Praise the Lord

Psalm 68: 32

Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; Oh, sing praises to the Lord. Selah

The 68th chapter of Psalm talks about the goodness of God and how He is worthy of praise from His people. The verse is somewhat a climax to the whole chapter in that David expresses in this psalm how people of the earth should sing praises to the Lord because of His goodness.

As I was reading this verse, I realized how this verse relates to the verse that I read yesterday (or well, this morning). God is good. But sometimes, despite His goodness to us, we tend to forget about His gracious mercies and blessings. Looking at myself and my walk with God, I admit that I have taken for granted the blessings that God has given me. Sometimes, I would be so fired up in praising God but after I get what I want, I end up forgetting all about Him until another need comes up. And as I write my thoughts about the text that I just read, I realized how much blessings God has given me but compared to the praises I've lifted up to Him, my gratitude towards His blessings seems so less.

God has always been there for us. And sometimes when things don't go our way, we tend to be angry with God and for a while, forget about Him. But should we not praise Him for everything, though the circumstances are good and bad? Not just because something went wrong, we are doomed. God has plans for each of us and we should thank Him even when things don't go our way. When I didn't get my student visa last Feb 2009, I was, for a while, mad. But when God gave me more than what I asked for, I realized that He had plans for me, better plans for me. Instead of just 2 years in the visa, He gave me 5. And for that, I praise the Lord!!!

As my daily walk with God improves, so to speak, I have every intention to praise Him, no matter what. Jesus Christ has died for us on the cross to guarantee us salvation. Should we not praise Him for this?

As I end, here's a thought:

Praise God! When? In times of rain or shine, night or day, good or bad and in every situation in our lives. His Son, Jesus Christ died for us...this should be enough for us to give thanks and praise God all the time

Gracious God

Isaiah 30:23

Then He will give the rain for your seed, with which you sow the ground. And bread of the increase of the earth; It will be fat and plentiful in that day your cattle will feed in large pastures.

So here’s what I do:

• Close my eyes and pray
• Open my Bible while eyes still closed
• Count to 11 then choose a random verse
• Open my eyes, read it and write something about it

So yup, that’s the whole routine.

As I read this verse today, I realized how gracious our God is. God blessed those that exalt Him. He is gracious to His people. Like in the verse, He will bless the land of His people. God always provides. If we ask Him, He will hear. God is not selfish and abundantly provides for His children.

With this thought in mind, I realized how He has supplied all my needs and sometimes, He provides even before I ask for something. God is an awesome God. His mercy, love and grace is so abundant that sometimes I ask myself, “Do I really deserve this? Such a sinner I am, ashamed of what I have done but yet God never deserts me.”

So for this verse, I will always remember that I should not be scared about tomorrow because God has me in His hands. There’s no place I’d rather be but in my Father’s arms…