Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:15-16
We have a nifty little chorus that we sing on Sunday’s and it goes like this:
We bring the sacrifice of praise, into the house of the Lord.
We bring the sacrifice of praise, into the house of the Lord.
And we offer up to You, the sacrifices of thanks giving
And we offer up to you, the sacrifices of joy.
When does an offering of praise before our God become a sacrifice of praise? Jill Briscoe in her book “Prayer that Works” writes, “It means that, when you can’t praise God for what he has allowed, you praise Him for who He is despite what he has allowed.”
Job is a man who has given us a living example of this principle. In Job chapter 1 we see that Job is a man who had it all. He was healthy, wealthy and wise. He loved God and God loved him. God even called him “blameless and upright”.
One day Job’s world came crashing in. He lost all that he had except his wife and his health. His wealth, his children, his servants were all GONE, just like that. In chapter 2 Job’s wife suggested that he curse God and die, but Job would not. Instead Job tore his robe and fell to the ground in worship. Then he offered a sacrifice of praise:
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. Job 1:20-22It took a real spiritual sacrifice for Job to lay his rising resentment, bitterness and anger on the altar and to chose instead to praise God. He didn't praise God for the circumstance, but he instead praised the God of the circumstance.
When life is not going well, our praise is a costly sacrifice because we have to give up our will, our expectations for His sovereign will. King David said,
“I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." 2 Samuel 24:24
What are you willing to lay down on the altar as a sacrifice of praise?
10 comments:
i dropped by my last post to include a happy baby picture of matthew. i saw your new comment which was a passage about turning my mourning into dancing. thank you so much. you have a caring heart that i appreciate and need at this time. though i was cramming for a report i am submitting today for my M.A. class (whole morning saturdays), i quickly went to your blogsite to leave this comment for you. may God richly bless you for reaching out to a widow like me. this is really the season when God says that the winter is past and the song of spring begins. thanks for confirming it. May God bless you too in the areas of your life that seem like winter. you will rise victorious i am very sure.
“It means that, when you can’t praise God for what he has allowed, you praise Him for who He is despite what he has allowed.”
"When life is not going well, our praise is a costly sacrifice because we have to give up our will, our expectations for His sovereign will. King David said,
“I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." 2 Samuel 24:24"
Lisa, I say AMEN!Amen! and Amen!
Lisa we sing this song at our church also, it is such a good praise and worship song to the Lord.
Without Him we would be nothing,we would be like a ship without a sail.
May you continue to walk in the Favor of God (FOG)
Thank you for stopping by my blog today. I love meeting new people. Especially those that love the Lord!
Wow...i also love that song. It made me dance and stay rejoicing God. That's our sacrifices of thanksgiving to the Giver!
I am reading your blog. God bless you immensely!!!
Well written post with a great message for me today. I'll have to think on that one and see how my life can better reflect a sacrifice of praise.
I'm a fan of Jill Briscoe and your post today. Am I glad I dropped by!
Lisa, We sing this song also and I just love it. It has such a powerful message in it and it probably goes unnoticed by many. Sometimes we are guilty of singing words and not 'listening' to what we are singing.
I have many things I need to lay at that altar. I need to go spend some time in prayer...
Love you friend,
Beth
Thanks, Lisa, for this reminder! I remember as a young girl reading the Hebrews verse you referenced, and not comprehending how it would be a sacrifice to praise. It seemed natural to praise, until the storms of life pelleted me with wind and rain. I understand now that praising in the midst of the storm is a sacrfice, because it requires abadonment of self-focus for focus on the One Who deserves all praise in all places and in all circumstaces.
Bless you!
Lisa,
It's like we either BELIEVE that God is good, ALL THE TIME. Or we don't BELIEVE that God is good any of the time. It takes placing one foot in front of the other, in front of...not to either side, but in front of....perhaps more times than not that in itself, that very action, is the sacrifice of praise.
Lovingly,
Yolanda
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