Sacrifice of Praise

Today I heard someone share on this topic and it caused me to ponder if I really do sacrifice (give up my rights to) certain hotspots within my life. A hotspot is something I learned about years ago when we had a few dogs in our lives. One dog would find a sore on his neck or leg or wherever and rather than leave it alone, so that it could heal, he continuously scratched and bit at this area until a hotspot appeared. We had to put cream on this area and if he persisted, we had to put a cone on his neck to block him from his continuous efforts of relief. The sad thing was, his effort to bring immediate relief was causing an infected gash that could not heal. He couldn't resist the urge for the quick relief of a scratch although that scratch was to his own demise.

So the points shared today about the Sacrifice of Praise are this: Sacrifice = giving up rights to something.

1. I give up my right to understand what God is doing in my life. He is a mystery and that is a good thing. When I'm in a place of wonder, needing/wanting an answer or direction this is not comforting to give up this right, but I must.
2. I give up my right to depend on my own resources. At times He makes it real easy to stop depending on self. Those days without a job or those incidents that cannot be settled without a miracle. Those are places we are now no longer able to depend on what we bring to the table.
3. I give up the right to be in control. I cannot choose how God will bring relief or the answer. And the answer doesn't always look like I expect it to look. But didn't Jesus disappoint the Israelites because He wasn't grand enough for them? He wasn't a King or majestic enough for their liking. He was ordinary. We often want/expect a grand 'ta-dah' moment and He quietly brings an answer that, if we are not careful, we overlook and never receive because we think that is too ordinary of an answer for God to provide.
4. I give up my right to expect sympathy and admiration for my courage. NO PITY PARTY!
5. I give up my right to carry my own load. This is pride, I don't need your help.
6. I give up my right to wallow in my guilt. Not allowed to live in shame.
7. I give up my right to judge others. Blaming them for not being what I expected or such. We must praise God for who they are now - even in their less appealing state - and not for what we desire them to be.
8. I give up my right to judge myself.
9. I give up my right to judge my circumstances.
10. I give up my right to dictate terms of my training program. God sees what needs to be corrected or redirected in our lives WAY more clearly than we ever do. Trust that He has this all under control.

Basically we must sacrifice these rights, on purpose, to be in the mindset to truly praise. Praise Him for the sacrifice. It's more than submission, it's contentment. Acceptance with gratitude. It's an abandoned trust that He has it all under control and I don't need to run around like crazy trying to fix it all. I can trust Him to bring the good He has stored up for me at just the right time. Because unlike me, He's actually able to perform what He promises. And unlike me He knows, without a doubt, when it's the PERFECT time to say yes and when it's the PERFECT time to say no. He doesn't hope He's right.... He KNOWS He's right. I often have good intentions but He ALWAYS has our good in mind.