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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
Devotional: 18th of Adar2

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Adar II 18
אֲדָר ב׳

I will bless Adonai at all times; his praise will always be in my mouth (Psalm 34:1 [2]).

I knew as soon as I preached the message that Friday night at our Erev Shabbat (evening of the Sabbath) service that I was in trouble. Don't ask me how I knew, I just knew. Today's wonderful Scripture verse had been on my heart for weeks. I wanted to give a strong, encouraging message to the congregation about praising God in all things. However, there is an axiom in teaching the Word of God that you can't truly teach it until you have lived it.

A few days later I woke up sicker than I could remember, with nausea, fever, headaches and vomiting. I got up at five in the morning and went downstairs so as not to awaken my family. I seriously contemplated driving myself to the emergency room. Suddenly, the verse I had preached on Shabbat came back to me, "I will bless Adonai at all times ..." I groaned in my spirit, "This is not the time, Lord!" Yet the verse would not leave me.

In the midst of my pain, I began to praise God. I focused my mind and my heart on him—as much as I could. Suddenly, the pain became more bearable. I kept praising God. Miraculously, my mind began to clear and I felt better. I called my doctor, who prescribed medicine for me, and the battle was soon over.

We need to praise God when things are going badly as well as when they are going well. When we enter the realm of blessing God, it gives him the chance to work in our lives. Victory is on the way, and when it comes, we will really be able to praise him!

...seek to praise the Lord through both good and bad. If I'm down, I will praise the Lord, knowing that deliverance is on the way.

DC

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