Praise

Praise

With Jesus’ help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name. –Hebrews 13:15

Remember Brylcreem? When I was a little girl, my dad used it on his hair every day. The red and white Brylcreem tube was dangerously similar to the red and white Colgate tube that was also often on the bathroom counter. I can still remember the awful flavor I tasted the day I mistakenly put Brylcreem on my toothbrush and began to brush my teeth.

When I squeezed the tube, what came out was what was inside: Brylcreem. And when our lives are squeezed by pressure and pain, what comes out is what’s inside. As you’ve been pushed toward the breaking point, what has come spilling out of your life and off your tongue? Complaining or confidence in God? Panic or prayer?

The author of Hebrews instructs us to “continually offer our sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15). Continually? Even now? Does God really expect us to praise him when our hearts are broken, our spirits are crushed, and our song is silent? Why does God want us to praise him continually? Is he that needy? Is he like a vain woman with a new dress, waiting for a compliment? Or is there something else? Does our Creator know that praise is what ushers us into his presence, the only place we find the comfort we crave? Yes, God’s desire for our praise reveals his love for us, because it puts us in the proper position to receive what we need from him. Praise fills our hearts with affection for God and floods our minds with remembrance of his attributes. In the process, our minds are emptied of God-diminishing thoughts, and our hearts are emptied of God-denying emotions.

Some days we praise God not with exuberance, but through tears. Some days we praise him not with complete clarity, but with many questions. Some days we praise him not with gratitude for what he’s given to us, but with gratitude in spite of what we’ve lost. Our difficult circumstances do not call his character into question. We know that he is wise and powerful and good, and we praise him for it—continually. In fact, in the darkness of our lives he shines brighter. The death all around us makes his abundant, eternal life more precious. The disappointment we feel makes him more delightful.

Praiseworthy One, as I feel the squeeze of difficulty, may the fruit of my lips be continual praise, evidence of your Spirit inside me, making me new.

DIGGING DEEPER