10/11/2019
Does Your Life Praise the Lord?
But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
─ Psalm 22:3 ASV
Faith is the ingredients of things hoped for, the evidence of what is not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1). Day to day, there is nothing assured but eternal life in God. You can plan your life and anticipate outcomes, but you truly don’t know how things will turn out. God is truly your salvation, your only hope.
It’s easy to praise the Lord when you feel good; you’re happy and life is going well. But when your emotions are rattled, it’s more difficult – you just don’t feel like living life in praise to God. And that’s when it matters most.
When life throws you a curve, does everyone know it because it impacts your emotions? Does Satan steal your joy when unexpected circumstances pop up? Psalm 22:3 declares that God inhabits your praise. He lives, dwells, occupies and resides in the midst of your praise. Your praise connects you to Him in a deep and intimate way. Praising the Lord means remembering all He’s done (Psalm 103:2), respecting Him and trusting Him by obeying His commands (103:17-18) and doing His will (Psalm 103:21).
When you step beyond what you feel and choose to praise Him through the hard times, you are experiencing faith. Praise is the connection to God you need. He holds you up securely and brings you through the toughest times. Your praise to God helps you to look past the circumstances to the place of healing, hope and trust in the Father.
Today’s One Thing
This week deliberately praise the Lord.
- Resist negative thoughts.
- Sing – turn up the volume on your music and just praise.
- Read – open up the Psalms and read them aloud.
- Meditate – choose scriptures that build you up and keep them before you throughout the day.