Friday, October 5, 2007

Made for Praise

PRAISE

Psalm 108:3, 113:3
Psalm 100:1-2: “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs”
As we learned previously, we are a chosen people (1Peter 2:9). We are set apart to shine our light for all to see. God has a plan for us—a plan for our lives. We instinctively live who we are and do what we do because we are His creation. What a good feeling that He made us to like doing what comes naturally. Following His plan for our lives won’t be anything we wouldn’t do by our own choice, anyway. God made it simple, easy for us to live how He wired us to be.
He also wired us to give Him praise. This seems rather odd, doesn’t it? But notice the birds chirping and listen to their songs. They are doing naturally what they’re wired to do. They don’t know any other way to be. Sometimes we enjoy hearing their song, sometimes we’re aggravated about having been awaken from a sound sleep. But we cannot blame them. It’s in their nature to praise their creator.
Giving our Father praise is something else that He’s made easy for us to do. Because life can be hard, we struggle with circumstances, disappointments or pain. Our minds are frequently steeped in our troubles. But God provided a way to stop our worries: if only we’d pay attention to Him. His Word commands us to pray. This command isn’t to feed God’s immense ego; it’s for our benefit. Praying to God and lifting Him up in praise unifies a divided heart, and ends our worrying.
When we begin praising God, start with thanking Him by remembering His blessings in times past. I do this first thing, before getting out of bed. It’s a great way to start my day. My focus is on Him rather than my troubles. By listing all the things He’s been faithful to in answering your prayers, you can exceed counting the fingers of both hands. And while you’re at it, say a prayer for His lifting the current burden from your shoulders. Ask for His help to find a solution, fix the problem, or heal your pain. Soon, you’re smiling and He’s glorified. He’s made life easy for us once again. Now our days are off to a supernatural start.
Kids love to play, yell, and tussle. This gives our Father in Heaven pleasure; He is praised by our simple delight of playing together.

Take Home Nugget
Praising the Lord is one of the principle themes in Scripture. It’s to be joyful, throughout the day, in the presence of others. It’s simple mutual admiration between the Creator and His beloved creation. And everyone’s blessed.

J. D. Griffith
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