Why Worship While Waiting on the God of the Breakthrough?
Every believer who is walking in relationship with the Lord reaches a point in time when they need a breakthrough in their lives. The journey of faith in a fallen world means that there will always be seasons of fire, flood, dark valleys, and battles – but the God of the Breakthrough (2 Samuel 5:20-21) has the plan for how you will walk in victory through Him!
In Psalm 37:4, David wrote:
“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.” (NLT)
As you are waiting on the Lord for the breakthrough you need, worship while you wait! Praise and worship do not ebb and flow with life’s ups and downs, but instead worship should be one of the constants in your life.
Here is something many people struggle with while they’re waiting on the Lord’s timing: Praising the God of the Breakthrough doesn’t come after the breakthrough, but before the breakthrough arrives. THAT is how you stand in FAITH.
Praising the God of the Breakthrough doesn’t come after the breakthrough, but before the breakthrough arrives. THAT is how you stand in FAITH.
~ Alicia Purdy ~
One of the most common – and Scriptural – reasons to praise the Lord is because of what He has done for you. But one of the most powerful reasons to praise the Lord is because you believe He will do what He said He would do – even when you haven’t see it yet.
That is the essence of faith in the Lord. One of the primary expressions of your faith in the Lord is the point in your worship when your faith in the God of the Breakthrough is put into action through praise and worship.
True Faith is Praising the God of the Breakthrough, First
With all of life’s difficulties, it easy to forget to worship as you’re waiting for your breakthrough, but the actions of faith often look different than what many presume they’ll see.
The truth is that anyone can worship when things are great, but a a believer who has learned about the true power of praising the God of the Breakthrough will praise the Lord no matter what is going on. That is not easy, but is the Lord’s strategy for victory!
Faith is the substance of things that you hope for, and the actions of faith prove that what you cannot see actually does exist. (Hebrews 11:1)
- God hears you.
- God sees you.
- God knows you.
- God moves in you.
- God cares about you.
The truth is, as a believer, your life is not all about you and you alone, it’s about the Kingdom of God. And, sometimes it seems like the Lord is taking His time when really He is orchestrating a number of other things to be in place for your breakthrough and the freedom of others! (Romans 8:28)
- Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “God has made everything beautiful for its own time…”
- Isaiah 61:11 says, “For as the earth brings forth her buds, and as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.”
Note this phrase: “The Lord God will cause” your praise to spring forth. That is your promise! Yes, maybe you have to worship while you wait as David did in Psalm 40:1-3, but God has PERFECT timing and the God of the Breakthrough will breakthrough- and He deserves all the glory as much on the hard days as He does on the good ones.
Let the God of the Breakthrough Be Your Strength in Waiting
The hardest battles you will ever fight will be within yourself. Before you can win any other battles, you must first contend with your flesh– and when you’re exhausted, overwhelmed, hurt and afraid, your flesh does not want to praise and worship the Lord. Your enemy doesn’t want you to either!
This is why believers must not walk by how they feel, but by faith in the God of the Breakthrough. The spiritual discipline of praising God in hard times will set you up for victory as you overcome the flesh, first. That is the essence of a “sacrifice of praise” in the Bible, and it is a powerful thing to give to the Lord: YOURSELF.
The spiritual discipline of praising God in hard times will set you up for victory as you overcome the flesh, first.
There are so many things you’ll face in life that you may never encounter resolution for in the natural world, however, the Lord will reveal things to you by His Holy Spirit about the aspects of your situation if you seek Him while you’re waiting for the breakthrough to come.
Can the God of the Breakthrough Break Through You, too?
In Psalm 73, Asaph, a Levite (the Old Testament version of a worship leader) was struggling in his heart and mind admitting, “But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone…” (Psalm 73:2)
Asaph was grappling with deep envy, disappointment, anger, and bitterness. Can you relate that? Everyone can! Yet, he went to the right place to deal with it: On his face before God to seek the Lord – and to praise Him.
In fact, before he began to cry out to the Lord, he praised saying, “Truly God is good to Israel…” (Psalm 73:1) BUT…
“Does the Most High even know what’s happening? Look at these wicked people— enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply. Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.” (Psalm 73:11-14, NLT)
Here are some issues Asaph was struggling with:
- Why do the wicked seem to get away with evil?
- Why do bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people?
- Why do the unrighteous grow richer, more famous and successful while good people suffer?
- Why do the godly struggle, and toil and live a life filled with troubles and hard times?
- Why do the prideful boast over the humble?
- Why should I have to work so hard to do the right thing when evil is rewarded?
Have you ever asked any of these questions? Asaph praised AND poured out his heart because in the presence of the Lord is where the God of the Breakthrough starts the breaking – within you, first.
Asaph ran to God because he couldn’t see his way forward. He needed a personal breakthrough in his life because he was stuck in anger, despair and bitterness. He knew he needed a “rhema” word, a Holy Spirit-inspired “right now” word from the Lord and this is what he did:
“I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is! Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood…” (Psalm 73:160-17, NLT)
Asaph was compelled to praise God in hard times not only because he loved the Lord, but because he TRUSTED the Lord.
Asaph emerged from worship with something just as powerful as a change in his situation. He walked out a new man, because God had given HIM the breakthrough, first – with understanding, perspective, strength, and wisdom toward the circumstances he faced.
Asaph had been bitter and jealous, he had admitted, but once he was in the presence of the Lord in praise, the God of the Breakthrough had opened his eyes, and here is what he wrote about how things changed:
“I was so foolish and ignorant…Yet I still belong to you. You hold my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:23-26)
Thought for today: Breaking Before God of the Breakthrough
Asaph knew his heart and his flesh would continue to fail, and that he needed a breakthrough. He was struggling with his situation, so he ran to the Lord, his refuge. (See Psalm 18) Yet even though his understanding was deepened, the world around him had not changed at all. What was different after praising the Lord?
HE WAS DIFFERENT. And as life continued to unfold and people remained wicked and unjust and prideful people remained filled with mocking and ungodliness- Asaph knew he would need to continue to lean on the Lord to strengthen his heart.
Learn more about the 7 Hebrew Words for Praise and how each one helps create strength, intimacy, and fresh revelation as you understand more about God’s plan for praise in your life!
Asaph knew that, to be strong enough to endure until the larger breakthrough came, he would need to remember that God was his treasure, his “portion”. That perspective, from the story written by Asaph’s own hand came to him by the Holy Spirit in one place: The presence of God – as he praised.
Whatever it is you’re waiting for, the God of the Breakthrough hears, sees, knows, and acts, so you must fix your eyes on Jesus and He will open your spiritual eyes as you wait. If you can learn to worship when life is tough, you’ll be able to face whatever has you tripped up and stand up once again.
Because of your faithfulness, He will be faithful to do the same and minister to you. Maybe life won’t change right away, but you will change and become more like Him- and then the real battle has been won!
