Praise

Have you ever known someone that is gifted in encouragement?  Someone that you are seriously just blessed by every time you are around them?  God be praised, I've been blessed with the friendship of a handful of such encouragers in the course of my days (maybe because I'm the kind of person that is in constant need of encouragement???).  One such dear soul went to be with our Lord, and now gets to rejoice in His presence.  Recently, I gained possession of a book she owned titled 31 Days of Praise, by Ruth Myers. Each day that I pick it up I am reminded of her because the praise of our God regularly bubbled out of her, even in the face of great adversity and pain...she is sorely missed.  I want to share Day 5 from the book with you...may we all become overflowing fountains of His praise!

     I magnify You, O Lord; I exalt Your name, for You are great and highly to be praised.  I praise You for the glorious splendor of Your majesty and the power of Your awe-inspiring acts.  Your power is unlimited...absolute...beyond imagining.  You are able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or dream of.  "There is nothing too hard for You."  Who is like You, "majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?"

     O Lord Most High, You rule over the heavens and the earth, for You made all things by Your great power, and You keep them existing and working by Your mighty Word.  You are exalted high above every star and galaxy in the entire cosmos...yet You are also "the God of all mankind," the great, personally present, personally involved God who loves, rescues, and takes care of all who trust You.  You exercise Your gracious authority over all nations -- and over each individual in all the world.  There is none like You, the true God, the living God, the everlasting King.

     I praise You for Your sovereignty over the broad events of my life and over the details  With You, nothing is accidental, nothing is incidental, and no experience is wasted.  You hold in Your own power my breath of life and all my destiny.  And every trial that You allow to happen is a platform on which You reveal Yourself, showing Your love and power, both to me and to others looking on.  Thank You that I can move into the future non-defensively, with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead, for You hold the future and You will always be with me, even to my old age...and through all eternity.