A Reason to Praise

Good Wednesday morning! Today the negative emotions are close to the surface. Anger, sadness, worry, hopelessness and the other members of that foul gang are right here ready to burst forth in an orgy of self-destructive thinking and complaining. We all have mornings or evening like that. Maybe not enough good sleep is the reason, perhaps something is bothering that God has not answered yet, or it might have something to do with the State of the Union speech and rebuttal last night. Whatever the reason we get up ready to be grumbly hateful and not humbly grateful as we know we ought to be. Today is one of those days with every reason to praise the Lord!

What? Praise? I feel like today is at best one of those days for that supplication thing, and we'll see about the the thanksgiving later. Nope, the very last thing said by the psalms is, "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!" What a way to sign off. What a great way to end the psalms! There are no exceptions for using our breath to grumble and complain. Only the command to praise the Lord, at least if you have breath that is. On a day when we feel most like putting our hands together for some serious whining to the Lord, there is one great reason to lift our hands and praise the Lord. That reason? Well, that reason is the Lord.

I may feel poorly for one reason or another, but the Lord in His Heaven has not changed for the worse. God is not looking down upon me or you with less love than He had yesterday. The promises of the Lord do not fall apart just because I feel like I am falling apart. The provision of the Lord does not stop because I feel empty. In fact, once you or me gets emptied out, then we are ready to receive even more of the Lord's providence! You know, I never thought of it that way until now. At a time when I am most tempted to take inventory every moment, the thought occurs that it is when our lives get emptied out that the Lord can pour the most in. At the time when you or I might seem to have the most to complain about, we are just getting ready to receive the overflowing cup from God. Trust is my word for the year, and trust comes to mind when the Lord says, "Trust in Me!"

Yes, the men speechifying the speeches and the talking heads with their criticisms may just get you down, but remember that God has not changed. The state of the union or the state of the world may be reason to moan, but God is still sovereign over all.

Have a better day in Jesus!
Bucky