"Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God,and keep the vows you made to the Most High.Then call on me when you are in trouble,and I will rescue you,and you will give me glory.” (Ps.50:14,15)
I know that God wants many things from me, all stemming from the heart...
This verse was one I had not seen for awhile, and it's pretty plain! There are many times when praise is not the first thing that rolls off of my tongue... but it's what God wants me to do... to praise Him... that hit a chord with me today...
He calls it a 'sacrifice' and at times, it definitely feels like a sacrifice. When life rolls along without bumps, it is NOT a sacrifice to praise Him. It comes easily to my mind and heart to thank Him profusely, but...when the hard times come close to me... it is DEFINTELEY a sacrifice to continue to praise Him...
It's never about Him being less worthy of my praise, it's about my heart CHOOSING to offer the sacrifice of praise... anyway! And He has never failed me yet!
I offer my praise today, to Him who deserves ALL of it!
18 comments:
Amen, Sonja! I hear you....Boy am I learning this too. In fact I think I'm being squeezed so that pure 'sacrifice' will come forth as refined gold - for the kingdom of God lives in me. I'm digging new wells - and walking through the refiner's fire - because He asks me to.
Good thots. thanks for opening your hearts door to us.
Blessings for a new well this week!
Patrina <")>><
I am loving these little bits and pieces you are offering to us. Hmm ...duh, the blog name you chose. :)
Yes, I don't always wake up desiring to praise God. But I'm learning more and more to start my day saying the name Jesus out loud. I begin to smile and then I'm more able to praise Him, no matter what.
Sonja, I'm participating in a bible study called "Makeover of the Heart" with Tracy Berta At The Well. It's very good and talks about giving our whole heart to the Lord.
Much love to you from the 3rd sis,
Debbie
Amen Sonja. He is totally worthy of our praise. More than we think. Great post dear one.
This is a scripture so appropriate to what I need to meditate on this week! As always, I can always count on a word from the Lord from you. Blessings!
Amen!! Praising Him as well.
Oh Amen and Amen Sonja!!
You said it all right here: "It's never about Him being less worthy of my praise, it's about my heart CHOOSING to offer the sacrifice of praise... anyway! And He has never failed me yet!"
Praising HIM because He's worthy...
Love you!
Yes...I have been researching all the scriptures on the heart! I love that it says..."you WILL give me glory!" This was my prayer this morning as I walked...totally releasing some more new changes that will be a challenge...kinda like giving in and surrendering, but then loving that you are surrendering to a Loving Father....my I give Him praise with each of these new adjustments!!! Offering up a sacrifice of praise!
I've read the Psalms through twice this year and never tire of it. But I needed to hear this verse again TODAY. We will be visiting a younger friend tonight who just lost his job on Friday and I will offer these words of encouragement to these precious saints who feel betrayed and unjustly "in trouble". Thanks for sharing!
you nailed it again! i am reading john piper's book,
"desiring God" he says rather than "the chief end of
man is to glorify God AND enjoy Him forever," we
should say, "the chief end of man is to glorify God
BY enjoying Him forever!"
does that have anything to do with the sacrifice of
thankfulness? i thought so until i wrote it out and
read it. sheesh.
I never thought of it that way exactly. You've tapped into a deep root there!!!
Hugs.
You and your posts are so refreshing, so thought provoking, so to the point, and so inspiring. As I read through the last four or five I realized that I missed wishing you my sympathy on the home going of your dear MIL, so I offer them to you now. With each passing of our loves ones, it adds to our longing to go home.
I missed the "getting fit" post and the "words" posts both of which hit home with me:) They both brought me a smile this morning.
Keep posting. Keep sharing your heart and I guarantee, I will keep on receiving blessings in my visits.
As simple as this concept is, it's one that seems to baffle us, doesn't it? I so want to have a thankful heart ... always! I so want to be grateful for even those things that don't seem so nifty on the surface.
What a wonderful thing to ponder, and to be thankful for today Sonya. Thank you.
You know you write some pretty profound things.
I was awake a 4:00 A.M. I was praying and as I was praying those things that were on my heart, what I heard was the quiet knocking of just praise Me, so when I finally noticed enough to start praying the sacrifice of praise, to magnify His name, my problems all but disappeared. My soul was quiet and I wondered why I had never thought about it and then I come here and you have it all laid out so nicely.
Thanks so much!
But Pasadena is lovely. Texas is different entirely, yes I agree. My husband's extended family is in Texas. I do love Texas too and if I didn't have roots so deep in California I would live in Texas. :) Since you are from Southern California, you would know where I am, I am in Bakersfield. :) As Hollywood jokes, the armpit of the world. :)
Thank you to for becoming a follower. :)
I look forward to reading more of your posts. I am going to put you in my sidebar, so I don't miss any of your wisdom.
Blessings.
You have a beautiful blog! I say, "Amen!" to your post. I'm glad Scripture tells us to give thanks "in" all things and not "for" all things! I know that this is an area that I need to work on in my life; He's done SO MUCH for me!
Amen Sonja:
God has been faithful in all His Ways and will alway be just that@!@
Love to you, Stephanie
Hi Sonja!
Beautiful post! I relate to it wholeheartedly. But I must say I praise Him in the good times and bad even when it hurts. And yes God never fails us. He continues to be faithful no matter what. Thank you for visiting my blog. I am now a follower of yours! Take care.
Judy
Deuteronomy 10:12
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
all of this and how can we NOT praise him, eh sonja?
wnat a blessed people we are!
great verse and great post....love terry[felisol's friend]
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