“By him (Jesus) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” Book of Hebrews, Chapter 13, verse 15, KJV.
I’m not happy with some of the circumstances of my life right now.
Some kind of virus tackled me a couple days before Christmas, and I still feel lingering effects, and the other day at work I overheard something that’s not the sort of thing an employee wants to hear. Plus, the news in my country is unsettling, to say the least.
This morning as I prayed I gave God a “sacrifice of praise”. A sacrifice means a cost is involved; it requires giving up something–often time or money. A sacrifice of praise means praising God when it’s hard, when you don’t feel like it. It’s easy to praise or thank God when things are going well. For me, the sacrifice here is to give up my feelings about my circumstances and praise Him anyway. I praised God for His goodness, His care, His sovereignty–all attributes which don’t change, regardless of what else changes.
I have no guarantee my circumstances will improve the way I want them to; giving a sacrifice of praise isn’t to change the things that are bothering me. But praising God during difficult or uncertain times changes me. I view the circumstances differently because I see them through the filter of faith in God Who is good no matter what happens or doesn’t happen, God Who is bigger than my circumstances.
“Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD….” Psalm 150:6 (KJV)
©P. Booher
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