Bless the Lord, O My Soul.

“But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.” Psalms‬ ‭59:16‬

Our past has a purpose, but its purpose is not to keep us dwelling in it and never moving forward. Each morning we open our eyes, we have an opportunity to begin again. That is not a gift we should take for granted.

Often times when we think we’ve “failed” or made the wrong choice, starting over seems like it’s a bad thing. Like, “here I go again starting over because I’m such a screw up.”

Stop it.

First of all, you are not a failure if you keep starting over. Failure means to break down and stop working completely. So if you have a pulse, and you’re starting over, it’s because you’re recognizing your need to grow and starting over is the first step.

That, my friend, is not failure.

Every morning you wake up is an opportunity to thank the Lord that you have another chance to try again because of HIS unfailing love. I know it’s hard. I really do. Sometimes it really is easier to carry yesterday’s mess into today’s chaos, but let me just tell you, nothing good is going to come from that. Plus, how can you praise the Lord about His love if all you’re focused on is how messed up you think your life is?

The Lord is our refuge and our safe place. Friends, we cannot hide our hearts from the Lord. So when (not if) we do end up carrying yesterday’s mess into today’s chaos (ahem, distress) we need to tell Him about it, lay it at the cross, rest assured that He’s got us under His wing, and go kick the day in the booty.

Why?

Because He is FAITHFUL and deserving of your praise. So after we give that mess to Him, let’s THANK Him that we don’t have to carry that burden.

Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

I believe the burden Jesus gives is not light in the form of weight. I believe the burden Jesus gives is light, like a light bulb. He takes our heavy, dark burdens and replaces them with bright LIGHT. The burden He gives us is light so when we walk into our days we are GLOWING and radiant with His love inside of us.

All the more reason to give Him our praise each morning when He blesses us with the light from the sun and the light of His son.

So what are some practical ways we can praise/worship the Lord, not just first thing in the morning but throughout the day?

1. Put your phone down and look up! We have forgotten how to do this. We are so connected to our phones and always looking down that just the simple act of setting our phone down and walking outside can be revitalizing to our minds and our hearts. Practice this daily. Walk away from your phone - the noise of the world - and look up at the sky towards your Heavenly Father. Don’t just do it once. Do it every day, many times a day.

2. Look people in their eyes. When you are with another person, put the distractions aside. That means your phone too. Engage with that person. Look in their eyes and connect with their soul. This too, is something we have forgotten how to do - how to be people. When we’re loving people intentionally the way Christ did, we are pleasing the Lords heart. Being intentional with His children is an act of worship.

3. Study Gods word and memorize scripture. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He didn’t cast Satan out simply by saying “go away” and pretending Satan wasn’t there. He cast Him out with the Living Word of God. When you equip yourself with the armor and word of God, Satan cannot touch you. Because when those tempting and difficult moments come up, you will be ready. Tell Satan, “not today Satan, and tomorrow isn’t looking good either.” Read Gods word, memorize and use it as the powerful weapon it is!

4. Pray continually. God is not only your Heavenly Father, but also you’re friend. Talk to Him. Tell Him everything as you move through your day. The only way to get better at talking to God is to practice doing it. This is one of my personal struggles. I seem to go to Him more when I’m frustrated and irritated rather then when I’m happy and things are good. Let’s work on thanking Him in the hard and the not so hard moments together!
   

There are so many ways to bring God into your every day. So much more than what I’ve listed here. Do you have anything that you do to bring God into your days? If you feel called to, share it below in the comments!

Love,

Rachael