"Therefore, by Him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." Hebrews 13:15. NKJV
When things are going well for us, we can praise God fully from our hearts. It is no hardship, it just flows from within us. However, when things are not so good, it can be like wading through mud, we just do not feel like praising. Thoughts such as, 'I don't want to praise God, I'm not in the mood; in fact, I don't even want to go to church today, or ever again’
Praise should never be governed by our emotions. God is worthy of our praise whether we feel like praising Him or not. This is where the term 'sacrifice' comes in.
The Greek word for sacrifice is thusia which comes from the root thuo, a verb meaning to kill or slaughter for a purpose. Praise often requires that we 'kill' our pride or fear or anything else that threatens to interfere with our worship of the Lord. However we may feel on any given moment, we should never allow outside distractions or upsets to prevent us giving God what He deserves - our praise, respect and worship, in fact, ourselves. If we don't re-direct our focus, the problem will consume us.
You probably know that it is easier to do things for God when all is going well in our lives. We feel good about it all. But it is when things are not going so well, but we still do them that the sacrifice is made. We don't feel like praying, but we still pray. We don't feel like praising and worshiping God, but we still do it anyway. When we do the things that we really don't want to do, it pleases God and honours Him and we receive blessings.
Don't forget that we are subject to attacks from the evil one. I like what RT Kendall suggests about times such as these:
RECOGNISE. Are the thoughts we have from God, the devil or are they our own?
RESIST. Stand up to the devil
REFUSE to think what he accuses you of. Quote scripture, sing hymns or chorus'. When the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future. Copyright RT Kendall
So we are to recognise where the thoughts are coming from. If they are preventing you from prayer or praise, they're not from God. Are they your own thoughts? This may be due to tiredness, stress or any particular worries. If so, give them to God. Ignore any thoughts that come from the devil, you'll know the difference. We follow a winner - Jesus Christ, not a loser. Offer your sacrifice of praise to God wherever and whenever you can. Don't let anything or anyone stop you!
Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard
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