“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Hebrews 13:15
“Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!” Psalm 96:9
“in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thess. 5:18
Know what babies do when they’re in their high chairs and they don’t get what they want, and even when they ultimately get what they want, but they don’t get it fast enough, fast enough in their little hearts and eyes anyway? They bang on their spoons. I’m no baby, but I’ve done my fair share of banging my spoons on my high chair through the years, clanking and clunking away with that loud annoying tinny sound as the spoons hit the high chair, then raising my pudgy little fists up to heaven, and to those around me, to let the Lord and the world know I’m not getting what I want, not fast enough anyway, not in my heart and eyes anyway. The Lord’s teaching me how to quit banging my spoons, and I believe He’s using me right now to encourage you to examine your own heart and life to see if you, too, have been doing some spoon banging and need to quit banging those spoons.
Complaining, impatience, self-pity, whining, moaning, groaning, bitterness, resentment, anger, etc., and oh, yes, pride, the pride we have when we believe we deserve, and we are entitled, and God should serve us, and the world should serve us, it’s ALL sin. And it makes a lot of banging and clanging and clanking noise, doesn’t it? It’s all sin we need to repent of. Then what? What happens when in Jesus’ name we pray to God for forgiveness and purge ourselves of all this nonsense, when we set the spoons down, then what happens? The Lord has made it abundantly clear in my own life what He desires, and even commands, and it’s in line with His Word as He only and always speaks in line with His Word, and His Word isn’t just for me. It’s for us all.
We are to BE THANKFUL, we are to PRAISE HIM, we are to WORSHIP HIM, and, above all else, we are to LOVE HIM, and, in so doing, we are to SERVE HIM, and instead of being consumed with ourselves which is undoubtedly my biggest struggle and isn’t it the greatest struggle of us all, I, and we, are to die to self and to live for Christ, and we are to LOVE HIM, yes, AND we are to LOVE OTHERS, and to SERVE OTHERS in His name.
I walked up one of the biggest hills I have ever walked up on a sidewalk one day, and it must have taken me a good 20 minutes to get to the top. On the way up, I cried out to the Lord, sought Him, heard Him, was convicted by Him, repented before Him, of all my spoon banging, and then, the spoons message came to me. And with it came a little “vision”. What I saw, and I did it right there on the sidewalk as I walked, is that when our hands are free from banging our spoons on our high chairs as we have done, our hands are free to be raised up high into the air that we may love, and praise, and thank, and worship God almighty through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that I sit and write these words, this, too comes to me. Not only are our hands, and most importantly our hearts, now free to love and worship God wholeheartedly, but our hearts and hands are now free to love and serve Him and others in His name for the glory of the Lord!
Is it time to quit banging your spoons?