Thank GOD!

Hebrews 13:  ¹⁵ Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. ¹⁶ And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

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In the middle of trimming the bushes I remembered we had to be somewhere so I started to hurry up. This was our first home and I liked to keep it just so. The bushes were tall and overgrown so this trim was a long time coming.

As I reached up with one hand standing on my toes, my electric trimmers began to tip over. It was reflexes that made me catch the high speed sharp blades with my bare hand. When I peered at the bloody mess I only needed stitches. Thank GOD I didn’t lose my fingers!

• Troubles and trials are used to get my attention.
• Troubles and trials show me how good I actually am living.
• Troubles and trials help me truly praise GOD!

Praising GOD takes practice. I could go a week or a month or even years without praising GOD. When life is plentiful I go into “habitual prayers” halfway thanking GOD for food with no worries about where the next meal is coming from. When life has famine then I have a choice.

• When life is tough I could complain to GOD or praise HIM for what HE is doing.
• When things aren’t quite going my way I could gripe or seek GOD to see what HE is doing.
• When everything is out of control, I could react with pouting or praise GOD who sustains me.

JESUS is GOD and HE took my punishment for me. HE died in my place and is now alive and I should praise HIM for it daily! I should be so excited that I actually use my mouth to “profess HIS name” to others and tell them about JESUS’s position above all trials and troubles.

Sharing the gift of GOD’s grace is so exciting to HIM. HE truly loves when I share how great HE is to others, especially when I do it without judging them. My excitement should become contagious and my praise should increase in spite of trials.

• Have you fallen into the habit of complaining?
• Do you look at many situations to find the problems to fix rather than seeing how GOD is blessing you?
• When is the last time you openly praised GOD to someone else especially in the middle of a trial?
• Do you feel GOD is worthy of your sacrifice of praise to HIM?