One of the first Bible verses I ever heard was Habakkuk 3:17-18. The prophet said, “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” 
At the time, I couldn’t understand how the prophet could praise God, let alone be joyful in such horrific circumstances. It boggled my mind. I had not yet been saved. I read my Bible, and I was searching, but had not yet committed my life to God.

I am a slow learner. It took me a few years to understand that the prophet didn’t rejoice in his circumstances, but he rejoiced in the Lord. He was joyful in the God of his salvation. This is a major shift in perspective.

Only a masochist enjoys pain. I’m not one. God doesn’t expect me to enjoy pain. He isn’t twisted or evil. Like Habakkuk, I can rejoice in God because He is good. He remains good even in the midst of difficult circumstances.

When we read Habakkuk, we see that he started with prayer. “How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save” (Habakkuk 1:2). 
Things were not going well, and he wasn’t happy. God answered his prayer and told him that the situation wouldn’t improve. In fact, it was about to get worse.

God told Habakkuk: “I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands.They are notorious for their cruelty and do whatever they like” (Habakkuk 1:6-7).

If I were Habakkuk, my reaction would probably have been, “Um, Lord, this isn’t the answer I had hoped to hear.”

So, what moved him from prayer to praise? He had an understanding that circumstances will change, but God doesn’t change. He decided to wait patiently for the situation to change. It wasn’t an easy decision. He was honest about his fears. He said, “I trembled inside when I heard this; my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me, and I shook in terror. I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us” (Habakkuk 3:16).
He knew that they would be invaded by a cruel and fierce nation. He understood that dark days awaited. He had no illusions about their fate, but he also knew God’s character. God’s mercy never fails. He decided to take his eyes off his circumstances and focus on God. 

I had a few opportunities in my life to do the same. When situations seemed impossible and doom and despair knocked on my door, prayer didn’t give me the answers I sought. So, I shifted my focus from my problems to praise.

When we pray, we generally focus on our valley experiences and we pray for relief, deliverance and change. Our focus, however, remains on our problems. We are waiting and hoping for change. We easily feel desperate, helpless, hopeless, and defeated. When we praise, and when we rejoice in the Lord, our focus shifts from our problems to our unchanging God. We can trust His character. We know there is nothing and no one greater than Him. We know that His love never ends, and His mercies are new every morning. When we focus on God’s character, our circumstances don’t matter. We know our God is greater than anything we face. We know that God loves us. He is for us, and not against us. We can rejoice because God is our salvation. He doesn’t only give us strength; He is our strength.

We will go through valleys. It’s inevitable. We don’t live our lives on the mountaintops, but when we know that God is with us, we have no reason to fear. 

The valleys are the fertile ground where crops grow and sheep graze. The mountains are the areas where we receive our instructions how to live in the valleys. Moses received the Ten Commandments on the mountain. It was on the mountain where God told the disciples to listen to Jesus. No, we don’t stay on the mountaintops. We enjoy the view, and we prepare for a fruitful life in the valleys.

We have God’s promise: “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

God doesn’t send an angel or a representative to be with us, or go before us. He goes before us personally. He will not fail or abandon us. This is enough reason to praise and rejoice.

It has been my personal experience that praise often leads to breakthroughs when prayers seem unable to do so. I can’t explain it. I think it’s because we turn our attention from our circumstances to God who is always worthy of our praise. Something inside us changes when we do this, and when we change, our circumstances often change. 

It’s not easy to praise in difficult circumstances, but we should praise when we least feel like it. Our breakthroughs will not come when we feel sorry for ourselves or sit in a corner to lick our wounds. We often feel depressed and our burdens weigh on us, but a simple act such as lifting our hands in praise, even while words fail us, can lift the heaviness in our hearts. We have to put on a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3). We can’t succumb to the darkness. God is our everlasting light. The simple act of lifting our hands means that we turn to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from us (James 4:7). I can attest to the truth of this.

It’s not only in my life this happened. I think of Paul and Silas, who praised God while chained inside a prison. The result was that God used an earthquake to free them, and in the process saved the warden and his family (Acts 16:25-34). An earthquake is a terrible and destructive event, yet God often uses such events to create miracles for His children. Remember how the walls of Jericho tumbled? I don’t question God’s methods. I trust in His results. 

I don’t neglect prayer, but I focus on praise. I urge you to do the same and experience, like I did, the difference it makes.