Praise Refreshes the Soul

April 18, 2012
Sharon Jaynes

Today's Truth

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name," (Psalm 100:4 NIV).


Friend to Friend

One day I was mopping the kitchen floor and my words were anything but cheerful. I grumbled to myself…no one even appreciates all that I do around here. All I ever do is clean, clean, clean. Then suddenly, God began to whisper a new thought to my heart. Suppose you were blind and couldn't see the beautiful patterns on the linoleum floor, or the spilled juice by the refrigerator, or the crumbs under the baby's chair? If you were deaf, you couldn't hear the soothing sound of the soap bubbles dissolving in the scrub bucket. You couldn't hear the rhythmic sound of the mop being pushed back and forth across the floor's hard surface. Suppose you were confined to a wheelchair and not strong enough to stand upright and grasp the wooden handle to erase the muddy footprints and make the floor shiny and clean again? Suppose you didn't have a home or a family to clean up after?

These thoughts brought a new perspective to this mundane task and my grumblings turned into a prayer of thanksgiving. I stood up straight, proudly grasped the mop, and began to pray. Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of mopping this dirty floor. Thank you for the health and strength to hold this mop, for the ability to wrap my agile fingers around its handle and feel the wood in my hands. Thank you for the sight to see the crumbs and the dirt, for the sense of smell to enjoy the clean scent of the soap in my bucket. Thank you for the many precious feet that will walk through this room and dirty it again. Those feet are the reason I do this job. And Lord, thank you for the privilege of having a floor to mop and a family to clean up after.

Oh yes, how a Godly perspective can change our attitudes and the words that reflect them. When we begin to praise God in the middle of the mundane, He refreshes us with a new outlook on life! The book of Psalms is a powerful collection of praises to God, and interestingly, many of the beautiful prose were written when David was struggling with depression, desperation, or devastation. Let's take a look at a few.

"O Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me,
God will not deliver him.'
But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
You bestow glory on me and lift up my head." Psalm 3:1-3
Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
Be merciful to me and hear my prayer…
You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:1,7,8

When you are discouraged try praising God. There is an old hymn that says "Count your many blessings, count them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done."

Let's Pray

Heavenly Father, thank You for all the many blessings in my life. I come to You today repenting for my complaining and grumbling. Please forgive me. Today I come into Your presence with thanksgiving and into Your courts with praise.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Now It's Your Turn

Can you guess what I'm going to ask you to do today? Yes! You're right!
Make a list of 10 blessings in your life, and thank God for them.
Then visit me on Facebook at http://click.lists.biblegateway.com/?qs=18d79f200243a68c4a772bf4b5c79814e264a90fbf71b8afad0a3e16233fa6d3 and tell me one of your blessings. Oh, why not. You can tell me all 10!