“Earlier this morning in my journaling time,” Stan commented during breakfast, “I was focusing on a word the apostle Paul used and I was wondering why he used it.”
“A single word? What word?”
“If,” Stan replied.
“If what?”
“That’s the word,” Stan said. “I was wondering why Paul used ‘if’ when it seems to me there should be no question.”
“What’d he write that made you wonder about that?”
“In his letter to the church in Philippi,” Stan replied, “where Paul wrote about what are minds are to dwell on, he wrote that ‘if’ there’s anything worthy of praise, we are to dwell on it.”
“So?”
“In my mind,” Stan said, “there’s no question about if I have anything worthy of praise. All I have to do is focus on all that God has done. It looks to me like there’s a massive amount of stuff that’s worthy of praise. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ there’s anything. All I have to do is look. There’s no ‘if’ about it!”
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Bible verses to consider:
. . . if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8.
Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord. Psalm 113:1.
From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised. Psalm 113:3.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for all you’ve done which is worthy of praise. You’ve given me life eternally with you through the cross of Christ, the life that begins here and will continue forever. You want to give me all you know I need, if I will only ask for what you know I need. Although I have so much for which to praise you, I confess that too often I don’t take the time to focus on praising you. Please forgive that foolish approach to living the new life you’ve given. Help me follow every step of your lead in seeing all that is worthy of praise, as well as actually praising you for it. Thank you that I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: Can you praise God for His provision of life eternally with Him because you have accepted His free and gracious gift? If no, why do you choose to remain separated from God both now and forever? If you are a Christian with the assurance of salvation and redemption, how are you doing with praising God for all He is and for all He has done for you? If you sense the desire for change in any of this, how is that change going to happen? Is that what you truly want? Why or why not?
The need: Since God knows what we need before we ask Him (Matthew 6:8), what does He know you need in order to praise Him — what you need in order to focus on all of the reasons you have to praise Him? Spend time on this in prayer, reflection, and journaling to see what He knows you need. He will show you!
Forward: Do you know others who would or could benefit from this devotional? If so, why not forward it and open them to be part of the conversation between Stan and S. Tory Teller?
Great perspective!