Psalm 145
Verse 2 Every day I will praise You and extol Your name for ever and ever.
Yesterday we talked about what it means to exalt God, lifting Him higher above anything else in life. But what does that really mean and how do we go about that?
David gets us started today with reminding us that praising God is an everyday event. David understood that if we aren’t praising, then we are missing a vital part of what we were created to do. We were not made for self and so need to regain a proper focus, a focus totally set on God. When the focus is on the things that are going on in life, it is so easy to lose our firm faith footing. As we take our focus off of the Lord we start allowing the hardships in life to take the main spot in our mind and heart.
To praise the Lord everyday takes being intentional about the focus we are taking. It is about taking the stand to praise Him in the storms of life. About praising Him even when life isn’t what we want it to be. We know in our heads that we should be praising Him but we need to come to the place when our hearts are all in wanting to praise him about everything, even the bad stuff.
That brings us to the second half of the verse where it talks about extoling the Lord. Extol is a word the average person doesn’t say very often and even when we do, we may not know the definition of it. Extol is defined as praising enthusiastically. When was the last time we praised Him enthusiastically? We think we are doing well if we praise Him half-heartedly. But He deserves so much more! He deserves the best we can offer.
So how do we praise Him enthusiastically? We know it isn’t about putting on an act, so we know that it isn’t about a bigger and better band on the church stage. We also know that it is supposed to be done forever and so it has to be about something that is eternal. And God is the God of eternity and therefore we know that it has to be about Him. Yes, this ultimate praise is how the eternal creatures of heaven praise Him continually. Thinking nothing of themselves they praise Him day and night and will continue for eternity. Their example should spur us on to the most enthusiastic praise we have ever experienced.
Making It Personal
What is the most enthusiastic you have been in praise to the Lord? What changed in your life during that time? What are going to praise Him enthusiastically about today?
Making It Personal Kids
How enthusiast are you about praising Jesus? What are some things that Jesus has done that He should be praised for? What are you going to praise Him about enthusiastically today?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for making a way for us to worship. Give us wisdom to live like You desire us to. In Jesus’ name amen.