My wife and I love to watch “The Amazing Race.” It is fun to see so many beautiful parts of the world, the different cultures, the different customs and people. And it is exciting to cheer on our favorite contestants and predict who will be eliminated each week.
In the show the contestants must complete various tasks throughout each episode, and when the task is finished someone is there to hand them their “clue” – directions for the next task. The one thing that bothers me every time I watch the show is seeing these people snatching the clue from the person’s hand and running off to do the next task. I know they are in a race and I know they are excited and want to hurry, but it bothers me that the contestants rarely say “thank you” to the person handing them the clue.
God is deserving of all our praise and gratitude and Psalm 95 offers some instructions to the faithful. What should we do? Why should we do it?
It is interesting that Psalm 95 has two parts to it. The first seven verses tell the believers to give praise and thanks to God. It also explains why we should do that – the Lord is great (verse 3), He is the Creator (verse 4-5), He is God (verse 7). The last four verses are a reminder of what has made God angry in the past.
What is interesting is that the praises are encouraged first. The warning and caution is second. The psalmist puts his praise to God at the beginning.
So it should be with us as well. We should offer God our praises in our life, not as an afterthought and not to avoid wrath, but because God is deserving of our thanks and praise. We have already received abundance from God. We have already received love and mercy from God. He is deserving of our praise and adoration. And that praise should be the first things we offer, before we do anything else.
DAILY CHALLENGE: When do you praise God?
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