“Faith is something that precedes an answer to a battle or a crisis,” says the Rev. Cornelius Davis, Jr. He calls us to praise our God, who is good even in challenging times.

CORNELIUS DAVIS, JR. 
Pastor, Scott Memorial UMC

I pray that you and yours are doing well and adapting to the new normal of this post-pandemic day and time as we live life and hold on to our faith in Jesus Christ.
 
God is good. While we live in challenging times, we must also remember that God is not bound by times or seasons, and He is still a good God and we ought to praise the Lord. Praise is something that we all can do and shouldn’t be held back just because we are not on the “victory side” of things yet. Often, our problem as human beings is that we only praise God when we see the answer, but quite often in the Bible, we see how praise should go first! An example of that can be found in the following passage of scripture:

“And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the                 beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever.                      Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir,                  who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.” ~ 2 Chronicles 20:21-23 (NKJV)
 

Clearly, in this portion of scripture, the army was poised and ready, but Jehoshaphat said, “hold on” because there’s something far more critical than swords and spears, horses and chariots, and it’s called praise! Praise happened first.
 
I would encourage you to stop waiting until every prayer is answered the way you feel it should be, and begin to walk and praise God in advance of the answer! Pray and praise in faith!
 
The Bible lets us know that without faith it is impossible to please God! When I hear of faith, it is not something that follows an answer to a crisis or battle; it’s something that precedes an answer to a battle or crisis!
 
I believe there is power in saying, “God, I may not understand it all, but I know you’re going to move in any and everything that may try to separate us from you. You’re going to move in the church. You’re going to move in our families. The God who did it before can do it again! We praise you in advance in faith.
 
I pray you will be encouraged as we continue on this sod as the family of God. And, I pray that you will also be an encouragement to others around you!

Last Updated on July 6, 2021