Lift Him high to the high place in your hearts.
Praise the Eternal!
All of you who call yourselves the
children of the Eternal,
come and praise His name.
Lift Him high to the high place in your
hearts.
At this moment, and for all the moments
yet to come,
may the Eternal's name ascend in the
hearts of His people.
At every time and in every place –
from the moment the sun rises to the
moment the sun sets –
may the name of the Eternal be high in
the hearts of His people.
(Psalm 113:1-3)
Ironically, “In my life be lifted high, in my world be lifted high, in my love be lifted high” is singing in the background.
Psalm 50:13a, 23 (NLT) says, “Make
thankfulness your sacrifice to God... giving thanks is a sacrifice
that truly honors me.”
There are sacrifices to God throughout the bible. The Israelites would sacrifice a lamb, oxen, goat or dove. They would also sacrifice their first fruits and items as a thank and praise offerings. Perhaps the point being made here is that it wasn't specifically the sacrifice that God wanted as much as the thankful heart that was lifting Him up in the midst of it. He doesn't need our money, stuff, fastings, or works specifically. Like a father who receives gifts from His children, it is the heart behind it that truly honors Him.
Sometimes we can be overly sacrificial in the way that we live or with what we have but in a spirit of ingratitude. We keep giving more thinking we are doing good for God only to find ourselves feeling burnt out or resentful over time. When we put too much into it, we can tell by the fruit that result in our lives. We feel burnt out rather than more grateful. We are working harder but not wiser :) What God desires is not more activity and works to accomplish something, but the works that generate a grateful heart.
There are sacrifices to God throughout the bible. The Israelites would sacrifice a lamb, oxen, goat or dove. They would also sacrifice their first fruits and items as a thank and praise offerings. Perhaps the point being made here is that it wasn't specifically the sacrifice that God wanted as much as the thankful heart that was lifting Him up in the midst of it. He doesn't need our money, stuff, fastings, or works specifically. Like a father who receives gifts from His children, it is the heart behind it that truly honors Him.
Sometimes we can be overly sacrificial in the way that we live or with what we have but in a spirit of ingratitude. We keep giving more thinking we are doing good for God only to find ourselves feeling burnt out or resentful over time. When we put too much into it, we can tell by the fruit that result in our lives. We feel burnt out rather than more grateful. We are working harder but not wiser :) What God desires is not more activity and works to accomplish something, but the works that generate a grateful heart.
Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus,
therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the
fruit of lips that openly profess his name.”
It is God's will for us in every moment
of every day, for all the moments yet to come, to lift Him high in
our heart's with gratitude and praise for who He is, the way He loves
us, and all that He has done for us.
As we are thankful and full of praise
in the moment, lift God high in our hearts, we find that we are more
present to the moment and more present to God. We treasure and
cherish what God has for us right now and we are not rushing off to
the next thing or living in the past. Our lives become a rich feast, moment by moment.
Being thankful and lifting God high in
our hearts can actually change our disposition about our
circumstances. When we are looking at a situation from a negative
and ungrateful viewpoint, we grit our teeth and get through it. We
often cannot see what God has for us in it or would have us to do.
John on the Island of Patmos, was in
incredibly rough circumstances. He had been banished there as
punishment to live out his life in circumstances of near starvation
and hard labor. Yet in the midst of this place, John did not feel
sorry for himself, feel discouraged and give up. It was in this place that he had
encounters with the risen Jesus and wrote the book of Revelation.
The “therefore” reference in
Hebrews 13:11 ( “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually
offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly
profess his name”) refers to the previous verses in Hebrews
13:12-14 where it says, “And so Jesus also suffered outside the
city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us,
then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For
here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city
that is to come.”
We are not to be thankful and praise
God only when things seem to be going our way, but in all
circumstances with deep gratitude, lifting Him up in hour hearts. If we can only see God in good circumstances
we become more like those who seek every blessing and advantage. What we seek after becomes our circumstances of blessing/advantage rather than God Himself. We make good circumstances our idol.
Gratefulness and lifting God high in
every moment can keep us from living with an attitude of
entitlement and pride. We can sometimes not appreciate what
we have right in front of us that we have been freely
given as a gift of love from God. Ever notice this? Given an abundance, we don't even see it.
We have hands, we always have, so we do
not have gratitude for them. We just expect our hands to work like
they always have and do the things we need them to do.... to write,
to touch, to reach out, to drive, etc. We have a sense that we are
almost owed these things or that they are by our power.
People who do not have their hands miss
out on all these incredible blessings. They look but cannot reach
and touch. They cannot obtain the same jobs in some cases because
they do not have the hands to do the work.
As we are limited with something, we begin to see what a gift it is. Suffering and losing some of our blessings sometimes gives us perspective. We come to value more what we have in front of us. We more clearer see the so many ways that we are blessed.
As we are limited with something, we begin to see what a gift it is. Suffering and losing some of our blessings sometimes gives us perspective. We come to value more what we have in front of us. We more clearer see the so many ways that we are blessed.
Ever notice that what we don't have and later God provides, can bring incredible joy and thankfulness. The man who was lame, sitting at the temple gate called Beautiful, was healed by Peter and John as they walked by. The man sprang up to his feed and began leaping and praising God (Acts 3:8).
He had reason for leaping for joy. His whole life changed in that moment from being unable to walk, go places on his own, and even work. He was no longer left to beg from others, but had the incredible blessing of legs. How many of us leap on our legs on occasion just in celebrating the gift we have been given in them :)
Lifting God high gives us humility. We are exalting God and humbling ourselves before Him. Practicing being grateful for what we have in front of us helps us to not miss out on what God has for us in it and what a blessing it is. We realize that we are not entitled or deserving of anything.... all is a free gift.
He had reason for leaping for joy. His whole life changed in that moment from being unable to walk, go places on his own, and even work. He was no longer left to beg from others, but had the incredible blessing of legs. How many of us leap on our legs on occasion just in celebrating the gift we have been given in them :)
Lifting God high gives us humility. We are exalting God and humbling ourselves before Him. Practicing being grateful for what we have in front of us helps us to not miss out on what God has for us in it and what a blessing it is. We realize that we are not entitled or deserving of anything.... all is a free gift.
There are many things that God has done
in my life which make me incredibly grateful and full of praise.
However, I miss the blessing sometimes on the other things in my life
because I fail to see how incredibly much blessing God has poured out
on me daily. Too often, it is only after the blessing is gone that
I truly value and are grateful for them.
Lord, forgive me wherever I have failed to be grateful for the abundance You have lavished upon me in Your great love. Give us grateful hearts that thank and praise You in every moment. Be lifted high in our hearts and let our offerings be sacrifices of true praise and thanksgiving.
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