A long while back, a friend of mine shared a nugget of wisdom she had heard. Though I can’t recall the exact words she had shared with me, the underlying message of it burrowed itself down into my heart and has recently resurfaced. The message has to do with the praise of our hearts to God, both here on earth and when we are in heaven.
When we are finally with Jesus in heaven, in our glorified bodies and we will see our Lord face to face, I would only imagine that the magnitude of being in His very presence would cause every part of our being to break forth in praise and worship; in absolute adoration. How could we not?! Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” Luke 19:37-40 Jesus said the very stones would burst forth in praise of Him should the people remain silent. This is how incredible He is! We too, will one day emanate this awe-inspired-can’t-contain-myself kind of praise to Him throughout all eternity. What an extraordinary thing to look forward to!
Our praise to Jesus in heaven will most certainly be unlike anything we’ve experienced here on earth, but this is where the underlying message from what my friend shared comes in— Our praises to God here on earth are uniquely special compared to our heavenly praise. How so? Unlike in heaven, our praises here and now can be offered to the Lord when we are in the midst of hardship and heartache.
Let that sink in for a moment.
For as long as we have breath in our lungs and walk this earth, we can offer God our praise from deep within our most broken and desperate moments; When the doctor says it’s cancer, when the loneliness consumes, when betrayal cuts like a knife, when life is falling apart all around us we can choose to offer the sacrifice of praise.
This reminds me of the book of Habakkuk and the impelling words found in chapter 3 verses 17 & 18: Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls– Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Our time here on earth is limited, the days given to us are numbered. The book of James points this out: For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. James 4:14 Contrast our time on earth to our time in eternity and we can begin to understand that our time here on earth is the only opportunity we will have to praise God despite a heavy heart.
I don’t know about you, but this is a call of praise that I want to give to God. I want to lay aside my sorrows and burdens at His feet and praise Him because HE IS ABSOLUTELY WORTHY OF PRAISE!
Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and are created. Revelation 4:11
Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is beyond our understanding. Psalm 145:3
Dina
The Green Olive Tree 