I read Psalm 34 recently, and God used it to encourage me during a difficult time. This month I want to study several of its verses with you all. I pray that the Lord uses them to encourage you as He has me.
"I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth…"
God is so worthy of our blessing and praise. We all find it easy to bless God when we see the abundant evidence of His blessing on us, but David wrote that he would bless the Lord at all times, not just on the mountaintop. David went through some very dangerous, discouraging, and dark times in his life. I can imagine that it would have been very easy for David to give in to his fears and question whether God was really looking out for him. Although David was known as the man after God's own heart, he was still human. But in the face of his trials, David made the decision to bless and praise God. He focused on the victories God was giving him, not on the abundance of human opposition. We too can make this decision no matter where we find ourselves. God is worthy of our praise.
"...My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad..."
David realized who deserved the glory for his victories. He was faithful to the Lord, and the Lord helped him. He chose to boast in the Lord when he could have easily boasted in himself. Beginning with his first battle, when he slew a giant as a teenager, he boasted in his God. We have the same God as David. Ask Him to empower you to fight against the "giants" in your life, then let others know who gave you the victory.
"...O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together."
The world needs to see Christians lifting God up, magnifying and exalting Him above themselves. They need to see Christians blessing God at all times and praising Him even when life isn't going the way they expected or wanted it to. It isn't going to be easy, but I want to live in this way. What about you?
This week "let us exalt His name together."
In Christ,
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