Perseverance and Praise

…let every living thing praise His name forever.

Psalm 145:21 CSV

Wow! I guess it’s not a weed! 

I’d sprayed it, trimmed it with scissors, even mowed it multiple times…yet it persevered. Regardless of how I mistreated it, this intruder sent tendrils upward, outward and onward while it clung to the bank of the pond. Now, in a different season of the year, an abundance of tiny pink blossoms brought delight to that same muddy shoreline. 

I whispered, “I’m so sorry,” to the culprit vine as I collected a small bouquet. I sought out the other vines I’d mowed over, and transplanted them to a safer spot. Now, next year they will also be able to radiate praises to the Creator.

Jesus once healed a blind beggar who testified to the authorities. “Once I was blind and now, I can see.” God provided a way for that beggar to bloom even among his hardships. I’ve known people like that. Haven’t you? 

I have a sweet cousin diagnosed with a mental illness who recently came to know Christ as her personal Savior. Her arms are scared from cutting, she still has seizures from previous overdoses, and her hands tremble from her medications. During her “Jesus time,” she praises her Lord, though, like no one else I know! She unabashedly tells everyone she meets about her Jesus. After all these hardships, she’s blossomed in her own little corner of her world.

Are you feeling praise-less? Are you tired of the weed killers, trimmers and mowers taking over in your life? Take heart. Persevere. Praise Him by faith. Ask Him to bring praises to Himself through you and within your circumstances. 

Now wait and watch. Be amazed at what springs forth from your life! God can use all things to bring praises to Himself—a weed, a blind beggar and you. 

Linda Les