Proclaiming through Praise

 

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name…”

—1 Chronicles 16:8a

One of the reasons that explains why we spend time praising the Lord when we gather for worship is that it helps us develop a mindset of expressing how good the Lord has been to us. Once we begin to recognize that every breath that we take and every beat of our hearts is a precious gift from God, we can go forward with every motivation to share with others the many ways God’s love and care touches our lives.

We who follow in the footsteps of Jesus have been called to be His ambassadors. We do this in every aspect of our personal lives. Whether we are at work, in our homes, out in the highways and byways of life—no matter where we are—we are ambassadors of God’s mercy, grace, and love. You will note that this fact is a recurrent theme in these blog posts. There is a reason for that.

You see, I am not always convinced that I am as consciously aware of the fact that at all times and in all places I am God’s ambassador. If I feel this way, I am pretty certain that others do, as well.

One of the ways we can develop a proper orientation to this calling God has given us is to create ways of reminding ourselves of the nature of our calling.

Even in setting forth the history of the people of Israel, the writer makes it clear the purpose of those people. Notice these words from 1 Chronicles 16:8:

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.

Ambassadorship is quite a unique and important responsibility—one that we do well to take seriously. Yet, that role does not need to express itself in drudgery or sternness or any other negative demeanor. Quite to the contrary, we should rejoice at the task God has given us. We should praise Him that He has entrusted this ambassadorship to us.

So, as we begin another day, let us indeed give praise to God. Let us proclaim His Name. And, let us tell the nations what He has done in our very own lives.

 

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