O Praise Him

Praise the Lord
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

he gathers the exiles of Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.

He determines the number of stars
and calls them each by name.

Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.

The Lord sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

make music to our God on the harp.

He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes the grass grow on the hills.
He provides food for the cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;
the Lord delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Psalm 147:1-11

Wow. I read this today and I had to share and write. Often we praise God for answered prayers, or when things are going well. We are called to praise Him always, even in suffering. I try to constantly pray/praise, to have a conversation with God as often as possible. This isn't always easy... the world is very distracting. Satan fills us with lies about how much we are lacking, when in reality God provides. With this dissatisfied mindset, we rebel and sin all the more.
This psalm reminded me that we should praise Him constantly, because it is FITTING. 

There are so many reasons to praise and be thankful to God, regardless of circumstances. I am not sure if in this psalm it says "pleasant" referring to praise being pleasant to God, or how it is pleasant to praise. I find it extremely pleasant to praise. It brings me joy to tell God how amazing He is to me, and how thankful I am that He is so loving and powerful. Simply praise Him because He IS GOD. 

He's the God who is faithful to His people and His promises. He's our healer, He's sympathetic to our pain. He is our CREATOR. He invented the concept of stars, and named them all. God is attentive to detail. God maintains the upkeep of the earth. He's not distant, but actively building, gathering, sustaining, supplying, providing, healing, and binding. He is powerful beyond human comprehension. When we acknowledge this, and humble ourselves, subjecting our lives to His will and His purpose, He SUSTAINS us.  The thought of bringing delight to God should be the fuel behind our praise. To express, in humility, that we fear Him and He is in control.  In exchange, we can place our hope in His love, which never fails.

Personally, I have a problem with getting my hopes up. I build expectations. I don't like it when plans change. God is working on me. I have my terrible moments of weakness when frustration gets the best of me. But all this happens because I hoped in something that had the possibility of failure. I had GREAT hopes of spending time with my stepdad on Fathers' Day.  However, my parents will be out of town visiting my stepdad's dad. This I find out today, as in very late Friday night. This deep feeling of frustration returns and I feel like I'm being left out (I was invited to go with them for the whole weekend as of an hour or so ago, I have very important plans tomorrow that I cannot and will not break, lest I join the dark side of plan breakers). All this to say, I get my silly hopes up every holiday, and rarely does anything go according to plan. I need to learn my lesson and put my hopes only in my unfailing Father. In light of what He's done for me, any trouble is momentary and beneficial. Praise should come as natural as breathing.  Your very breath confirms His power.

As for me, I will always have hope. I will praise You more and more. - Psalm 71:14

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. - Psalm 150:6