Bless the Lord...always

My husband and I have a friend who is a very talented singer and songwriter.  He sang in our wedding, sharing two songs, one of which, Bless the Lord, is one of my favorite worship songs.  The text for this beautiful song is drawn from another beautiful, rich text: Psalm 103.

I like this Psalm for two reasons. First, it reminds me that we have innumerable, incredible reasons to praise the Lord. I've often found myself coming before the Lord a bit tongue-tied, resorting to such eloquent words as "Thank you Lord for this day, and for this food, and thanks for saving me, and thanks, um, for my family. And, uh, please let me get good sleep tonight. Amen." Not that there's anything wrong with thanking the Lord for those things, but David shows us in Psalm 103 that the reasons we have for praising the Lord are anything but ordinary. They're incredible. Here's just a few:

[He] . . . pardons all your iniquities . . . heals all your diseases (vs. 3)
. . . redeems your life from the pit (vs. 4)
. . . is slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness (vs. 8)

Secondly, this psalm reminds me that we have reason to praise the Lord always. He does not determine His actions according to our behavior (vs. 10) for if He did, He would change as much as we do. He is constant, unchanging, and that means that the above qualities which make him so worthy of our praise apply always.

Let’s take this beyond coffee. How can this understanding affect the way you come to the Lord? As for me, I need this reminder, perhaps on a daily basis, that no matter what circumstances I may be facing, no matter what my emotional or spiritual state, God is worthy of praise. I need to, as David did, “forget not His benefits”. How incredibly heartbreaking to forget how blessed we are! There is no reason to be tongue-tied if I know who the Lord is.  Forget not His benefits, friends. Remember them. Daily.