Tag: Psalm 103:1

Bless the LORD, O my soul
Psalm 103:1,2 – Psalm 103:22 – Psalm 104:1,35

Does your mind ever wander? Sometimes it happens in the middle of what might be an important presentation or conversation. It happens exactly when we should be concentrating. At these times we find our mind churning through “to do” lists, future plans or even holiday destinations. We’re often embarrassingly snapped back when someone asks a question or demand a comment. Our mind was being lazy, escaping rather than paying attention.

Today’s verse describes what David did to make his mind work properly. 5 times in Psalms he instructs his soul to Bless the Lord. The soul embraces our mind, will & emotions. Our soul is designed to praise and bless God, enjoying his friendship & delighting in his favour. Unfortunately, many people seldom use their mind, will & emotions for this. They just let their soul do what it wants to do, unhindered.

Like David, the most effective thing we can do is to speak to our soul to make it do what it needs to do, even when it doesn’t want to. Joshua was told to make his mind speak & meditated on God’s Word [Joshua 1:8], Paul told us to make our mind give thanks in all things [1 Thessalonians 5:18, Ephesians 5:20]. When we make our mind work, rather than be lazy, we pay attention to all the promises, blessings & hope that God has for us.

This week let’s wake our minds up by speaking to them. Let’s not accept a lazy or disinterested response. Let’s employ our minds appropriately in God’s Word. Let’s read, speak & meditate on God’s Word. Let’s make our souls give thanks for everything that is happening. Then, before long, our minds will be alert, excited and passionate to go further & deeper into the things of God.

“Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name”
Psalm 103:1

We love buying gifts to bless people. Sometimes it can be difficult to locate the right item, other times it can be relatively easy. When we find what’s needed, we often say “This gift will be perfect for so & so – it’s so them!”

Today’s verse tells us about the right kind of gift for God. Our desire to praise Him with everything is the right gift. Praising him through our body, soul & spirit. Praising Him with our heart, will, affections & emotions. Praising Him with our relationships, finances & all that we have. God is worthy of ALL our gifts of praise.

We are designed to praise & bless God in this way. As we praise Him with our whole being, we’re ensured that He remains the central & pivotal focus of our lives. Praising Him this way also leads us to all the wonderful benefits that are listed in Psalm 103.

So, this week let’s ensure we give God the gift that He desires, the gift we were designed to give Him. Let’s praise Him with ALL that we are. Let’s use everything we have to praise His holy name. Let’s never allow others to limit the level of our praise instead let’s release everything we have to God. As we do this, we connect back with Him. Then as we continue, we’ll be remembering ALL the marvellous benefits He has for us!