Praise Him! - Mitzi's Sugar Lumps

I’m finishing up Psalms this morning and my heart swells in overwhelming gratitude to my Saviour when I read these verses…
Psalm 147:3-6,7,11

He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving…

The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
WOW!! What a God!

The GOD that created this vast universe loves ME and cares about ME and heals MY heart and helps little ole ME…and YOU, too!!!
The God that can count ALL the stars and can name them ALL??? How can we NOT praise Him and love Him?!

No wonder the last 3 chapters of Psalms are full of “Praise ye the LORD’s” or “Praise ye Him!” Over and over again!

And this great God that created it all? I can look to HIM for help!! He is so mighty and powerful, yet so loving and tender. Could it be any better than that?!

Psalm 121:1,2

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

The beginning of this year one of my daughters told me that they were praying that the Lord would heal my heart…and it has become a prayer of mine. Something about the death of my mom shook me to my core, and has affected me in ways I can’t even explain or put into words. My hormones have been totally out of whack, and months later, in some ways I feel like the shock of it is still so real and fresh. You may ask why I waited a year to pray that God would heal my heart…to be honest with you, it didn’t even cross my mind to pray that before. I don’t know why. I can’t explain it. Though I feel like, as a whole, I’m my “normal” self (what ever that is! haha), my brain and body/hormones don’t seem to agree.

I hit brain overload all the time and it takes me a little bit to come out of the tailspin. I am not mad at God and I know He does all things well, and for my good…I just can’t seem to get my body and brain to shift back into “normal” gear yet. So our prayers are for God to heal my heart (and my brain and my hormones!)…He can number all the stars and call them by their names, so I know He will bring healing to me.

Even midst the hurting and tears, my heart has lifted up in praise to my Heavenly Father. I know it only came from Him; in the depths it was there. I didn’t “feel” it, but it was there. Last Fall, when I stood and wept at my moms grave, less than a year after we buried her, praise welled up in my heart, and I knew it was from Him…and only Him. I do not understand why my mom had to die and die so tragically, but I know that He knows and His ways are perfect.

When I drove home in the dark the other evening, my mind went back to the night my mom was killed and I have to force horrible thoughts out of my mind. Instead, I turned my heart to praise the Lord; how can I not when He’s done so much for me?? I may not have “warm, fuzzy feelings” at times like that, but I DO love my Lord and Saviour and I DO want to praise Him.

Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in glory;
Strength and honor give to His holy Name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long.

Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!

Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.

And do you know who wrote this song? Have you ever heard of Fanny Crosby? What an amazing lady!

She was made blind at 6 weeks old, through the mistake of a doctor. Yet she lived her life writing songs of praise to her Heavenly Father. She didn’t praise the Lord because it was easy, or because she always felt like it…it was a heart choice. She just decided in her heart that she would praise Him! And now we have 100’s of songs that she wrote, that we can sing in praise to the Lord.

What will we do in our hards times? Its our choice…will we praise Him?