Most of us have a very short attention span. So attempting to understand the concept of forever more can be mind-boggling. We can’t stay focused on something for 15 minutes, and this verse tells us to praise the Lord for an indefinite, limitless amount of time! But if we think about forever more in another way…someday we’ll find ourselves in the very Throne Room of God singing in the heavenly choir, “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13) …and time won’t matter anymore, for we’ll be in the presence of the Lord.
Tag: Praise be to God
Psalm 108:3-4 ” I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of You among the peoples. For great is Your love, higher than the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.”
Having a really bad day? Go outside then, take a deep breath, and look up into the sky. Now celebrate the fact that God’s majesty is on display just for you. Thank Him that He sought you out in your brokenness and worked a miracle in your life. Proclaim to Him again your trust in His son, Jesus Christ. Gaze up into the sky and recognize… that vast expanse above you can not start to contain God’s love for you.
Acts 16: 25-26 ” About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.”
Earlier in the day, Paul and Silas had been stripped, severely flogged and then thrown into prison. So we now find them hours later holding their own praise and worship service to a rather captive audience of fellow prisoners and guards. They could have wallowed in their sorrow and pain, but instead chose to worship God. When we praise God in the midst of impossible situations, the atmosphere changes and with it, our attitude. Our eyes are taken off the incurable, the grief-stricken, the hopeless dilemma…and allows God to work in miraculous ways. It says here that the earthquake caused all the prison doors to open…not just the one to Paul and Silas’s cell, and that everybody’s chains came off…not just theirs. When our focus is on praise rather than on self-pity, everyone around us will be blessed.
Isaiah 12:4 ” Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted.”
We tend to thank God when good things happen…when prayers are answered or people are healed. But what about when things aren’t so good? Can we still find gratitude within pain and sorrow? Can we be like Job, who after losing everything near and dear to him, exclaimed,” The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, may the name of the Lord be praised.” Expressing gratitude to God within the storm moves our eyes off the chaos around us and focuses it on above.
I Chronicles 17:20 ” There is no one like You, O Lord, and there is no God but You, as we have heard with our ears.”
Maybe it’s hearing someone’s answer to pray…maybe it’s a praise report…or maybe it’s hearing that someone you’ve been praying for has finally come to know the Lord. Whatever it is, joy and thanksgiving almost explodes from us as we listen to others praising and thanking our Heavenly Father. Sharing God’s miraculous works is so important to all of us. For when we share…we all become encouraged and uplifted!
Psalm 107:21 ” Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men.”
The Lord loves to bless you in small gestures that only you would recognize. Little blessings are a way that God shows you just how special you are to Him, and that He too cares about ever aspect of your life. These unexpected little blessings should come as no surprise though…for God’s kindness and mercy is unending towards you…His love for you is unmeasurable…His desire to give you good gifts is part of His being.
Malachi 1:6 ” A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a Father, where is the honor due Me? If I am a Master, where is the respect due Me? says the Lord Almighty. “
We’ll readily agree that God is our Heavenly Father and the Master of the universe. But our actions seldom match the honor and respect we should be showing the Lord Almighty. Our reverence and appreciation usually goes to material things and our comfort… rather than God. We should all then ask ourselves if we’re showing God the respect and honor He’s due, or placing ourselves on the throne instead.
Psalm 52:9 ” I will praise You forever for what You have done; in You name I will hope, for Your name is good. I will praise You in the presence of Your saints.”
Do you see your glass as half empty, or half full? Rather than focus and dwell on the have nots…concentrate on what the Lord has already accomplished in your life. Thank Him for what He’s brought you through as you expectantly wait for Him. Linger in the miraculous happenings of your life story with the Lord as you anticipate what He’ll do next. As one of the faithful, your glass will never again be half empty…for the Lord’s love will fill it to overflowing.
Isaiah 25:1 “O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.”
God has a plan and purpose for your life. It was formulated before the creation of time. He has put in place wonderful and miraculous things in order for you to accomplish it. He is trustworthy and steadfast in His objectives for you…never wanting you to fail. You may think God can’t use you…but you are oh so wrong. You are exactly what He’s looking for…you have been placed on this earth at this very moment in time to accomplish great things in His name.
Psalm 145:3 ” Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.”
Paul’s letter to the Romans tried to explain our incomprehension of God’s greatness when he said, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Romans 11:33) As humans, we cannot start to understand or ever figure out just how wonders and miracles happen…for the Lord’s power is truly unfathomable.
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