Today marks the end of Shabbat. It is the first day of my 30-day walk with the Father. It was so easy to see you today, Abba: We sang songs to You. We gave our gifts to You. We broke bread and fellowshipped with one another. We had conversations about You all day long. But I saw you in a deeper way as well.
A man today talked about how God deserved praise — more praise than the shouts given at a football game. He had a deep awareness of the awesomeness of our Father — very much like Moses who descended the mountain to discover that the Israelites had erected a golden calf and called it the God who brought them out of Egypt. Imagine Moses’ deep pain when he realized that the God with whom he had communed on the mountain was being replaced by a god of metal. Imagine this man’s inner travail when he realized that athletes get a more rousing praise than the one who is the Author of Life. This man tried to hold back the emotionalism — his body responding to his words, his emotions chorusing, with his spirit, the greatness of God — but in his voice the Only True God sanctioned the truth of His words. Our God is worthy to be praised! He alone is God! He alone deserves praise!
I saw you today, Father, wanting your people to know your worth, wanting your people to praise you — for you knew that the praise was not solely for Your benefit . . . but for us — we need to praise You. When we do, we are most human and fulfill the reason for which You created us. And when we do, we are most divine — interacting with the holy. Thank You for allowing me to see You today, Abba.
I think our Father is given the same magnitude of praise that we hear at a football game, our praises for Him are just demonstrated in a different way (prayer, attending services, doing His work, etc). If you are passionate about something or someone, you are going to give Praise. Those who truly love Him, praise him just as much as they celebrate their other loves. For instance, we praise God 365 a year, 52 weeks a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day…we should anyway. While a football game only lasts a few hours. Of course it is going to appear that we are giving more praise to something if we are only looking at a few hours as opposed to looking at the bigger picture. At a Redskins game, you will hear me cheering for my team, but I invest more time and energy into Praising Him.
But here’s the question: Do you feel comfortable, unhindered and free, to praise Him with as much fervor as you do the Redskins?