Paving The Way For Praise
Rise and Shine for Jesus! \O/
By Pam Iannello ( my late mother)
To stir your thinking, I'm going to start off today’s devotion
with a quote from D.L. Moody, which says:
“We don’t thank and praise God half enough! That is one
reason why so many of our churches are so dull and gloomy. When churches get
into a backslidden state, they hire singers to stand away up in some organ loft
and praise God for them. How can we expect God to give us further blessings if
we don’t thank Him for what He has given us?? There ought to be more of
thanksgiving in our prayers, and there ought to be more of thanksgiving from
the heart in our singing. One of the best ways to wake a church up and start a
revival is to hold a praise meeting.”
Ladies, I just want you to know that you don't have to wait until
your church holds a praise meeting; you can hold one in your very own
home - every day, all day long! As God's
children, we are thoroughly equipped to handle the challenges of life, so
praise should always be upon our lips.
Don't believe it's possible? Then
let's look at the instructions that Psalm 118 has for us today in regard to
this topic…
Psalm
118:1 (KJV)
O
give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:
because his mercy endureth forever.
A grateful heart should give expression to that gratitude, amen?
Certainly the Lord is very deserving of our thanksgiving - for He IS good, the
Bible says! Yet another of God's attributes revealed in this portion of
scripture is that His mercy endureth forever.
I believe we could stop right here and say this is reason enough to
praise God all day long! But do we?
What kinds of experiences, concerns, or circumstances cause you to
worry and prevent you from praising God for any length of time? What attitude do you usually possess in
regard to your own complicated situation?
Is it one of praise? We are going
to learn from the psalm writer today how to deal with hardship and
adversity. You don't mind receiving a
little help in resisting the temptation to worry about your problems, do you,
dear lady? Or do you enjoy the worry?
I hope not! No matter what our
personal challenges may be, we can be assured of God's help.
Psalm
118:2-4 (KJV)
Let
Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. Let the house of Aaron now
say, that his mercy endureth for ever. Let them now that fear the Lord say,
that his mercy endureth for ever.
As we consider the next few verses above, we spot three groups of
people that the Word of God encourages to speak aloud of our Savior's
mercy. Israel is mentioned first. Yes, Israel who turned their back on God over
and over again and walked in the wilderness for so long. They should be particularly thankful for
God's mercy, amen?! How about you? Have you ever turned your back on God? If so, then you need to speak out about His
mercy in your life too!
The sons of Aaron are also encouraged to testify that God's mercy
endureth forever. They were the closest
to God, for they were set apart for private service to the Lord. Those that walk closely with the Lord, whose
calling draws them nearest to God, should appreciate the fact that His mercy
ENDURETH forever, for they have personally learned the value of longsuffering
in their lives as servants. Which reminds me - how are you holding up under
your distresses, Christian worker; are you going to stay in the race?
Lastly, the Bible says ALL those who fear the Lord should never forget
God's mercy. As a result, we will have a
song on our lips at all times - a song of praise to God! However, not
until we have trusted in the Lord will praise naturally flow from our lips…
In Psalm 115:9-13, as seen below, these same three groups of
people are exhorted to trust in God, thereby allowing them later on in Psalm
118 to praise the Lord so freely. And
so, trust, in anticipation of God's help, leads to praise - in spite
of circumstances!
O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. The Lord
hath been mindful of us: he will bless
us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear the Lord, both
small and great.
No matter what, we can have confidence and hope toward our
predicament if we live in the fear of the Lord. We have the Lord to turn to, to
place our trust in as the psalm writer did through prayer in verse 5:
I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large
place.
When God is the strength of His people, then He is their
song! Then it is we have spiritual
support in the face of adversity.
Whether the believer traces back his comfort to the everlasting
goodness and mercy of God, or whether he looks forward to the blessing
secured him through the promises of God, he will find abundant cause for joy
and praise. He will find himself in a
LARGE place, not in a corner pouting!
Psalm
118: 6-7 (KJV)
The
Lord is on my side; I will not fear:
what can man do unto me? The Lord
taketh my part with them that help me:
therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put
confidence in man. It is better to trust
in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.
Ladies, we need not fear what man can do unto us when God is on
our side... Instead, we should conscientiously do our duty to all, yet trust in
Him alone to accept and bless us. The Lord will take part in helping us! Let us
seek to live to declare the works of God, and to encourage others to serve Him
and trust in God. Let us speak of His mercy and goodness, and praise His name
ALL day long!
In closing, the psalm writer has recommended that you and I call
upon the Lord in our distresses, that we pray.
Are you taking your problems to the Lord, or have you been looking to
man for help? Have you learned to make
God your help and shield? Are you
convinced that the Lord can truly help you??
If so, then you will call upon Him frequently – in fact, every time you
have trouble! I'm amazed at how many
Christians who know better still face their problems alone - literally
unpreprayered. In so doing, they allow their hearts to be greatly
troubled. Jesus said in John 14:1,
"Let NOT your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." Ladies, the Lord wants us to automatically
come to Him for help. Christ also said
in verse 27 of that same chapter, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I
give unto you: not as the world giveth,
give I unto you. Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid."
Yes, the Savior has something more for us than the world has,
something much better than man can ever provide. He has peace - PERFECT peace available for
our troubled hearts! Why let your heart
be distressed when something so wonderful as perfect peace is at your
disposal? Truly, we must depend upon the
Word of God and prayer in the difficult times of life, for they are tremendous
resources for peace! Has the Lord found
you doing just that? Or when times get
tough are you caught with a fearful attitude, destitute, and without hope, and
running to man for help? Scripture
teaches that it is better not to trust in man, but rather in God. Have
you lost sight of the fact that God is good and that His mercy endureth
forever?? Ladies, trust paves the way
for praise. The more situations you entrust to God, the more occasion
there will be to thank and praise Him! Measure your praise today, and
you'll find the depth of your trust. When you're confident of God’s help in
your time of trouble, you'll sing not just praises, but also loud praises
to the Lord - all day long!
Psalm
59:16-17 (KJV)
But I
will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the
morning: for thou hast been my defence
and refuge in the day of my trouble.
Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing:
for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2004
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