While I was talking to a friend, these words came out of my mouth. ‘We often get emotionally tangled up from our thoughts about our past.’ The Lord has a way so that we can instantly bypass that entanglement.

Think of why they perform bypass surgeries. Arteries have narrowed or become blocked. It causes the heart muscle to be short of blood. Let’s take that into the spiritual sense. We keep our past alive through our negative fears or thoughts. We jam up our lines of communication with the Lord and with others.

Our worship comes from our heart. Worship flows when our focus is on the Lord. It stops when we look back. Our spiritual bypass surgery is praise. It is performed with a thought rather than a scalpel. 

Psalm 22:3 says, “But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.” Enthroned in the Hebrew means to dwell, remain, sit, and abide. The Lord is always present. Yet He uniquely presences Himself in our praise. 

Our praise is like an open invitation to Him, an expression of love from a free flowing heart. His enthronement leaves a fragrance that cannot be compared to anything on this earth. Mary’s act of worship filled the house with, “…the fragrance of the oil” according to John 12:3.

The next time you have a fearful or negative thought flit into your mind, bypass it through praise. Psalm 34:1 says, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 146:2 says, “While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”