BENEFITS

Psalm 103:1-3

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases. Psalm 103:1-3, NKJV

Praising the Lord can be hard sometimes especially when you just don't "feel like it." So how do you motivate yourself to praise God even when you don't want to? One of the best ways to motivate yourself to praise God more is to remind yourself of how good He is. While heaven is our ultimate goal and our reason for living, we don't need to forget that God is with us now.

This life is far from heaven and is filled with all kinds of problems, disappointments, diseases, death, trials, sin, and heartaches. These are things that we all face at times and are just what we call a "normal" part of our lives. Of course, some face more than others and each of us may face different things, but we all have our share and then some. Paul tells us we can turn these things over to God in prayer with thanksgiving because the Lord is near.

When things get so bad that we don't even know how to express it to God in words, we have His Holy Spirit to intercede for us. When we think that surely God cannot really understand our plight, we are reminded that Jesus lived life just like we do, and He faced all these same things, and He understands. When lite seems to turn against us, we can know that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to bear with His help and His strength and will give us a way out of it. He never sleeps, gets distracted, goes on vacation, or ignores us. He is always ready to listen to our prayers and answer them.

So, we praise the Lord for this goodness to us. We praise His holy name because He continually blesses us, even in ways we don't seek or know. We cannot begin to know all God has done for us and how He has altered circumstances or given alternative opportunities. Praise God from whom all blessings flow, for our God is good and His love is everlasting. It can be easy to look at all the things going on wrong around you and have a bad attitude.

Decide today to do something different. Challenge yourself today to find some time to praise God, regardless of how you feel!!!

Father, thank You for this day and the praise You have put into our hearts today. Lord, open the storehouses of Your abundant blessings and let them flow over us and our family today. Lord, we do thank you for all you do for us every day. Lord, we praise You for the wisdom you give, and we seek it more. Lord, we praise You for your gift of creation, and we praise You for those who shared the gospel of Your grace with us. Lord, thank You for the strength You provide in times of trials. Lord, give us a pure heart so we will live in such a way that brings glory to You at all times. Lord, use us to help show others how to serve You and live for You.

Father, we love You. Amen.