Praise With Your Whole Heart

Well, glory be, friend, unlatch that ol’ screen door and come settle yourself up here on this ol’ front porch before them fresh-baked biscuits get cold and that lil’ ol’ squirrel over yonder up in the hickory tree starts to fussin’ like he paid the mortgage. There’s fresh, hot coffee in the pot, a cool breeze blowin’ in the cedars, and an ol’ banty rooster down the road hollerin’ as if the Lord personally appointed him choir director of the entire barnyard. Truth is, that ol’ rooster may understand somethin’ we occasionally forget. When God has been good, praise ought to find its way right on out of us.

Psalm 66:2 tells us, “Sing forth the honor of His name, make His praise glorious.” Praise ain’t merely somethin’ we do when the sun is shinin’, the children are behavin’, and the washin’ machine has decided not to flood the laundry room. Praise is the heart’s plum rightful response to who God is.

Hebrews 13:15 takes it a whole lot deeper, urgin’ us through Jesus to continually offer God a sacrifice of praise. Sometimes praise sho’-nuff’ feels like celebration. Other times it truly is a sacrifice. Anybody can sing when the barn is full and the garden is producin’ real good tomatoes big enough to frighten a lil’ ol’ possum. Real faith praises when the cupboard looks mighty thin, the answer hasn’t come, and life is plum all tangled up like an ol’ raccoon stuck in a clothesline.

Praise don’t pretend trouble ain’t real. It downright declares that trouble ain’t God. Our circumstances may change before supper, but the character of God don’t git to wobblin’ like a three-legged stool. He sho’-nuff’ remains real faithful, merciful, present, and worthy.

So, don’t you leave your spiritual harp hangin’ up in the willow tree. Praise Him in the mornin’. Thank Him in the evenin’. Bless His name while you’re waitin’. Praise turns our attention from the size of the trouble to the greatness of the God walkin’ through it with us.

Father, teach me to praise You not only when life feels easy but when praise costs me something. Fill my heart with gratitude for Your mercy, faithfulness, and grace. Let my words, choices, and worship honor Your name every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Now, shake the dust off your boots, friend, and skedaddle right on back into your day with praise rattlin’ around in your heart like dried beans in a tin cup. Don’t be lettin’ a grumpy ol’ gopher, a contrary ol’ goat, or one cantankerous circumstance git to stealin’ your song. The woods may get real dark, but God is still God. So, lift up your voice, straighten your bonnet, and give heaven somethin’ mighty joyful to hear today.

With joy,

Gwen