Who is God: He is the One Worthy of All Praise

Who is God? God is the great “I am”. God is the beginning, the middle, and the end. Apart from God, His creation is glorious yet dims the light he wishes to shine in us, through us, and around us. We need him to shine brightly. When things are going well, it is God who gets all the glory. When things are going, it is God who gets all the glory. When things are going horrible, it is God who gets all the glory, for in His perfect timing He makes things right. He is steadfast and loving. He corrects His children in a language they may not understand. Yet, He gently comforts us in the language only we understand. He is that brilliant! He knows that to correct, He must press out of us the things of our flesh. He gets us to think and to ask questions to change our stubborn ways and knock down the idles in our hearts. To love us, He gets us to be still, to trust, and to rest in His warm embrace. He confounds the wise with foolish things and gives the earth to those who are meek and humble. He is no respecter of men but loves us all the same. There is nothing you can do to turn His love off for you. However, He gives you the choice to walk away from the very love that will sustain you. He exchanges the burdens of our lives for the virtues of His spirit; love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He is the lion and the lamb, the great counselor, the great physician, and the greatest protector and provider. He is the almighty and the all-powerful. He takes the barren things and causes them to flourish. While the things of this world rise and fall. Those who call upon His name find a strong tower of protection, which will never fall. God lives forever and ever. When we begin to praise and exalt Him, all the heavy things of this earth leave us. He fills us with peace as we rest by streams of living water.

I cannot help but praise Him today and every day of my life. No matter what the day holds even five minutes away from Him feels like an eternity. Madly, deeply, and passionately in love with Him am I. He is the only one who can soothe my soul and calm my being. No man will ever compare to the great love and devotion I have for my God. He has captured my attention, more so than any person, place, or shiny thing on this earth. I have been tried by the things of this fallen world, yet it is God to whom I cling, to whom I trust, and to whom I love. Even in the scariest or loneliness of moments, it was God who kept His promises. All that can be said is thank you. Thank you God! If you are feeling down and out, confused, exhausted, unloved, lonely, unwell, bored, joyful, excited, loved, thankful, or at peace- begin to praise the Father. The message of April is we need to give all our thanks and praise to God regardless of the circumstances. Cling to Him, honor Him, fear Him, revere Him, love Him, glorify Him, pray to Him, be with Him! God is the bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh! God consume me with your love, drown me in your lavish love. Never depart from me, oh God.

In the book of 1 Samuel 2:1-10 Hannah, a favored woman by her husband, Elkanah, had lived for much of her life with guilt and shame that she could not give him a child. She was mocked and ridiculed by her husband’s other wife, Peninnah, for she was able to bear him children. Hannah would not eat, she would cry and weep. She did not understand why she could not conceive. Yet through her weeping and travail to God, she poured everything out to Him, saying, “give me a son and he will be given to you Lord all the days of his life”. She began to speak drunkenly in Holy Spirit tongue. The priest Eli did not understand what was happening, but soon realized it was the Lord that had fallen upon her. Soon after giving herself fully over to the Lord, God blessed her with a son, Samuel. Later in the scripture, we find out that he becomes a prophet. Her prayer is one that you can recite if you do not have the words to speak to God. It is a prayer where you can feel the flooding of feelings and emotions to give yourself over fully to God no matter your circumstances.   

Hannah’s Prayer

Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.

“There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him, deeds are weighed. “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. “The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. “For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s; on them he has set the world. He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. “It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the LORD will be broken. The Most High will thunder from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

My prayer for you today is that you find time to praise God. If you are in your car, in between work appointments, or have a break in your day, I hope you find the time to tell God how much you need Him and love Him. Apart from Him, we will never be able to withstand the things of the earth, and it is only He that can nourish our souls for eternity! Fill yourself up with Him and pour out from a never-ending vat of costly oil. Amen.