By Guest Writer
Some days I don’t feel like singing; It’s easier to grumble or to become so caught in fear that I dwell there. Hebrews 13:15 talks about “a sacrifice of praise,” and sometimes it feels like a sacrifice to praise rather than wallow. Praise feels unnatural, grumbling and complaining feel much easier. But through faltering practice, I’m learning that praise is what we were made for, what all creation was made for (Psalm 96:12–13)—praise of its Creator.
When our hearts feel dull or hurt and we don’t know where or how to start a song of praise, we have the psalmist’s words. Let his faith carry ours until we can jump into the chorus of praise alongside him.
We can sing of God’s salvation (v.2); His glory and His wondrous works (v.3); His greatness (v.4); His identity as creator (v.5); His splendor, majesty, strength, and beauty (v.6); His reign (v.10); and His righteous and faithful justice (v.13). Worshiping our mighty God helps to loosen fear’s grip; in worship we are reminded about who our God really is.
And as we read the psalms, we see the psalmists calling us not only to sing but to move out from individual praise into proclamation praise: “Declare his glory among the nations, his wondrous works among all peoples” (v.3), to “proclaim his salvation from day to day” (v.2).
Proclaiming His salvation could be telling someone of Jesus’s sacrifice for you and for them. It could also be telling them how the Lord is saving you today and forgiving your sins and redeeming you and making you more and more like Jesus. It could also be talking about His daily provisions and ways you see His goodness and mercy following you. In all of it, you are letting others in on the details of living this messy, beautiful life under the glorious truth that you are a child of God with the hope of heaven.
In our praising and proclaiming, we must never forget that we can only enter the Lord’s courts and come before Him with singing because of the precious blood of Jesus shed for us on the cross which we meditate on particularly in these days of Lent. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Lord graciously calls us His children and calls us into His courts, knowing our restless hearts will only find rest in Him. Rest in Him, beloved. At the feet of our Savior, self-conscious fears and grumbling can melt away, and we may find that we can’t help but to sing His praises and proclaim His salvation.
Father God, by Your grace and goodness, free us from our self-conscious fears, and give us courage to sing Your praises aloud to the watching world, proclaiming Your salvation from day-to-day.
Written by Kimberly Girard
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