Praise Befitting

I have recently started reading the book Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi by David Crowder. Of course, as you just spent a split second personally interpreting what you think the book is about, I too did the same. Praise? As a habit? Wouldn't I get bored of it like I would everything else. For example, I run around the same mile loop in my neighborhood at least every other day. I hate it. Yet I still do it. Also, we find ourselves in habits such as always eating three cookies instead of one...a habit which we remind ourselves at midnight is never good for us. We may have the habit of attending church or listening to the same music artist. But...praise? To the living God? Does it go in this category?

When considering a nun, her black and white outfit is called a "habit". Ahh, did your perspective change a bit? So now, a habit is clothing. It is something the nun wears daily. It is fashion yet antifashion. Crowder says, "The habit is what she wears. It is what covers her. It is what identifies her. Our condition is the same. For the follower of Jesus, our habit is the Christ. He is what covers us. He is what identifies us. We wear Him into every moment, and when we live with this awareness, we PRAISE CHRIST."

To clarify a statement made in a previous blog, my dad has been going through pain over the past ten years, but it has limited his ability to function on a daily basis specifically over the past six months. My family is weary and sometimes we feel like we don't really know what to pray any more, as doctors cannot seem to diagnose anything...other than knowing it has something to do with the nervous system.

Yet, I do know this. My God is faithful. It is befitting to praise Him. Something truly changes when we begin to give praise to our Maker, no matter what our circumstances are. Satan flees, He just can't stand it. He relishes in the idea of shutting us up. Yet, for those moments, I lose sight of my doubts and frustrations. I realize that my God has not forgotten about my family. And His promises to do what glorifies Him are what we can stand firm upon.

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11