The Sacrifice of Praise

I'm studying about worship right now. I love the definition of worship, not just what I do on Sunday mornings, but how I live my life. My daily walk and relationship with God is worship, or it should be. There's a song that I can't stand, "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise", it's not a bad song, it's just that when I was in college, my piano teacher made us play it over and over and over...jazz style, blues styles, worship style, gospel style, country style...you get the idea. Anyway, as I've been living life with Samantha and my other kiddos today, that song keeps running though my head. In 1 Chronicles 21, David is bringing a sacrifice to God. He wants to purchase a field where the sacrifice will be offered. He goes to the owner of the field and asks to buy it. The owner tells David he can have it for free and he'll also throw in the oxen for the sacrifice. David's reply, found in verse 24 is, "No, I insist on paying what it is worth. I cannot take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not offer a burnt offering that has cost me nothing!"

As I reflect on that, I realize that praise IS a sacrifice. Right now, praising God in the midst of my daily life is hard. It's tough being the mom of four beautiful children. Samantha is adjusting, but I can honestly say that I still don't really FEEL like her mommy, and I'd bet she'd tell you the same if she could. I'm sure she wonders where that other mommy went. The mommy who spokes words of love to her in a very different language. The mommy that cared for her and understood her cries better than I do right now. But, when I change her diaper and tell her I love her, I'm praising God. When I feed her lunch and give her a bottle and look deep into those brown eyes and tell her her mommy loves her, I'm praising God. Why? Because I'm walking where He's asked me to walk and I'm doing what He's called me to do. I can praise God while I'm doing laundry by thanking Him for a washer and dryer that do most of the work for me. When I'm scrubbing the kitchen floor, I can praise God by thanking Him for our beautiful home and for four precious children who spill punch and track in mud.

To be honest, praising God right now, where I am, costs me something. Not money or anything monetary, but a cost that I can't quite put words on. A cost that requires a choice...to thank or to complain. And maybe, because it does cost me something, my praise is sweeter to my God. It would be easier to grumble and complain or to not do it at all or to beg for a housekeeper, or throw aside the calling we've been given to homeschool our kids and adopt another one!, but can I offer praise when it costs me nothing at all?

So today, I bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of my God. I will choose to praise Him as I hold my youngest daughter while she cries tears of grief and confusion and refuses to nap. I will choose to praise Him as I teach my older children what it means to follow God and pray that someday they too will bring a sacrifice of praise into His house. I will choose to praise Him even when I don't feel like it, because my feelings don't change Who God is and they don't dictate what He requires. I need to worship God the way He asks me to, with joy and thanksgiving.

Blessings,
Amy

Hebrews 13:15 -- With Jesus' help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name.