Praise and thanksgiving ALL the time

A popular call-in radio program host, Dave Ramsey, continually reminds himself and his listeners of a basic theological truth: when asked how he is, he says, “Better than I deserve.”

These are pity-party destroying words. I need to hear and say them more days than I care to admit. It is easy to praise God when things go my way, when I’m comfortable, when prayers are answered, problems are solved, and I win rather than lose. The Bible is filled with examples of that kind of praise:

“The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation, the God who gave me vengeance and brought down peoples under me, who brought me out from my enemies; you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from men of violence. For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name. Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.” (2 Samuel 22:47–51)

But what about praising God when suffering, or when prayers seem unheard, or problems remain and I am losing not winning? Isn’t this what happened to Jesus when He was crucified? It feels good to identify with Him in His victories, but what about in His suffering?

“So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” (Hebrews 13:12–16)

God is to be praised when life is good, but also when praise is difficult, when it seems like a sacrifice. This is made easier by realizing that no matter what happens to me, I am not receiving what my sins deserve. The wages of sin is death so the fact of being alive and breathing is something for which to be thankful, to praise God for as a mercy and a grace.

Tozer says that all good and beneficial things are gifts of Almighty God and come to us out of His lovingkindness, including His grace in atonement, revelation, redemption, mercy, the gift of eternal life and in the indwelling Spirit. For all this and everything else we are in debt to God forever. We can never repay our heavenly Father for the least of His mercies.

Yet God in His wisdom has not made earth a ‘heaven’ where life is perfect. In this place, we experience the whiplash of sin, our own and others. Life is not perfect and the pain of its imperfection is a classroom in the kingdom of God. Can I be thankful when my shelves are bare and my health is failing? Can I be thankful when life is lemons, pain is the norm, and answered prayer is rare?

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–19)

It is the works of the Holy Spirit to produce gratitude, no matter what is happening. As already said, no matter what goes contrary to my desires, there is always something to be thankful for and many reasons for which I can praise God. He isn’t asking me to be thankful for the unpleasant things but it is His will that I am thankful, not griping or complaining.

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Jesus, it is good to make a gratitude list now and then, even every day. It is also good to review Your goodness, Your attributes, all those things that are true of You and worthy of praise. Feeling sorry for myself is too easy and evidence of the ‘spoiled brat’ that I am. Today is a good day to fill with praise. Thank You for the power of the Holy Spirit and for making praise easy because You are totally worthy.

Giving back . . .

Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.” (Jeremiah 2:2)

In the summer of 2012, I realized that my love for God was not as whole-hearted as it used to be, so I asked Him to forgive me and restore that former passion. Little did I realize the spiritual war that would follow and the junk that He would expose in my heart.

Today’s devotional reading takes me back to that, and reminds me of this ongoing discipline of loving God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. And it is a discipline. I heard part of a sermon this week in which the radio preacher was talking about love being hard work. He didn’t think so on his honeymoon, but laughed at the change five years later.

Loving God should be easy. He has saved me and blessed me. Returning that love should be automatic, but my old sin nature is so prone to forget that He loves me. I am too easily duped by the liar into thinking that God’s love isn’t real.

Besides, God and I don’t speak the same love language, at least not all the time. I tend to want what I want, forgetting what belongs to God.

Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. (Revelation 4:11)

Loving Him is about giving Him what belongs to Him: worship, praise, thankfulness, obedience, and showing love to His people. Instead, I get whimpering because those things are dwindling or missing in my life. How selfish! Chambers says, “There is no joy in the soul that has forgotten what God prizes.”

He adds that it is a great thing to remember that Jesus actually asked for a drink! He is so kind to give me all that I need. Couldn’t I be more thoughtful about His desires? How much kindness have I shown Him this past week?

Right now I feel about as needy emotionally and spiritually as I’ve ever felt, yet these thoughts turn my heart away from me and toward Him. At the same time, I know His grace; when I give back to Jesus the love and kindness He deserves, that almost always turns out to be the answer to my own emptiness.

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Bob is improved today. They put his oxygen intake level up to 4 so he is thinking clearly again, even though he is still repeating himself (not normal for him at all). He is still short of breath, but on two types of puffer thingies that are making him breathe deeply . . . and cough. His lungs still “look terrible” but we are hoping they begin to clear soon.  He is one of those guys who thinks if he does the right thing, feeling better will follow, so he had me go buy him an electric shaver so he could remove his five-day stubble. That made him ‘look less grubby’ but he says the ‘feeling better’ part is still to come.

We are very grateful for all the email and all the prayers. Thank you for your kind support and encouragement. I may not answer the calls, but we are blessed by your care.