Psalm 150: 4-6 ‘Praise Him with the timbrel and dance: praise Him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise Him upon the loud cymbals: praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.
DAILY READING 2 Timothy 3; Jeremiah 9-10; Psalm 123
Billy Sunday was one of the early professional baseball players in America. He grew up as a poor farm kid, but rose to become a celebrated baseball player. In 1886, when he was 24 years old, he encountered Christ and became a changed man. And a few years later, he left baseball to pursue a Christian ministry. During the early 20th century, he became well known as America’s most famous evangelist who preached to millions around the world. He held widely reported campaigns in America’s largest cities, and he attracted the largest crowds of any evangelist before the advent of electronic sound systems. Yet despite his success, Billy Sunday remained ever grateful to God for His many blessings. His attitude of gratitude was witnessed one day by a policeman in Chicago. The policeman was walking his beat when he observed a man standing before the Pacific Garden Mission. The man had removed his hat, and the officer thought he was acting rather strangely. Thinking the man might be drunk or ill, the policeman approached him. He noticed that his eyes were closed, so he nudged him and said, “What’s the matter? Are you sick?” The man looked up and smiled, then said “No, sir. My name is Billy Sunday I was converted right here in this mission. I never pass this way without taking the opportunity, if possible, to stand quietly for a moment and whisper a prayer of thanksgiving.”
Indeed Billy Sunday never forgot God’s mercy in saving him, and used every opportunity to praise God.
Psalm 150: 4-6 says ‘Praise Him with the timbrel and dance: praise Him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise Him upon the loud cymbals: praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.’
Indeed we need to use our every breath to praise God. We need to constantly count our blessings and deliberately thank Him for all His goodness in our lives. Like Billy Sunday, we ought to sometimes pause and thank God foremostly for our salvation. Do we ever wonder where we would be today, if God had not intervened and saved us in the nick of time. We could never thank Him enough for saving us from the fires of hell and giving us the hope of Heaven.
Indeed God is worthy of our every praise. He deserves our constant adoration. It is only because of His mercies that we are not consumed. The reason why we are still alive today is because of His grace that richly abounds towards us.
Do you know how many times death came looking for you, but God’s mercy said, ‘No.’ The sickness you survived and recovered from, is what has killed many others. The road you passed through without any harm, is the same road some people passed through and their blood was shed. Yes, things may not be perfect right now, but happenings should not regulate our praise. We may not yet have all we desire but let us thank God for what we have; let us thank Him for the gift of life, because a living dog is better than a dead lion. And to him that is joined to the living there is hope. No matter how today may look, let us thank God that we have hope for a better tomorrow. And because the path of the just shines more and more, things can only keep getting better for us.
Psalm 22 says that God inhabits the praises of His people. Therefore the more you praise God, the more His presence surrounds you and when God is around you, no evil can come near you. Indeed when you praise God, He raises you up and causes you to ride upon your high places.
PRAYER: Lord, I truly thank You for Your many blessings in my life. Please grant me the grace to remain ever grateful and to give You worthy praise for all You have been doing for me in Jesus’ name.
Quote
Praise is proof that you believe God to do what He said He would do in your life. – WORDBITE 201.