Praise God! But why? #important
A while ago, I heard the following at a church service before the worship service:
Let us praise God for what He has done and for what He will do for us!
And there’s nothing wrong with that… or is there? I understand why people say it, and the Bible also says that we should do that: always.
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
And yet… there is also something off with “Let us praise God for what He has done and for what He is going to do for us!”. It’s incomplete…or worse. Let me try to explain it this way: Suppose… God does not give you what you want or desire. Now what? What if God has never given you what you have wanted for so long? Now what?
If you only praise God for what He has done and for what He is going to do for you, then you have a huge problem. Then there is nothing left to praise for, if you take that call for “praise” as it is stated.
So there is something missing, something crucial. We must (also) praise God for who He is. Not “just” because of what He has done, or what He may do (If He even wants to do that…), but because of who He is. Examples?
For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.
Psalm 96:4
Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him.
Daniel 2:20
Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Psalm 22:3
God is feared, wise, powerful, holy. (etc etc etc) That is who God is. That is Him. Regardless of whether He gives us something or not, that is Him and that never changes. You can always praise Him for who He is.
Speaking of which… If we only praise God for what He does or has done for us… then who was doing the praising for anyway? Was it about us… or about God? Oops… God has done A LOT and is doing A LOT on this earth, but it’s not about us, you, me, but about Him. Perhaps he is not giving you something so that this can be a lesson for others? I have no idea, but it’s possible!
So there is nothing wrong with praising God for what He has done or what He is going to do, but if we only praise Him for what He has done for us, or what He is going to do for us… then eventually we will have a huge problem if He is not going to do that for you (anymore)…
Praise Him for who He is and for what He has done and will do. But not just about “us”. As soon as I hear that… a very big red traffic light goes on somewhere. Praising God on that basis alone is like building a house on sand. Sooner or later, it will collapse… Stop it and give God primary glory for who He is. The rest? That’s up to Him and His grace for you.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the [c]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not [d]act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell and great was its fall.”
Matthew 7:24-27
