“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.“–Heb. 13:15
“ And said , Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave , and the LORD hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the LORD.–Job 1:21
It’s easy to praise the Lord when all is well with us, but when light turns to night, and blessings give way to burdens, and pain chases away pleasure it is another story. But is not God the same regardless? Should we praise Him in the sunshine and then ignore Him in the storm? Is He not good all the time? God never changes. Whether yesterday, today, or tomorrow He is the same. If we are to give Him the praise that is His due we must praise Him in our pain as well as in our pleasure. Whether we are prospering or in poverty God is to be praised. He is not worthy one moment and unworthy the next. Our praise is to be based on His character, not our circumstances. And since He is forever perfect our praise should be perpetual.
Because of this, you just have to wonder how pleased God is with our praise during the good times when we ignore Him during the bad times. Have you ever thought about how insulting it must be to God when we treat Him as though He is undeserving of our praise? Really! When we act like that we are indicating that it is all about self rather than God. The emotion such people feel when they receive some special blessing from God is the same as the elation they would have if they just won the lottery or inherited a fortune–it has nothing to do with God Himself. When they say “Praise the Lord” it is just religious jargon, not an acknowledgement of His goodness. The true test of how we feel about God is our attitude during afflictions. If we don’t praise Him then, are we really praising Him when we mention Him in connection with our blessings.
You cannot determine nor measure God’s love by considering your circumstances. He loves you whether you are grieving or glad. He loves you just as much when He takes away as He does when He gives. It is essential that we remember that. Living in the light of this fact will help you profit even during the most painful and perplexing periods of your life. God demands and deserves your praise regardless of what your situation might be. To withhold it is to misrepresent God, to indict Him of wrong-doing. So, every trial is a test and an opportunity regarding your attitude toward God. Have you lost something dear to your heart? Are you suffering from some affliction, seemingly without cause or cure? Are you misunderstood and mistreated by others for no reason? Regardless of what you are going through, you just make things worse when you fail to give God what He deserves. Let us then, “offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually”—He is worthy!
