*I will praise thee, Oh Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High. …Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings…** Psalm 9:1,2,11 (part 2)
Have you ever had a day when you just are going through the motions? You do all the right things, you take care of your home, your children, buy the groceries, cook the meals, go to work, put gas in the car, attend activities, read, pray, listen to Christian music, text a friend… but something just seems to be missing? Your heart is just not in it. You are doing a lot of good things but you feel like you’re on remote control? Nothing gives you Joy, everything seems to be an uphill climb? Maybe, you’re just tired. Maybe, you are bored. Maybe, everything has become too routine. Whatever the reason is, there’s just no heart in what you do.
So, how do you change that? How do you get out of this walking dead state?
The easiest way or quickest to get me out of a slump is to examine how and why I’m doing these things. Am I doing them because it’s my job or my responsibility, or my duty? Do I move through my day as though I’m someone’s slave or abused servant begrudging every moment? Or am I looking at each of my activities with a grateful heart? Do I recognize that I actually have a family to take care of? Do I remember who God really is as my Creator, my Comforter, my Friend, my Help in time of need and the One who gave me children after a doctor said I wouldn’t have any? But now, I have not just 4 amazing children but 6+ grandchildren!??
The reality is, I have probably lost my focus. I stopped talking about the great things that God has done for me. And in not talking about it, I stopped thinking about it. And once I stopped thinking about it, I started thinking about me…. poor, poor me. My life is so hard. Wah! Wah! Wah! I never get to do what I want to do. I deserve more. I want a more exciting life. I totally deserve more!
What this Psalm teaches me is that talking about God, and sharing with others what He’s done for me brings me joy and happiness. It puts a song in my heart and that completely changes everything. Because it’s hard to whine and complain and be ugly inside when we’re singing and praising the One who made us.
Praise fills us in a way that spills over into others’ lives. I am not a fan of wishy-washy praise songs. I like them to be clear about who I am singing for, about and to. I like them to be about God and not about me. Which isn’t to say there aren’t a few songs out there that connect with how I am feeling in a given moment, but then I need to turn it back to Him again. David pours out his own misery again and again in his writings but by the time he is done, it is about God and not about himself. Just in these two verses from Psalm 9, God’s name has been mentioned three times and he has been inferred several more times. David’s praise is about God, without a doubt.
So if you’re feeling like everything has become dull and lifeless, start talking about God. First, to yourself. Remind yourself of all of the great things He has done for you…today, yesterday, since you met Him for real…Then… Let somebody else know how He’s changed your life. It doesn’t have to be a great miracle. Tiny miracles can open somebody’s ears so that you can share a little more. Every time you share another little miracle from your life, it restores hope in that person who doesn’t know all that God can do for them. They will think, –I wonder if God would do something like that for me?–So, go ahead, talk, sing, dance, applaud all that God is doing and has done for you, it will change your day and give a jolt to your heart and maybe, just maybe it will change someone else’s too!!