1 00:00:02,660 --> 00:00:14,239 Speaker 1: Life Audio Welcome to the Crosswalk Devotional. We're glad to 2 00:00:14,300 --> 00:00:18,259 Speaker 1: have you listening with us. Today's topic is about why 3 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:22,420 Speaker 1: we should praise God through tough times. We'll return with 4 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:39,699 Speaker 1: the devotional after a message from our sponsors. The Power 5 00:00:39,900 --> 00:00:45,860 Speaker 1: of Praise, written and read by Alexis A. Goering. Therefore, 6 00:00:46,500 --> 00:00:50,140 Speaker 1: let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise 7 00:00:50,220 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. Hebrews chapter 13, 8 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:01,370 Speaker 1: verse 15, NLT. Lately, God has been teaching me to 9 00:01:01,450 --> 00:01:05,390 Speaker 1: worship him through tough times and praise him through my problems. 10 00:01:06,030 --> 00:01:08,459 Speaker 1: He is teaching me how to turn my pain into 11 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:12,040 Speaker 1: prayers because He is always listening and He has all 12 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,559 Speaker 1: the resources I need. God led me to the verse 13 00:01:15,740 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: in Hebrews 13, verse 15 that tells us as followers 14 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ to offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice 15 00:01:26,180 --> 00:01:31,060 Speaker 1: of praise to God. But what does that mean? Let's 16 00:01:31,140 --> 00:01:34,610 Speaker 1: explore this and learn how to apply biblical advice to 17 00:01:34,690 --> 00:01:37,570 Speaker 1: our daily lives. we can start by understanding what it 18 00:01:37,610 --> 00:01:41,250 Speaker 1: means to offer a sacrifice of praise. According to my 19 00:01:41,290 --> 00:01:44,610 Speaker 1: Google search results from AI Overview, it is easy to 20 00:01:44,709 --> 00:01:48,550 Speaker 1: praise God when life is good. A sacrifice of praise 21 00:01:48,590 --> 00:01:51,790 Speaker 1: happens when life is hard, but you praise God anyway 22 00:01:51,870 --> 00:01:54,310 Speaker 1: because of who He is and that's just what He does. 23 00:01:54,330 --> 00:02:00,310 Speaker 1: A real sacrifice requires giving up something valuable. In this context, 24 00:02:00,750 --> 00:02:04,060 Speaker 1: you sacrifice your right to complain, your self-pity, or your 25 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: temporary negative emotions to honor God. Scripture defines this sacrifice 26 00:02:09,220 --> 00:02:14,220 Speaker 1: as verbal acknowledgement, using your words, prayers, and songs to 27 00:02:14,260 --> 00:02:19,410 Speaker 1: confess and magnify God's name, rather than staying silent in despair. 28 00:02:20,510 --> 00:02:22,890 Speaker 1: The command is not to praise only when it is 29 00:02:22,950 --> 00:02:27,210 Speaker 1: convenient or emotional, but to maintain a steady posture of 30 00:02:27,290 --> 00:02:31,940 Speaker 1: trust in all seasons. According to Google's AI overview on 31 00:02:31,970 --> 00:02:36,100 Speaker 1: this topic, The key characteristics that define offering a sacrifice 32 00:02:36,180 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: of praise are that it is costly because it takes 33 00:02:39,500 --> 00:02:43,340 Speaker 1: real emotional and spiritual effort when you are hurting or grieving. 34 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,549 Speaker 1: It is intentional because you choose to praise God based 35 00:02:47,630 --> 00:02:49,870 Speaker 1: on who He is, not based on your current feelings 36 00:02:49,930 --> 00:02:55,250 Speaker 1: or life circumstances. And it is continual because the Bible 37 00:02:55,290 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: says to offer this praise continually, meaning it does not 38 00:02:59,540 --> 00:03:04,489 Speaker 1: stop when hard times start. Examples of offering a sacrifice 39 00:03:04,570 --> 00:03:07,310 Speaker 1: of praise in our modern day life include, but are 40 00:03:07,370 --> 00:03:11,750 Speaker 1: not limited to, praising God after losing your job, becoming ill, 41 00:03:12,190 --> 00:03:15,340 Speaker 1: or having your heart broken by someone you love, choosing 42 00:03:15,380 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 1: to thank God for everything instead of complaining to Him 43 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,300 Speaker 1: when your burdens feel too heavy and nothing seems to 44 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: be going right. You can also choose to go to 45 00:03:24,220 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 1: church and engage in the worship service and pray to 46 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:30,930 Speaker 1: God even when you feel tired and depressed or distant 47 00:03:30,970 --> 00:03:34,850 Speaker 1: from Him. A biblical example of offering a sacrifice of 48 00:03:34,910 --> 00:03:38,260 Speaker 1: praise is in the Bible story about Job. It is 49 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,820 Speaker 1: a true story about a righteous and wealthy man who 50 00:03:41,860 --> 00:03:45,460 Speaker 1: lost everything and almost everyone he held dear, from his 51 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:49,420 Speaker 1: children to his livestock. Yet, he chose to keep his 52 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 1: faith in God and trust him through this deep suffering. 