Bless the lord
28 August 224|Papa God & Denae Roth
“Bless the Lord, oh my soul and all that is within me, bless His holy name!” Psalm 103:1.
This chorus has been ringing in my head for the last couple of months, as we have been working on a dance to this passage. Often I think of Psalms 103 as a joyful psalm of praise and adoration. One you read when you feel ready to worship. And it is. But as I have been wrestling with aspects of this dance, life situations, and leaving my amazing cousins back in Manitoba after the most fulfilling joy filled visit and questioning why they're so far away, I felt like I was back in a desert looking for rain. I doubted my ability to see a cloud the size of a man's hand rising from the sea and believe for a downpour ( 1 Kings 18:44-45). I wanted to have faith that soon the tide would change and I would know where I fit in a community, for friendships to be established, and opportunities to impact. But I felt overwhelmed.
Yesterday as me and Luana were working on the dance she graciously saw I needed a break, and I ran for the cover of the corn patch. Overwhelmed with feelings of incapability, loneliness and feeling at the end of my rope, I threw my hands in the air. Surrendered. The only words that came to me were, “Bless the Lord, Oh my soul, and ALL that is within me, bless His holy name!” I continued to repeat this verse out loud and felt as strength, peace, and joy that wasn’t my own fill my being.
When I first started saying these words there was no joyful praise inside me. I felt like I had in a way let Him down, because I thought I had nothing left to give. However as I continued to bless His name I realized what I was doing. I was commanding EVERYTHING inside me, my dreams, disappointments, fears, frustration, and delights to worship no matter how I FELT. It aligned my heart. It took my eyes off myself and focused my attention on the King of Kings, “The Lord (who) has established His throne in the heavens and (whose) kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:19. “For He knows our frame; He remembers we are dust.” Psalm 103:14. He knows we run out, that we come empty, yet He never stops giving. He knows our days are brief, our lives like flowers of the field, yet He invests in intimately knowing us, and using us as vessels of His glory. “We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. We worship because He first gave us all that we have. We breathe because He first gave us breath. He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and end. As we command our souls to remember, and forget not all His benefits, He fills us with living water. It’s just who He is; a God who never stops giving.
Praise is powerful when you don’t feel like worshiping, like you have nothing to give. Because it’s not about how you FEEL, but who HE IS. He is worthy in every season, every situation, every answered prayer. He is worthy and He is worth it. So let’s command our souls, let's choose worship, let’s;
BLESS THE LORD OH MY SOUL.