11/10/2018
Where does my help come from? Understanding the nature of God is more than important, and we can see it best in those things for which we praise and thank Him. The Psalms are a wonderful place to turn as we look for God, and search out His impact in our lives. Do you praise Him enough? Do you see Him in every corner of your life?
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.] The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.”
Psalms 145:13-15, 21 ESV
One of the most revealing questions a teacher can ask is for a student to tell them how something affects their life, or the world around them, “Tell me class, how did ____________ impact our world.” When a question like this is asked the classroom typically gets very quiet, and there is a long pause as the teacher stands waiting at the whiteboard with a marker in their hand. You see we take so much for granted... we travel through life doing the things we need to do, and at the end of the day we don’t stop to look back on the amazing things that have transpired; the smell of coffee brewing, a sleepy child who stumbles into the kitchen to be fed, the sun that is coming over the horizon as we head off to work... well the list is enormous. It is equally true, and even more so, in our faith. Do you regularly ask yourself “in what ways has God blessed me today?” If you already attempt to do that, do you find yourself struggling to recall those things?
Why is it that we have such a hard time recalling these things? I propose to you that it is because we spend most of our time in the present. We are too busy living in the here and now, so busy that we seldom revisit what we have done, or experienced, even minutes before. As parents we meet our children at the door when they come home from school and ask “How was school today?” to which they reply “OK.” Does this sound familiar? Then we ask “What did you do in school today?” To which they answer “Stuff”, or maybe “I don’t know.” So we begin asking them even more specific questions “Did you have your spelling test?”
It isn’t that our children have forgotten everything they did for the last several hours... it is that more that they are focused on right now! What snacks are in the kitchen? Are cartoons on television? Can I go out and play? They are in the moment, and it takes concerted effort on our part to make them leave that moment and tell us what happened earlier in school. This is us at the end of our day too... instead of telling God about our day, or thanking Him for what He did for us earlier, we are concentrating on what we need now, or our needs for tomorrow. Praising God, and Thanking God, require us to pause... take a few minutes out of our NOW, and look back on our day together. The Psalms are wonderful in reminding us to remember, thank, and praise Him!
“I remember your name in the night, O Lord, and keep your law.”
Psalms 119:55 ESV
They also remind us to place those things into His hands that’s we have been doing all day which might have been painful, mournful, or too much for us.
“I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said, "Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart." Then my spirit made a diligent search:”
Psalms 77:1-6 ESV
God meets us at the door when we come home from the school of life, and he asks us what we did today. How do we answer? Do we ignore the question and head to the pantry to satisfy our hunger? Do we look at Him with a blank stare? Do we shrug our shoulders and say “I don’t know.”? Maybe we begin to tell Him what we need for tomorrow. God is interested in us, and has been working to provide for us and bless us all the day long, now He wants us to talk to Him about it. He wants us to acknowledge the things He has done and thank Him... He wants us to praise Him for His efforts.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,”
Psalms 103:1-2 ESV
Praise and thanksgiving are powerful; they show that you care, and express your love. When my wife prepares a wonderful meal for me she wants me to tell her how amazing it is, she is, and how much I am enjoying it! If I say “It is good” or “that was a fine dinner”, it Isn’t enough, and she will continue to ask me questions about it until I praise it in great detail, tell her how much I really did enjoy it, or, heaven forbid, hurt her feelings. We all want to know that the effort we make is appreciated, and that these things we do every day are more than just meaningful, but show our love for others, and are met with their love for us.
When was the last time you went to a quiet place at the end of your day and recalled all the ways that God had blessed or provided for you... then began to thank Him, and praise Him for them? I am not talking about a quick “Thank You Lord!” when something good happened during the day, I am talking about a true and concerted effort to praise God, and thank Him for all those things that made up your day. When was the last time you sat at the dinner table of life and really told Him how wonderful the meal was that He had prepared for you, and how awesome He was in His provision... without Him having to ask?
Recognition, praise, and giving thanks, are very important to us in our lives, and they are also incredibly important to God. Make an effort to praise the Lord for all He does for you, and thank Him for His efforts. Not just a quick “Thanks!”, but with a “wonderful and amazing, the best meal you have prepared for us in some time, and a real special recipe that needs to be saved” type of thank you, and praise! An expression of love and appreciation that comes from the bottom of your heart.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for all that you do in our lives each day, and for watching over us as we we walk the narrow road of righteousness through a world filled with sin, hardship, and suffering. Thank you Holy Father for sending your Son Jesus Christ to serve as our narrow bridge between heaven and earth; a bridge that takes us over the sin and death that has long separated us from You, and allows us to be reunited once more. Thank you for showing me that the cross on Calvary, which jutted skyward, and on which Jesus bled and died, was more than an obelisk of suffering, but was that very bridge... that pathway by which our way was made to glory. You are great above all God’s, and our one true God. In you we find our rest and peace; in you we find grace and mercy for which there is no end; in you we find the love of a Father that meets us at the dawn of every day, and watches over us through our nights. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God. Worthy are you of all praise and thanksgiving. Worthy are you of our eternal love and worship!
Rich Forbes