A few weeks ago, I shared something on my Facebook page that had been on my heart for quite some time. Finding myself in the midst of difficult circumstances and a wavering faith (there seems to be a theme going on here), I figured, "Why not share and encourage someone else?"
I quoted the Doxology.
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above Ye heavenly Hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen."
In that moment, God taught me so much about praise. In order to explain this, I would like to break down the doxology and show just how real these words became to me a few weeks ago, as well as my personal interpretation of the meaning of the doxology and how we can apply that to our personal lives.
I would be lying if I said that it had only been weeks that the Lord had been dealing with me about just praising Him regardless of what I see, think, feel or know. It was actually months. Apart from that, I believe this is something the Lord tells his children constantly: "Praise me no matter what. Just praise me."
Now, let's break it down.
Doxology Written by Thomas Ken in 1674:
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow. The Bible says that, 'Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father' (James 1:17). This does not mean that to the believer they will always seem "good and perfect". It takes faith to know and believe that God does and knows best. The blessings of God can come in many different forms but they are good nonetheless. It is all so that we may know Him.
Praise Him all creatures here below. Nature praises God by being what it was created to be: nature. The trees that move in the wind worship God, the river that flows, the sparrow that flies. By being who they were created to be, they worship their creator. Notice also, they (creation) are always taken care of. It is only when a man tries to overrule and overpower the natural order of nature itself, as God intended- that things begin to lose balance and order.
Praise Him above ye Heavenly Hosts. Isaiah 6:3 says, 'And they (celestial beings, angels), cried Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.' One great truth is that heaven is filled with praise, continually. The heavenly hosts are in heaven, always praising God. That is what they were created to do. See the correlation? Every living thing lives to praise their creator in one form or another.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Praise the Father by whom the Son was brought and the Holy Spirit revealed. In fact, before His ascension back to Heaven after the resurrection, Jesus told the crowd that He would give to them a comforter (the Holy Spirit).
Amen" This simply means so be it. Therefore saying, let Heaven, Earth and all that in them is, praise the Lord.
God lays this out for us, through these words. Being a people, a creation of praise it how it is meant to be.
Here is the issue that we face, though, as believers, nonbelievers, as an entire human race:
How do we praise Him when the bank account is empty? How do we praise Him when the car is broken down? How do we praise Him when the relationship is in shambles? How do we praise Him when addiction is destroying a life? How do we praise Him when death, destruction and deception surrounds us? How do we praise Him when cancer takes a life? How do we praise Him when we feel as if we have lost the battle? How do we praise Him when life doesn't seem to be going our way?
Praising God regardless of what we see, feel, think, know or even don't know, defeats human logic. Simply being and accepting a way into His Kingdom (which can only be found by accepting and believing what Christ did on the cross). Being a believer is no logical thing and God knows that. It's not meant to be logical. The very nature of Christ defies logic.
The Bible says that, "Nothing is impossible with God" (Matt 19:26). As believers, we must hold on to that truth that will never change. God's very being, all He does is good, for our good.
When we can't see that, when we can't feel that, or even when we have trouble believing that. It doesn't change who God is, who He always has been and who He always will be.
Our call is to praise Him. In spirit and in truth. That means praising Him even when the bank account is empty, or our physical health is shot or our loved one isn't doing well. Plainly, it just means praising Him even when life sucks.
The reality is, that even when life isn't good, He is good. Forever. If He saves mankind from sin, If he spoke the world into existence, what more then can he do? He can do it all.
All that is asked of His children, all of the creation, is to praise Him.
You see, He already knows when we don't feel like praising Him, He already knows when our faith is struggling, He knows if we even have the strength to praise Him, but He doesn't ask that we come praising Him without flaws. He already knows these things, and he doesn't hold it against us.
When I sang the doxology on that particular day, I learned that when we don't praise God, in spite of what we face or feel. We rob ourselves of true joy, peace and deeper relationship with the living God.
So, remember that next time you just don't feel like praising Him. His promises, His love, His strength, His protection, His provision, His power won't change even when our faith does. He will always remain a good, good father.
That is what this Christian experience is all about. We are not perfect, we don't know it all, we don't have all the answers or a way out, but we know the One who does! And we are invited to walk every day with Him! He paid the ultimate price just to be with us so that we are never separated from Him!
When life happens, remember to stop and praise Him regardless of what is going on or falling apart around you. We are not required to understand. We are the creation and He is the creator and all He wants is our praise.
In spirit and in truth.
He already knows where you are, what you feel, what you fear and He will meet you in that place. He will meet you right where you are.
Just praise Him.
