Greetings brothers and sisters… Pastor Rob here
Hallelujah! What an excellent word…“Hallelujah!” It is a Hebrew word that simply means, “Praise the Lord!” The book of Psalms is filled with, “Hallelujahs.” We are called as believers in the Lord to praise God in all things. “I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Psalm 34:1) Notice it says we should praise Him “at all times.” Praise should spring from our lips in good times and in bad times. Praise lifts us above our circumstances, and focuses our attention on Almighty God. When we give praise to our Lord we are not only glorifying Him; we are reminding ourselves that He is in control.
In our society, we are blessed with “first responders.”… Firefighters, law-enforcement officers and paramedics are the first ones to arrive in an emergency situation. When unexpected emergencies break into the lives of believers, what should be their “first response?” It ought to be, praise! If our God is really God, then this unexpected emergency is no surprise to Him! When my life is invaded by bad circumstances, I can freely cry out, “Hallelujah,” for he has promised to work all things together for good in my life. When Job lost everything, his “first response” was, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21)
Praise is also a wonderful weapon! When we praise God in all things, we throw a monkey wrench in the Devil’s schemes! For we know that what the enemy intends for evil, God can turn for good. (Gen. 50:20) When good old king Jehoshaphat was preparing for battle against a huge host of enemies, he had a unique battle plan!… “He appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: ‘Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.’” (2 Chron. 20:21) The next verse tells us the amazing result…”Now when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah; and they were defeated!” Victory was won when the people praised the Lord!
God has made us to be instruments of praise to Him. Anyone can say, “Hallelujah,” during good times. But blessed is the man or woman who praises Him during tough times:
“Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” (Hab. 3:17-18)
—Pastor Rob
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