Life
of Praise
The
Pastor Roy B. Grubbs
One evening about 160 years ago, the
father of Emily Dickinson hurried to the church building in
It
was neither.
Overcome
by the beauty of the sunset, Mr. Dickinson was summoning everyone to revel in
its splendor. “Look, look!” he
said. “Behold the grandeur of
God.”
I
had a moment like that a few weeks ago when, after of our recent storms, the
rain suddenly stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun broke through to create
the most magnificent and long-lasting rainbow I think I’ve ever seen.
The sun kept shining on the clouds to the east, creating an arch of
beauty that went on for miles. And
if I’d had a bell, I would have rung it.
We’ve
all had such moments. Occasions when
we were in the presence of such magnificence that we have wanted to stop
everyone else in their tracks and yell, “Look, listen.
This is too good to miss.”
True,
it’s easier to be in a praiseful attitude when you are at the beach watching
the sun set than sitting in traffic on the freeway.
But praise comes in a variety of expressions to fit a multitude of
experiences. It happens when you
visit a friend in the hospital or, a loved one in a nursing home, and you find
them doing better than they had, and you leave uplifted by the courageous way
they are handling their illness. Praise
happens when you come to church and feel the warm welcome of those who touch you
with the embrace of God—whether you are a long-time member or a first-time
guest—and you say to yourself, “This is where I need to be.”
And it happens when you suffer through a miserable stretch where nothing
seems to go right, only to find friends with willing ears and open arms, and you
say a little prayer to yourself, “Thank you, God. I could not have done this
alone.”
Praise
can be as loud as a church bell or as soft as a silent blessing, but it
generally has to do with a recognition of something we couldn’t do for
ourselves.
All
of these sentiments are strikingly contrary to our normal emphasis on
self-reliance. Ever since we were
children, our motto has been, “Please Mom, I’d rather do it myself.”
Isn’t that why the self-help books are such big sellers?
In
his opening words to the Ephesians, Paul speaks of something we have not
done for ourselves, have NOT achieved
by hard work or by burning the
“Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul begins.
God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing.”
How? “God chose us before
the foundation of the world…and destined us for adoption as children…in him
we have redemption…forgiveness…grace lavished upon us.”
Note
where the action is: with God, not with us.
God is the initiator. We
bless God on Sunday mornings in church in our songs and our prayers, and we
bless God on Monday mornings in our office and in our homes not to get somewhere
with God, but because, through the grace of God, we have already arrived.
Many
of us come to worship on Sunday hoping for some words of wisdom or a little
inspiration to get us through the week. But
let me tell you a little secret about worship.
We get much more out of it when we first put our praise into it.
When we sing and shout to the Lord, or, like David, when we kick up our
heels in an exuberant dance of praise, our spirits are opened to receive the
out-pouring of God’s spirit into us. One
thing I have learned over the years in a variety of worship settings is the
power of dance—not simply watching others but joining in ourselves.
I’m afraid that our Methodist forbearers taught us some wrong lessons
on that score when they forbade dancing along with other vices.
They were too much like Michal, Saul’s daughter, who looked down upon
David’s wild dance with a disparaging frown.
“Oh, David, how could you!” To
which David surely would have replied, “Oh, Michal, how could I not?”
VBS
was a good example of how praise, song, and dance all comes together in a
powerful way. I can’t tell you how
many parents have come to me from so many different churches and told me what a
difference these past two weeks have made for their children.
The children and youth shared in a powerful experience together, and the
joy and energy spilled out on Thursday night at the closing ceremony!
What an awesome celebration!
Not
all praise is singing or dancing, of course.
Praise also means honoring God with our lives.
God loves it when, in the darkest night, we do not succumb to despair but
trust in the dawn. God is heartened
when we know the monster’s rage and still we proclaim deliverance, thereby
turning the monster into an angel. God
treasures a faithful life.
I
remember reading about the Civil Rights movement, which was rooted in the
church. After one particularly bad
day in
Think
of what a difference it might make in your life to begin with praise.
I wake up many mornings worrying about something that I must do that day
or making a mental list of tasks I need to accomplish.
What about, before allowing those thoughts to rush into your head,
bracketing them out for at least a few moments and starting your day thinking
about things to be thankful for? I’ve
been doing it these past several days, and it’s helped me start my day on a
much better note. Try it sometime:
Just stop, lie there or kneel there, and give your gratitude to God for the
goodness of your life. The
“to-do” list won’t get any shorter, but you’ll approach it in a much
more grounded, whole place. And it
may remind you that, as you go through your rounds, God is going through them
with you. That is reason to praise
in itself.
Praise
like that can be contagious. Whether
we know it or not, other people watch what we Christians do.
The way we treat people, how we deal with life.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that we are the only song
to God that some people will ever hear. Whenever
we cut loose with an extravagant “Amen!” or burst forth into song, we
witness to the presence and the power of the living God.
So,
my friends, make yours a good song, a song worth singing, a song so catchy that
others will pick up the beat and be carried away with praise.
Cut loose. Shout Amen!
But most importantly, remember to say, “Thank You!”
Amen.
*ECH
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