Pouring Out Praise

L to R: Ricky Castro - Country Gardens Leasing Mgr, Founder of The Sanctuary - Yolanda D., Sanctuarians - Norell P & Veronica F.

This past Sunday, I had the great honor and privilege (2 Corinthians 8:4) to exhibit the greatness of God’s love by donating my time to an initiative sponsored by the Sanctuary, The Brown Bag Blessing initiative. We went to an apartment complex in Dallas, GA called Country Gardens and gifted to ten working families with children, two bags of groceries each.

It truly proved to be an indescribable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15), not just to those who received, but to those of us who were there to give (Acts 20:35).  Giving, not out of our surplus, but sowing seeds from our first fruits (Proverbs 3:9) so that we can be a testimony to God’s grace (2 Corinthians 9:14).

I can now joyfully acknowledge Acts 20:35 and I know without a shadow of a doubt that there is more joy in giving than receiving. I know we touched those ten families in ways that they will never be able to put into words. But it touched us in an equally profound way.

There was utter and complete surprise, with some not being able to grasp the concept of complete strangers coming to their door with groceries and wanting nothing in return but a hug. There were tears of joy and relief. Even though we truly were an unknown blessing to those families, I can’t begin to describe the blessing I received. I can’t put into words the gratitude I felt for the opportunity to touch a person’s life in that way with an act of kindness that I found to be very easy to fulfill. The only word that would come out of my heart was GRATEFULNESS. I was overwhelmed with the desire to praise God and just pour out at my Father’s feet my appreciation for such a blessing.

Hebrews 13:15 says, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” I thought this scripture fitting for what I was experiencing so I dissected it to fully understand what this sacrifice of praise should be. 

I found it really interesting to note that the greek word that is here translated lips, cheilos, from a form of the word chasma, literally means a shore or pouring place for bodies of water. Additionally interesting was my discovery that according to Hebrew notions, a name is inseparable from the person to whom it belongs, i.e. it is something of the person’s essence. Therefore, in reading this scripture with this knowledge, we could surmise that we are to pour out the professions of our praise from our lips and openly profess God’s name or identity. We are to pour out from our hearts, in praise and thanksgiving, that God is the essence of love.

The song that came to my mind when reflecting on that information, Grateful, by Hezekiah Walker, was perfect for my praise and worship after this amazing experience.

Enter into worship…

I could go on and on and on about His works. Because I’m grateful, grateful, so grateful…

~Contributed by:
Veronica F.