Scripture
2I will praise you every day;
yes, I will praise you forever.
3Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
No one can measure his greatness.
4Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
let them proclaim your power.
Psalm 145:2-4
Observation
David’s words reflect David’s worship as he walked through his life in service to God. Whether the day was good or bad David proclaims boldly, “I will praise you every day.” He didn’t just say this, he did this. Whether King Saul was trying to make nice with David or murder him David’s focus was on the Lord. Whether David was hiding in a cave or sitting in a castle David knew there was only one “most worthy of praise”. Whether David’s children were beside him or betraying him we would not stop telling them of God’s “mighty acts.” This is unstoppable praise to an unstoppable God. This is a powerful choice David made daily to sing of God’s greatness even when the circumstances were not great. David would not let a single day slip by without worship to God Almighty! When David writes “no one can measure his greatness” it’s a lesson for all of us who think that our praise should be predicated upon how pleasant our circumstances are. No. God is worthy of praise no matter what our day turns out to be. Like David, we must choose worship in the whiplash.
Application
When “Whiplash” is used as a noun it speaks of “an abrupt snapping motion or change of direction resembling the lash of a whip” most often associated with car accidents. When “Whiplash” is used as a verb it means “to affect adversely, as by sudden change.” 2020 has been the year of Whiplash. One minute we were moving forward into a glorious new year and then “snap” the entire country comes to a standstill as we were hit from behind by COVID-19. None of us saw it coming because we were looking forward. Then, throughout the next six months, we have experienced whiplashing circumstances that have left our souls with aches and pains. The numbers of COVID patients were going down and everything was opening up one day. The next day the numbers were going up and everything was closing down. Whether we are talking physical, financial, relational, social, or political realms we have all experienced whiplash at multiple levels multiple times. We are reeling from multiple collisions we never saw coming. David’s challenge to us today- choose worship in the whiplash. Don’t let your present position determine your posture of praise. Everything has changed, but there’s one that hasn’t- Our God is great! David goes on in Psalm 145 to sing, “18The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. 19He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. 20The Lord protects all those who love him…” We saw this first-hand yesterday. We were worshipping God when we found out our son Ben had won the lottery and an 8th-grade spot had opened up for him at a public charter school, Heritage Jr. High. We walked through the classes and met the teachers as they are one of the first schools in the San Diego area to offer in-person learning. After the school tour, we were on an emotional high as I took off for Costco and Cyndi took Ben to get some clothes (they have a dress code at Heritage). Not five minutes later Ben called me up barely holding it together and told me they'd been in a car accident. My heart sank. Someone driving behind Cyndi wasn’t paying attention to the car stopped in front of Cyndi and slammed full force into her back bumper pushing her car into the vehicle in front of them. My twins were in the car with me watching what I was going to do next (“let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts”). As I drove to where the collision had occurred I had just experienced massive emotional whiplash. Cyndi and Ben had just experienced that as well as physical whiplash. At that moment I chose to praise the Lord. In the midst of the emotions of anger and fear, I did the opposite of what I felt like doing. I thanked Jesus that my family and the other people in the accident were not seriously injured. God had protected them and rescued them and when I arrived at the scene of the accident I knew it could have been much worse. We can’t control what others will do around us and what may collide into us, but we can decide how we will respond. David’s response must be our response no matter how today goes. Choose to worship in the whiplash.
Prayer
This year has been a real pain in the neck Lord. Yet, Hebrews 13:15 shows me my way through these whiplash days, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” It’s only through You Jesus that I can do this. Forgive me for only praising You and thanking You when times are good. You are good even when my days aren’t. Forgive me for grumbling and complaining. Let the fruit of my lips be the praise of Your Name no matter what. I want my boys to look back on this crazy year and see that I never stopped worshipping you. I choose to give thanks to You in ALL circumstances (1 Thess. 5:16-18) because You are great ALL the time!
Comments