Hebrews 13:15-16 (New American Standard Bible)
15Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. 16And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
I must admit one of the hardest things to do as a worship leader is lead your church in praise when life doesn’t seem to be going right. For me today, I had the hardest time to encourage my church that we need to praise God even when life gets in the way. All of the songs talked about His worthiness of praise and even the scripture I read today (cited above) spoke of His need of praise.
But how does one offer up praise when the heart wants to cry? How does one lift his eyes to the Lord when his life is turned upside down?
The answer is in the scripture above. I searched the scriptures this morning before stepping on stage for some sort of comfort and encouragement and it was before me the whole time. God chose the time of musical worship to not only reveal the answer to the church, but to reveal it to me as well. The answer? Through Jesus.
The author of Hebrews says that only through Jesus can we continually offer up a sacrifice of praise. Paul said in Philippians that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. It’s through Christ that we are willing and able.
Also notice that sometimes, praise is a sacrifice. It’s not always easy to say to the Lord, “You are good and your love endures forever.” Sometimes it’s hard when you feel like His love has not endured forever or when it feels like it has actually left and forsaken you. But we know what the bible says about God leaving and forsaking us. He won’t.
Sometimes, we have to buck up and offer our tongues and hearts and sing when we don’t feel like it. That’s called sacrificing. Cause let’s face it. Sometimes, we want to stay in our depression because it brings us comfort in some weird way. It’s not a sacrifice if we stay in our selves and not praise out openly. Sometimes, the sacrifice that God calls us to do is open our mouths and give Him praise… even when we don’t feel like it. I’m sure Paul and Silas didn’t feel like singing in prison, but they did. By doing so, it leads to a prison guard and his family coming to salvation. And the Lord was pleased.
This morning, I needed Jesus. He proved to give me strength when I needed it most. I was able to let go and let God as the saying goes. I couldn’t have done it without Him. He is my ever-present help in my time of need. I was able to praise Him through Him. My God is an awesome God!
[...] Sacrifice Of Praise – Kevin Riner: But how does one offer up praise when the heart wants to cry? How does one [...]
It is difficult to offer praise when we hurt. I used to be really bad at it, actually refusing to praise, but through knowledge of his word and through Jesus, I am able to get over my own stubbornness, most of the time
Leading worship with a crying heart is sacrifice rewarded. I’ve had a number of occasions when I’ve been worship leader whilst things have been going on ‘in the background’. Once, I was leading an open-air service while knowing that my son’s wife was having a miscarriage at the same time. Strangely it seemed to focus rather than distract.
To be in black
To be in black on the Lord’s day.
A dry and arid place
when the oasis is in sight
but held at a distance
by circumstance and happenstance
twin dictators of mood and heart.
To be in black on the Lord’s day
In a walled room devoid of light,
cringing within shadowed soul
wounds weeping
a hearts cry away from God.
To be in black on the Lord’s day.
When all the screams of life
deafen in tidal flood
blind in binding fear.
A dumb breath-sucked vacuum
where life is somewhere else
where reality is a God away
and these limbs are useless to move me there.
To be in black on the Lord’s day.
When the spirit battles to say its yes
to all things good and love-cared
and somehow falls under the weight of effort.
To be in my dark room seeing your light
its single ray stretching to me
inextinguishable
penetrating
loving.
And the heart makes its cry
on the Lord’s day.
That my friend is why your such a good poet. You write such great poems. Thanks for sharing.