The power of praise.

By rejecting my own ways of seeking justice and following the Lord’s ways, I have found peace in my heart and resolved my problem.

During these years of walking with the Lord, I have experienced the power of praise many times and its ability to change me from within and to change the situations around me, even the most difficult ones.

The most recent of these episodes took place during the Covid-19 lockdown, when I was able to work from home whilst also looking after my son as he grappled with video lessons, homework and exam essays.

After the initial phase of this period, however, my manager wrote to the staff asking us to return to the office, despite the regulations allowing companies to continue working remotely. I felt the decision was deeply unfair; I was very bitter, angry and worried that I wouldn’t be able to look after my son. I began to wonder what I could do: whether to speak to the manager, whether to seek advice elsewhere about my rights, whether… whether… and so on, which ended up undermining my peace of mind, as I felt trapped in this situation and unable to see a way forward. 

Aware of this, I felt the desire to praise the Lord, to feel him close to me and not to be distracted from him. I didn’t want what was happening around me to rob me of my peace and my ability to be in communion with him. 

I began to praise him, without asking him for anything, but simply to express my love and gratitude and to put him back in first place in my life and in my heart.

I felt my emotions gradually transform, and peace and trust in Him began to take root in my heart. I felt, clearly and strongly, an urge to respect this provision regardless, even though it did not feel right to me.

I heard Jesus’ words, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,” and a prompting not to pursue a path of self-righteousness but to respect the new arrangements. This immediately brought peace to my heart regarding this situation.

The next day, I managed to speak calmly with the manager, explaining my difficulties, and secured a reduction in my shift for a few days. I thanked the Lord, above all for the peace I had found, for my trust in Him, and for that outcome.

A few days later, together with my brothers and sisters from Cantonuovo, we gathered for praise, and during these moments of prayer, I became aware of certain attitudes and words of mine during the conversation with my manager that could have been different. I thanked the Lord for showing me this and asked for forgiveness for this way of mine, which still saw me as somewhat the protagonist and in control of situations.

I asked for forgiveness from the depths of my heart and for Him to free me from the need to control things, from the difficulty of surrendering completely to Him. Shortly afterwards, whilst we were still praying, a WhatsApp message arrived from my manager saying that the top management had decided otherwise, putting his decision on hold pending a general directive for all the organisation’s services.

It was a beautiful, extraordinary moment, filled with great and profound emotion, not because I had obtained exactly what I desired, but because I had once again been shown how the Lord is alive and present in my life, how He lives within us, how He takes us by the hand, guides us, loves us, corrects us and transforms us with gentleness and love.  This is the power of praise. It is the power of the Holy Spirit and of communion with our Lord Jesus Christ.