When you cannot lift a "Praise the Lord"...
devotional sessions *003*
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.Psalm 103.1-5
Psalm 103 is known as a “call to worship”. What does this mean? There are portions of Scripture that demonstrate God calling us into His presence, especially in times of corporate worship. We refer to this as a “call to worship.”
During my days as a worship pastor, I would often select one of these “call to worship” passages as a greeting at the beginning of the Sunday service. It not only served as a gathering in or prelude to the service, but it said, “Church, THIS is what we came to do!”
There are many psalms that fall into this category, like Psalm 136.1-3, Psalm 100, and Psalm 96.1-4, just to name a few.
Psalm 103.1-5 is a favorite of mine. This passage always encourages me. Notice how it addresses so much of what we face in life.
We are sinful people—He forgives.
We all become diseased, at some point (and in some way)—He heals.
Many will wander into the pit of this wicked world—He redeems.
Most of us are desperate for love and acceptance—He crowns us with it.
And we have this innate desire for “more” (of what we think will satisfy)—He safisfies us with what He knows we truly need.
At one time or another, I have needed all of the blessings we read about in Psalm 103. I’ve needed forgiveness, healing, and redemption. Praise the Lord, He has done it for me. What about you, friend?
He also crowns us with His great love and compassion. And He is a good God who satisfies us with what is right and good.
Notice verse five concludes with these words: “…so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” In studying Psalm 103, I first thought this phrase was directly tied to only the previous words, “who satisfies your desires with good things.”
As I continued to read this passage, I realized verses 2-5 are actually one sentence.1 What can we take from this? My interpretation is God renews us by providing each of these blessings in our lives.
He forgives. He heals. He redeems. He crowns. He satisfies. And in doing so, we are renewed. Hallelujah!
When you cannot lift a “Praise the Lord”...
Friend, it will happen in this life. I know because I have experienced it. When you find yourself there, unable to lift a praise, remember Psalm 103 and all the Lord has done. Yes, He has done it, and He continues to bless and renew us as we walk in His ways.
—Karlene
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Go to the top of this page and read the entire passage to note how verses 2-5 are one sentence.