Praise!!

“I hear you, Tinu, but are you asking me to burst into praise with all that is happening in the next room?” Bola asked her best friend, with narrowed eyes and a question mark on her face, as she pointed to the closed doors before them.
Tinu looked at the doors of the conference room, and back at the friend watching her, and dared to nod.
“So based on the word you received this morning, I should give praise to God, regardless of who this word was meant for in the first place?” Bola said as she sighed. “Please,” She said, weary and scratching her head. “I need to be alone right now.”
Tinu looked at her friend, bent over by fear, while a group of business executives deliberated on her future with the company. A panel was seated to judge the low-performing staff’s for the last quarter, and Bola’s name was on the list.
Tinu felt her friend’s fear and sadness. She drew in a quick breath and asked for help, then jumped right into it.
“Bola, I am not the one asking you to praise through your fear. I am not the Father who has invited you into His presence the way you are right now, hopeless and in pain. He is the one who expects you to come before Him, understanding who He is. Yes, He is the God who asks you to lay yourself and every burden you carry right now in submission before Him, and to stay there.”
Bola did not twitch.
“Let me remind you, He is the Most High. He sits above everything and everyone who stands before you. He is the one who holds the heart of kings in his hand. He knew before today that this would happen. He could have stopped this situation from happening, and though He didn’t, He doesn’t love you any less.
“He is the God who allows us to experience various things in life to remind us that this earth is not our final destination. Don’t cling, don’t hold on. Focus on His available grace. Draw from Him right now. The wells of Salvation are more than abundant for every situation we go through.” Tinu said, gesticulating with her hands as she tried and failed to keep her voice down.
Bola looked up with tears in her eyes as she gazed at her friend. In that look, Tinu saw her friend trying to believe. She could see her friend’s yearning for the reality of the Father’s presence.
Tinu squatted, took Bola’s limp hands, and looked into her friend’s tear-filled eyes.
“You ask if I expect you to burst into praise? I do. Right now, you are in the presence of God, the Father, and Jesus is interceding on your behalf. Remind yourself of all those times He has brought you through worse, and that if Jesus could rise again, nothing is impossible for our God. Rejoice, my friend, as you look away from this situation and focus on the presence of our Father.
“Imagine His presence right now, Bola. Walk into His throne room, and as you move forward, see the members of the panel who have gathered to discuss your case by the side. Walk past them, confident and proud as you stride towards the King of Kings, because you know that whatever the outcome of their seating, He has allowed it for your good.”
As if on cue, the doors behind Tinu opened, and Bola’s manager stepped out and summoned her in with his hand.
Tinu stood, and hugged her. “Our Father is with you.”
Bola cleaned her face with a tissue as she nodded, understanding what Tinu meant. She squared her shoulders and walked with confidence. She realized that regardless of that meeting’s outcome, her Father’s will would be done in her life, and it was for good.
Bola entered the room with songs of praise in her heart.

Till next time, be transformed!!