Praise and Patience

Apr 24, 2017 | From the Pastor

Our life, and our life alone, should be reason enough to praise God. We are called to see the light at the end of the tunnel, to find the sun on a rainy day and to hold onto the immense hope that God has given us.

Praise and patience—how important are they and why should we be concerned with them?

Let’s begin with praise.

There have been many studies conducted on giving praise and what might be a proper ratio to offer up positive (versus negative) comments to someone.

Our life, and our life alone, should be reason enough to praise God. We are called to see the light at the end of the tunnel, to find the sun on a rainy day and to hold onto the immense hope that God has given us.A Harvard Business Review article said that people need six positive comments or points of feedback to counteract a single negative one. Research has shown that positive comments usually are more effective than negative ones. Granted, there are times when the criticism must be made. But the power of praise is strong and apparent.

On the issue of patience, it’s something that we need in many life situations. I’m not entirely sure whether patience is something we are born with or develop over time. I do know that patience can be tried and tested.

Praise and patience are tools that can and should be used in virtually all areas of our lives.

If someone is performing a task in a way that is not quite right, we need to demonstrate patience and teach them, no matter how long it might take. If someone does any exceptionally good job, we need to recognize it through praise.

In that light, does not God deserve our same exact patience and praise that we offer up (or should be offering up) to other people? If our prayers are not answered immediately, is that reason to throw our faith out the window? Of course not. Is it justifiable to refrain from praising God because we had a rough week, lost a job or are going through a rough patch? No.

Our life, and our life alone, should be reason enough to praise God. Granted, at times recognizing that as the only gift and only reason to praise can be challenging, but it is what we are called to do: To see the light at the end of the tunnel, to find the sun on a rainy day and to hold onto the immense hope that God has given us.

Our children deserve praise. Our family members and friends deserve praise. Our coworkers deserve praise (yes, even the ones who take that last cup of coffee and don’t make a fresh pot). God deserves praise. And we deserve praise every once in a while too.

Let’s show others the praise and patience we all deserve. With that, we can be the catalyst for a world that sees it more frequently every day.