It is Good to Give Thanks to the Lord

I don’t know about you but Psalm 92 fills me with so much hope. Even straight out of the first sentence: “It is good to give thanks to the Lord…” Such a small beginning struck my heart with a strong reminder that it is good for me, good for my soul, good for the Spirit, and good to the Lord to give Him thanks. And, as this Psalm says, my praise should begin in the morning and continue into the night. I can say with full honesty that I do not begin my mornings with a declaration of God’s faithful love and I do not go to bed praising His faithfulness. I wake up and end my days the same way: with a phone in my face, feeding me all the toxic news and opinions from people all over the world that I have no business consuming at the rate that I do. This is a brutal honesty to myself to do better, because it is good to give thanks to the Lord.

Why can I give thanks to the Lord? As this Psalm says in verse 7 that the wicked in the world will flourish and sprout up, but they will be destroyed in the last days. My work, my faithfulness, my daily dedication to the Lord will be vindicated on the day of His return. I do not need to worry about anyone else and compare myself to those around me because the Lord’s love is faithful to me. The Lord’s love is faithful to you, beloved. I have joy and assurance every morning because I belong to Jesus. I get to wake up bold with rejoicing because of the work of the Lord to bring me salvation and a full purpose in life - to bring Him glory and bring the Kingdom of God near through the gospel. I rejoice because I am not my own!
 
I wake up in the morning and I lay my head down at night and I am encouraged because the Lord is my strength. He has made me strong like the ox and he has anointed me in His righteousness. No one can take me from my God, and my salvation rests securely in His hands. I thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar. I am flourishing and am strengthened as I am firmly planted in the rock of my salvation. I sit and rest securely in His courts, He will nourish me and make me great for His glory. He will tend to me and I will bear much fruit for His Kingdom until the day I die.

And nothing is from my own hands and nothing is my own work. I do not rejoice in my ability and I am not the reason I get out of bed in the morning. If I am my own worship then I have nothing. “For you have made me rejoice, Lord, by what you have done; I will shout for joy because of the work of your hands.” (Psalm 92:4) So I am convicted by this passage to remove self-worship out of my mouth, and to take my phone out of my hand. I am encouraged to be replenished daily by the worship of my God and praising all He is and all He does, and to fill my hands with good work and honorable service. I charge you to do the same.

Soli Deo Gloria.