" Therefore by Him, let us continually offer the sacrifices of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." Hebrews 13:15
There are times it may seem like it is not the right time or place to give thanks.
The context of this verse is an invitation to Golgotha, the place outside Jerusalem, where Jesus died on a cross for us. It was not a place of thanksgiving, but a place of bitter disgrace and shameful death. It was a dump for shattered hopes, broken hearts and bankrupt lives. There were no more courts to appeal, no further arguments, no second chances. The judgment was made. It was time to face the hard fact that it was over, finished.
Yet, the writer of Hebrews calls us to go outside where Jesus is. Why? Jesus, who went outside the city, had the last word. When he cried upon the cross, "It is finished!" He gave new meaning to the word finished. It was not the end, not all over... but it meant the sacrifice was completed, accomplished. Jesus was God's Lamb.
And the song of thanks began.
Angel voices caught the echo of the shout on the cross and sang an anthem heard from heaven to hell. Praise to God was released from one end of the earth to the other. It still goes on! The victory song continues to resound through saints, above the earth, on the earth, under the earth, age after age, world without end.
GIVE THANKS: Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise, inside and outside the city, down town, up town, out of town. There is no place where thanks to God is inappropriate.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, help me to take my stand, even if it makes me feel like I am not 'with it'. Keep the thanksgiving song on my lips alive. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen