Praise and Thanksgiving

When I was in college I was challenged to look at things from God’s perspective. My perspective is pessimistic and negative. I was sure that nothing would ever work out for my good. For anyone’s good, for that matter. But I had tunnel vision. I was unable or unwilling to see the big picture.

So I started to praise God each day for Who He is – not what He’s done – just for Who He is. But this was hard for me to do because I did not know Him very well. I needed help in getting to know my God. I found lots of descriptions of God in the Bible. I especially liked the Psalms, but found other descriptions of God in the Minor Prophets and the New Testament.

My favorite place to visit to refresh myself with the attributes of God is Psalm 136. Every verse includes the phrase, “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. He is the God of gods, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. He is the Lord of lords, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. He does great wonders, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. He made the heavens and the earth . . . And on and on it goes listing characteristics of God and reminding us that everything exists because His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Just remembering that His love for me right now is totally without end is reason enough to praise Him. He’s never going to give up on me. He’s never going to say, “I’ve forgiven her too many times already.” He’s never going to forget I exist. His love for me is here right now and forever. I can’t really wrap my thinking around what forever looks like or feels like, but that’s the point. His lovingkindness is too big for me to understand. But I can count on it day in and day out, forever, however long that is.

This perspective allows me to trust Him and to have joy and hope where none existed before. Why did I ever stop having specific and faithful praise time? I don’t remember when I stopped doing it, but I know the benefits of doing it, so I’m doing it again. It doesn’t have to be some huge commitment. Five minutes everyday. That’s doable and it does so much for me. So I started doing it again a couple of weeks ago. My mood and my outlook are so much more positive – and getting better everyday.

I challenge you to spend one minute, each and everyday, praising God for all that He is. Start by looking through Psalm 136. See if you can see things from God’s perspective.