I have to confess--my first inclination when I face difficult circumstances is not to trust God.

Usually I get frustrated. Of course, that's just a nice way of saying I get angry. If it's not frustration or anger then it might be worry or discouragement. None of them are good or helpful responses.

What are you facing today? What's overwhelming you? Making you angry? What's causing you to be afraid?

Can I offer a suggestion for handling whatever is in front of you today? It will apply to difficult relationships (marriage, parenting, boyfriend/girlfriend, etc.) financial concerns, final exams, job stress, a health problem or whatever.

The answer is found in Psalm 100:

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Whatever you may be facing today, choose to follow the instructions in this psalm.

Verses 1 and 2 tell us to worship Him. There are no qualifiers on the circumstances. It doesn't say to worship only if things are going well. The psalmist simply says to shout for joy. Worship with gladness. Come before Him with joyful songs.

Let me encourage you to put together a playlist of worship songs on your iPod. If you don't have an iPod, put it on your wish list for Christmas. I know of nothing better than great worship songs to lift my eyes off my circumstances and get them on God.

Verse 3 instructs us to know that the LORD (Jehovah) is God. He made us. We belong to Him. He is our Shepherd. We're never alone. We're never left to figure things out on our own. We belong to Jehovah, the One who has everything under His control.

Verses 4 and 5 tell us to praise and thank Him and also gives the reason why. I know it's hard to thank God when it feels like things are falling apart, but choose to praise His name and thank Him. Why? Because He is good, He is loving and He is faithful. You may not see it or feel it at the moment, but choose to believe it anyway and let that belief lead you into praise and thanksgiving.

Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that God is pleased by our faith and rewards us when we seek Him. You can know that He is good. He does love you. He will always be faithful to you. It won't always be easy, but don't doubt those truths.

You and I have a choice when difficulties come...and they will come. Probably today. We can get angry or worried or discouraged. We've tried that though. We know how that turns out.

So what if instead we choose to worship, to remember we belong to our God and He's in control, and to praise and thank Him because He is good, loving and faithful?

Will you give it a try and let me know how it goes?

Gregg