Week 5 Day 2: If Anything Is Worthy Of Praise

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8 NASB

When something is worthy of praise, it means that some action or situation deserves celebration. A person’s character, things they say or do can be praiseworthy. When we applaud, commend, honor or adore someone, it is because they are worthy to be praised.

When we are grateful for someone’s excellence, merit, or exemplary actions, we praise them. Praise is a natural response of gratitude. When someone dives in and rescues us from drowning, we will instinctually thank them for their bravery, quick thinking and ability.

It’s natural for us to react with praise when our hearts are touched because our hearts were created to praise God and all of His creation. So not only do we give God praise when we speak to Him and thank Him, but we glorify Him when we admire a sunset or praise the people He created.

A grateful heart is a gift that some use well while others struggle with it. Truth is that some gifts will come to us more easily than others, but all gifts are necessary to live an abundant life. That is why He gives them to us. If we deny part of the purposes for our being, then we will live a very unsatisfied and lonely life.

People who praise others and their circumstances tend to be a bright light that attracts us to them. People who refuse to praise or refuse to work on the gift of praise tend to darken the conversation and the room. When they continually don’t have anything positive to say, we avoid them. That begins a cycle of more complaints, more gloom and doom.

We can complain about anything. Some even complain because there is only one way to heaven when we should be thankful there is a way at all. Grumbling and complaining begins when our focus shifts from all that we have to the little that we don't have. We complain about what God isn’t doing for us and become blind to all that He is doing for us.

We don’t praise God because our heart breaks or because we are suffering in difficult circumstances. We praise Him because He is the healer of hearts and more powerful than any situation in front of us. We praise Him when we are on the mountain top because He is the one who got us there and we praise Him in the valley because He will never leave us there alone.

Praise breaks the cycle of complaining and shines light in otherwise dark circumstances. As we keep our eyes on Jesus to follow Him we learn to look for praises, even in the midst of the most devastating storms. He lives in our worship and praise and that's what draws us closer to Him. That's when we find peace.

“Every breath's a battle between grudgery and gratitude. Give thanks—and you win joy.”  —Ann Voskamp

Is thankfulness one of your dominate gifts? What can you do to cultivate a thankful heart?

Meditate on “if anything worthy of praise" today.