“I will praise the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.” – Psalms 34:1-3

What is the secret of being a champion?

David said that we should praise God at all times! Why? What is it with praising God? Praising God creates an atmosphere of faith which the Lord can’t resist. When we start praising His name, He is well pleased. For it is then that our faith is exercised.

Hudson Taylor, who founded the China inland Mission, is considered the founder of modern faith missions. The key to his faith and perseverance as he labored for so many years in a foreign, hostile environment was a commitment to daily worship. As I read his autobiography, he shared that early each morning, whether at home or on a journey, he would strike a match, light a candle or lantern, and proceed to enter God’s presence with thanksgiving and praise.

Adoration and worship is the central service asked by God from human souls. If we will draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. The Lord is delighted in hearts that is filled with praises and thanksgiving. It’s an extravagant way of expressing our faith to Him. Through our faith, God heals us. Whether you are in sickness or going through emotional pains, God can heal you through your faith. Praising Him at all times will drive you out of that sickness and pain.

When those praises comes up, His glory falls down. His glory can fill you up. It consumes you from the inside out. God created you to praise Him, to recognize Him as eternal, sovereign Lord and King of all creation. When His glory falls, every negative thing that eats you gets dull. His glory is more than anything you could ever want. In the fullness of His glory there is victory and our faith is empowered.

Another thing that you must do is to equip yourself. Equip yourself with the promises of God. In times that you feel unsure because of what is going on with your life, equipping yourself with His words can energize you and your worship. It will fuel your faith.

When the going gets tough, the thing that you should do is magnify His name. Magnify the Lord!

You should learn to magnify the Lord not the problem. The moment you magnify Him, His power and His faithfulness, you become strong.

You become adequate of overcoming the giants in your life. The spirit of a conqueror in you is stirred up. When you think of the problem, you become exhausted but when you think of God, you become powerful.

God wants you to be strong. God wants you to conquer. It is His design for you! Just start praising Him and thank Him for His goodness and faithfulness. Even when dark clouds surround you, thank Him. When joy fills you, praise Him. Praise God at all times. If you want to become a champion, then go to the One who’s forever champion. Let Him teach you to be the same. When you walk with God, you are a walking champ.

-Romans 6:13 (NLT)

The measure of true worship depends on how much are we willing to surrender.

To surrender is to yield or give up one’s self into the power of another. It is hardly accepted by people. It is tantamount to losing such as in battle, in a game or surrendering to an opponent. It is also associated to a captured criminal yielding to the authorities.

No one wants to be a loser. Nobody would like to yield to his opponent.

We were taught not to quit, never give up, and never give in – so the word “surrender” is unpopular. Every one wants to win while surrendering is absurd. Even today, not everyone even among “Christian nations” discover the truth that only in surrendering, we can experience worship. The true measure of surrender is obedience. Surrendered people are those who obey God even if it does not make sense.

Abraham was commanded to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Peter, after having a failed night of fishing, was commanded to let down the nets. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego chose to worship God even with the mind set that even if God would not save them from the fiery furnace, they still chose God as their God.

Mary broke the alabaster jar and poured the perfume at Jesus’ feet. It was a very expensive perfume which could have been sold for a high price as suggested by one of Jesus’ disciples. But she chose to offer it to God.

Paul and Silas, after being severely beaten, offered a sacrifice of praise to God (acts 16:25). Jonah, after being in the belly of the big fish for three days, offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God (Jonah 2:9). They didn’t feel like praising God, but were willing to sacrifice. They offered the sacrifice of praise in difficult situations.

True worship is giving not receiving. Oftentimes, we want to receive. But it is hurting for many to give. True worship pleases God. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Many Christians only want Jesus to be their Savior, not their Lord. They professed Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but their lives do not manifest that He is their Lord. When we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus, we discover that he is not an oppressor but a saviour. He is not a dictator, but a friend.

“Lord, help me to understand the value of surrender. My life is not my own. I consecrate my life to you. I give my life as a pleasing sacrifice. “

• Conflicts in relationships. Since conflicts are present anywhere in the world and it is inevitable, we need to learn how to neutralize this threat to our relationships. We should arrest them by being gentle. Be gentle. To be gentle means to be caring, kind and patient. To be gentle is to choose not to be harsh, angry, grumpy or irritable.

• Concerns over circumstances. When we focus too much on the problems of life, we become anxious. Based on a survey, of our worries, 40% are about things that will never happen; 30% are about things in the past that can’t be changed; 12% are about other people’s criticisms, mostly untrue; 10% is about health, which gets worse with stress; and only 8% are about real problems that need to be faced. Paul’s advice to arrest this joy robber is to be prayerful. Philippians 4:5 tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”.

• Negative thinking. We normally dwell on negative thoughts when we grumble or complain. We tend to think negatively about our country, complain about our government and accuse our lawmakers whenever we suffer from financial and economic crisis. The only way to arrest this robber is to be positive. Having a positive mind and attitude can give one tremendous joy. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things”.

• Disobedience. The only way to arrest this robber of our joy is to be obedient. Obey God in everything so that it may go well with you and your household. There is a promise for those who obey God in everything. Likewise, there is a curse when we violate God’s holiness through disobedience. Certain restlessness develops within us, for we know there are consequences to sin. Philippians 4:9 tells us, “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you”.  Do not forget that Jesus walked on our planet more than 2,000 years ago and He modeled for us a life of obedience. He was obedient to His earthly parents (Luke 2:51). He was likewise obedient to His Heavenly Father and fulfilled His mission on earth (John 17:4). One practical reference where we can clearly understand that God want us to obey Him is through his command found in Ephesians 5:22-25 where it says, “God commanded husband to love their wives, and wives to submit to their husbands”. We can clearly see on this passage that God knows that man’s greatest need is respect while the woman’s greatest need is love. Disobedience to this command would start a husband and wife conflict.

True happiness and joy can be found in Jesus alone. What we need to ask ourselves is: Are we in the Lord? If we are not sure, we can turn to Jesus, admit that we are sinners, ask for forgiveness, repent, and receive Jesus into our lives as our personal Savior and Lord. By doing this, you are actually doing yourself a favor. Having Jesus as your Savior and Lord would also mean assurance of Salvation and becoming a child of God ready to receive His promises and blessings.