“Until God opens the next door. Praise Him in the hallway.”
I love this!  I want to make this my anthem – praising in the hallway! A beautiful picture of praising God while we are waiting. Praising God before He answers. Praising God in spite of our circumstances, in spite of how we feel.
In reading the blog Spiritual Inspiration I came across this. “Remember, a sacrifice of praise is when it costs you something, when you don’t necessarily feel like doing it. Praise Him, not because of how you feel, but because He is worthy!” Francis Chan says this, “The point is not to completely understand God but to worship Him. Let the very fact that you cannot know Him fully lead you to praise Him for His infiniteness and grandeur.” Rick Warren, in his book “What On Earth Am I Here For?” says this, “Don’t be troubled by trouble. Circumstances cannot change the character of God. God’s grace is still in full force; he is still for you, even when you don’t feel it. When you feel abandoned by God yet continue to trust Him in spite of your feelings, you worship Him in the deepest way.”

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord, may I never forget the good things He does for me. (Psalms 103:1-2)

We need to learn how to praise the Lord in our darkest hour.  Praise Him, even when we don’t understand, even when we don’t feel like it. We need to praise Him, not because of what He can do for us, but because of what He is to us. And I promise if you can do that, He will lift you out of the darkness. Your circumstances may not change, you may find yourself standing in the hallway for a really long time.  But, if you praise Him while you are there, with a genuine spirit of worship, your heart will be changed!

Lord, I lift my hands up to praise to you this morning.  I take my hands off every problem, every situation and circumstance that I am trying to fix on my own.  Lord Jesus, I cast all of my burdens on you.  Open my eyes to see that you know what is best for me.  Strengthen my faith to take you at your word.  Rise within me that I may boldly declare your truth.  Cast out fear, remove all doubt, block unbelief and cause an unwavering trust to be stirred within me.  Lord, change me.  Amen