This year, 2026, has certainly become a year of weather woes in Canada. Large parts of the county have been subjected to cool, wet, dark, and cloudy weather as much as 80% of the time. In my own area, the weather has been absolutely dismal barely getting above 20C on a good day and only one partly sunny day a week, if lucky. This has been the case for months and spring was just as bad with severe winds and cooler temperatures snowing right up into May. It has been enough to drive most of us crazy.
Recently, however, unprecedented rains came. It our case, the rain came a bit more slowly but non the less, high accumulations. While our situation has been dismal, many in neighbouring communities have been hit much harder with towns flooded, roads washed away, and livelihoods destroyed. It is difficult to see a positive in the midst of it all yet one thing has stood out to me lately and it isn’t climate change. Its praise or the lack thereof.
I couldn’t help but notice in my regular reading of the Bible that much of the Psalms on praise seem to be in the midst of difficulty and crisis. So much so that I began to realize it may be best to find the positives in any case and simply praise Him anyway and to that end, I decided to do a little more digging.
Over half the mentions of praise in the KJV are in the Psalms. That book simply contains the most verses involving praise of any other with about 132 of the 248 seen. Approximately 70–90 occurrences (roughly 55–70%) are connected to affliction, enemies, fear, trouble, repentance, waiting, or deliverance rather than simple celebration. That means the Psalms present praise more often as a response to adversity than as a response to comfort. Praise references in Psalms are either in, immediately adjacent to, or motivated by human difficulty and God’s deliverance from it. Only about 20–30% are praise not connection to hardship.
Praise appears as the faithful response to God’s character and actions in the midst of a fallen world especially during times of difficulties. So as such, instead of complaining and griping about the weather we have been experiencing, it would seem we should be giving thanks and offering praises to God instead. Whether its for expected deliverance or having already avoided what could always be worse, praise to God should be part of our daily expression to Him. I know, just like many others, I have been guilty of being negative and contrary to that. Despite continuous ground hogs day – cold, dark, wet, and cloud – we must still offer praise and thanks. So thank you, Father, for all your blessing and praise your Holy name even in the face of what we see as miserable.
