God, I come to You in moments of despair and stress as I walk through this fallen world’s deep suffering. It’s exhausting, so I’m battling the enemy’s insidious lies just as Jesus did. Your Word is Your offensive weapon (Eph. 6). So, help me cling to Your Word’s truths about who You ARE and, therefore, what You DO out of Your unchanging character. Please draw near to me today through Your Word, Father, as I am so needy.
Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust, nor find thee to fail.
I cried to him in time of need: Lord God, O hear my calling!
You are worthy of my praise, Lord
In remembering Your gracious gift of everlasting love to me in Christ, I who am unworthy fall before the only One who is praiseworthy. You are worthy of all my praise, Lord. Lately, my hard days have been so emotional as I cope with pain and losses. Lord, You know it can be hard to praise You in those moments. But how I want to! Thank You for Your living and active Word that gives me the words!
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (Heb. 13:15, emphasis added).
I praise You for Your greatness, God
Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created (Rev. 4:11).
O worship the King all glorious above,
O gratefully sing his power and his love.
(“O WORSHIP THE KING,” GRANT, R., 1833)
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Rom. 11:33)
All praise to God, who reigns above, the God of all creation,
the God of wonders, power, and love, the God of our salvation!
(“ALL PRAISE TO GOD, WHO REIGNS ABOVE,” SCHÜTZ, J. J., TRANS. COX, F. E., 1675)
I praise You for Jesus Christ, my Savior, and my Living Hope
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! (Rev. 4:8)
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!
Jesus “is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3, emphasis added).
For death he gave me life indeed and kept my feet from falling.
For this my thanks shall endless be;
O thank him, thank our God, with me.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph. 2:8-9).
Even when we were dead in our trespasses, [He] made us alive together with Christ…and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:5-6).
Jesus “is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25).
To God all praise and glory!
I praise You for what You are doing for me as I suffer today
In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (Jn. 16:33).
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me (Ps. 23:4).
With healing balm my soul he fills,
the God who every sorrow stills.
To God all praise and glory!
Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! (Ps. 106:1)
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.
Help me to sing praise to You, my worthy Lord and my God
Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever (Ps. 145:2).
I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth (Ps. 34:1).
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and might
and honor and glory
and blessing! (Rev. 5:12)
In the name of Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain for me, the King of kings and Lord of lords, amen and amen.
Material adapted from Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character in Our Suffering, Lauri A. Hogle. Copyright © 2022
Near to God: Bursting into praise for who You are. You are worthy of my praise, Lord!
Sister in Christ, may God draw us nearer to Himself, every day of our earthly suffering, until we one day join in the unending song. We will sing the words of Revelation 5 to His face, together, for eternity!
This week’s playlist gift bursts into praise to our worthy Lord! For it is indeed very good, it is fitting, and it is extraordinarily pleasant, like Psalm 147 says. Especially during suffering…
I’m praying that our great God will fill your heart with a song as you suffer, helping you to endure, as you remember who He is and what He’s doing for you as a follower of Jesus Christ.
He’s rescued me in this way! And He still is, in my latest chapter of serious health issues.
This playlist is one to use to draw near to God as we praise Him with many of His own words from Scripture! How powerful! It’s my offering as a capstone gift to match the Near to God book, as a tool to encourage you in your suffering right now. If this would bless you, sign up today, and I will send it to your email!
