The Sacrifice of Praise

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

~Isaiah 40:28-31

The Book of Isaiah is my favorite book of the Bible. I’ve read it over and over, and every time, I am struck by the timeliness of the prophet’s words. While the book is a message of the coming of the Messiah, it is filled with the judgement of God and the need for redemption. From the first chapter of Isaiah, it is clear the people have turned from the beliefs of their fathers and have fallen into sin. Just like we have today. Clearly, the world has become chaotic and full of sin to the point I often wonder how much longer we can go on before we implode. Isaiah prophesied to the nation of Judah, who had turned from God and offered meaningless sacrifices to Him in Jerusalem—they were good at giving lip service to God but when it came to heartfelt worship or sincere confession of sin or a pure relationship with Him, they really had better things to do. To me, Isaiah is a good picture of the church today. How many people go to church because they’re expected to? How many people use church as a social gathering to have coffee with friends? There’s music but how many really offer heartfelt worship? There’s a sermon, but how many walk away changed by the words or apply the message to their lives? Few of us are different than the people were in Isaiah’s day. We are more interested in our own lives than our relationship with God.

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).”

Our worship is important God. First, when we worship God, it places Him above all others. Have you ever seen someone in church who doesn’t participate in the worship? We can only worship that which we love and put above all else. When we love God more than anything else, we cannot contain it and desire to worship Him openly and with all our heart. Secondly, worship is a sweet aroma to God, and He inhabits His children’s praise (Psalm 22:3). If we truly want to connect with our heavenly Father, praise and worship is the way we start. Throughout the Bible we see God’s people singing praises to Him for what He has done, who He is, and for what He is going to do. Throughout the Old Testament, worship was done through sacrifice of animals and food, song and music. In the New Testament, we see the disciples sing hymns to God. In fact, when Paul and Silas were in prison, it was their worship and praise that opened the doors of the prison and broke the chains that held them, which brought about the salvation of others (Acts 16:25-34). Our worship is important to God.

“Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His place (1 Chronicles 16:23-27).”

Read Ezekiel 31-39

©2018 Marie McGaha