Praise is an individual choice and is the natural outgrowth of a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord. Praise is an event, a process and the way of life everlasting.
Laughter is related to temporal happiness but praise is related to eternal joy. Laughter makes our heart glad but praise makes God’s heart glad. The capacity for the Christian to praise the Lord exists in unlimited amounts. It is the sound of the living water springing up to eternal live. But the Christian makes the choice to offer praise and not withhold it from the object of our affection.
God welcomes our praise. He deeply desires it, rejoices in it and indwells the praise of his people. But God does not force us to praise Him. The Lord wants praise to come from a willing and loving heart not from a sense of duty or as a means of gaining favor. Genuine praise is to indwell God’s people. And in genuine praise, there is a release of resurrection power. As the praises go up the blessings come down!
The Lord especially longs for praise that transcends the circumstances of life. Fair weather praise lacks the depth of love to sustain the Christian in the storms of life. Genuine praise sees through the storm to see the form of the One who calms the storm and says Peace be still.
Praise is the Father’s gift that keeps on giving. The psalmist says we will be praising the Lord not only for this lifetime but all eternity. Coming from the redeemed heart, praise finds its affection in the One who took our place, paid our debt and set us free. He is the One who graces us with the disposition to praise Him. Thus, if the Lord indwells the praise of his people, then through Him let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name in season and out.
Praise is the only fitting way to express our gratitude for a debt we never could repay. Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us on the Cross, we have the honor of honoring Him. Today I encourage you to praise Him whose name is above every name – the name in which we cope, the name in which we hope – the name in which the Psalmist says is eternally good.
From the depths of your heart, praise the One who lives there. He is waiting patiently and longingly to receive your praise. As we gather together to worship the One who alone is worthy of all glory and honor, may He use our offering of praise to encourage the saints to love and good deeds.
