One night several years ago at the dinner table, I asked my kids to share something they liked about each of their siblings. I thought it would be a beautiful time of encouragement. Will gazed at Christopher, deep in thought, and said, “What I like best about Christopher is that he isn’t very funny.”
This month we are going to make our way through Psalm 34. We won’t discuss every verse, so I’d encourage you to take a moment and read through the whole psalm. When David wrote this psalm of thanksgiving, his circumstances didn’t leave much to feel thankful for. King Saul wanted to kill him, so David was running for his life, hiding in caves, and trying to stay undercover by acting insane when someone recognized him.
And yet, David begins Psalm 34 with these words:
“I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!” (Psalm 34:1-3)
David says that he has God’s praise constantly on his lips. Do you ever struggle to praise the Lord? Maybe, like my son at the dinner table, you look at Him and think, “I’m not sure I can see much to praise right now.”
Even though David’s circumstances were challenging and discouraging, he was calling to mind all that the Lord had done in the past. Maybe he thought about how God delivered the Israelites from Egypt. Maybe he remembered when God chose him, youngest son of a family from nowhere, to be the next king of Israel.
What can you praise God for today? How has He shown His love, goodness, and faithfulness to you? Even in the darkest days, we can turn our eyes to the cross of Christ and the empty tomb and remember how Jesus secured our salvation with His life, death, and resurrection. We can turn our eyes to heaven and look forward to the glory that is waiting because of what He’s done for us.
No matter what you face this week, you always have a reason to praise the Lord.
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[…] week we’re continuing through Psalm 34. Last week, we saw how David always found a reason to praise the Lord. And as we keep reading, we see David praise God specifically for deliverance from his […]