Letting God In Will Mean Letting You Go

The beauty of the book of Psalms to me is the heart strings it pulls on.

We live In a world that is spinning out of control but at the same time reminding us that we need to be in control, manage our life, our daily agenda, and most importantly, our emotions.

Success can often be defined by the person in the room who appears to have it “all together.  (I am still trying to figure out what that looks like.)

Then, you open up the book of Psalms and that feeling pours over you… it is clear you will need to surrender those worldly thoughts, the odd desire to conform to an often uncaring world, and instead, be open to how the Spirit wants to move you. What if reading it makes you reexamine your heart, reveals your true emotions, or you determine you need to topple the occasional wall that lies between you and God.

Ironically, letting God in will mean letting you go.

Take a deep breath as you read or hear Psalm 113:

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, you his servants;

   praise the name of the Lord.

Let the name of the Lord be praised,

   both now and forevermore.

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,

   the name of the Lord is to be praised.

The Lord is exalted over all the nations,

   his glory above the heavens.

Who is like the Lord our God,

   the One who sits enthroned on high,

who stoops down to look

   on the heavens and the earth?

He raises the poor from the dust

   and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

he seats them with princes,

   with the princes of his people.

He settles the childless woman in her home

   as a happy mother of children.

Praise the Lord.

- Psalm 113:1-9

Now take a deep breath again…

This is the God who created you, who knows every last hair on your head, every thought in your mind, every beat of your heart, your past, present, and future.

God also knows the world you live in AND the demands it and YOU can place on yourself.

You need to succeed in the marketplace, find the house with the white picket fence, and then raise up the next generation to do it all over again.

But wait…. What if we pause and realize that true success begins with how, when, and why we praise God, and once acknowledged, how that awareness will change you and the world you impact?

Friends, praising God needs to be forefront in how we approach each day, from the time our eyes open until we drift off to sleep. But if we are honest with ourselves, often as we drift off to sleep, we may quietly realize that praising God – let alone acknowledging God – didn't even happen that day. The crazy thing is, I feel like I do so much in a day, but how often I leave out the most important part.

So…. If we are to praise this amazing God to the full extent that He deserves – what walls need to come down for you to step into the posture of praise?

I will be the first to admit that when I envision this kind of praiseful existence my minute-to-minute daily life changes!

All of a sudden it isn’t about my to-do list, or need to proceed quickly through the day and accomplish everything perfectly, but the constant realization of who God is and how He is worthy to be praised.

Maybe you are saying to yourself, “Sure, I know this already. I understand the meaning of praise,” but the deeper question for each of us is about moving from the intellectual part of understanding praise to the heart of praise.

Because again, this is Who we praise:

Who is like the Lord our God,

   the One who sits enthroned on high,

- Psalm 113:5

My heart aches when I know I fall short and allow minimal praise, – “Hey God, wow, is it Sunday already? I guess it has been a week… time to  praise You – You are awesome!”  – instead of living it daily. How can we move from practical praise, to a heart of praise?

Everything in life takes intentionality and our commitment to praising God needs to be intentional. That may sound simplistic, but let’s be realistic: In this overscheduled, success-driven world, to attempt to realign your intentionality is a big step to take.

Friends, it will take time to realign our concept of praising from an event placed focus, to a daily focused way of living. We need to continually ask ourselves, How have I praised God today?

Now take another deep breath and ponder how wonderful it will feel at the end of the day when you drift off to sleep with your heart full knowing that God isn’t an afterthought but the center of your mind, heart  and soul.

Pastor Heidi

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