Praising God - More Than You Can Imagine
Posted: Saturday, November 13, 2010
by Mark Parsec
Wordcasters
Have you ever felt all alone? Have you ever been confused and didn’t know what to do? Have you ever been filled with grief because you lost a loved one, a job or a home? Well, then praise the Lord! Because, regardless of whatever we may be going through, it is important to know that we should praise God at all times.
One of the Hebrew words for praise is yadah (yaw-daw), which means to stretch out your hand, to revere, to worship, to give thanksgiving.
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus
So, the Bible tells us that whether our circumstances are good or bad, we need to maintain an attitude of gratitude, thanksgiving and praise to God. But, the problem is that so very often we Christians experience pain. We grieve, we mourn, we lament, we weep and cry and wail. After all, life is hard and filled with suffering.
But, even when we Christians are going through tough times and suffering we need to praise the Lord. 1 Peter 4:16 instructs us…
However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
Did you get that? Even if you suffer… praise the Lord!
Now, I know that may sound like a difficult thing to do, but my wife has a pet saying that I just love…
Pain is inevitable… suffering is optional.
I think sometimes people get so caught up in their suffering that it becomes familiar… comfortable. They make a habit out of it. After all, when you complain, and whine, and cry, people just might give you attention. It is a form of negative attention and we have all seen it in children. But, when adults behave that way nobody wants to be around them, because negative attitudes are contagious. And who in their right mind wants to feel negative?
So, you see, we have a choice. We can choose to praise the Lord and be thankful no matter what is going on in our lives or we can feel sorry for ourselves and complain.
I think Baloo the bear in Jungle Book had it right when he said, “accentuate the positive - eliminate the negative.” But, the problem is some people apparently can’t think of anything positive. Now, I don’t know about you, but I can’t think about anything more positive than our Lord and God!
Psalm 145:3 tells us…
Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.
So, what is so great about God? 1 John 3:1 tells us…
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
We GET to be God’s children today because God loves us. In fact, “ God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life ” (John 3:16).
And, you see, when we believe in and receive Jesus, it shows God that we love Him and we become the children of God. John 1:12 tells us…
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
Now that’s a pretty dog-gone good thing! Don’t you think? God loves us so much that we get to be His children when we receive Jesus into our lives. God has adopted us as His very own children.
I want you to think about that for a moment and I want you to think about all the things that your biological father could and would have done for you if he was God.
Well guess what? The Creator of heaven and earth is real and if you love God and have received Jesus into your life then you can’t even begin to imagine all the wonderful positive things that our Heavenly Father has in store for you. 1 Corinthians 2:9 tells us…
“ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
And in Ephesians 3:20, Paul praises God because He…
…is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think …
Can you think of something that you would like God to do? He can do more! Can imagine something that you would like to receive from God? He can do more! Have you asked God for healing, or forgiveness, or hope or inspiration? He can do more!
He can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!
Now that is something to praise God for!
He loves us more than we could ever imagine.
He answers our prayers more than we could ever imagine.
He will do for us more than we could ever imagine.
What can God do for you?
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Amen. Thank you for this wonderful article. It is exactly what I needed to hear this morning.Hi Anonymous,
Thank you for your comments. May you praise Him always!
Mark
Amen and Amen! Good word!Hi Kathleen,
Thank you for your comments.
God bless you,
Mark
My favorite songs, Jesus Loves Me and Don't Worry Be Happy, Both Christian songs I'm sure. Nice upbeat article Mark.Hi Linda,
I love those songs too! Hope all is well with you and yours.
Mark
Amen! What a blessing!
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