THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO FOR THE LORD
Psalm 34:1-3 NKJV
1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
Have you ever had a one-sided relationship? That's a relationship where you are always doing for them, but they just keep on taking without giving. Actually, if you have ever had children, the early years can be very one-sided. Little ones don't care if they wake you up; if they are hungry or unhappy, they want it to be resolved. Now! What is a blessing is to later have those same children give back into the relationship. That's a great day. That is also a sign that maturing is taking place.
Much of our relationship with the Lord is focused on what He has done and what He can do for us. There is certainly nothing wrong with that. It is important to realize what has been done for us in Christ through His life, death, burial, and resurrection. But we do not want to keep our relationship with the Lord one-sided. Yes, we need to acknowledge what He has done and who we are in Him, but we can add something to our relationship. The first three verses of our Psalm for today give us three things we can do for the Lord.
We can bless the Lord at all times. David, the author of this psalm, uses the phrase 'I will.' I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall, or will, continually be in my mouth. This blessing and praising the Lord is a function of our will, not our feelings. But blessing and praising the Lord is giving something back to Him. This moves us past acknowledging what He has done for us to being genuinely grateful for what He has done. Christianity is expressive. Yes, we should have times of quiet reflection and meditation of scriptures, but we should also be speaking God's Word and speaking His praise. At all times. Continually.
We can make our boast in the Lord. Giving the Lord the credit for what He has done for us. Giving Him credit for the mercy He has sent our way. Boasting in how He has enabled us to do the good things in our lives. Boasting in Him, not in us. And not fake humility saying we are nothing. No, he has enabled us beyond our ability. When we are bragging about the Lord, it serves as a humility alert system. If someone hears us brag about the Lord and they are glad to hear it, then our humility alert system should go off - identifying a truly humble person. If someone argues and says, "Well, you worked hard, and you deserved it," the humility meter remains silent, but the pride alarm should go off. The truly humble love giving credit to the Lord.
We can magnify the Lord and exalt His name. Praise magnifies God. Thanksgiving magnifies God. In essence, blessing, praising, and boasting in the Lord magnifies the Lord and exalts His name. We can't make God any bigger than He already is, but we can make Him bigger in our lives.
APPLICATION
If you are listening or reading this and thinking that you do very little of what these verses proclaim, don't allow yourself to be discouraged. Be encouraged that these are three things you can begin to focus on and practice before the year ends, so that you have a good jump on the new year. And remember, we can do these things. This is a function of our will, and we are strong-willed people. And most importantly, these are three things that we all can do for the Lord.
PRAYER
Lord, I will bless, boast, and magnify You more and more. As I end this year and move into the next.