He is worthy of our praise…always!
“I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Psalm 34:1)
Greetings Faithful Ones,
Praise the Lord! I find myself doing that a lot more these days; how ’bout you? I have stopped following a lot of the news I used to read. There is so much bad going on in the world that it can get discouraging sometimes. Once and a while, probably even always, we need to detox from all the negativity and badness in the world and turn our eyes on the things for which we can rejoice and praise God! There is so much for which to praise Him! When you focus on the great things God is doing, has done, and will do, your countenance changes; your attitude changes; your heart changes; and your outlook on life changes. Like a dark cloud blown out of the way that lets the sun shine through, so it is when we take our eyes off of the darkness of the world, and let the glory of the Lord pierce our gaze with His goodness and grace.
There is a beautiful picture of “blessing the Lord” in 1Chronicles 29:9-22. It’s a great scene because it is a large multitude of the people of Israel, coming together for a common cause to provide for the building of the temple of the Lord. Willingly, with their whole heart, the people rejoiced for being able to make their offering to the Lord (29:9). David, full of joy, “blessed the Lord in the sight of the whole assembly” recognizing God as the Everlasting Father. What a picture! The children of God honoring their Heavenly Father! What does it mean to “Bless the Lord”?
1. First, it’s about recognizing how awesome He is (29:11a): His greatness, His power, His glory, His victory, and His majesty, and acknowledging that all these attributes belong to Him alone. As Jesus taught us to pray first, “Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name”. Let us meditate on each of these words: greatness, power, glory, victory, majesty. We would arrive at only one conclusion: God is awesome!
2. Secondly, all of creation belongs to Him, and He rules sovereignly over it all (29:11b): I like how the NLT puts it, “Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore You as the one who is over all things.” God reigns!
3. Thirdly, on a more personal note: “Riches and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is at your discretion that people are made great and given strength” (29:12). God’s provision is cause for praise (29:13), even more so when we realize how undeserving we are to have anything to offer back to God, because it all comes from Him (29:14). In humility we utter, “Who am I...everything we have has come from You, and we give You only what You have already given us”(29:14b;16). Are we not humbled to know that God supplies for all our needs and even our wants, yet requires so little from us in return, except gratitude and praise (Romans 11:35-36). God gives generously!
4. Fourthly, we recognize that we have been put here by God, and our time is short – we are just aliens and pilgrims on our way back to our Father (29:15). Our citizenship is in heaven. We have been created by Him and for Him and will return to Him…because of Jesus! Unlike the Israelites, we have a glorious hope in Christ, who will come to take us back to live with Him forever. God is faithful – His promises are true!
5. Lastly, God knows our heart. He knows us intimately, yet He still chooses to love us. He tests us to find integrity and uprightness (29:17), and He can keep our hearts loyal to Him (29:18). His grace is more than sufficient to perfect us unto holiness. He is patient and kind towards us, and in His great mercy, He directs our heart to make us wholly devoted to Him (29:19). God is Merciful Father!
For all of these reasons, we bless the Lord, and bow before Him in adoration. How do we get to that place of falling before Him in worship? We fix our thoughts on Him. We take our minds off all the distractions of the world and look for how God is moving around us. A heart of worship is cultivated by sowing good news into the soil of our heart. Jesus is good news! Faithful Father is good news! Holy Spirit in us is good news! Salvation and everlasting life are good news! Heaven is good news! Let us fill our heart, mind, and soul with the truth of who God is and we will be able to say with the psalmist, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!”
Have a blessed week!
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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