53 00:03:53,220 --> 00:03:58,230 Speaker 1: According to Job 13, verse 15, NKJV, he said this 54 00:03:58,330 --> 00:04:02,550 Speaker 1: about God, Though he slay me, Yet will I trust him. 55 00:04:03,950 --> 00:04:07,110 Speaker 1: Sometimes God may not tell us why he allows suffering 56 00:04:07,130 --> 00:04:10,430 Speaker 1: in our life, but he does tell us in his word, 57 00:04:10,450 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: the Holy Bible, that we can trust him and he 58 00:04:13,590 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: will work everything out for our good. Romans chapter 8 59 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: verse 28. God taught me that knowing him is better 60 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,580 Speaker 1: than knowing why. It is a lesson I am still 61 00:04:24,620 --> 00:04:29,890 Speaker 1: learning today. In closing, I would like to discuss how 62 00:04:29,990 --> 00:04:33,630 Speaker 1: prayer has power. Simply said by a Google search with 63 00:04:33,730 --> 00:04:39,890 Speaker 1: AI overview, praising God has power because it shifts our 64 00:04:39,970 --> 00:04:44,580 Speaker 1: focus from our problems to his greatness, inviting his presence 65 00:04:44,700 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: and realigning our hearts with his truth. I'm learning that 66 00:04:48,980 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 1: when we choose to praise God, then we turn our 67 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,920 Speaker 1: worry of our problems into worship of the one who 68 00:04:54,980 --> 00:05:00,549 Speaker 1: knows all and can solve every problem. Worshiping God invites 69 00:05:00,610 --> 00:05:05,310 Speaker 1: His presence into our situation and can give us perfect peace. 70 00:05:05,750 --> 00:05:10,469 Speaker 1: Isaiah 26, verse 3. Praising God through the storms of 71 00:05:10,550 --> 00:05:15,599 Speaker 1: life helps us to stop magnifying our problems and instead 72 00:05:16,020 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: magnify God, who is the problem solver. Finally, praising God 73 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:24,740 Speaker 1: can serve as a weapon in spiritual warfare. We can 74 00:05:24,779 --> 00:05:28,450 Speaker 1: receive breakthrough by taking our pain to the throne of God, 75 00:05:28,830 --> 00:05:32,370 Speaker 1: Hebrews chapter 4, verse 16, and asking him to defeat 76 00:05:32,410 --> 00:05:35,370 Speaker 1: the forces of darkness and shine his light into our lives. 77 00:05:35,930 --> 00:05:39,570 Speaker 1: He's ready and willing to intervene for us. Praising and 78 00:05:39,610 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: worshiping God through the trials of life reminds us that 79 00:05:43,060 --> 00:05:46,160 Speaker 1: God's strength is greater than any obstacle we may face. 80 00:05:46,940 --> 00:05:51,219 Speaker 1: We can overcome anything with his help. Before you go, 81 00:05:51,700 --> 00:05:57,140 Speaker 1: please read this article by Robert Hampshire for Christianity.com. The 82 00:05:57,180 --> 00:06:00,720 Speaker 1: title of the article is, What Does the Sacrifice of 83 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:05,450 Speaker 1: Praise Mean? If you have time, also read my devotional 84 00:06:05,529 --> 00:06:08,470 Speaker 1: about the Bible story of Job to learn how God 85 00:06:08,510 --> 00:06:11,589 Speaker 1: taught me that knowing Him is better than knowing why 86 00:06:11,670 --> 00:06:15,170 Speaker 1: He allows suffering in our lives. The title of my devotional, 87 00:06:15,310 --> 00:06:21,570 Speaker 1: previously published by Crosswalk, is When You Want to Know Why. Lastly, 88 00:06:21,589 --> 00:06:24,650 Speaker 1: I'd like for you to listen to and reflect on 89 00:06:24,950 --> 00:06:29,190 Speaker 1: these five songs. Song of Reflection number one, Praise Is 90 00:06:29,270 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: What I Do by Shekinah Glory Ministry. Song of Reflection 91 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:38,619 Speaker 1: number two, Praise You In This Storm by Casting Crowns. 92 00:06:39,420 --> 00:06:43,700 Speaker 1: Song of Reflection number three, Total Praise by Richard Smallwood. 93 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,469 Speaker 1: Song of Reflection number four, When You Praise by Fred Hammond. 94 00:06:49,190 --> 00:06:55,030 Speaker 1: Song of Reflection number five, Overcomer by Mandisa. Intersecting faith 95 00:06:55,089 --> 00:06:59,350 Speaker 1: and life, Next time you feel defeated or depressed, will 96 00:06:59,390 --> 00:07:02,610 Speaker 1: you try praising God through your pain and offer Him 97 00:07:02,650 --> 00:07:28,670 Speaker 1: a sacrifice of praise? Further reading. 1 Thessalonians 5.18 If 98 00:07:28,710 --> 00:07:31,290 Speaker 1: you're looking to grow in prayer or start your day 99 00:07:31,330 --> 00:07:33,150 Speaker 1: with your heart focused on the right things, search for 100 00:07:33,190 --> 00:07:35,450 Speaker 1: Your Daily Prayer in your favorite podcast app and be 101 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:59,489 Speaker 1: sure to follow the show so you get a new 102 00:07:59,580 --> 00:08:02,310 Speaker 1: prayer delivered straight to you each morning.