How to Turn Your Negative Circumstances into Songs of Praise

Daily Devotional – Friday, September 10, 2021

I will sing to the LORD because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalms 13:6 (NKJV)

Have you ever gone through a tough experience to the point of asking God, “How much longer will I go through this?” You don’t doubt the existence of God but in your despair you feel as if He has forsaken you.  

David describes a similar experience when he says, “How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” (Psalms 13:1, NKJV). We are not told what David was going through, but he was not a stranger to danger.

The first four verses of Psalm 13 are full of despair. However, there is a positive shift in this confession: “But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.” (Psalms 13:5, NKJV). David’s attitude changes when he remembers God’s love and mercy upon him in the past.

This realization leads to joy and praise in spite of the prevailing unfavourable circumstances. “I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.” (Psalms 13:6, NKJV).

When we stop focusing on our problems and concentrate on the goodness of God in our lives, we end up praising God. When we remember how He has supplied our needs abundantly in the past, our momentary pain becomes a blessing, not a disadvantage.

Today, while acknowledging any unwelcome circumstances around you, choose to magnify the power of God in your life. Turn your despair to songs of praise. Remember, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” (Psalms 34:19, NKJV).

Heavenly Father, teach me to turn my negative circumstances into songs of praise.