I am in suffering and in pain. Rescue me, O God, by Your saving power. Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor Him with thanksgiving. For this will please the LORD more than sacrificing an ox or presenting a bull with its horns and hooves (Psalm 69:29-31).

There is something precious about praise in pain, about thanksgiving in turmoil, about giving honor in heartache. In Psalm 69, David offered the sacrifice of praise in the midst of suffering. He felt overwhelmed with the floodwaters of persecution (v. 1-2) from enemies who sought to destroy him. They attacked him unjustly and leveled baseless accusations against him (v. 4). He was mocked and humiliated (v. 7); even his own brothers gave him the cold shoulder (v. 8). He had a broken heart (v. 20) and his eyes were swollen from weeping (v. 3). In the midst of his despair, David cried out to God for salvation (v. 1). Over and over, he cried out for help from God until he was exhausted (v. 3). He wept and fasted before the LORD and prayed again and again for God’s salvation (v. 10, 13). But David not only prayed for rescue, but he also praised God and declared his faith in for salvation, even though he had not yet experienced it (v. 34-36). And he also promised that he would praise and thank God in the future when He did bring salvation (v. 29-30). It is this sacrifice of praise that pleases the LORD (v. 31).

This kind praise and thanksgiving takes faith because it is in the midst of suffering and before deliverance. God must be pleased when He sees His children placing their confidence and trust in Him even when they can’t physically see reasons to praise God. Hebrews 11 says that without faith we cannot please God. And faith is the evidence of things not seen. When we honor God with thanksgiving before we have received what we should be thankful for, this shows faith of a much deeper and real kind than just being happy for being blessed.

Lord, please increase my faith in You. Let me praise and thank You for what You have promised but I have not yet received. Help me to have faith in Your goodness and love even when I don’t feel or experience it. Let me praise and honor You in such a way that it brings joy and pleasure to Your heart. Hallelujah!