The Sacrifice of Praise

Several places in Scripture talk about bringing to the Lord our "sacrifice of praise." We sing it glibly without really considering its meaning. We usually think of the word sacrifice in relation to finances or time. In the Old Testament, sacrifice usually involved killing of something. But these past few years have taught me about a new kind of sacrifice--praising the Lord when your heart is below sea level.

When your husband is out of a job, your kid is destroying her life, a child lies near death on life-support, everything in the house seems to break at once...Who wants to praise the Lord? We'd rather approach him with a stern look and a lifted brow. "What's going on?" we demand.

And Heaven is silent. No fluffy answers fill our hearts. Platitudes ring hollow. Then the music director instructs us to sing "All I Need is Jesus." and we want to sit it out.

It is then you have the power to bring a sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. Praise is no sacrifice for the guy pulling in six figures a year, the mom with all her shining-faced children in a row, the healthy, the rich, or the sheltered. Praise comes easily then.

But I believe God sees what it costs us to offer praises when our hearts are breaking and it is a pleasing aroma to him. When you feel you have nothing left to give. The world has taken it all. Try offering the sacrifice of praise.