Praise God! If you live in the South, you’ve heard this term many times. It has become a common by-word that is often used when things go well for someone, whether or not they are Christian. There are other words we’ve all heard when things don’t go so well.
As our culture has changed and moved its center away from the Lord, it’s those other words we now hear most often. Praising God is no longer a common practice in this country. If you think about that for just a moment, you may realize how sad that is.
But, you say…………. WHY would I want to praise God when He lets bad stuff happen to me? My life is difficult. I can’t pay all my bills. My car broke down and now I can’t get to work. I lost my job. My spouse left me. The bank is foreclosing on my house or the landlord just evicted me. My child has an incurable disease. The list goes on.
Praise Him and thank Him for what is RIGHT in your life. Sometimes this is the most difficult part of praising and worshipping Him. When everything seems to be going wrong, its so hard to see what is right in our lives. But there are always right things in our lives, when we pause to consider. We are after all, alive, breathing, thinking.
Praising God is part and parcel of worshipping Him. It can be simple or elaborate. Praise can be done by an individual or a group. It encompasses any human effort to demonstrate to Our Lord that He is recognized as the one true God and that He is honored and appreciated for that.
Praise can be a whispered thank you when a child’s fever breaks. It can be the shout of a thousand voices singing “hallelujah.” However praise is offered, it is integral to a real relationship with God. How we praise God varies from person to person and culture to culture. What we need to learn is to DO IT.
If this isn’t a habit you’ve already developed, begin today. Look around you and say thank you God for even the smallest detail in your life that is right. Give Him the credit that it is as it should be. That’s it. That’s all you need to do to praise Him.
If you will try this for the next 30 days, God will begin to help you see your life in an entirely new light. And you will begin to see Him in a completely different way.
If you would like to learn more about Praising God please join us this Sunday. Pastor Ann’s message will focus on Praise at 10:55 a.m. We will be meeting again at 6:30 p.m. for a people’s praise time. Anyone who wishes is allowed 3 minutes to get up and share whatever is on their heart that is a praise to God. We’ll have food and fellowship afterwards and you are MOST welcome to join us.