Sabbath: A Life of Praise
Image © Pacific Press
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Philippians 4:4-7, Joshua 5:13-6:20, Psalm 145:1-21, Acts 16:16-34, 2 Chronicles 20:1-30.
Memory Text: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4, NKJV).
It’s always easy to shout with joy to the Lord when we feel joy. It’s not so easy, however, when things are bad, when we are in the worst situations imaginable, when the crucible heats up. Yet, it’s precisely then that we need — perhaps more than ever — to praise God, for praise is a means of helping us sustain faith.
Indeed, praise can transform even our darkest circumstances, maybe not in the sense of its changing the facts around us, but in the sense that it can change us, and those around us, in a way that helps us face challenges.
Praise is faith in action. It may not always be natural to us, but when we practice praise so that it becomes a natural part of our lives, it has the power both to convert and to conquer.
The Week at a Glance: What is praise? How could praise be such a powerful spiritual weapon in difficult circumstances? How can praise transform us and the situation around us?
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 27.
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Here are a couple of questions that we may like to consider this week. Can we praise God when we are hurting and even angry with him? Can we praise God when we are crying with pain?
Maurice,
I believe we can and we should "praise God when we are hurting and even angry with him? Can we praise God when we are crying with pain?" In addition to what the author said, praising God in those times helps to remind us that God is still God and that he is always with us. Yes, it's harder and I even may not want to! Those are the times when Satan works the hardest to get us to curse God and die (as Job's wife said to him during his time of distress). Those are the times when I need most to praise God. Praising him helps to strengthen me.
Maurice
I feel it is very defficult to praise God in such situations. However we can learn from our fore fathers if at all there might be some who had to praise God in the midst of passing through crucibles.
It’s not easy to praise in painful circumstances, but, realizing the situation and appreciating the fact that it could have been worse, is a lot to give praises for. Realizing that somebody else’s crucibles are way darker than yours, is a lot to give praises for. Realizing that your crucibles has drawn someone closer to God, is a lot to shout praises for.
Maurice, I found this article on the ancient Hebrew origin of the word "praise" very helpful in understanding how we can praise God in difficult circumstances. https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/definition/praise.htm Basically it says that the ancient pictograph used for "praise" meant "look toward", especially toward a bright light. In other words, we are to look to God as the bright light that guides our way. The author references the North Star, which ties in with Josiah's comment.
With this understanding, it becomes easier to praise God when things aren't going well. It becomes a matter of turning our focus away from our troubles and towards God, who can show us the way through.
Jeff Benner's website has a lot of very good information and is a useful study resource.
Dustin Folden of the Faith Church, Lafayette, Indiana wrote this in his church blog (https://blogs.faithlafayette.org/church/how-to-have-joy-in-the-midst-of-trials/):
[Moderator's note: Just a reminder that quotes should not usually make up the bulk of a comment]
More praise = less depression. Not always easy when hurting, but it may be achieved with practice! There's always something one can be grateful for, if we look also for the smallest or insignificant reasons which are all around around us. A mundane example: for a time, at Newbold College, we had broccoli every other day. We become grateful when we had them because we knew that the next day we wouldn't!
God bless!
Yes, I agree wholeheartedly – ‘praise is faith in action'! When remembering who our Creator and spiritual, heavenly Father is, when praising Him and rejoicing, it is often accompanied by a deep sigh of relief; ones heart fills with gladness!
Psalm 145:1-21 beautifully expresses love and assurance toward our heavenly Father – its simple words express adoration and affirmation for the invisible God! Unmeasurable strength to rise above circumstances lies in talking with and praising God during times of hardship! How wonderful it is to know that the real 'battle' is not ours but our God’s.
I am so very relieved to find that His door is always open to welcome us in – good news or bad news, He wants to hear it all - and stay a while, make yourselves comfortable; feel at home!
By praying and praising our heavenly Father we acknowledge that we recognize from whom our help comes; that we believe Him to be faithful to come to our side. Praising the LORD in all circumstances - what a powerful reassurance to know that His mercy endures forever! 2Chr.20:21.
I see the journey reflected through Psalm 73 as the journey from embitterment and despair to praise. David does not arrive at praise because his feelings lead him there. He arrives at praise because he pours out his feelings and his heart honestly to/before God because he can't understand what is going on. And when he has done this sufficiently, David is then able to reflect upon things more broadly within God's presence (Psalm 73:17). In doing this David comes to 'praise' or acknowledge wider truth/s of things beyond, and contrary to, what his senses and feelings seem to be screaming.
I also note significant parallel/s between David's journey in this Psalm and Job's journey in trying to understand his situation amid his pain and distress (for example, Psalm 73:16-17,21-28 compared with Job 42:1-6).
Is the kind of rejoicing that Paul is talking about based on feeling positive - or is it based on something far deeper that is not dependent on praising because you feel like it and therefore is not merely feeling-based praise?
It is also so unhealthy to focus to much on the things that worries us,as this might lead to some health problems and at the end we deteriorate the situation. Praising God during hard times help us to be at ease and have peace of mind though it may seem hard.