is truly an inspiration, dear friend. I am so thankful for you and your precious walk with Jesus. May He bless you richly today!
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Dear Cheryl,
Truly it is the gift of God, through the prayers of so many, that has stirred that praise in the deepest of places. I am so grateful for you as well, dear friend. God has been so merciful to send us the encouragement that we need in these days. Blessings, love, and hugs to you and your dear family.
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Bettie, thanks for these thoughtful words. As ever, I have learned the grace of praising while in deepest physical and emotional pain. Trusting God and lifting up His name have been my salvation during these times.
I am grateful.
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Amen. He is our only help and strength! And when our hearts’ cry become praise, then we see His help even more. I am grateful for the words of encouragement that you always share! Blessings to you.
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Bettie, your words, heart and faith are such an inspiration! In the midst of the pain, to have such praise erupt from your heart is beautiful to me and I know it is beautiful to our Lord. Yes, the One who made us, made the beauty that surrounds us and the very breath within us. May we have eyes to see more of His hand at work and lips that bubble forth with His praises, as you say “unbidden” praises. May His indwelling Spirit become stronger than any trials we face outwardly. God bless you and your ministry of Christ-exalting joy!
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Oh Dear Melissa, I am just as amazed as you are, that God would stir that praise in my heart, in the darkest times. He is so much more ready to pour grace upon us than we realize. And i join you in praying: “May His indwelling Spirit become stronger than any trials we face outwardly.” Thank you for your dear prayers and encouragement! Blessings to you today too!
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Praise that accompanies praise is what encourages me in my faith. I know it does not come from my natural flesh, but from the new thing God is doing in my spirit and by His Holy Spirit. You’re such a great encouragement!
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Amen, Amy! When we know that the praise is beyond what we could give on our own, then we sense HIS working in our hearts so deeply. I am so thankful that you understand what I was expressing. Our God is so good to us! Blessings to you tonight!
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This is so inspiring to me. I am so sorry for your pain. Mine right now is emotional, but intense and I needed to be reminded to praise Him anyway.
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Oh, Lauren, I will keep you in my prayers tonight. I am so thankful that He understands all of our pain, and meets us there, bringing that praise from the deep places. Blessings to you today.
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