Does My Life Produce Praise?
When I read through the letters written by Paul, there is one feature that just leaps off the page. It happens enough that, if I’m not careful, I just run over it and fail to realize what is really going on.
It is when Paul–seemingly mid-thought–stops to praise God or to extol the name of Jesus.
He will be writing about the plan of God or about the ways of God and then, without any literary warning, will just leap into a few sentences praising the Lord. You know it is just a “reaction” to what he has been writing because, if you take out those verses, the text would still flow just fine.
(If you are wondering what I am talking about, maybe the most well-known of these is Ephesians 3:20-21. Take a moment and look at that section of Scripture.)
When I reflect on those passages, it sometimes makes me wonder: is my life like that?
Obviously, I am not talking about writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But what I am saying is that, no matter what I am doing, there should still be a reason to pause and praise the Lord.
- When I walk in the morning and see the beginnings of a sunrise, does it ever cause praise to well up in my mind?
- When I am spending an evening with my family, does the enjoyment of that time cause me to thank God for them?
- When someone reads the Bible in worship, does it ever affect me to the point of being thankful that I get to hear those “wonderful words of life”?
And on and on we could go, but you get the point.
Does my life produce praise because I am thinking of God in every moment? I may not burst out with actual “vocal” praise, but is there praise in my heart and mind for Him and what He has done in my life?
Should there not be?
“Now to Him Who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
