Praising our Lord!

Psalm 147

Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the Lord with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp. He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. Extol the Lord, Jerusalem; praise your God, Zion. He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat. He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow. He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws. Praise the Lord.

I hope you are having a wonderful day, I know I am. Today is my birthday. Birthdays were always special days in my household growing up. I've continued the tradition. A lot of people dread the birthday as they grow old. Me, I love it, everything about it. I find it as a day to rejoice in the Lord, for granting me another year to serve and praise Him. So, I want nothing more, than to praise God today, on my special birthday.

What better way to praise the Lord, than Psalm 147! I love going to the Psalms, they give you such inspiration to praise the Lord, even in the bad times. So, what reason do we have to praise the Lord? Well, have you ever felt like you just don't belong? I have, and quite often. I was the one that no one wanted on their kickball team - mainly because I could never kick the ball. I was always the last one chosen. Perhaps I wasn't the one wanted for the kickball team, but God chose me to be on His team. It says in Psalm 147, that He gathers the exiles. The ones that were not chosen and he cleans them up. He heals their broken hearts and binds the wounds. Can you remember a time when you were broken? Perhaps your heart is broken now, but God has come to bind up the broken hearts. I love nothing more when I am feeling downcast, to crawl into my Daddy God's lap. Feeling His presence all around me, like a blanket being wrapped around me, brings such comfort. It truly heals the brokenness. God understands your pain. He is the only God that became human, just so He could understand our pain, and then suffered the pain of the cross. God is such a mighty God, yet He cares even for the smallest of things. He cares about all of His creation; He even has named all of the stars. He places the clouds in the sky, to protect us from the sun. He feeds the grass, cattle, and ravens. He provides strength to the humble - why should you not praise the Lord! He is worthy of all praise, and He delights in the praises of His people. So, let us take the time to praise our Lord, today!