Perspectives

The perspective that praise gives us

By Mike Walsh
Posted 10/14/21

For many people, these recent days have been troubling and concerning. It is really easy to get our eyes off the things we should be focused on and onto the trouble of our day. As a family, we have …

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Perspectives

The perspective that praise gives us

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For many people, these recent days have been troubling and concerning. It is really easy to get our eyes off the things we should be focused on and onto the trouble of our day. As a family, we have had some tragedy and times that forced us to focus on Jesus and his goodness or be shipwrecked.

I just finished a series at Glad Tidings Church that focused on the children of Israel when they were backed up against the Red Sea and the Egyptian army was bearing down on them. In this series we learned some valuable lessons from the Israelites.

Some of them were fearful and blamed Moses and God for bringing them to this place where they thought they would face certain doom. But God was faithful and as most of us know, he parted the sea and the children of Israel crossed over on dry ground. When the Egyptian army followed them into the dry seabed, they were drowned and the Israelites were set free from their oppressors.

It would have been easy for the children of Israel to forget God when things went their way. They could have forgotten about the Lord and his goodness to them. But instead of doing that, they did something that helped them and it pleased the Lord. Instead of forgetting, they began to worship the Lord.

In Exodus 15:1-18, it gives us this insight into what they did when they found themselves safe on the other side of the Red Sea: “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: ‘I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.’”

In the passage I quoted, it goes on to say that, as the Israelites were praising the Lord for his goodness to them, they began to proclaim future victories for them as a nation. They knew that if God did it for them once, he would do it for them again! That is the beauty of praising the Lord.

When we see his goodness and we reflect on the victories he has given us, it gives us a new confidence that what he did for us once, he will do again for us in the future. We don’t have to wait until we get through our battle to begin praising the Lord. It is far better to praise the Lord in the middle of the battle.

In an article written by Elijah B., he told us, “Praise opens the gates of Heaven and the doors of blessings. Praise dissipates worry and dilutes concern and fear. Praise tarnishes sadness and magnifies goodness.  Praise is one of the languages of faith. Praise capitalizes on who truly matters. It focuses on the Lord! Praise is the answer. Praise is always the solution.”

So if you have been worried and concerned about the future or about circumstances in your life, praise the Lord. God inhabits the praises of his people!

 

(Mike Walsh is the pastor of Glad Tidings Church in Powell.)

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