From Be Still and Know...
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." (Hebrews 13:15)
Hebrews 13 is filled with practical exhortations relevant to Christian living today. In verse 15 we are reminded to be full of praise.
If a record were kept, we might be surprised how little we praise the Lord. We sing, "Count your many blessings," but rush through the day without taking time to express our thanks to God for these blessings. We take the every day things so for granted.
Praise should be our lifelong occupation - not occasionally, but continually. "Through him therefore let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise..."(Amplified)
Praise to God "... is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify his name" (Amplified) Is this what God hears from our lips? Praise to his name? Or does he sometimes hear murmuring? Complaining? Gossip? Criticism? Praise to God is not just the verbal expression of our lips, but the reality of praise lived out from our lives.
We are to offer a "sacrifice of praise." A sacrifice is something offered to someone, usually at a cost. "A sacrifice of praise" - that is, praise that cost something.
During the last several years before my husband's death it cost me something to praise God. It was a sacrifice. My heart would be heavy, uncertain of the future. As I watched him suffer, I suffered along with him. It was not always easy to praise God. Yet as I lifted my eyes from my heartache to God, praise would not only fill my heart but my lips - a sacrifice of praise.
It is easy to say to God, "I will always trust you, no matter what happens." It is easy to praise him when everything is going smoothly. But what about the time when we are suffering, when our hearts are breaking, when there seems to be no solution to our needs. To praise him at such times is a "sacrifice of praise" that ascends as perfume to the throne of God.
"Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in you do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to you. Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness." - Psalm 143:8,10
Fixed Focus
Oh, that my eyes might closed be to what concerns me not to see;
That deafness might possess my ear to what concerns me not to hear;
That truth my tongue might always tie from ever speaking foolishly;
That no vain thought might ever rest or be conceived within my breast;
That by each deed and word and thought, glory may to God be brought.
But what are wishes! Lord, mine eye on Thee is fixed; to Thee I cry!
Wash, Lord, and purify my heart, and make it clean in every part.
And when 'tis clean, Lord, keep it too, for that is more than I can do.
- Thomas Elwood
Yes praising God when we are in a pit is a real challenge, this is where I've found a friend phrase to be useful such as St Faustina's words 'Jesus I trust in you' or Jesus' phrase 'Peace I leave you, my peace I give you.' I am sure your offerings during that awful time of suffering would have been a beautiful fragrance ❤️
ReplyDeleteHi Sandra Ann!
DeleteJust to clarity...these are not my words, but those of Millie Stamm who wrote the book Be Still and Know from which the devotional is taken.
But often, when there seem to be no answers, I think of the words to the little chorus:
"God will make a way,
When there seems to be no way.
He works in ways we cannot see,
He will make a way for me..." xx