Thankfully, the LORD pulled me out of the damper and depressive state. An emotional state that was caused by worry and trying to do life on my own (all that and it was only 6am). The LORD lead me to Psalm 103 and scissor kicked me in the gut. You know, a loving scissor kick.
"Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy
name."
all my inmost being, praise his holy
name."
Done. Stop at verse one. Praise the LORD. Those words are repeated through out the Psalm and then the Psalmist expresses why we should Praise the LORD...
"Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits--
who forgives all your sins
and heals all you diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and
compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good
things
so that your youth is renewed like
the eagle's."
and heals all you diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and
compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good
things
so that your youth is renewed like
the eagle's."
We are commanded to praise the LORD. Better yet, the Holy Spirit in me (and you) craves to give God all the glory and praise, and to worship Him constantly. It's my (and your) flesh, my (your) sin that gets in the way of that constant praise. now that's lame.
Fast-forward a few hours and BAAM, I'm at my desk eating some Dove chocolate. In the wrapper of the chocolate reads a message: "Count your blessings, not your worries." The message hits home...
Immediately the Holy Spirit rolls my thoughts to Psalm 103. Praise the LORD with all my soul for all the blessings He's poured out on me. Because Jesus saved me. Because the LORD heals my hurts, my pains. And because the LORD loves me and wants to renew me. He wants us to worship Him not only because He deserves it, but because its then that we find the true love and joy the LORD is offering us. To praise the LORD is to tap into a fountain of goodness, that once jumped into, reveals how small our problems are, and how huge, compassionate, and gracious our God is.
Praising God takes us out of our small world and into his loving hands. Praising God takes our lives off of ourselves and on Him -- where they need to be. Praising God lets us experience His joy -- a pure joy that He desperately wants us to tap into and live in.
This praise is not just singing worship songs... Praising Jesus is a lifestyle. Praising Jesus is making our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions bow down to Him. Praising Him is walking with Him daily. Its serving others so that they may meet Him and start a relationship of praise. Praising Jesus is being obedient to His call, to His conviction, and to His purpose for our lives.
Our praise matters to the LORD. It is the reason that He has created us! He has crafted praise so perfectly. Let me explain: when we praise the LORD, we are aware of His active hand in our lives. Praise places our focus upon the gifts and blessings the LORD has provided. Our souls are refined more and more by Jesus when we praise Him. The creation of praise is incredible because the more we do it, the more thankful we become, and the more we want to be thankful. The LORD demands our praise -- not just because He is worthy of it, but because He wants the best for us. He wants us to experience the Joy that He'll pour over us when we praise Him. He wants to break us of all the other idols in our lives that steal His glory, that we place our comfort and faith in. He alone demands praise because He created the Heavens and Earth to bring Him glory.
So next time your down and out, don't sulk in it like I did. That reaction gets us no where. But go & "praise the LORD, all His works everywhere in His dominion.
Praise the LORD, O my soul."
Fast-forward a few hours and BAAM, I'm at my desk eating some Dove chocolate. In the wrapper of the chocolate reads a message: "Count your blessings, not your worries." The message hits home...
Immediately the Holy Spirit rolls my thoughts to Psalm 103. Praise the LORD with all my soul for all the blessings He's poured out on me. Because Jesus saved me. Because the LORD heals my hurts, my pains. And because the LORD loves me and wants to renew me. He wants us to worship Him not only because He deserves it, but because its then that we find the true love and joy the LORD is offering us. To praise the LORD is to tap into a fountain of goodness, that once jumped into, reveals how small our problems are, and how huge, compassionate, and gracious our God is.
Praising God takes us out of our small world and into his loving hands. Praising God takes our lives off of ourselves and on Him -- where they need to be. Praising God lets us experience His joy -- a pure joy that He desperately wants us to tap into and live in.
This praise is not just singing worship songs... Praising Jesus is a lifestyle. Praising Jesus is making our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions bow down to Him. Praising Him is walking with Him daily. Its serving others so that they may meet Him and start a relationship of praise. Praising Jesus is being obedient to His call, to His conviction, and to His purpose for our lives.
Our praise matters to the LORD. It is the reason that He has created us! He has crafted praise so perfectly. Let me explain: when we praise the LORD, we are aware of His active hand in our lives. Praise places our focus upon the gifts and blessings the LORD has provided. Our souls are refined more and more by Jesus when we praise Him. The creation of praise is incredible because the more we do it, the more thankful we become, and the more we want to be thankful. The LORD demands our praise -- not just because He is worthy of it, but because He wants the best for us. He wants us to experience the Joy that He'll pour over us when we praise Him. He wants to break us of all the other idols in our lives that steal His glory, that we place our comfort and faith in. He alone demands praise because He created the Heavens and Earth to bring Him glory.
So next time your down and out, don't sulk in it like I did. That reaction gets us no where. But go & "praise the LORD, all His works everywhere in His dominion.
Praise the LORD, O my soul."
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