Doesn’t Feel Like Praise

Anyone who darkened the door of a church in the 90’s knew the chorus. “We bring a sacrifice of praise, into the house of the Lord!” It was upbeat and worthy of clapping along. Depending on your congregation, you might even hear a few hoots and hollers as believers sang together with a not-so-hymn-like beat about sacrificing praise.

As a child, that song led me to believe sacrificing praise would be fun and easy to talk about. How could it not be with so much kick drum being used, right?

Time has taught me, though, that a sacrifice of praise doesn’t always come with clapping and smiles. Sometimes, a sacrifice of praise is simply going before the Lord, muttering, “My heart is breaking … But even if I never understand what you’re doing, Lord, you are good. I trust you.”

In those moments when praise is truly a sacrifice, the joy comes from God himself as he responds, “I will never make you believe you’ve trusted me in vain.”