There is one thing that most good parents teach their children as soon as they start speaking, and that is how to say thank you. We want our children to not only learn to be polite, but also to learn to have an attitude of gratitude. We don’t want them to have this false sense of entitlement that so many people today seem to have. When we receive a gift or some good favor from another we ought to be grateful and say thank you to that person, and most importantly if it comes from God. Today’s psalm speaks of this. Let’s take a quick look.
Just as it is important to thank that friend or relative for the gift they give us, or thank that neighbor, store clerk, or waitress for helping us, it is even more important to thank the Lord God for His gifts and help each and every day (vs. 1-2). We should regularly anticipate and recall God’s provisions. There are some days, though, when this may seem harder than others, days when our troubles and trials are mounting. When we feel we can’t, the Holy Spirit will provide the motivation and words. He will teach us a gratitude habit. When we focus on His work in our life, we will discover our spirits lifting and our courage strengthening.
What about when a prayer we have been praying about for so long has not been answered? We need to thank and praise God in advance for all that we do not yet see of His faithful actions. Whenever we become impatient about a lack of answer to prayer, start worshiping the Lord, as He is all-knowing and all-powerful. Worship helps us recognize that God is greater than any of the things we are praying about. It helps us to release the situation to Him, and trust Him for the outcome. God is constantly at work behind the scenes.
God desires a moment by moment relationship with us, where we walk in His presence and enjoy His company all the day long (vs. 2). Some very well-meaning Christians only come to God one time a day, whether that is right early in the morning, or perhaps others right before bed. Some only once a week on Sundays. Hopefully that is not any of us! God wants fellowship with us both in the morning and at night, and in-between as well, and each and every day, too. Here we are instructed to sing His praises upon waking, either with just our voices, or if we have the ability, with any kind of musical instrument (vs. 3). Then at night we can tell everyone of His faithfulness. We will triumph through all that He does (vs. 4).
The psalmist closes his psalm by comparing believers to both a palm tree and a cedar of Lebanon (vs. 12-14). Is that something that you would want to be like? Let’s see. The palm tree is grown where there is sand, and the cedars of Lebanon are found on rugged mountains. The palm has a tap root that goes down deep, getting its nourishment from beneath. The cedar is refreshed by the rains that come to the mountains and hills. God will bless Christians with blessings both from the earth and from heaven.
Palm trees are known for their long life. To flourish like a palm tree is to stand tall and live long. The cedars of Lebanon often grow to 120 feet tall and up to 30 inches in circumference. They are solid, strong, and immovable. They are both beautiful and strong.
When we walk with the Lord, obeying and living for Him, we can be morally upright, spiritually strong and fruitful, and unmoved by the winds of circumstance. We should desire and pray to be like a fruitful palm tree or cedar of Lebanon, standing tall and strong as long as we live, so that we can proclaim God’s truth in all that we do. When we do so, we will leave seeds of faith that produce fruit long after our earthly lives are over.
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