Praise Him Always [4/14/12]

Hi guys!

I had a really hard time thinking of what to write today. I'm not sure why, because I learned so much throughout the whole day, but it was probably because there were so many different lessons I learned today. The conversations I had today were filled with lessons and blessings from Christ; they were all extremely meaningful and valuable. I wish I could write about everything I learned today, but with time, I'm sure those will come up in my blog as well.

What I wanted to focus on today was praising God and always looking towards him.

Psalm 34:1 says, "I will praise the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips."

The reason why I wanted to lift this verse up is because I have come to realize that it can be extremely difficult to praise God at all times. At bible study, a friend of mine spoke about how some Christians are focused on the feelings and emotions. I didn't really understand what he was talking about when he said this, but I think I understand now.

There are Christians who seem to praise God according to their feelings; they will have times when they FEEL like praising God. They will praise God when they are happy and they may stay away from God when they feel sad or rejected. I relate very well with this statement because I am a very emotional person. My actions are largely based on my emotions, and I have struggled a lot in the past with my relationship with God because of my roller coaster ride of emotions. It has been a struggle to continuously love God and praise him all day, everyday.

God has a plan for all of us, but we have no idea what he has in store for us. Because of the mystery behind God's actions, we often praise him when our prayers are answered or when he blesses us. But what about times when he challenges us or "lets" bad things happen to us?

The other day, my younger brother went to the hospital. I was worried. It was extremely out of character for him because he so rarely gets sick. It wasn't that I felt angry with God for letting him get sick... I think I just showed a great lack of faith in him. I didn't trust God at that moment, and I let my human emotions take over and I was filled with so much worry. It wasn't that I felt negatively towards him, but I didn't look towards him, or trust him, in my time of need.

I believe our emotions and challenges should never change the way we look at God. When bad things happen to me, I should always be looking towards God. When good things happen to me, I should always be thanking God and looking towards him. There should never be a time when I'm looking away from him, because no matter what is happening and no matter what I am doing, I should always have him in my mind; he should always be what I am looking towards.

It doesn't matter where I am, who I'm with, or what is going on. I'm going to thrive to praise his name always! I want him to be my everything. I want him to take control of my life and let me live in his name only. Let's praise him always!

Thanks for reading my messy post today :) Here's the song I listened to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOY-eHUsHdM

- kjoosaurus out!