The power of praise

                             A little food for weekend thought:

       "Our God is not made of stone.  His heart is the most sensitive and tender of all.  No act goes unnoticed, no matter how insignificant or small.  A cup of cold water is enough to put tears in the eyes of God.  Like the proud mother who is thrilled to receive a wilted bouquet of dandelions from her child, so God celebrates our expressions of gratitude."  Richard Foster
       "Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord, O my soul!  I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being." (Ps.146:1-2)
       We have today, these fleeting 24 hours, to give praise to our magnificent Lord.  When this day passes, the opportunity to thank Him, to enjoy Him, to love Him on this day will be over.  Will we use this day wisely and well to add our voices to the celestial chorus praising the God of all mercy, grace, love, power, and holiness?  Oh don't let us miss the opportunity, Lord.
        And what about when we don't feel like it?  What about when life is hard, our hearts are brittle, and hope feels so distant?  Well, we follow the Psalmist's example--we're honest with our feelings...but we praise anyway.  As Dr. John Mitchell says, "To give thanks when you don't feel like it is not hypocrisy; it's obedience."
       One more quote from Ruth Myers and her wonderful little book, 31 Days of Praise: "Notice that David and the other psalmists were honest about their feelings, facing them and telling God about them.  They knew how to pour out their hearts before Him (Ps.62:8).  Often they praised God first, and then expressed their disturbed emotions, their perplexities, even their complaints.  After this they went on to praise God again, despite their struggles.  They did not deny their feelings or simply ignore them.  Nor did they wallow in them until they'd all but drowned.  And it doesn't seem that they postponed their praise until they had worked through their emotions and felt better.  Instead, they mingled an honest pouring out of their feelings with sincere, God-honoring praise....
       What happens when we follow the example of the psalmists--when we express our impressions and feelings, yet choose to keep praising in spite of how things seem to us?  I find that sooner or later (often sooner) the Lord releases me from being a slave to my distressing emotions.  He unties the tight knots within me and settles my feelings, though He may not answer my questions about how He's handling my affairs."
       Can I just add a hearty, AMEN!  It's so true--try God on this!  Take some time everyday simply praising God for who He is and what He has done.  Be honest with Him about your struggles and questions--He knows them all anyway.  But choose by faith to praise Him even in the midst of the hard, confusing places in your life.  See if you don't find God untying some tight knots in your heart and releasing a song of your joy in your soul in spite of yourself!
       We praise Him because He is infinitely worthy...but in praising Him, we discover hidden springs of joy and peace bubbling up to overflowing within us.  There's such power in praise.  
      That's our God--we simply can never ever out-give Him!
      To God be the glory.