Posted by: Anna This time last week, Abby and I were at TeenPact Survival. In fact, it would have been only a few hours earlier from this time that we would have just had the experience I'll be basing most of this post on. This was my third year attending Survival. And, my last. I'm truly thankful for how God has used Survival (and other TeenPact events) to work in my life, but I've also come to the conclusion that that period is over. . . and hopefully a new one is starting. I'd like to be a TeenPact staffer in the future. We'll see if that's a door God chooses to open or not. Meanwhile, I had another great week at Survival. I can't say it topped last year. . . and I knew it wouldn't, because last year was pretty unbeatable. I can say, however, that it was a learning experience and full of blessing. The fact that it wasn't quite as exceptional of a week as last year actually had a lot to do with that learning. It taught me something about praising God: that it should happen from the rising to the setting. 5am. We're all sound-asleep in our bunks, in our cabins, when the whistle starts blowing and people start yelling and banging on our doors. Ten minutes later, a rather sleepy, disoriented, pajama-clad group of teenagers is gathered up. We're given a few minutes to get into more efficient clothing and grab things like our water bottles, then we're on our way to we-knew-not-where. It was a difficult hike. None of us had much of a clue as to where they were taking us- only that it was uphill, very uphill. And of course it's dark, we're all a little groggy, some of us perhaps not too happy at haven been woken up so early. In the end, we were taken to the top of a tall hill, which affords an incredible view. No longer tired or grouchy, we all gather together and worship the Creator of such a beautiful scene. We had a front-row seat to view the sun rise over the horizon, and it just so happened to peak over just as we were singing the verse "bright shining as the sun" from "Amazing Grace". It was awesome, at the full meaning of the word. After singing and praising God, we all had some time to do so privately: to sit and take in the view while diving into God's words and praying privately. That has to be one of my favorite quiet-times I've ever had. In a setting like that, it was easy to feel God's presence, to inwardly shout His praise, to be awestruck by what a mighty God I serve, and that out of such an immense and impressive world, He loves little, worthless me. I decided to read some Psalms, skimming through for those pertaining to God's glory or His works and things like that. Reading those passages hit home more than usual. But one in particular stuck out to me. "Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD! Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!" -Psalm 113:1-3 ESV It was pretty easy to praise God right then. I mean how could you not? But what about other parts of the week, where I was feeling a little homesick, was annoyed with someone, or so cold/sore it was hard to be enthusiastic about whatever we were doing? Was I praising God then? Because the verse didn't say to praise Him at the rising of the sun. It said from the rising of the sun to the setting. From morning to evening. All day, every day, from this time forth and forevermore. Rain or shine. I'm sure you've heard something like this before. I'm not presenting some new, unique idea that'll transform Christianity, that's for sure. But really take a moment to think about it. How often do we only praise God when it's easy? And here's the other big part- when I say praise, I don't mean just worship. Perhaps better would be the word glorify. Because that we definitely don't do. When was the last day that you glorified God in everything you did, from the rising of the sun to the setting, whether or not it was easy? As servants of the LORD, we are to glorify and praise Him from the moment the sun rises to the moment it sets. Need some motivation? Think of this. I don't think there's probably ever a moment that God just kind of "forgets" about you. Where He gets distracted by some other issue in the world and forgets of your existence. Nope. He's omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and "omni-attentive", I believe. And the Bible tells us He cares for the sparrows, and knows the number of hairs on your head. So if the God of the universe, who certainly has bigger fish to fry than you and me, never stops loving and caring for you. . . shouldn't we do the same for Him? If you ask me, that alone is plenty of reason to strive to praise Him from this time forth and forevermore, from the rising of the sun to the setting. "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens. . . . When I look at the heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him? The son of man that You care for him?"
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