This week I have not felt like praising God. I have been so tired and mentally exhausted. My plans for this past Monday were to go home, eat dinner and go to bed. I knew we had revival at our church but I didn’t want to go, I wanted to sleep. I needed rest.
My husband really wanted to go to revival, so I went. I thought, I’m not going to get anything out of this. I am way too tired to comprehend anything. We sang a few songs and had prayer. During prayer, I literally fell asleep. I really began to think it was a bad idea for me to come to church. Our pastor called the singers up and it was a group my Grandma Wagoner used to sing with, The New Jerusalem. I thought oh great, I am already tired now I’m going to be upset. I love to hear them sing, but it is hard for me when they sing because I don’t see my grandma at the piano anymore. I closed my eyes and decided that even though I didn’t feel like it, I was going to praise God. He has been too good to me and is so worthy of our praise. I got a huge blessing. By the third song I was ready to shout! The message was wonderful as well. I was glad that I went to revival.
I am glad I decided to go to church and praise God even when I didn’t feel like it. I can be a doofus sometimes. Instead of thinking about and praising God, I think and do what I want. The last sentence had a lot wrong with it. I think. I want. We should think about and do what God wants. He designed us to praise him and give him glory. He is truly worthy of praise. He is an awesome, mighty, powerful and wonderful God!
Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
He never changes! He is the same all the time. He is constant and good. We are blessed to have a Heavenly Father who is constant and never changing in an ever changing world.
Sacrifice– surrender of something for the sake of something else; something given up or lost; an act of offering to a deity something precious
Praise – to express a favorable judgment of; to glorify
Towdah is a Hebrew word meaning praising God when it isn’t easy or when you don’t want to.
Hebrews 13:15 & 16 “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
Jeremiah 33:11 “The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord…”
Psalms 54:6 “I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O Lord; for it is good.”
We should praise God when we feel like it and when we don’t feel like it. It says in God’s word that God is well pleased with such sacrifices. Sacrifices can be time, money, sleep, work, hobbies and anything else you value precious and dear. I gave up my time to worship and praise God and I was blessed. Next time you don’t feel like praising God think of the word towdah. Think of how much God will bless you for sacrificing to praise him. Think of how much God sacrificed so that you could have life and salvation. He gave his only son to die for our sins. We can sacrifice time or sleep to give him praise.
Love from above,
Iva Mae
LIES FROM THE MIRROR 