Ultimate Praise

We have reached the end of Paul’s anxiety reducing list of things to think about. This in Philippians 4:8 includes things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. To be praiseworthy means to deserve approval, admiration, or commendation for an action, quality, or effort. Things that are praiseworthy can be found in our society easier than the others. If a child receives a perfect report card in school it is praiseworthy. Healthy relationships are praiseworthy. Even a promotion can be viewed as praiseworthy. However, these are all temporary. The excitement eventually goes away and we are back to searching for something that is praiseworthy. However, there is someone who is praiseworthy. Someone we can focus on day after day.

Psalm 145:3 says, “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.” The praiseworthiness of God never goes away. It is ever lasting, so when we seek God, we find someone praiseworthy. The life of Jesus is praiseworthy. His death on the cross is praiseworthy. The same can be said about His resurrection. Jesus is praiseworthy. So when we focus on Jesus, anxiety decreases. Look at what the Psalmist says about God. “His greatness no one can fathom.” The greatness of God is outside of our comprehension. This is actually good news. It means God’s praiseworthiness will never fade. There will always be something to praise God about. We can’t possibly understand everything about God, but that’s praiseworthy because when we focus on Jesus we learn more about HIm and find Him praiseworthy.

There’s a song by Sidewalk Prophets featuring Megan Danielle named Looking Up. It says, “there’s a long list of roads to rock bottom, just a handful of ways to claim out…if you get low enough, you’ll start looking up.” When anxiety hits it can feel like rock bottom. I say this because as a redeemed alcoholic I understand rock bottom, and my anxiety at times is pretty close to the same feeling. I got up from rock bottom by grabbing hold of the hand of Jesus, who lifted me up. The same is true about our anxiety. When we start looking up we find Jesus, and He is praiseworthy. When we are at rock bottom, there is only one way to look, and that’s up into the loving eyes of Jesus. When we see Jesus we realize that He is praiseworthy. By taking our focus off the fears and thoughts causing our anxiety we find relief from our anxiety. Jesus is praiseworthy.