Say it, "Praise God!"

As I walked outside, my eyes took in the sight of the stars dotting the sky that was just starting to lighten with the dawn. The bare limbs of the trees lined the horizon,  standing in black rows like sentinels.  A faint breeze brushed my face. From my heart came a song of praise- “O Lord, my God; when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made. I see the stars…” 
 In such beauty, praise is not hard.  But, it is not always so easy to be God-aware, to overflow with worshipful praise, is it?

This morning brought to me a sense of God’s Presence and provision.  Sometimes the dawn brings heaviness of challenges and struggles, new awareness of pain or heartache.  In all days, God desires our praise. The Word says, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name." (Hebrews 13:15, NIV)   Our life will be transformed if we train ourselves to take the eternal view, to be secure in Christ Jesus, and to worship Him with overflowing praise.

The default mode of life, for far too many of us, is complaint.  The coffee is not brewed correctly. The spouse does not respond as expected. The job is not fulfilling. The boss is an idiot. The people on the road are too fast (or too slow).  Gripe, complain, moan, and cry; we do it so quickly.  For too many of us there is never enough, never contentment, seldom a willingness to let go of self.  When we complain, the habit tightens it grip on us and we become less aware of God’s Presence and provision.  We need to learn a lesson from Jonah.  He made rebel run from the call of God, taking sail on ship in the opposite direction.  In the storm followed, he got himself thrown overboard where God prepared a fish to swallow him up.  It would have been a likely time to feel some self-pity, but it became a moment of transformation!  “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.” (Jonah 2:7-9, NIV)  His confession and praise did not last. Sadly, when he finally obeyed and went on the preaching mission to Nineveh, he once again fell to complaint!  And his little story ends with God’s rebuke of the willful prophet.

Choose to praise God today.  Break the grip of selfishness. Refuse the allure of entitlement. Raise your eyes higher to see what God has done, is doing, and what He will do. The practical counsel of a man who knew many disappointments is this: "Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! … Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse." (Philippians 4:4,8, The Message)

Our Lord does not ask us to become dishonest or to deny the reality of a broken world.  But, He does invite us to be aware of His Presence.  He is greater than our situation, able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Eph 3:20) and that is surely reason for praise and worship.  Say it, “praise God!”

Here’s the word from the Word.  Read it slowly and out loud, making it a proclamation of praise for this new day.  "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." (Ephesians 1:3-5, NLT)

______________________

How Great Thou Art

O Lord, my God;

When I, in awesome wonder,

Consider all the worlds

Thy hands have made.

I see the stars,

I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy pow'r thru'out

The universe displayed.

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to Thee.

“How great Thou art.

“How great Thou art!”

And when I think

That God His Son not sparing,

Sent Him to die,

I scarce can take it in.

That on the cross,

My burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died

To take away my sin.

When Christ shall come

With shout of acclamation

And take me home

What joy shall fill my heart.

Then I shall bow

In humble adoration

And there proclaim,

“My God how great Thou art!”

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to Thee.

“How great Thou art.

“How great Thou art!”

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to Thee.

“How great Thou art.

“How great Thou art!”

Stuart Wesley Keene Hine

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