Guest Post by Tara W.

PRAISE!

“I will praise the Lord at all times, His praise will always be on my lips” Psalm 34:1

All times you say? Easy for cool-as-a –cucumber-giant-slaying-David to say. However, when David wrote this he was in the town of Gath running away from Saul! Gath means ‘winepress’. Do we ever feel like we’re living in Gath – the ‘winepress’ of life? Being squeezed on all sides? David chose to praise. What do we chose? Do we listen to the lies of the enemy, or do we remember that the Lord is always with us? Is our praise based on our circumstance or is it based on what He is worthy of? Want to know how to turn a hurricane into a gentle spring rain? PRAISE! Want to know how to make that mountain seem less ‘mountain-ish’ and more ‘molehill-ish’? PRAISE! Want to know how to defeat the enemy? PRAISE (See a pattern forming?)

Our praise is not just to tell God that He is great, it is for us to understand His greatness. 

Who is God to you? Have you told him lately? Have you thanked him for being your righteousness, sanctification, peace, shepherd, provider, holiness, healer, revelation, justification? Have you acknowledged His hand woven in the day to day life activities we robotically walk through? What about turning the mundane into the marvelous? Praise is a choice! We CHOOSE to be thankful in all circumstances. We CHOOSE to remember that even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with us and will never leave us. We CHOOSE to give praise when all we can muster from the depths of our despair is “I need You”. We CHOOSE today to declare out loud who He is and watch our spirits awaken! We CHOOSE today to praise the one who stops all of Heaven just to hear your thankful heart.

“That I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.” Psalm 30:12

Tara is married and has three beautiful children. She is also a worship leader in her local church who longs for us to praise God in the midst of everyday life.