Daily Devotional – 2/22/13 “There’s a praise on the inside …”

That I can’t keep to myself, a holler stirring up from the depths of my soul. So excuse me if I seem a little giddy or maybe even strange but praise is the way I say thanks!

Yes sah! See, there’s a praise on the inside because my body could have been cold when my husband rolled over this morning but it wasn’t. I could have found his body cold when I rolled over but I didn’t. I could have a child missing or longing for the streets but I don’t. I could have slept in a homeless shelter last night but I didn’t. I could have to get my next meal from somebody’s garbage but I don’t. I could be standing in the unemployment line but I’m not. I could be preparing my mother’s funeral but I’m not. I could be holding one of my sister’s hands while she goes through chemo but I’m not. I could be on the transplant list waiting for a heart or a kidney but I’m not. Why do I have praise on the inside that makes me feel like hollering? Because I could be worse than I am but I’m not. I could look for the answer in the bottom of a bottle but I don’t. I could shoot momentary joy through my veins or up my nose but I don’t. I could find pleasure walking the streets or selling my body but I don’t. I could be abused at the hands of a man but I’m not. I could be contemplating suicide but I’m not. Why do I praise? To say thank you God for loving me when I wasn’t fit to live but not ready to die, for forgiving me every time I dip in sin, for picking me up every time I fall into temptation, for propping me up every time I lean the wrong way, for lifting me up when folk keep pushing me down, for believing in me when I want to give up on myself, for healing me when sickness should have snatched my life, for protecting me even after I’ve done what I know I shouldn’t and for instilling in me your Holy Spirit when I feel like I’m all alone. Thank you God! So when you see me and I don’t act the same, it’s the God in me. When I don’t look the same, it’s the God in me. When I don’t talk the same, it’s the God in me. So excuse me if I seem a little giddy or maybe even strange but praise is the way I say thanks!