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| A Sacrifice of Praise
By Robin Parfait "I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalms 34:1). Praise at all times? Continually? For me, praise and worship were always that part of the church service. Depending on the particular church, it could last longer than an hour or less than thirty minutes. We often hear the above scripture quoted, and even sing it in many of our songs. After all, that's what praise and worship is about - blessing the Lord. It occurred to me that "all times" is often limited to those few minutes before the Sunday preaching and Wednesday night Bible study. At least, that's how it's been for me. I'm not in the habit of taking time out for a "praise break.” Sure, there have been times when I would be driving in my car, listening to a CD and a song would speak to me in a special way. I may have needed encouragement, and the song's message was what I needed to get me through the day. I would then thank the Lord for giving me that little spiritual boost. There have also been times in quiet moments alone with God when I'd felt His presence, and all I could do was bow in worship and adoration. Unfortunately, those precious moments have been few and far between. More often than not, I find myself being carried away with the pressures and cares of this life rather than being carried away in a spirit of praise and worship to God for His awesomeness. I guess I've always thought that in order to truly praise God I needed a real reason, and praising Him "just because" wasn't reason enough. That way of thinking began to change several months ago during a long distance phone call I shared with my sister one day. I don't remember how the subject came up, but she began to tell me about her church in California and their worship services. She attends an inter-denominational church with a style of worship much like most Apostolic churches. My sister talked about their altar worship team, which consists of praise dancers and flag twirlers. We discussed how some people in Apostolic circles tend to frown on such things, seeing them only as church performers. (I admit that I've scoffed at them myself a time or two. I've since developed more of an open mind regarding these forms of worship.) She told a story of a man in her church who took the idea of the flags and is using it as a means of worship for himself. This gentleman was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease ten years ago. By last year he had lost mobility in his legs and was confined to a wheelchair. Despite his struggle, he has been faithful to the house of God and hasn't let it stop him from worshiping the Lord. During worship service, this man will lean on his wife as she raises her hands in praise for both of them. She also obtained a flag from the altar worship team for her husband. He waves his flag as best as his strength will allow it as a praise offering to the Lord. This couple's story brought tears to my eyes. Naturally, I felt sympathy for this man because of his predicament; but his story would be just another sad tale if I concentrate only on the sickness that has overtaken his body. What pricked my heart was that despite his infirmity this man never lost sight of his love and appreciation for God. The disease may have claimed his body, but not his spirit. He determined in his heart not to let any circumstance overshadow his love for the Lord. No, it wasn't this man's misfortune which spoke to my heart. It was the fact that he found a way to continually give honor where honor is due, no matter what. Still, the importance of praise and worship hadn't quite sunk in. It hit home a few months later one Sunday night in January. Bro. Ethan Hagen was evangelizing at my home church that Sunday. I'd never heard him preach before that, but everyone said that the previous service was great, so I was looking forward to hearing him preach. I regret to say that I cannot remember what he preached on that night. The one thing I do remember was what he shared with the church at the close of his message. He said that the Lord had showed him earlier that day that someone had been having rib pains. That struck me like a lightning bolt! For more than a year, I've had pains in my ribs. The pain may last for days and then go away, but it had always returned. The severity of the pain ranges from bearable to knocking the wind out of me, and it doesn't always appear in the same location. I've been to the doctor on several occasions, only to receive no real explanation as to what is causing it. Several people have prayed for me, but the pain persists. Needless to say, it can be uncomfortable, and it's been a frustrating ordeal for me to go through. You may be thinking, "What's a little pain every now and then? We all have them!" And yes, I realize that there are those out there with situations far worse than mine. But this has been a struggle for me. Much like the woman with the issue of blood, I've been unable to find anything to ease the pain, much less cure it, and not knowing what the cause is only increases my anxiety about the situation. The strange thing about this was that up until about ten minutes before Bro. Hagen mentioned this, I'd not felt any pains that day. But then it hit the right side of my ribs with full force. For a moment, it was all I could do to sit up straight. So, when he shared this with the congregation, I knew he was talking about me. He had everyone who needed healing stand and those around us to pray and believe with us for our healing. I stood and prayed, as did those around me, and the pain subsided. By the end of the service, it felt as though it was gone completely. I thought that all was well and I praised God for my healing. However, all was not well. I'd no sooner walked to my car to leave when the pain returned, much worse than before, and it seemed to be worse than it had ever been. This was one of those breath-taking pains, so much so that it had me in tears. I wasn't sure if I was able to drive home. I managed somehow, although it seemed like an eternity before I got there. I began to question whether my faith was strong enough or if I'd done something wrong for the pain to return. I questioned whether or not I'd received a healing at all. Whatever the reason, the pain was back and doubt was creeping in fast. I rebuked the devil and cried out to God. I did everything that I thought would get rid of the pain. I thought that God had wanted to heal me that night. Why, then, had the pain returned? I couldn't figure it out and frustration was mounting. Then the Lord spoke to me, not in an audible voice, but He spoke to me just the same. He told me to thank Him and praise Him for my healing even though my pain contradicted His promise. God didn't give me an explanation as to why the pain had returned. It didn't matter. He wanted me to learn to have a spirit of praise no matter what the situation or final outcome. To take it a step further, He wanted to teach me that I should not only praise Him when I receive something from Him but that He's worthy of my praise regardless of whether or not I receive anything. It was at that moment that I realized that I take God for granted. That night the Lord wanted to know if I love Him enough to give Him glory even if I have to live with this pain for the rest of my life or, even if the pain were to kill me. In short, He longs to hear me "...offer (my) sacrifice of praise continually..." (Hebrews 13:15). Although I've always known that I should do this, it hadn't taken root in my heart. With these events, that has begun to change. There have been other instances since that night which have reaffirmed my need to praise the Lord. Recently, Bro. Greg Albritton, Louisiana's district youth president, ministered to our young people in revival services. His scripture text for the revival’s last night was taken from the last five chapters of the book of Psalms. All five chapters begin and end with the same statement, and that statement was the title of Bro. Albritton's sermon¾"Praise ye the Lord." The crux of his message was that we should praise the Lord continually, at all times, no matter what, in good times and bad. Even more recently, I witnessed a dramatic presentation to CeCe Winans' "Alabaster Box." It was stirring. As I watched the drama and listened to the lyrics, the tears began to flow as I was reminded once again of how much the Lord has come to mean to me and how important it is for me to express that through my worship. Never have I met anyone who is more deserving of my praise. He's done so much for me and brought me through so much, but if He never does another thing for me, I'll still praise Him. The fact that He loves me and paid the ultimate sacrifice is reason enough. Despite my human frailties, He loves me enough to have died for me. Therefore, the only sacrifice that I have to offer Him is my alabaster box of praise. As the song suggests, you weren't there when He found me. You may never know all that He's done for me. So, if I seem to get carried away with my praise, excuse me and go on with whatever you're doing. My praise is not for your entertainment, anyway. I'm giving glory to the One who deserves it alone. I'm anointing Jesus with my sacrifice of praise. ninetyandnine.com © 2002, Robin Parfait --------- Robin Parfait attends First United Pentecostal Church in Nashville, Tennessee. Whether she's singing in the church choir, her own personal choir (consisting of herself), or not singing at all, she strives to bless the Lord at all times. |
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