Sacrifice of praise ~ Jon Courson

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. Hebrews 13:15

‘I don’t feel like praising the Lord,’ some say. ‘The traffic bugs me,’ or, ‘The dishes are getting to me.’ Gang, those are the best times to praise Him —because then it’s a sacrifice of praise as you worship the Lord in spite of your own fleshly inclinations.

You see, here’s the deal: In my Christian walk, I find myself going through seasons ...

There’s springtime — when, with new understandings and fresh growth, I sense the Lord’s presence in my heart. Springtime leads to summertime — those warm, wonderful days when the new growth bears fruit from which people glean. Summertime leads to fall — when the winds blow and shake the leaves off my tree. Fall leads to winter — when the fall winds give way to a cold, wintry silence. And I used to freak out in wintertime. Then I learned that if I am going to be a man who walks by faith and not by sight, I must not constantly monitor my feelings because feelings are fickle. The Lord allows you and me to go through regular seasons of wintertime, asking us, ‘Are you going to walk by the state of your emotions — or by the promises of My Word?’

This has afforded me the privilege of being a minister of the Gospel regardless of any tragedy or heartache in my own life. Truly, if I hadn’t learned the lessons of the winter season, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. But the good news is this: winter doesn’t last forever. It gives way to spring.

Tonight during worship, some of you were elated, caught up in an overwhelming sense of the Lord’s presence. And that’s good. Others of you said, ‘I’m here tonight. But I don’t feel anything. However, I’m still going to lift my hands and my voice in a sacrifice of praise to the One who has done so much for me in the past, to the One whose touch I know I will feel again in the future.’