As I read God’s Word in the Old Testament, I see a lot of reference to sacrifices to Him that include burnt offerings. And then, I read in Psalm 51 that our sacrifices should be of spirit and heart.
“16For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” — Psalm 51:16-17 (ESV)
This makes more sense to me in that I can find myself in a more genuine place than just showing the burnt offering and then turning back to my old ways until time to show the burnt offering again.
I think that sometimes we find ourselves pretending or showing that we are followers of Christ instead of being followers of Christ. We should be demonstrating daily that we are praising Him and our praise should be generated from within and not just an outward “appearance”. God does not like religion. He want our heart. David knew this as he grew in his relationship with the LORD. See above in the verses that David knew of God’s desire for our spirit and heart and what He is really looking for from us in to bring our brokeness to Him so that He can lend in the mending of that brokeness.
How do we share our brokeness with Him, through our words. We are to praise Him out loud and let him and all know in no uncertain terms that we are turning ourselve over to Him.
“14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.” — Psalm 51:14-15 (ESV)
It starts with our words to the LORD. I had an opportunity to speak with a friend who has been having a hard time of things. This friend is not necessarily a believer, however there is a searching within them for something to give peace and understanding. Our discussion was around transparency and outward expression of thanks to the LORD. We had a great moment of alignment in that we are to be thankful for everything in our lives and there was no pushback when I brought up giving thanks to God for just allowing me to wake up each morning. My friend is, as I can see it, making strides in life to find that which will bring joy daily, and I know that my work is to outwardly proclaim the LORD to show that God indeed is there for each of us, regardless of where we might feel we are at the time.
Our words are powerful actions for those around us to hear. They give the first account of what should be. It does not stop with just our words. I have to remember that my inner actions have to align with those words and that means that I have to give all of my broken spirit and heart to Him to ensure that keep moving all of me in the right direction. When my spirit and heart are moving the right way, so will the rest of me and those around me.
What are you praising in your life? Are you praising and then giving of your spirit and heart to allow God to heal? What if you praised allowed and then gave of your spirit and heart to the LORD so that others will see and make moves to the LORD as well?
Trevor's Thoughts 