Every Day

Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. ...  17 The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. 18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them. 20 The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. 21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

Every day I will bless the Lord. Every day? Yes, every day. What about the days I regret, the days when everything goes wrong, when I make bad choices or fall into bad circumstances? Every day. What about the days when it seems like the world is heading to hell in a hand-basket? What about the days when loving my neighbors seems impossible because I can’t stand some of those neighbors and the ways they choose to live their lives? What about the days when I get so disgusted reading social media because every one’s opinion seems so far from mine and theirs make so much less sense? Those days too? Every day.

It seems to be asking a lot, this Psalm 145. And it certainly would be, if praise was a response to circumstance. Let’s be honest there are days when praise is easy. It just kind of rolls off our tongues, just oozes out of our pores. Praise as a response is a fun and uplifting kind of thing that we all enjoy. But Psalm 145 isn’t talking about praise as a response. It is talking about praise as a way of life. Or perhaps an act of will. Every day I will bless the Lord is a decision and not a reaction. Every day.

You can then see the rest of the psalm, after the every day declaration, as a list of ways to maintain the pledge. Meditate on God’s works, see God’s justice, feel God’s nearness, listen for answers to prayer. All these ways can keep us praising, even the days we don’t necessarily feel like it. But then there’s a challenge to accept with this praise way of life, and that is to get others to praise along with you. Maybe the buddy system for praising keeps us on task. Every day I will bless God’s name. Every day. And today.

OK, I’m still working on my devotions for the Upper Room Disciplines. The above is one. It still needs some editing and a prayer added in. But there it is. If anyone wants to make a comment to let me know what you think of the shorter format, I’d appreciate it. Thanks for being a faithful reader.

Shalom, 

Derek