A Sacrifice of Praise

When Joni Eareckson Tada was first paralyzed, she had a tough time offering God “a sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15). As Tada recounts in A Quiet Place in a Crazy World (Multnomah), she was resentful and couldn’t “understand how a good God could allow something like my accident to happen to one of his children.”

But when a hospital visitor read aloud 1 Thessalonians 5:18, which says to give thanks in all circumstances, he offered Tada a challenge: “It’s about time you got around to giving thanks in that wheelchair of yours.” She said that wouldn’t feel spontaneous or genuine, given her current condition. But the friend assured her she didn’t need to feel great — or even grateful — to be grateful.

Eventually, “God rewarded me with the feeling of gratitude for having obeyed and ‘given thanks,’” Tada writes. “Praise came more easily after I saw the effects of such a sacrifice.”

While we should not ignore or dismiss our emotions, we mustn’t rely on them to guide us.  Following the Lord involves obeying Him and sometimes that may be in contrast to what we’re feeling.  Trust Him. Obey Him. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name!

By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.  Hebrews 13:15