Shout it Out!
by Peter Brokaar
I was mowing the lawn below our flat (3 floors down) and the ride-on lawnmower got stuck. I hopped off, tried to figure out why it wasn’t working, but I struggled to get it going again! I was getting frustrated and was probably wearing a frown! Then a sweet voice came to me, shouting from the balcony: “You’re the best papa (translation: ‘daddy’) in the whole world and I love you!”
Though other dads might say it was a biassed statement, it really made my day. I know that my daughter (for that’s who it was) truly meant it and said this from the bottom of her heart. Of course the rest of the day my frown was upside down!
How often do we tell God how wonderful He is? How much do we tell Him He’s great, that He’s the best and that we love Him? Does He not deserve to receive our praises? The Bible encourages us so often to ‘bless His holy name!’ Let’s do it!
Reasons abound to make a daily choice and declare His praises. First of all, He loves to hear from us. He is, after all, our Father. Another side to this – which I have come to appreciate since being at an Ellel Ministries centre - the enemy tries to convince us to keep our mouths shut. He hates it when we pray out loud, read the Bible out loud, and, in particular, when we praise out loud! Deploying various insidious strategies he seeks to keep us quiet. He hates the praise!
Have you noticed how your own spirit responds when you make the choice to proclaim God’s goodness? I once read a (non-Christian) article which advocated the benefits singing out loud. Apparently it makes us happy. My guess is that this is so because God hard-wired us this way. How much better yet when we sing praises back to Him!
I’m truly grateful for that day when my daughter openly, gladly and without any embarrassment declared her love for me across the lawns of Blairmore. It makes me want to do the same to God. Will you join me in declaring out loud what a wonderful and fantastic Father He is?
Prayer: I praise You, my Lord and my God! You truly are a wonderful God and You’re so good to us all! Thank You for saving me, for fathering me and for loving me. I bless Your holy name! Irrespective of my circumstances, would You please fill my heart with songs of praise today. Amen.
Peter Brokaar is Director of Ellel Ministries Scotland and has been there together with his wife Liz since 2005. They have 3 kids, all born in Scotland! In his free time he likes reading, cooking, running and surfing. Being at Ellel Scotland has given him the privilege of getting to know God deeper and sharing that joy with many others.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
