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"Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise
to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."
(Hebrews 13:15)
About once a year, I get pretty sick and have to spend a few days in bed. It is no fun, but everyone gets sick, and we all just have to deal with it. As I type today's devotional, I feel rough. (Hopefully, by the time this is published and in your email inbox, I will be completely well!) I am not sure if playing golf in temperatures that never got above 50 degrees Fahrenheit had anything to do with it or not. Yes, I did play golf in Grapevine, TX, last week with my good friend, Frank Harber, along with Marcus Lamb, CEO of Daystar Television, and his son in law, Jonathan. I must really like to play golf to stay out there for almost 5 hours! (Hey, I shot an 83, so that was not too bad.) Later that night, my throat really started to hurt me, and I was like, "Uh oh; I know what this means." Sure enough, I spent the next few days in bed with a serious head cold and sinus issues.
It is easy to praise the Lord when all is going well for us. However, it is an entirely different matter to praise the Lord when things are not going very well. I think that is what the writer of the Book of Hebrews had in mind when he penned the verse we are studying in today's devotional. As children of God, we are to always be thankful (Ephesians 5:20), and we are to continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. A sacrifice means giving or offering up something. You may not feel like praising God, but it is always the correct and proper thing to do. Why praise the Lord when times are hard? Good question; I offer you the following points to ponder today:
1. Praising Jesus when we are struggling demonstrates a maturity in our faith. Anyone can shout a hallelujah when they're on the mountain top, but it is much more difficult to do so in the valley.
2. A sacrifice of praise presents a powerful witness to those around us. When we trust God and give Him praise, even when we are sick or when times are really hard, we demonstrate to others that we love God not just on days when the sun is shining, but also on days when the rain is pouring.
3. Perhaps most importantly, to praise God when it hurts brings great honor to God. God is so worthy to be praised! In both good times and bad, He is still God, He is on His throne, and He will come through for us. He always has and He always will. Does that mean we will never go through hard times here on earth? No, we will endure difficult days because we live in a fallen, sinful world. God does not promise us affliction-free lives; rather, He promises us that He will be with us through it all!
If you are in the valley today, at this moment, let me ask you to do as the psalmist says in Psalm 121:1-2, "I will lift up eyes to the hills— from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth." Go ahead and praise God and give Him thanks for being so good to you and for His precious promise that He will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). Our God is awesome and worthy to be praised at all times!
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