I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
~ Psalms 34:1
Every day is a struggle. You struggle to wake up from not enough sleep and groan as you take that first couple of steps from your bed. If you make it to the sink without falling or running into walls, you then brush our teeth and continue to get ready. It’s cold and rainy, but you push through to get to your car without getting too wet and then off to work you go.
The traffic is unusually heavy; every traffic light chooses your car to stop, and it makes for a Darlington 500 kind of finish as you pull into the work parking lot just in time to make it on time. By the time you get to work, you’re physically and emotionally worn out. It’s only 8 am, and you have a full day of meetings. Your boss continually evaluates your performance, and you feel like you’re on in a fishbowl with every decision. It’s going to be a great day!
Your coworker had a horrible weekend and fills you in on every detail down to burning the hamburgers for the Sunday family meal. You really don’t have time for all of that extra stuff, but you listen because you’re a good friend. Your nerves are shot because you’ve been taking care of your sick mother and father all weekend with no help from others. But you’re too tired to talk to anyone about it, and it remains locked deeply in your heart. In many ways, the weight is unbearable before you even get started on a rainy Monday.
But then you’re confronted with Psalms 34:1. God tends to throw these kinds of verses in your path to remind you about important things.
I will bless the Lord because I’m grateful
When it comes down to it, you should bless the Lord at all times. Yep. Even when every traffic light chooses to stop, you bless the Lord. What does “blessing the Lord” mean? It is another way to say praise the Lord. So David is saying to praise the Lord in every situation. Whatever your situation, you should praise the Lord. This kind of response IS NOT ALWAYS EASY.
These kinds of verses always cause me to step back and think about how I often fail at this. If we’re honest, I bet we would all say that we fail at this. Praise comes from gratefulness. When you realize what Jesus did on the cross for you and then as you experience all the gifts He continues to provide for you, you cannot help but praise him in every situation. Can you do that? In every situation?
The more you realize God’s gracious and compassionate love towards you, the more you will want to praise Him. When your coworker shares his/her horrible weekend with you, praise the Lord that you have their confidence and can provide some spiritual guidance and a sensitive spirit for them. I know….nobody has time for that. But, maybe God wants to use you to affect others. Maybe God doesn’t want you to focus on your situation. Perhaps he wants you to focus on Him. Would you be open to that possibility?
I will speak of His praise because my heart is full
When your heart is full of God’s word and driven by His Spirit, you will speak of His praise. You will give God what He deserves. He deserves our praise. Our praise is a result of His work in our lives.
I believe it’s about perspective and love. It’s not about becoming a Jesus freak and carrying around a Bible everywhere you go. It’s not about reading Scripture in the grocery store as you try to decide between Veg-All and DelMonte. It is about being consumed with God’s love for you and audibly giving Him thanks so others will hear about the hope you have. It’s one of the easiest ways to tell others about Jesus.
Will you take the challenge of Psalm 34:1. I promise it will change your week.
Some Questions…
- What makes it so difficult for you to praise the Lord continually during your day?
- How can you make significant changes in your life and praise the Lord continually?
- Will you pray today for God’s help to offer praise to the Lord today and the rest of your week? That means praying that you could praise the Lord at all times.
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