I’ve Seen Too Much
As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen . . .
Luke 19:37 (ESV)
At the point in the Scripture above, Jesus had been in ministry for three years. He is entering Jerusalem and inaugurating what we now know as Passion Week. Word had begun to spread about his miracles, and people had experienced his miracles. They had experienced the one who would come and take away the sins of the world and establish the kingdom of heaven on earth.
They had seen so much that they could not go without praising Him. Praise and worship are God's love language. When tragedy struck, and Job lost everything, he said, "the Lord gives and the Lord takes away." (Job 1:21). Job said he had seen too much not to give the Lord praise.
Regardless of what is going on in our lives or what is going on in the world, we have seen too much to go without giving God praise.
In Scripture, praise produces several things:
First, when we praise God, we invoke His presence.
Then, secondly, it purifies. After God's presence shows up, it begins to purify any corrupting agent at work in our lives.
Third, praise releases the doves, which is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is why some people begin to weep as they praise God. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and comforter.
Fourth, it produces a passion, and our hearts align with God's heart.
Praise is something that, for far too long, we do without knowing why we do it. For many, it has been reduced to emotionalism and mysticism. Science has shown that while we are praising God, there is an increase in brain activity. There is supernatural surgery that is going on when we praise. God makes us smarter, stronger, and more powerful.
Praise also helps fight against fear, anxiety, and depression. If we develop a lifestyle of praise and worship, we can program our minds to fight against the negativity on the news. When we praise God, we become smarter, both mentally and emotionally.
We learn from the story of Joseph that you cannot hide and praise. Joseph was afraid to confront his brothers for selling him into slavery, years later when they came to Egypt for sustenance during a famine, it was after his brother Judah (which means praise broke away) came near,. that Joseph was able to exclaim that what his brother's meant for evil, God used for good. (Genesis 50:20). When we praise God, he will heal our hearts. Over time, God gives us a new mind and heart as we worship him.
We have seen too much not to give God praise.
