Praise part 3
Ok, let me try to work this patch today. Praise isn't about getting, it's about being grateful for what we've got. The first time the word "praise" is used in the Message Bible is Genesis 29:35, "She became pregnant a final time and had a fourth son. She said, "This time I'll praise GOD." So she named him Judah (Praise-OD). Then she stopped having children." Judah means praise. One of the 12 tribes of Israel. Now watch this: 2 Chronicles 13:15, "Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah." The tribe of Judah was put in the front of the army. To lead them into battle. But you have to see it the right way. We don't praise God--or shout, in this case--in order to GET a victory. We praise God because He has GIVEN us the victory. Praise is always a response to God's goodness. That's the only way it can be true, and pure. When you're not trying to get anything, but instead you're giving what you've got. Not robbing yourself of what you have by trying to get something you (think you) haven't got by being someone you're not, but instead having that attitude of gratitude that allows you enjoy what you do have by being who you really are. And here's the cherry on top: Jesus was from the tribe of Judah. Jesus is the praise of God. He is God's gift to the world. When I opened this Rant series with the idea of God dealing bountifully with us... that's how He did it. He gave us His only begotten Son. Because He loves us. Because He wanted us to be able to experience that abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Love. And we experience it by letting Jesus, of the tribe of Judah, which means praise, live His own life in us, and through us, and as us. We don't have to try to overcome. Or beg God to do things for us. We don't have to "convince" Him to move. He already moved. On the cross. When Jesus was lifted up from the earth and drew all men into Himself. When Jesus planted Himself in all men. Be of good cheer, for Jesus has already overcome the world. And we, in Him, have already overcome. You're not an overcomer because you "can" overcome. You're an overcomer because you HAVE overcome. You don't praise God in the hopes that you'll some day, some how overcome. You praise God because He overcame. In you and as you. He finished the work. And now we get to enjoy the fruit of His labor. The fruit of the Spirit. Which is love. I'm telling you, if God's unconditional love can't pull a praise up out of you... probably nothing will. But we have to look at it the right way. We have to stop chasing the carrot and only getting the stick. We have to understand that everything we could ever need has already been given to us. Simply because we have a heavenly Father who loves us and wants the best for us. And that's praise-worthy. That's worth shouting about. When you shout about God--in a "how great is our God" manner--that can drown out everything else. That can win a battle for you before the battle even starts. Because God has already won the battle. And we just need to claim that victory by praising the victor!