Tag Archives: praise

Morning Thanks

 

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. Psalm 100:4

 

Unlike my mother who loves to get up early and greet the sunrise, I am not a morning person; never have been, but wish I were. As a young man, I would stay up late and get up late. As an older man, still tired from my stem cell transplant, I go to bed early and still sleep late.  But I have learned that whenever I get up it is best to greet the day with thanks.

 

Giving thanks prepares the mind and the body for the day. It sets the filter through which we greet the day, our circumstances, and our God. Instead of starting with a sigh, “Good Lord, it’s morning,” try, “Good Lord! It’s morning!”

 

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
    Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Beginning each day

 

How do you greet each day when you first wake? What thoughts first come to mind? Are you one of those who quickly bounce out of bed like an expectant child on Christmas morning? Or is the snooze button on your alarm the first thought that crosses your mind? Is your mind instantly filled with thanks and hope or do the worries of the day rise quickly to greet you? Does the morning light bring a smile or a frown to your face? Regardless of your natural tendency, there is a ‘secret’ of living each day well.

 

How you start your day determines your course.

 

We can choose to have a ‘sort of’ good day or a great one; one prone to wandering or one filled with wonder; alone or in the knowledge that the Creator of the earth has His eye on you to care for and guide you. Though circumstances may sway you to choose poorly, it is still your choice how you greet each day, with regret or thanks, with discouragement or hope and praise.

 

The Psalmist says, “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go for to you I lift up my soul” (Psalm 143:8). The Lord answers, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with My eye” (Psalm 32:8).  What imagery God’s Word provides us. He guides us with His eye because He alone can see our day and our future. His eye stretches over all of space and time. There is nothing unknown to Him.   His eyes “range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him,” (2 Chronicles 16:9a). His eye is on the sparrow; how much more does He care for you! (Matthew 10:29-31)

 

There is some value in planning agendas and we can put some trust in maps and GPS to guide us. But we can put ALL our trust and hope in the One whose eye is on us as we begin and live each day.

 

“Why should I feel discouraged,
Why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely
And long for Heav’n and home?
When Jesus is my portion,
My constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He cares for me;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.


I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free, 
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.”

(Lyrics by Lauryn Hill, adapted from Matthew 6:26 and 10:29-31)

 

 

The Praise Effect

God has spoken quite a bit about anxiety and fear during my illness. Sometimes it seems I have given up my entire life, health, finances, and even much of my identity. But anxiety, which is basically a lack of trusting God, still creeps in. Sound familiar? We get anxious about relationships, finances, jobs, future direction, and so much more. I have learned much of what I need…I just need to apply it consistently in my life. If I worry or become anxious about things, I am doubting that God’s promises are true, or thinking that I can do better. I hate to admit this, but if I am honest with myself (Psalm 139:23-24), it comes to this:

Either I trust myself, or I trust my sovereign God.

Yesterday, we looked at the well-known passage of Philippians 4:6-7 which in summary says, don’t be anxious; always present your requests to God in prayer with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving when we are anxious? How does that make sense? Let’s have God answer that in His own Word:
“The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me.” Psalm 50:23
“Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of His works with songs of joy.” Ps. 107:22
“God inhabits the praise of His people.” Ps. 22:3
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3

What is so significant about God inhabiting our praise? We know that God is Holy and sin cannot exist in His presence. Worry and anxiety, IF we let it control us, is sin; it is telling God, “I don’t fully trust you.” When we praise God and thank Him for who He is and all He has done, we cannot also worry at the same time. If I could apply an image from my sanctified imagination, praise and thanksgiving are like a ‘force field’ against the things that war against our relationship with God. The ‘cure’ to anxious thoughts is praising and thanking God.

I find that one thing that really helps keep this in check and increases my daily trust, is to list everything for which I am thankful and tell them to God. Every day, at least ten specific things. And let every anxious thought be countered by thoughts of praise and thanks. It may be our greatest problem is not rebelliousness but thanklessness. God desires a sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise. And anxious thoughts find it nearly impossible to dwell in the company of these.

What are you thankful for today? Let it replace your fear and anxiety!