We Have A Reason To Praise Him!

“For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.”(Psalm 149:4,5 NIV)

No matter what happens in our lives on a daily basis, we can always find a reason to praise God. When He delights in us, He gives us favor–with Him and others. We have opportunities to share His love that we didn’t think about and yet, every time we open our mouths or tap the keys on a keyboard or speak into a system that will type for us–we can encourage others to live, pleasing God and watching Him work in our lives.

Does this mean our lives will be perfect? Not hardly, but it means our lives will be meaningful.

Look up at the sky on a sunshiny day and praise God for the sun shining and seeing a blue sky, dotted with puffy white clouds.

If it’s raining and all you do is to hear the thunder and see the lightning, praise God for hearing and sight.

If you wake in pain–praise Him for being able to feel the pain because some people can’t feel anything.

If you don’t have what you want to eat in the refrigerator, praise God for what you do have because some people, have nothing.

If you don’t have the clothes you want to wear, praise God for something to cover your body; there are those who have nothing other than the rags they wear, daily.

If you don’t have the kind of car you want to drive, praise God for having a car of any kind and the resources to keep it  moving.

If you don’t have a car and have to catch a bus, praise God for the means to pay for the ride.

If you have to walk everywhere you go, praise God for legs that move when you want them to move.

If you don’t have the type of job you want, praise God for the job you have or for what He’s about to bless you with–always keeping your focus on Him and living to please Him.

If we tried–and for some it’s really easy since they’re never satisfied with their lot in life–we could complain about every aspect of our lives, but what would happen if we started praising God for what we have, instead of complaining for what we don’t have?

Many of us don’t have any more than we do because we have proven to God that we are not good stewards over what He has given so why would He give us more–to squander? Think about it! How many ways and how many times have you had an opportunity to do great things, but you chose not to try? We are not great or can do great things simply because we “think” about doing it–we actually have to get up and do–more than talk about it.

With every blog I write, every book idea I start, I keep at it because I’m trying to achieve something great in my effort to please God, by sharing what He gives me. Have I made it yet? I don’t know, which is why I keep writing. When He stops talking to me, I’ll stop having anything to say, but while I wait for Him to speak, I’m praising Him for using a little older lady like me, to share His goodness. Even though there are mornings when I think I’ll give it up, I keep going because He keeps blessing me and I can hear the angels cheering me, “keep going, keep going, it’s not over yet.”

Yes, we have a reason to praise Him–and all we have to do is look around us or look within us to know what it is. Our God is an awesome God and I praise Him, just because He is who He is!

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Where Do Your Loyalties Lie?

“Love the LORD, all you godly ones! For the LORD protects those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes the arrogant. So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD!” (Psalm 31:23,24 NLT)

When the world appears to be falling apart all around us, many wonder–why is God letting this happen? Every day–we hear about tragedies–genocides, homicides, suicides, hatred, violence, people starving, people homeless, people dying from lack of drinkable water, and appropriate medical access–all of this is happening all around us, everyone is complaining, but not many are doing anything about it.

Are those of us who are “godly ones” loving God? Are we loyal to Him or are we the arrogant?

Just because we say, “we love God” if we are not doing, Love, we lie. There are many who say they love Him and many more who deny His existence. In order for us to understand what befalls us in life, we must understand where our loyalties lie.

There are some people who would never betray their job–they are there every day, on time, going above and beyond their job description in order to amass the attention of those who can help them move up.

There are those who would never betray a gang member–they want to impress and are determined how loyal they are by doing all the stupid things the gangs say do–kill, assault, steal–whatever it takes.

There are those who would never betray a spouse–doing everything they can please them even when they are being abused–emotionally, physically, and verbally–they are loyal to a fault.

There are those who would never betray a friend–they keep their secrets even when they shouldn’t, they will lie for them, cheat for them, always looking for ways to demonstrate their loyalty.

Are we as determined to demonstrate our loyalty to God as we are to other people? Yes, we need people in our lives–who are godly people, but they should never take the place of God in our lives. It is He who provides us everything we need and in some cases–He even brought that spouse, or job or friend into our lives, but the minute we develop a relationship with the people–we forget about our loyalty to God. When we forget about being loyal to God, stuff happens and if we’re honest with ourselves, we have no need to wonder why.

When our loyalty to people supersedes our loyalty to God–we stop interceding in our prayer life, we stop caring about others that are not in our circle, we look at the homeless and hungry and say, “that’s too bad–I’m praying for you.” We would rather look the other way than get involved with legislators who have yet to prove they know how to legislate for the benefit of all people. Our loyalties are limited to the circle that encompasses us and there is no room for God. This is why we see tragedies all around us.  We have misplaced loyalties.

When our loyalties are to God–He protects us–but the arrogant–those who think they don’t need Him or have to acknowledge His existence, are the ones who are beyond His protection.

Where do your loyalties lie today?