Praise the Lord with Every Breath
A friend described God as an egomaniac because of verses like Psalm 150:6, "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD." His thoughts were that any being that "required" praise must have a swollen sense of self-importance and a need to keep people in their "place." My guess, however, is that this friend had never completely surrendered himself in praise.
The Bible mentions praise close to 400 times, not because praise is a burden that we must carry. Instead, when we praise the Lord through our good times, through our challenges, through our tragedies -- as impossible as it seems, we receive the reward. Psalm 66:2 says "Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious."
It is easiest to praise God during good times. When we are happy and thankful, it is natural to WANT to offer praise; still, sometimes we are SO happy that we forget. An amazing thing happens, though, when we DO offer praise during the good times. Getting lost in praise carries with it freedom. "I will praise God's name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving" (Psalm 69:30). The praise, glory, song, and thanksgiving offered up to the Lord is multiplied, and it swirls in, around, and through us. It fills us with a feeling of peace, joy, and love that is indescribable. THAT'S why we praise the Lord with every breath.
It's not as easy to praise God when times are challenging. Philippians 4:8 suggests to think about, "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable" and anything that is excellent or praiseworthy. Instead of thinking about those challenges -- the overdue bills, the family disagreements, the kids' illnesses -- praise the Lord. Remember that boundless serenity, irrepressible joy, and that abounding love that fills us when we praise the Lord? It works during challenging times as well as good times. That is another reason to praise Him with every breath.
It gets difficult to praise God when tragedy hits. When my first husband killed himself, praising the Lord was not easy; when my daughter overdosed on opiates, I struggled to praise Him; when my son was in the Navy, and I hadn't heard from him in over one month, I fought to praise. Yet, Psalm 22:3 reminds us that He inhabits the praise of His people.
Close your eyes and imagine the Lord entering in to our praise. We give him honor, but He gives us so much more; He comforts, encourages, loves, guides, soothes, cheers, builds up, heals, prospers,and so much more.
Paul says in Philippians 4:12 that he has "learned the secret of being content in any and every situation." I believe his secret is giving praise during those situations -- any and every. Contentment in any and every situation comes from praising the Lord every day. We receive joy when we praise him, unspeakable joy in any and every situation.
Start today. I'll join you:-).
Tony Evan's preached one of the best examples of praising God I've ever heard. Here is a paraphrased except. In Exodus 15:1, the Israelites just witnessed one of the greatest miracles of the Old Testament. The parting of the red sea and the drowning of the Egyptian army that was pursuing them. Now, safe on the other side, their enemies destroyed, they praised God and sang a song to the Lord.
ReplyDelete"The horse and the rider thrown into the sea.
But the Israelites singing and praising God is not the whole story. They had the right song but on the wrong side of the problem. To see that, you have to go back to Exodus 14:10. With the Israelites pinned against the red sea, the Egyptians closing in on them they screamed at Moses saying " where there not enough graves in Egypt that you had to bring us out here to die? "Did we not say to you? Leave us alone that we might serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve them than to die out here in the wilderness!.
Isn't that just like us? Sure after we see God's salvation in a problem we're oh yeah! Thank you Jesus, I knew you'd come through! But what were we saying BEFORE God delivered us? Do we praise Him when there is nothing but darkness on every side or do we act like the Israelites screaming at God What are you doing? Did you bring us to this place to slaughter us?
What side of your problem do you praise God in?
Amen. It takes so much faith to praise Him when we are struggling, but He honors our praise; He inhabits the praise of His people. He settles in to our praises to comfort and lift us up.
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