Praise At All Times

I will praise the LORD at all times,
His praise will always be on my lips. - Psalm 34:1

Yesterday, as I was helping lead our time of vocal praise and worship at church, I found myself watching the faces before me. In the crowd I saw people with hands and heads lifted, caught up in a time of revelry with our LORD. I saw others following the words on the screen overhead, some smiling, some obviously considering the words being sung and some with foreheads wrinkled, fully concentrating on getting the words right. There were some just staring ahead, expressionless, and a couple with arms folded, obviously wishing this part of the service would end quickly. In some faces I could see the tracks of their tears.

Every church is composed of a pretty diverse gaggle of humanity. Some have been pursuing Christ for decades and some are brand spankin' new at this whole "Jesus" thing. There are people who have gone to church their whole lives and have no idea what it really means to be free. Some understand how free we can be in Christ, but occasionally decide to voluntarily wear the chains of unforgiveness, legalism, pride, etc., that hinder our ability to experience the joy promised to us every day.

And Jesus loves every single one of us, exactly where we are. And we can praise Him, exactly where we are. That doesn't mean we all have to dance around in front of the sanctuary waving scarves to prove we know how to worship our Savior, but it does mean we are free to adore Him for who He is, not for how He makes us feel.

I'm reading a book I'll review when I'm finished, but in the meantime, I wanted to share a couple of quotes from 31 Days of Praise by Ruth Myers on this subject.

"True praise is unconditional. It's not an attempt to manipulate God into producing the precise results we hope for. Instead, it helps us accept our situation as it is, whether or not He changes it." - Ruth Myers

"Continued Praise helps us reach the place where we can say, 'Father I don't want You to remove this problem until You've done all you want to do through it, in me and in others.'" - Ruth Myers

"To give thanks when you don't feel like it is not hypocrisy; it's obedience." - Dr. Jack Mitchell

Praise Him at all times. No matter what.