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The Dixie Chicks used to sing a song: "Some Days You Gotta Dance" and part of the chorus goes like this:
"…Some days you gotta dance
Live it up when you get the chance
'Cause when the world doesn't make no sense
And you're feeling just a little too tense
Gotta loosen up those chains and dance…"
This song came to my mind tonight as I was thinking about writing this post. I know that's odd, so I'll explain:
As I was trying to decide what I needed to write about tonight, I got the feeling in my heart: "Some days, you just need to praise" which is how my mind got to this song, thinking about how life and it's stresses can take us over sometimes, and somedays, we just need to let go, and praise God.
Of course, the Dixie Chicks theology is skewed, but the concept is there & can be applied in a spiritual way: when our world doesn't make any sense, and we're feeling just a little too tense, we need to refocus, and take time to rejoice in our God.
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David knew a lot about needing to let go and praise God in the midst of a life that didn't make any sense.
In Psalm 7, we see David praying out to God for deliverance and protection from those who sought to kill him, and in Pslam 9, we see David thanking God for His protection from his foes…so what comes in between? What happened in Psalm 8?
Read below, David took time to praise:
"Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!" - Psalm 8
how majestic is your name in all the earth!" - Psalm 8
While looking at his life, David could have easily hid in fear, wallowed in self pitty, or grown angry with God. But He didn't. When his life didn't make any sense, he chose to praise God.
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Taking time out to praise God is what refuels our broken spirits, it's what brings us back to a right place before Him, because we are forced to humble ourselves, and truly examine and acknowledge what God has done for us.
The act of praise is our way of showing God we love Him, and it's through our praise that we are often shown our sins and shortcomings, having come face to face with our sinless and Holy God.
The time we take to praise God reveals a lot about the condition of our heart, and our standing before The LORD. If we are not praising, if we are not humbling our hearts, than we are taking glory from God, and giving it to ourselves.
Because of these things, praise is a very important act in the Christian life. Praise keeps us humbly connected to our Savior, giving Him the honor He deserves, and helps us to grow closer to Him. Through acknowledging our need for Him, we are ultimately drawn in closer to God, as a result of His love for us.
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So tonight, in the middle of a world that is lost, and suffering, and leaving me feeling tense, I want to take a time out, to loosen up my chains, and praise.
I want to take this time to dwell on my Savior, and His goodness to me.
I want to take in the glimmering snow, clear sky, and sparkling stars. I want to breathe in deep the scent of my newborn baby girl, and absorb her sisters giggles coming from upstairs, I want to memorize the look on my husbands face, and sit peacefully in our warm home.
I have so much to be thankful for, so much to praise my God for, and tonight I just want to be still before my God, and allow my heart to praise Him.
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