Praise in the human sense has always been something I’ve not paid too much attention to. I know its importance in working with kids and their learning and I’ve seen its effectiveness in this field time and time again. I’ve also known that we are told to “give praise to God in all things, I Thessalonians 5:18. I remember as a much younger adult that I didn’t need to praise God “for” all things, but “in” all things. This was important at the time because praising God for abuse seemed absurd and contrary to anything God stood for.

Today, the entire idea of praising God has a much richer meaning/purpose. I am learning that praising God is a spiritual matter. No one knows better than me to trust God in the midst of any and all circumstances. He doesn’t always change the “ugliness” of circumstances, but if we stay with God, not turning our backs to Him, He will use the circumstances to grow us more and more into His likeness. This is why we praise God “in” all things rather than “for” all things. It is easy for me to see this today. 30 and 40 years ago I just let this message go. I couldn’t make sense to it. Mainly, the reason I couldn’t make sense of it was due to my unwillingness to confess what had me in bondage. I didn’t want the world to know what was going on inside of me for fear of the consequences. I have no idea what God would have done if I’d addressed all of this earlier in my life. I won’t dwell on this for it is part of my past. I’m just grateful God has brought me to the understanding that I desire to PRAISE HIM in all things knowing He is my One True God.