Why Should I Praise God Anyways???

Psalm 30

A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple.[b] Of David.

1 I will exalt you, Lord,
    for you lifted me out of the depths
    and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 Lord my God, I called to you for help,
    and you healed me.
3 You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
    you spared me from going down to the pit.
4 Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;
    praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
    but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
    but rejoicing comes in the morning.

We have all had those nights which seemed to last forever.  It may be associated with weeping, grief, or an incredible amount of anxiety about a future event.  My experience is that when I wake up and look back at the night, it really doesn't seem as bad.  And it can even give me a little sense of rejoicing that it was not as bad as I thought it would be. 

In today's Psalm, David is dedicating the temple he was building to be the house of the Lord. It was his life's work and passion.  He wanted it to be a place where God would be exalted and praised.  David learned how to praise God in the hard times.  His praise resulted from when God lifted him out of the pit.  Notice, praise does not just come from good times, but from bad times. In bad times we realize how much help we need and how much God gives.  When David cried for help, God rescued him. This is why he has written so many praise songs and psalms. 

What I glean from this, is that praise is borne out of our relationship with God.  It comes from realization that God has given us mercy not judgment. It comes from joy in the morning when we realize that something we thought was so bad can actually bring joy when God comforts us. I find my biggest sense of why I need to praise God is when God uses me inspite of what he knows of me.  That is grace.  Undeserved favor.  When I do something in my life that only can be explained by God's presence and favor, I can only praise God and not take credit.  If I were to take credit, it would take praise away from God and put it on me! It would be empty praise!

No matter what you are going through today, take time to praise God knowing that as you cry out to him, he will deliver you and that will give you even more reason to praise Him!!!  Alleluia!

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