Daily Devotional – 4/3/12 “Praise Now, it could be worse!”

After watching the celebration of gospel on Sunday night, I heard the song entitled “Praise Now it could be worse by James Fortune” and the lyrics alone is a devotional. See, when you think you’re at the back of the line, look back because someone is standing behind you. When you think that you’re at rock bottom, reach down because you’re lying on top of someone who has fallen further. Just when you think you are the only one broke, with no money or food; walk the streets and see the folks living under overpasses, digging in the garbage or begging at the red lights. Child, you’d better praise RIGHT now because your situation could be worse. While you are constantly complaining about your child that still lives at home with you who has his right mind and able to be half way decent, somebody’s child is lying in an alley after overdosing on cocaine, somebody’s daughter is walking down Third St about to sleep with a man who has AIDS and she doesn’t even know it and somebody’s son was just killed in a car accident because the other person decided to drive drunk. Yea, you’d better praise God right now for your life because it could be worse. While you are complaining about the job you have that pays you and gives you the benefit of going to a doctor; somebody is dying from cancer because they don’t have the funds to be seen for the chemo they need, somebody had to choose whether to eat on last night or get their blood pressure medicine and somebody drunk themselves to death trying to deal with the pain in their body that didn’t seem to go away. You’d better praise God right now for your life because it could be worse. Let me say it again, you’d better praise God right now for your life because it could be worse! Be thankful for what you have and stop wishing for what other folks got because although it may look good to you, not everything that glitters is gold. You woke up this morning with a fresh anointing from God, he put breath in your body, he allowed your eyes to open to know that you’re alive, he allowed your arms to throw the covers back, he allowed your legs to hang over the side of the bed and your arms to lift you up, he allowed your mind to be right in order for you to know where you were, he allowed you strength to get up and start your day and he allowed you to have things to do and the ability to do them, so you’d better praise now. Exodus 15:2 says, “The LORD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him–my father’s God, and I will exalt him!”

Yea, I know somebody might be mourning the loss of a loved one but you should be rejoicing because when you’re absent from this side all of your troubles are over. I know that you might be upset about losing your job but you should be rejoicing for the obstacle God just removed from your path in order for you to see the blessing that it had been blocking. I know you think that God is punishing you by putting sickness in your body but rejoice in the fact that God doesn’t punish you for your wrongdoing but he forgives and that the sickness may just be ridding your body of all the harmful things so that you can be made whole. Your situation could be worse. Your circumstances could be worse. Your living arrangement could be worse. Your children could be worse. Your job could be worse. Your car could be worse. Your family could be worse. So praise now! PRAISE RIGHT NOW! Praise God right now for the blessings that you have and even for those things that have been taken away because whatever you’re facing is not meant to take you out, so have faith! Yea, the window you’re looking out of is only showing dark clouds, thunder, lightning and rain but have you thought that maybe God is sending the rain in order to water the seeds you’ve sown? Leviticus 26:4 says, “Then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.” Yea, God knows you’ve been sowing into the spirits of others by always helping so he is sending the rain to water those seeds so that now you can reap from your harvest and be abundantly blessed. God knows that you’ve sown seeds of sleepless nights dealing with the effects of dialysis but he is sending the rain now to water those seeds so you can reap a fulfilling healthy life. Stop thinking that everything that happens to you is because you’ve not always been good because baby every Christian is one sin away from backsliding but that’s why God gave us a mouth and tongue to repent with. You’d better start praising now because it, your life, could be worse.

The lyrics of the song say:
You’ve been saying that you’re tired of going through
Seems like everyone else is blessed but you
Preacher telling you, your miracle is on the way
Paid your tithes, you’re confused cause your rent is late

So you may not have a mansion in a gated neighborhood
But at least you have a roof over your head
You say your body needs a healing, well the healer’s here today

Praise now, it could be worse, Praise now it could be worse

You complain about the job that you don’t like
Do your best, working hard they don’t treat your right
Boss is telling you, your raise is coming soon
With no notice, you’re laid off, what do you do

You’ve been waiting on your blessing
Don’t you know you’re already blessed
You should thank the Lord for what you already have
If it wasn’t for Jesus, tell me where would you be
Praise now it could be worse!