In our Focal Scripture, Jesus told His disciples that it was time to go into Judaea (Judah) again. Judah means praise; so Jesus was simply calling His disciples to pass through the place of Praise again. Lazarus was yet to be raised from the dead, a miracle was yet to take place, divine intervention was yet to be made manifest, the testimony of Mary and Martha was yet to be complete, but Jesus commanded that the next route shall be Praise.
Friend, even if you have no reason to praise God, still praise Him. Your prayers may not yet have been answered, the doors may not yet have been opened to you, the results you seek may still be farfetched, the opportunities you seek may not have come to you yet, the mind blowing miracles you desire may not yet have become your reality, things may not be adding up at the moment, but dare to praise God regardless.
A sacrifice of praise is not the praise that is triggered by what God has done for you. A sacrifice of praise is when you praise God despite the pitfalls and failures on your way; a sacrifice of praise is when you praise God for things He is yet to do. Be prophetic with your praise; praise God in advance for the things He is yet to do; praise God for the situations He is yet to change; praise God for the intervention He is yet to bring.
Dare to be generous with your praise; don’t let what is yet to happen hinder your praise; don’t allow your disappointments to stop your praise; don’t let the enemy convince you that you have no reason to praise God; don’t let the circumstances of life make you see no reason to praise the God that is your hope for years to come; don’t let your praise end because something went wrong.
Jesus went through Judah, and He later raised Lazarus from the dead. He walked through the path of praise, and the circumstance that mocked praise became a platform for praise. Dare to praise again, and your places of pain shall become places of praise.
