The sweetness of praise

Anne’s chocolate and strawberry cake.

Although, sweetness and certain foods are often congruent in my mind, it’s a temporary thing.

The sweetness of praise has been coloring all my perspective of late.

It began on Wednesday.

My physical condition was creating a need within me.

I needed scripture.

Balm to my soul and so I turned to Psalms.

There is something so sweet about praising God.

Especially, during a time of struggle or pain.

As my week continued I found even more comfort in the Psalms.

For my physical condition had me laying on the couch, unable to do much.

Yet, my soul found such joy is praising God.

To simply lay all my desires into the Lord’s hands and focus on praising Him.

To put off the things I couldn’t do and instead focus on Jesus.

To worship Him with each break of day, to praise His amazing attributes throughout the day, to lift up prayers and praise at the close of the day.

And to choose to trust Him no matter how I am feeling.

It’s been a sweetness of the soul, nothing outward could possibly bring.

I’m finally feeling a bit better.

And I’m so thankful to God.

He knew all of this was going to occur and He provided for me in incredible ways.

The Word of the Lord is true.

It is my refuge in times of trouble.

Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand.
Psalms 20:6 NKJV

Praise the Lord, for He is good!

I hope you will choose to dine on the Lord’s sweetness and find new ways to praise Him in Your every day.

May your heart be filled with a long lasting taste of God and His goodness!

Psalm 34:8 NKJV — Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Psalms for the soul

God has a way of surprising me.

Often times it’s a kindness I wasn’t expecting.

Recently, it was loving words and prayers.

I wasn’t expecting it.

I was simply being transparent in an effort to give glory to my Lord and King Jesus.

Isn’t that just like the Lord…

He blessed me as I was seeking to honor Him.

“Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. ” Ps. 111:1 NKJV

praise.

It requires knowing He is praiseworthy and bringing to mind those things He has done.

joy.

“Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance.  In Your name they rejoice all day long. And in Your righteousness they are exalted.”
Ps. 89:15-16

mercy

“Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me!”
Ps. 66:20 NKJV

How long is the list?

Could I even remember all the answered prayers?

No.

But I wish I could.

God’s answers have not always been what I wished for, but they have always been for the best.

“For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.”
Ps. 66:10 NKJV

Refining isn’t always comfortable.

But it brings out the best.

I don’t always like it, but I’m so glad Jesus cares enough not to leave me as I was found.

Instead He’s working minute by minute, daily, weekly,…for a lifetime to hone and shape and clean and carve me into a more beautiful creation.

And I’m so glad.

May you be willing and able to see His wondrous working in the everyday moments.

“Jesus,

I love You. Thank You for loving me. Thank You for all Your words, work, and faithfulness. May Your name be known by every tongue, every tribe, all of mankind.”

Psalms

Proverbs speaks wisdom for life.

And I always think of Solomon when looking at a lily.

Probably because of Jesus.

He said, “So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Matt. 6:28-29 NKJV

Throughout my adulthood I’ve looked to Proverbs for nuggets of truth I could apply to my thoughts.

Over the last several weeks I’ve been struggling.

My health has been and remains poor.

Our family has gone through major upheaval.

And our future is uncertain.

In these days I’ve been reading Psalms.

Psalm 23 has been my life chapter for many years now.

I have gained such comfort from copying it down over and over.

My prayer journal is riddled with verses from the psalms.

“Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God.” Ps. 146:5 NKJV

“The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises those who are bowed down;” Ps. 146:8 NKJV

As I have walked these days of struggle I’ve experienced the Lord in new ways.

He has challenged me to be more honest and less guarded with my family.

He has reprimanded me when my attitude and actions have been dishonorable.

He has comforted and encouraged me far beyond anything I have ever experienced.

Jesus, Himself has touched my soul in a whole new way.

And I have struggled.

I’ve struggled with fear.

I’ve struggled with anger.

I’ve struggled with loneliness.

While struggling in each of these ways,
I can testify to God’s faithful love.

He’s never been harsh.

He’s never been exacting.

He’s never even left me to my own self-pity.

And He’s holding me in His hand.

And that’s not all.

My children have grown closer to each other and to us.

My husband and I have found and even greater depth in our relationship.

Even in the days I’m too ill to rise I have joy in prayer.

Even in nights when I’m awake more times than I choose to count I have thanksgiving.

Even in the humility of missing my daughter’s volleyball games or in instructions on how to cook certain meals, I can rejoice in the character building in our children.

I didn’t know my daughter knew how to make homemade hash browns or our son knew how to take veggies and meat and make stir-fry.

So as I pray for today, I’m looking at the Psalms.

What balm for the soul are hidden in these words:

“The LORD is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.” Psalm 145:17-18 NKJV