Have you
ever had that itchy sweater that you loved, but it drove you nuts to wear? I currently have a green one like that. It’s warm and the sleeves are plenty
long, but wherever it touches my skin, it itches. I have found myself not wearing it as
much as I would like. I
just cannot find the right shirt to wear underneath it. Some of the shirts I have tried leave
too much uncovered skin. Others
show around the collar and just make the sweater look wrong. Unless I want to wear a turtleneck
that matches, I seldom wear the sweater at all.
Do you
feel that your armor is like that itchy sweater? Quoting the truths of
the word of God may not be natural unless you are already seeing them at work
in your life. Believing who you are in Christ may be very difficult, when
all you see is your past or current mess-ups. Desiring to take the
message of God’s peace to others may be far from your thoughts, when you are
clinging to pieces of it yourself. Dreaming about all God has planned for
you may seem futile when getting through today takes all the energy you
have. Having the energy to pick up the shield of faith or sword of the
Spirit seems nowhere in sight. I’ve been there. I get it.
So what
is the perfect undergarment for this heavy armor? Praise! “Let everything that has breath and
every breath of life praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)”
(Psalm 150:6 AMP) That includes all of us. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “… To grant to those who mourn in
Zion – to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness
instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they
may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be
glorified.” (Isaiah 61:3 ESV)
God has given us this garment. Praise replaces a tired, ready to give up,
spirit. He will make us strong like an oak tree.
Praise,
according to Webster’s dictionary, is “to
express thanks to our love and respect for (God).” Synonyms for
praise include admire, appreciate, celebrate, command, honor, bless, magnify
and proclaim. This is far from a complete list, but gives us a sense of the
meaning of the word. Praise is a verbal expression of how we feel about the
greatness of God. We can best do this by proclaiming to ourselves and to others
just who God truly is.
There are many verses in the Bible that we can speak out
loud to remind ourselves just how big and powerful the God we serve is.
Prophets of old like Nehemiah and
Jeremiah express their acknowledgment of God’s greatness. “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made
heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all
that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of
them; and the host of heaven worships you.” (Nehemiah
9:6 ESV) “Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the
heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched
arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” (Jeremiah 32:17 ESV) They
can be examples, as we make these expressions our own. Throughout the Psalms
you read proclamations of how great God is. “For
I know that the Lord is
great, and that our Lord is above all gods.” (Psalm 135:5 ESV) “the Lord is
righteous in his ways and kind in all his works.” (Psalm 145:17 ESV) We can go
on through the Scripture finding examples of how others praised God. In
Revelation, the angels cry, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is
and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8b ESV)
Besides the examples from the Word, we have many modern-day
examples of praise. There are great worship songs continually being written.
Many of these touch our hearts as we sing along. Songwriters are expressing
their praise of our heavenly Father. I also find myself encouraged when I put
on worship CD. Something inside me cries, “I feel the same way. You are great,
God! I love you!”
These examples from the scripture
and from music are great ways to begin to praise. Then go on and tell God
what you feel. Acknowledge how great He is. Express you love to
Him. Before you put on the armor of God, take out your Bible or some good
music and focus on who God is. Allow yourself to be amazed by his character and
power. Let your heart and mouth cry out praises to our great and mighty God.
And then the task at hand and the weight of each piece of armor will be
lightened. When you start by putting on the garment of praise, that
uncomfortable feel, like my itchy sweater, will no longer be there. Just as I
enjoy the warmth of my sweater, you will begin to enjoy the feeling of
protection your armor provides. And
you will be ready for whatever battles may come in the day ahead.
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