Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;
We sing the doxology every Sunday. Why are we praising God? We live in a world full of violence, hatred, and apathy. People are oppressed by poverty with little hope on the horizon. Children are hungry and need care. Some families do not have a place to live. Disease tears apart our bodies until we can no longer sustain life. Personal struggles are faced every day. Our congregation is not immune to these daily problems. Why can’t life be easier? With all that goes wrong in life it is perplexing to the mind as we ask, “Why are we praising God”?
The most amazing thing happened to me the other day. I went to visit Henrietta Thomas (Anne Abernethy’s mother) at her nursing home in Port Royal. In all honesty I cannot say going to a nursing home has been a most desirable activity for me. Nursing homes can appear to be places of despair with no hope. Maybe we can describe a nursing home as the place where we leave, and forget, the elderly for the remainder of their life. As I entered the nursing home I noticed the familiar smell that exists in all facilities of this type. As we reached the room, Anne introduced me to her mother. A genuine smile appeared on Henrietta’s face, not because I was there, but because someone, apart from Anne, had come to see her. Pastor Wayne Smith had been visiting Henrietta, and he called me one day to tell me about her. What a blessing this turned out to be! Henrietta is 93 years old with arthritis in her hands, she needs a walking aide, and she is loosing her eye sight to glaucoma. (It may seem strange that I am describing a woman suffering in such a fashion as a blessing). After the introductions, Henrietta sat down on her bed. I sat in a chair facing her, turned in the direction of her daughter, and while holding a puzzle book, Henrietta said “I have already finished this word search puzzle which I started this morning”. She is proud of her accomplishment. During our conversation I learn that Henrietta reads music and plays the piano (She has a keyboard in her room). After we share in communion Henrietta says she feels like playing a song. She makes her way to the keyboard and plays a hymn, quite well I must say. All I could do was close my eyes and let the melody flow over me like a gentle summer breeze in the cool of the evening. Henrietta then wanted to know if she could play another hymn. On the day I met Henrietta, I met a person who wants to praise God with music as long as she can see and her hands are able. She has placed her trust in God to get her through each and every day. The doxology took on a new meaning for me.
Henrietta is just one of the many stories I can tell in my short time at Church of the Palms.
Psalm 146 starts out “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” God blesses us in so many ways even though our struggles impede our vision. The God who created the universe is the same God who brings us hope in our chaotic lives everyday. I hope we can, at some point, stand and shout from a mountain top that our God is mighty and worthy to be praised. Our God brings hope to a world which is broken. At one point in my life I was unhappy and did not see any hope. While it may be difficult to see that God’s mighty hand is at work in our lives, in that special love God has revealed in Christ Jesus, hope abounds and gives cause for praise. I want to be like Henrietta and hold strong to the promise of God’s redeeming grace.
Try this exercise. Take each letter of the alphabet and write a word that describes God.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuXB1a3NBCw
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
We sing the doxology every Sunday. Why are we praising God? We live in a world full of violence, hatred, and apathy. People are oppressed by poverty with little hope on the horizon. Children are hungry and need care. Some families do not have a place to live. Disease tears apart our bodies until we can no longer sustain life. Personal struggles are faced every day. Our congregation is not immune to these daily problems. Why can’t life be easier? With all that goes wrong in life it is perplexing to the mind as we ask, “Why are we praising God”?
The most amazing thing happened to me the other day. I went to visit Henrietta Thomas (Anne Abernethy’s mother) at her nursing home in Port Royal. In all honesty I cannot say going to a nursing home has been a most desirable activity for me. Nursing homes can appear to be places of despair with no hope. Maybe we can describe a nursing home as the place where we leave, and forget, the elderly for the remainder of their life. As I entered the nursing home I noticed the familiar smell that exists in all facilities of this type. As we reached the room, Anne introduced me to her mother. A genuine smile appeared on Henrietta’s face, not because I was there, but because someone, apart from Anne, had come to see her. Pastor Wayne Smith had been visiting Henrietta, and he called me one day to tell me about her. What a blessing this turned out to be! Henrietta is 93 years old with arthritis in her hands, she needs a walking aide, and she is loosing her eye sight to glaucoma. (It may seem strange that I am describing a woman suffering in such a fashion as a blessing). After the introductions, Henrietta sat down on her bed. I sat in a chair facing her, turned in the direction of her daughter, and while holding a puzzle book, Henrietta said “I have already finished this word search puzzle which I started this morning”. She is proud of her accomplishment. During our conversation I learn that Henrietta reads music and plays the piano (She has a keyboard in her room). After we share in communion Henrietta says she feels like playing a song. She makes her way to the keyboard and plays a hymn, quite well I must say. All I could do was close my eyes and let the melody flow over me like a gentle summer breeze in the cool of the evening. Henrietta then wanted to know if she could play another hymn. On the day I met Henrietta, I met a person who wants to praise God with music as long as she can see and her hands are able. She has placed her trust in God to get her through each and every day. The doxology took on a new meaning for me.
Henrietta is just one of the many stories I can tell in my short time at Church of the Palms.
Psalm 146 starts out “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” God blesses us in so many ways even though our struggles impede our vision. The God who created the universe is the same God who brings us hope in our chaotic lives everyday. I hope we can, at some point, stand and shout from a mountain top that our God is mighty and worthy to be praised. Our God brings hope to a world which is broken. At one point in my life I was unhappy and did not see any hope. While it may be difficult to see that God’s mighty hand is at work in our lives, in that special love God has revealed in Christ Jesus, hope abounds and gives cause for praise. I want to be like Henrietta and hold strong to the promise of God’s redeeming grace.
Try this exercise. Take each letter of the alphabet and write a word that describes God.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuXB1a3NBCw
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteNice article! This week I read a devotional on Mark 6:45 when Christ tells the disciples to get into the boat...the gyst was that we tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.
Your story reminded me of that - that we need to focus not on the "bad news" of the world, but to remain obedient and focus on the good news of Christ. Thanks!