Read 1 Chronicles 29:10-14 or Listen to 1 Chronicles 29:10-14
In sooo many places King David raises his voice in praise. Here in 1 Chronicles, David is recorded as praising God for His incredible provision of all of the offerings given in preparation in building the temple. David lists so many attributes of our great God. Join me as we take a look at David’s list:
Greatness
Power
Glory
Splendor
Majesty
Everything in heaven and earth is yours
Yours is the kingdom and you are exalted over all
You are the ruler of all things
In your hands are strength and power
What do these words mean to you? How does reading them reset your mind? How does reading them make you feel? When we focus on God’s many and perfect attributes, we reset our minds from the problem and our hopeless feelings to the truth of God’s power. Miraculously, we can praise God in any situation. By holding on to the truths of our great and powerful God, we can transform our minds from hopelessness to hopeful!
I love David’s list especially because of their context in the Bible. The current situation is that David wants to build the LORD’s temple and was told no. Oftentimes when we are told no to something, we can become angry or upset and even harden our hearts to God. In this case, David could have been resentful, but instead he chooses something different. He chooses to praise the LORD and offer a collection of his possessions for preparation for the building of the temple. And he invites others to join him. All of the leaders and all of the people gave willingly of their resources to this new temple building. Gratitude is contagious! (You can read all of this for yourself in 1 Chronicles 29)
Praise has the incredible power to change our mindsets and re-direct our hearts. The next time God tells you “no”, will you respond like David did with a song of praise and offering up a gift to God? And how can you encourage others to join you?