I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 69:30
Sometimes, Lord, I cannot bear
the pains my body endures
sometimes, Lord, I cannot find
anything to be thankful for.
And there are times when I want
to just go away and hide
from all of life’s problems
where my heart ache lies.
Yet I’ve learned on days like these
to find a happy place
get quiet with You Lord
learn to praise Your fame.
When I give myself to You
a heart of thanksgiving I bring
my aches and pains and attitude
begin to glorify Your holy name.
~Marcie Bridges
©6, November 2017
All Rights Reserved.
My body aches tonight. I am not sure what I’ve done, but everything from the waist down hurts.
Perhaps it was all the walking I did last week at the conference. Or, it could be the, um, 3 squats I tried to do with my daughter yesterday evening. But, surely not. It was only three and I hardly did anything. Haha!
Whatever the reason, my body does not like me right now.
But why complain? I can walk, stand, sit, lay down, move my head and joints, my heart is pumping blood, and I’m breathing. Sounds like some good stuff to thank God for, doesn’t it?
I’ve been struck by the same type of writing in the Psalms. Oftentimes David or Asaph will begin a Psalm in the most somber of tones. There is whining and complaining, fear, insecurity, indecisiveness, and downright depression. Yet, each of these Psalms does not stay in that tone or attitude.
Psalm 69 is one such Psalm. The title of it is, “An Urgent Plea for Help in Trouble”. David begins with crying out to the Lord because of his afflictions and people who are troubling him. (And if anyone had reason to be afraid and downcast it would be David. He literally had a king trying to kill him!)
In verse five he begins to confess sins and lament his own wrongdoings. I don’t know about you but this is a bit depressing to read. David calls himself a reproach (a cause or occasion of blame, discredit, or disgrace; b: discredit, disgrace; 4 obsolete : one subjected to censure or scorn).* That’s a bit heavy.
Yet, the tide turns in verse thirteen. Here he begins to pray and ask God to save him. And by verse sixteen, he is speaking of the goodness of the Lord. And finally—FINALLY—verse thirty ushers us into praise to the Lord.
Seasons come, seasons go, but God is with us through each season of our life. I love Mark Lowry’s video where he talks about his favorite passage of the Bible. It states, “and it came to pass.” He says, “Are you in a bad season right now, hold on, it will pass. If you are in a good season, hold on, it, too, will pass.” **
But whatever season you are in, whether hard or easy, it will be your attitude of praise that will get you through it.
Go ahead. Complain, whine, kick and scream, cry, beat the wall or whatever else you need to do but when you are finished with your temper tantrum, turn your heart to the Lord and praise Him.
This is how David encouraged himself in the Lord. He strengthened himself in the Lord through remembering who God is, was, and will forever be. He remembered God’s faithfulness to him even through his sinful and most painful times in life. And even after the death of his son, he then went, clothed himself, ate and drank, then worshiped the Lord.
We all have “Job trials”. It’s how we act and what we do during them, that show our faith and trust in the Lord.
I don’t often use The Message translation but I like how it words verses 29-30:
I’m hurt and in pain;
Give me space for healing, and mountain air.
Let me shout God’s name with a praising song,
Let me tell his greatness in a prayer of thanks.
Oh dear friend, I don’t know what you are going through but I do know, even when it is hardest to praise Him, that is when we must be doing it the most. I pray this week we will each find time to trust God with whatever we are going through, praise Him with a heart of thanks through prayer and song.
From My Heart to Yours,
Marcie
**P.S. Excuse me now while I go binge watch Mark Lowry for some laughs. Here is his video on This Too Shall Pass:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z-nwWEpHdQ
*Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online: Reproach
All pictures courtesy of Pixabay.com https://pixabay.com/
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