Spending time in the last few chapters of Psalms has been so good for my soul. Sometimes we need to be encouraged to simply give God praise. Amen?
The heading on Psalm 146 in my Bible reads:”God Praised for His Help.” We receive help from God every single day. As we make decisions and choices, and as we read His Word, He is the source of all we need.
“How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the Lord his God.” (Psalm 146:5, NASB)
Psalm 148 brought the reminder that all of creation praises God. They all praise Him for they know “He commanded and they were created” (verse 5b, NASB). Creation acknowledges the very One who brought them to be.
The leaves are dropping so quickly now from the trees where I live. I’ve been watching them for a few days. Every single leaf on every single tree throughout all of time was commanded by our God to be created. This thought has astounded me.
And then Psalm 150.
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”
(verse 6, NASB)
We praise God with our songs, our words, our actions, our lives. Every part of our being can be an act of praise and worship.
“As God breathed life into us, so are we to use that gift of breath to worship Him.”
(from Trust, by The Daily Grace Co., page 156)
Never did the gift of breath, and life, come to mean so much as during covid. As some family members came to struggle to breathe and overcome the virus, it became so obvious to me how we are dependent on our God for breath.
And with every breath,
our praise became even more of an offering to God.
Last week there were two posts whose thoughts centered around the wilderness. Both have stuck with me all week as I have gone back to read them several times. You will be encouraged as you read Donna Bucher’s post, “A Table in the Wilderness” and Natalie Ogbourne’s post “What is the Wilderness?“.
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.
Image by Muneeza bashir from Pixabay
Yes, may our every breath be an offering of praise to Him, Joanne!
My mom took her last breath in August of 2021 and during those last few hours her breathing became more and more difficult as she had been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer only 10 days before that. It was such a difficult time for our family but the blessing in the midst of it all was that my mom never stopped praising her God! In those last few days we shared stories of our faith journeys, we sang hymns around her bed and she reminded us constantly that “sure and shootin'” we’d be reunited in Christ one day! What a gift my mom was to us all!
Our Sunday School class has been going through selected psalms. They are such great reminders and examples of praising God no matter what the circumstances.
I’m becoming very dependent on the psalms for my daily prayer and praise. Sounds as if we’re on a similar path…
Oh how we all love the Psalms. May His praise ever be on our lips ‘from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same’ (Psalm 1130.
Joanne, I love how the Psalms describe how creation praises God. Also love the wilderness theme in the links you shared. I need to read Donna’s post. And Natalie’s post gives a taste of her new book, “Waking Up in the Wilderness,” which is absolutely wonderful!
Love the Psalms, I have a write the Word journal of the Psalms. Always edifying and encouraging!
I’ve also been drawn to the Psalms. They address our thoughts, feelings, hopes, and concerns so well.
Thank you, Joanne!
I love the Psalms for the real and raw emotion expressed. The psalms tell me that I can fully express myself to God. He gets me!
Bless you for continuing to write and share.
So good, Joanne!
I’ve been drawn lately to “breath prayers.” Pray a sentence when taking a deep breath in. Add to it when you beath out.
Breathe in, “The Lord is my Shepherd.”
Breathe out, “I have all I need.”
“We praise God with our songs, our words, our actions, our lives. Every part of our being can be an act of praise and worship.” Amen and amen.
We praise God with our songs, our words, our actions, our lives. Every part of our being can be an act of praise and worship.