In the Highs and the Lows

Psalm 103:1-5 “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins, and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit, and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Lately, I have been reminded and challenged to keep a posture of praise and worship toward God for who He is. To remember His goodness, His mercy and to keep recalling the many ways He has consistently been faithful and present.

This Psalm of David urges us all to keep praising God. David’s words remind us that no matter what is happening in our life, God is worthy to be praised. He challenges his soul to bless the Lord. He talks of praising with his inmost being, that is to have a posture of praise and worship whether things are going well or not so well. At times we might not have much within us, we might be in a place where we are so emotionally or even physically spent that we find it hard to praise. Even on those days, may we keep looking to the Lord and praise Him from our very soul, with all we have got and bless His Holy name. As Hebrews 13:15 teaches us “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” 

David calls upon his soul to contemplate all the blessings the Lord has given. When experiencing challenges, we can become very preoccupied with the issue at hand; problem-focused and/or very me focused instead of God-focused. This Psalm urges us to reflect on God and all the ways we as His children are blessed. We are recipients of His forgiveness, He heals all our diseases (whether we get healed on this side of eternity or not, ultimately this is going to be a fact, we will be made whole, the way we are supposed to be when we go into His presence).

We are recipients of His redemption; the ones who deserve and are destined for wrath are given life instead through His salvation. On the cross He bore our sins so that we are spared and are made righteous. He crowns our lives with grace and is the only one who can truly satisfy. He renews our strength, as Isaiah 40 teaches us, those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

Circumstances in life can lead us to feel despondent, at those times may we keep praising God, may we remember truths from scripture that keep us grounded in our faith, and not forget all His benefits and blessings.

May each of us dwell on these immeasurable benefits and allow the list to expand as we ponder and praise Him for what we receive as followers of the Most High (El Elyon).

God Bless.