It can be difficult to praise God sometimes. I hate to say that. I’d really prefer to tell you that I never struggle and always remember to praise God even in the times when I don’t feel like it, but that’s not true. There are times when I have to stop singing in church because I don’t feel like I can sing the words to a song if I’m not feeling them at that moment.
God wants my worship. He wants my praise. He doesn’t want me to just stand there and flap my mouth to the lyrics of a song. Worship and praise go beyond just singing, though; I know that. Worship and praise are a lifestyle, but singing praises to God is part of it.
Apricots at Safe Haven Farm – Haven, KS
Today’s verse is Hebrews 13:15.
Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.
There’s an old song we used to sing at church, one of those choruses that caused such a stir when we first started integrating them into the services.
We bring the sacrifice of praise
Unto the house of the Lord.
We bring the sacrifice of praise
Unto the house of the Lord.
It’s one of those faster-paced choruses that encouraged clapping, so back in the day it was pretty progressive. As a little kid I didn’t really think about what the lyrics meant, though. What does it actually mean to bring a sacrifice of praise?
In Hebrews 13, the Bible talks about how people used to sacrifice animals to repent from their sin:
“Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood.”
That was the old system. That was the Old Covenant. Since Jesus died, now we have a New Covenant where all we need to do is believe that Jesus died for us. And not only does that pay for our sins, it also allows us to have a relationship with God. And that’s all well and good, but how does that apply to a sacrifice of praise? Can you drag a song up on an altar and sacrifice it?
Well, praise and worship goes beyond just singing. It’s choosing to live a life that honors and glorifies God no matter what your circumstances. And that’s the key. No matter what your circumstances. It’s choosing to give God glory for everything in your life, whether it’s good or bad. It’s being able to step back and see that situations in your life suck but you can still praise God for them.
And that’s hard.
Because it’s a heck of a lot easier to just sit down and cry about it. It’s much much easier to give up and focus on yourself, to drown in self-pity, to stop trying. Yes, it’s easier. And, yes, somehow it fulfills some screwed up need deep down inside us to make others realize how much we are suffering, but it doesn’t satisfy you and it doesn’t accomplish anything and eventually you’ll end up alone because no one wants to hang around someone who only thinks about themselves. But it’s difficult to realize that when you’re in the middle of it.
It’s so much harder to take all that darkness and turn it into a song.
That’s where the sacrifice comes in.
Sacrifices have always been about giving God something we want to keep for ourselves. The best lamb. The first fruits of a harvest. Our money. Our time. Our lives. Our trust. Praise is no different.
Bringing God a sacrifice of praise is worshiping Him when you don’t feel like it. It’s glorifying Him — giving Him the credit for what He’s doing in your life — even though you can’t see that He’s doing anything yet. It takes the focus off you and your problems and your hopeless situation, and it puts your focus on Him.
Know what that does?
It changes your perspective entirely. Because the moment you can focus on the fact that God is God and that He knows what He’s doing, your overwhelming troubles don’t seem so overwhelming anymore. Because if God is big enough to do all that He has done, that means He can take care of you and your issues.
So sing a song of praise to God today, especially if you don’t feel like it. Because even if your circumstances are less than ideal, God is still in control and He knows what He’s doing. And even if you can’t be thankful for the circumstance yet, you can still be thankful that God is working it out.
Always Peachy 