Praise Him More

November 30, 2023

From Jackie Payne

David had a lot of reasons to cry out to God. His life was often in danger. He lived in some really sketch places. Even his own son tried to do him in. So when David cries out to God in the Psalms, I feel it’s warranted. But some of the Psalms are not to cry out to God. Some are just to praise God for who He is.

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Psalm 103:6-12

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the cares of your day-to-day life. It’s easy to look around and see wars and rumors of wars and get scared. It’s easy to feel lost, angry and so sad about things that happen in and around your life. To cry out like David cried out sometimes is warranted and often needed. But are you taking time to just praise God?

On Thanksgiving my father-in-law posed the question, "If you woke up tomorrow and were left only with the things you thanked God for today, what would you have?" That will get you thinking...

So today, write down or think about five things that you can praise God for. It can be simple things (a good night’s sleep, coffee, traffic that was mercifully light, the way the sun shone through the window) or bigger things (a good diagnosis, safety through a car accident, reconciliation). Just take some time today to praise Him and be thankful.

We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction. – Harry Ironside

May we praise Him more!