in this present age
When we are delivered out of this world and are in heaven with Christ, there will be no more tears, no more pain, no more suffering. The pains of this age will cease. The betrayals and accusations will be a thing of the past. All the things that ail us will be remembered no more. There will be no more dark days.
Today, in this present age, we suffer. We hurt. We get disappointed. We experience loss. Many days I wake up and don’t know how I will breathe through another day. The pressures, fears and difficulties seem overwhelming at times. Yet…
This is the only time in our eternal lifespan that we have the privilege and opportunity to worship and praise God in the middle of suffering. This side of heaven we can offer God something that actually costs us. There are several verses that refer to the offering of a “sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15, Psalm 27:6, Psalm 50:14-15, Psalm 116:17, Psalm 107:22). In this verse below the word for “praise” is the Hebrew word “teruah”, which literally means “joy” or “shouts of joy”.
“And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.”
When is praise an offering?
So why would it be a sacrifice to offer joy if we are in a good and happy place? If everything is going our way it is easy to praise, give thanks and shout for joy. When is the “offering of joy” a sacrifice?
My offering of praise when everything seems perfect and is going my way does not cost the same as the offering I give when I am so heavy burdened I can barely stand.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
If I can lift my head up, if I can see above the dark clouds, if I can get a glimpse of Jesus, then I know I can inhale the joy of His gaze on me. I know if I can just get my eyes up I will be able to engage in joy as Jesus did.
“For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame...”
joy in the middle of darkness
We cry out to God in our times of hurt and disappointment and heartbreak saying, “God, I don’t understand, how is this good for me? Where is the good God I know in this trial?” But God the Father chose the way of our salvation to come through the death of His Son on the cross! And this was “good” for us. This was God’s best for the salvation of the world. Oh beloved, we have yet to understand what is truly “good” for us. Only through divine revelation can we be taken up higher to see the love and goodness of God in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13) and to experience the depth of His joy in the middle of darkness. For this divine revelation, I pray.
So may the Father of Glory give to us eternity’s perspective and strengthen us to lift up our head and our hearts to praise Him in the storms. May we know today the joy that comes from touching this deep place of praise and be taken up higher, from glory to glory, amen.
“So no wonder we don’t give up. For even though our outer person gradually wears out, our inner being is renewed every single day. We view our slight, short-lived troubles in the light of eternity. We see our difficulties as the substance that produces for us an eternal, weighty glory far beyond all comparison, because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal.”