Skip to main content

Live to Praise

I have been praying and asking and waiting…and praying and asking and waiting...(with the occasional whining mixed in)…and yet still I sit. The For Sale sign outside my house sits as well.

A friend’s house that is for sale showed yesterday. Today our son and his wife’s house will show at 9:30. And ours sits. Its hard not to be envious. Its hard not to get bitter or desperate.  I am glad for our friends and kids, they need to sell their homes too, but I feel left behind.

As I sit here praying this morning, a verse I have scribbled at the top of my prayer list catches my eye. Psalm 119:164, “Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.”

The praise I give too often tends to come from what God does for me. “Thank you for that great parking spot on a rainy day…Thanks for a safe trip…Praise God for that pay raise…”

Not bad things to give thanks for, but the Psalmist doesn’t look for what God does but at Who He is and His righteous laws. This totally takes the “me” out of the picture. The focus is on God. All eyes on Him. There is no other issue clouding the view, just crisp clean praise given to the Lord. 

This kind of boils it all down and leaves me with a “wow” epiphany type of moment. God is God. God is good. God’s ways are perfect.  And even if I sit here for years waiting for my house to sell, God is still good. God is still righteous.

So, the better thing in this life is to focus on God and His character and not worry about my situations.  As they say, its all in your perspective. So which will I allow to be larger in my focus: God or my problems?
 
I need something else to fill my mind as I wait on God. Verses 166-174 speak of waiting on God, obeying God, crying out to God, asking for understanding, lips overflowing with praise, singing of God’s word, and longing for His salvation. That list hardly leaves time for me to mope and whine.

And verse 165 reminds me of the why. “Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.”  Peace. Isn’t that what I’m after in the first place? I want my way, I want what I think is best because I think it will bring me peace and comfort.

Summed up in verse 175 is my reason for living very simply put, “Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me.” Live to praise. And seven times a day keeps the desperation away.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Precious One

I enjoyed tucking my daughter in tonight, we talked and even giggled when I broke out spontaneously in a ridiculous rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. “Mom, rub my face like you used to” she requested. She shut her eyes as my fingers danced lightly around her face, something she used to like when she was a little girl. She drifted off to sleep and my thoughts drifted to praying for her. “Father, keep her from evil and keep evil from her… "She is Yours, help her to know that and live it and find satisfaction in nothing and no one else…." I was struck by the truth that her life and soul mean infinitely more to me than anything this life can offer. As I prayed, God re-ordered some things in my life and refocused my heart. I have been anxious to repaint my living room a fresh new color. Yet compared to the vital task of raising this young woman, building a God-world view in her life, my living room and so many other desires took a back seat and seemed so unimportan...
3 comments
Read more

Got The Poor Mama Blues? You Need To Do These 10 Things

I'm sharing this in the Titus2sdays Link Party! Check out the other encouraging posts linked there! Tired of the whining? Tired of dealing with disobedience? Tired of getting up at night? Tired of mess after mess? Tired of dressing them, feeding them, wiping noses…and bottoms? Tired? That’s normal. It happens . Even to the best mamas. So what do you do with these feelings? These frustrations? You can’t hide. You can’t change your name. You can’t run away. So what’s a mama to do? The middle of winter is when it usually hit me. Cabin fever sets in both you and the kids. And you find yourself coming down with a bad case of the Blues.   The Poor Mama Blues. But this can’t be blamed on anyone but yourself. Your emotions and attitudes belong to no one else but you. You are in charge of them. You are in charge of what your emotions and attitudes are in any given situation. Sounds harsh? Yes. But honesty is your friend here. Your emotions come upon you without no...
Post a Comment
Read more

I Want To See Your Splendor

The alarm woke me at 5:45 and pulled me back into my somewhat normal routine after almost 2 weeks of busy-wonderful Christmas break. The verse highlighted in bright pink caught my attention as I thumbed through the pages of my bible. Psalm 90.6 (NIV) May Your deeds be shown to Your servants, Your splendor to their children.     “ I want to see Your splendor. Lord, show me your splendor today.” I declared right there in my kitchen, while it was still dark outside and the day had not yet began for many. Only then I made breakfast, had another cup of coffee, made my bed, packed my lunch, threw some laundry in and went to work. I went on with my very ordinary day and forgot all about it. I forgot to look for His splendor. I was too engrossed in my day to watch for Him to show up. It wasn’t until the next morning that I even gave it another thought. I really do want to see His splendor. I want to see it right in the midst of my oh-so...
Post a Comment
Read more