Still Gotta Praise Him

I experienced something this week with my daugther that was a first. Haley is our oldest and has always been a very mature little girl. She's very smart - almost too smart at times. Last August she was very sick with some type of stomach thing. Since that time she constantly complains about her stomach hurting and thinking she's going to "throw-up".

We finally decided that it was time to do something. After talking to her doctor they wanted to run some tests. The tests were simple enough. They had her drink some barium and took pictures of her digestive system to make sure everything looked normal.

As I was explaining to Haley everything she would have to do she became very concerned. You have to understand Haley...she doesn't like anything to do with doctors, medicine, or tests. It's all we can do to get her tested for strep. It was during that conversation that Haley looked at me and said, "What if it's cancer?" Not the words I expected to hear from my 10 year old. She then said, "I don't know why God made me this way..." Something else I did not expect to hear from my 10 year old. But it got me to thinking.

How often do we fail to praise God for the good things and then immediately blame Him for the bad? Job gives up a wonderful example of how to handle life's difficulties. His wife had just given him some bad advice. He said to her, "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" I love that verse. Talk about great perspective. Should we expect anything less? This is the same man who said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

My point is whether we are experiencing the great blessings of life or the great distresses of life - God is worthy of praise. In fact, I'm a firm believer that God enjoys the sacrifice of praise over the required praise of His people. The praise of the broken carries more weight than the praise of the whole. Please understand that God enjoys all praise. But praise from the valley has a little different tone than the praise from the mountain top.

The good news with Haley, so far, is that the pictures looked fine. We have not spoken with the doctors but the initial reports were good. Praise God! But I have to remember the words of Henry Blackaby during these times. "We must place everything against the backdrop of the cross." In other words, we must always view things from the perspective that God loves us unconditionally. And regardless of whether the report is good or bad, it does not change the love of God toward us.

The Bible teaches us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. However, we live in a sin sick world. Our bodies often pay the price. Cancer is a reality, sickness is a reality, and pain is a reality. Even in the midst of these things God's character never changes. He is still worthy of praise.

I don't know your situation in life, but God's situation is still the same. He is still seated on the thone. He is still in absolute control. He's still God. We still gotta praise Him. He's worthy. I want you to remember that praise to God is not dependent upon what we experience but upon who He is. Praise Him today even if you have to muster the strength to do so. Find reason to rejoice today in Him. If for no other reason than the fact that you are saved from your sin. He's worthy!