By Rebecca Murzin
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Psalm 103:1
We should be continually praising God, because He is worthy of all our praise. He is all powerful, all knowing, the creator of the universe, the King of Kings, the Alpha and Omega, our guide, our counselor, healer, provider, and He is our Savior! When things are going good, it is easy to praise God. But how about when things are not going so well? Do you still praise God knowing and trusting that “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28).
Have you ever had to tell yourself to bless the Lord? Have you ever had to practically force yourself to do this? I have, on countless occasions including this past week. Sometimes we need to just make ourselves, even though we don’t feel like it. When your soul is heavy and all you can do is cry, when you feel despondent and your hope has grown weak, when the pain is so deep that you can’t move and have to remind yourself to breathe, this is when you need to tell yourself, Bless the Lord, with all the strength that remains, bless the Lord oh my soul. Praise God, He is good, He is in control and this is not too big for Him. I wish we were to the point we would do this automatically. When we let fear, doubt, and depression sink in, we have to tell ourselves to do it. We have to force ourselves. At these times, it seems to take every bit of strength we have left within us to do it. But when we do, we will experience a breakthrough because there is power in praise.
We need to remind each other to do this even though it might not be what the other person wants to hear. The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” In Ephesians 5:19-21 we read, “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” We are a family and need to lift each other up using the word of God and in psalms, and songs. We are to remind one another to bless the Lord! We need each other to pick us out of the sinking sand. We need one another to lift our spirits and be pointed back to Christ rather than allowing the enemy to get a foothold in our minds and hearts.
When we do this, when we tell ourselves and tell each other to bless the Lord, to praise the Lord, the power of God floods us completely. There is something about praise that can’t even be explained in words. We can feel the Holy Spirit because “God inhabits the praises of His people” (Ps 22:3). We are told, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor 3:17). We are free from the lies of the enemy, free from fear and doubt. Where the Spirit of God is, there is power because He is all powerful. When we praise God the spirit of heaviness is lifted, our hearts are encouraged, faith begins to rise up, and we can find joy in all things and in every situation.
If your heart is heavy, Praise God! If all is well, Praise God! If you don’t feel like praising Him, do it anyway. Make yourself, tell yourself to bless the Lord. I promise you that you will be glad you did.
