Praise in a real place

“He will send help from heaven to rescue me, disgracing those who hound me. My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness. I am surrounded by fierce lions who greedily devour human prey - whose teeth pierce like spears and arrows, and whose tongues cut like swords. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May your glory shine over all the earth. My enemies have set a trap for me. I am weary from distress. They have dug a deep pit in my path, but they themselves have fallen into it. My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises! Wake up, my heart! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people

• PSALM 57:3-9

When you think about praising God, I bet you think about a perfect church setting: the music and the lights set the right mood, friends all around sharing your love for God, our voices rising together in harmony to bring God glory… That sounds fantastic. Yet in Psalm 56, David is talking about praising God in a very different place: in the middle of conflict. You notice how we create this fairytale version of our spiritual life where everyone gets along with us and we get along with everybody without arguments, without conflict, without someone somewhere deciding if they are our enemy and we deserve the worst they can give us. Instead of harmony, there is discord. Instead of a reverent atmosphere, things are toxic. Absolutely, we should do as the New Testament says and “as much as possible live in peace with everyone.” Even there though, the point is “as much as possible.”


Today, there might be someone who just gets on your nerves, or that has decided the world would be better off if people like you weren’t around. Sure, make sure to do a self check to ensure that you’re not the one in the wrong but either way, there’s no reason not to let circumstances dictate your joy and whether you can praise God. Don’t wait for or expect a perfect time and place to have a heart for worship. David trusted that God would take care of his enemies, and understood that his situation was just one more reason for praise. God sees you, God knows the situation, God is for you! Your circumstances may very well end up being one more reason to give Him glory!