I had a dream once that I was with a group of friends and coworkers at a restaurant for lunch. During the meal, my cell phone rang. It was a call from the college I had (in real life) applied for a scholarship at. I answered the call. They told me I had received the scholarship. I hung up and began celebrating and praising God out loud for what had just happened. The dream ended, and it started all over again…

I was at the same restaurant with the same group of people. My phone rang. It was the same college calling me. I answered. This time, though, they told me I did not receive the scholarship. God spoke to my heart in the dream and said, “Now give Me the same intensity of praise you did when you received that first phone call.” 

I woke up and contemplated what had just happened. Does God not only want praise for the stuff we like and the stuff we don’t like; furthermore, does He even want the same level of praise for both? Goodness gracious! That seems a bit much. Or is it?

Allow me to take a step back for a moment. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” I realized two types of sacrificial praise we can offer the Lord. There’s the praise that occurs when we’ve received or accomplished something big, and in those moments we sacrifice praising ourselves and offer that praise up to Him. Then there are the times we receive awful news or fail miserably at something, and in those moments we sacrifice bitterness and anger, and, instead, offer up praise to the Lord. 

These times are not always easy, but that’s where the sacrifice comes in. God doesn’t want our praises merely for Him to bask in. He sees the bigger picture that we cannot see. As followers of Jesus, we can have such intense trust in Him that even when things don’t go the way we want, we can thank Him for the plan He has in place. When we are thankful to Him amid it all, it opens our hearts for His direction and sets us up for obedience to His will. In fact, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

As for the dream, not long after that I found out (in real life) I didn’t receive the scholarship. With a big smile, I literally thanked God. I knew He had a plan. Looking back, I am even more thankful that He closed that door because I’m currently attending college for ministry, and I am absolutely certain this is right where He wants me. 

He loves us and has such good plans for our lives. We can trust Him fully with our entire being. Nothing is too big or too small to praise Him for. When things look up, I will sacrifice my self-praise and give it to Him for His amazing grace. When things look down, I will sacrifice harsh feelings and give Him praise for His better plan. 

Pray with me: Father, You are abundantly good to me. You have such an amazing plan for my life. I sacrifice anything that keeps me from being eternally thankful for who You are. You alone are worthy of my praise. I trust You completely with my life. My desire is to hear Your plan and be obedient to it. Use me to share with others how wonderful You are! There is no place I’d rather be than continually in Your arms. I love You. Amen.