Unspeakable Joy

Ps. 135:3 ~Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant!

Isn't it great that we are never done learning? Sometimes that might not sound like such a great thing, but I don't know about you, I would rather soak up as much as I can, even if it's not always easy, than get tired of growing and always being "stuck" in the same place!

God has been teaching me about Praise! What does it look like to Praise Him, in the good and in the bad? It's so easy for me to automatically give Him glory and honor and praise, when life is going well, you know.....when the sun is shining and I'm in good health, when things are going "my" way! I might even say, that I will still choose to be thankful in the "bad" moments.....but really, will I?

What about when I'm walking through the desert places, or everything seems to be going wrong, or I just can't seem to press through the storms that are raging around me? Will I still choose to praise the One that created me, the One that loves me unconditionally, the One that never changes, Jesus? I used to say, "oh, well of course I will!" But you can't ever decide that until you're walking through it, can you? Don't get me wrong, I still have a long way to go, but I think that I have just begun to get a glimpse of praising Jesus for who He is, and not for the circumstances around me!

To Praise means: to extol, give thanks, thanksgiving
Thank means:gratitude, to bless

So really when we're praising , we are blessing God! And giving thanks, or blessing someone is a choice, our choice! No-one is forcing us to do anything! And I am finding that I want to praise and bless Jesus! I am so hungry to know more of Him, to be with Him every chance I get! I certainly have had moments when I didn't "feel" like rejoicing or even trying, but God is my rock and my strength and just being alive and being able to freely receive His love and His goodness and His grace, is reason enough for me to praise Him!
And this gives me unspeakable joy!!