Christian Living

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"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God, My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God," (Psalm 42:1-2 KJV)

"I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations," (Psalm 89:1 KJV).

We are made to worship God. David says in Psalm 42 that we long for God as the deer longs for water; it is something we cannot help and something that we need to do in order to exist. Someone who does not know God has a deep longing inside them; they don't know what it is that they seek so they try to satisfy the longing with whatever they can. Alcohol, drugs, work, money, they are willing to try anything, but they are never satisfied. It is only after they find God that they will be satisfied and if they never find God during their life they are most miserable. They can appear to be a happy, well-adjusted person; but deep inside they know they are missing something, something vital that they cannot grasp.

A Christian who knows God, who spends time in the Word, hungers for more of God and as a result sees Him for who He is and worships Him; worship is a natural outflow of an inward love towards God. Psalm 89:1, one of my favorite verses was made into a song that our church used to sing when I was first saved. I still sing it all the time, I cannot say the verse in mere words, it always pours forth in song. David was overjoyed at the mercies that God had showed him and promised that he would praise God forever and make known to all generations how faithful that God was and is.

We are supposed to worship God and are created to do so; however, if you are only worshiping God because you are supposed to, you are missing the whole point. It is like a tidal wave inside trying to get out, sometimes you feel as you are going to explode; and if you are a Christian, you cannot help but to worship God because of who He is and all He has done for you every day for your entire life - both before and after you became a Christian.

Sometimes we have a hard day or month or a hard several years and it seems like God is distant and not hearing our prayers. David had those times too; it seemed to him that God abandoned him. But God was there protecting him every step of the way just as He is there for us no matter what we are feeling at the moment. If we are feeling abandoned, we need to get back into the Word because He has not abandoned us, we have chosen to feel sorry for ourselves and abandoned Him. We need to begin to praise Him in those situations even though it is very hard to do at first; just keep praising Him and you will find that your spirit is lifted. You may still be having a rough time of it, but you will begin to trust Him more and give your cares over to Him. Praising Him no matter what the situation, trusting Him to do what is best and to thank Him for whatever happens makes it easier to come through a tough part of your life.

However, if you are living on the mountain top (by this, I mean if things are going well for you), you still need to praise Him and thank Him all the time. You need to stay in the Word and stay close. You cannot skate through life without Him; we make too many mistakes if we don't put Him first. Worshiping Him means putting Him first and honoring Him with everything you do. Once you begin to see Him as He is, you will worship Him; it will no longer something that you have to do, it will be something that you cannot help, the tidal wave of praise will flow from your heart and praising God will be as natural to you as breathing.

"Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD," (Psalm 150:6, KJV).

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