David praised God all his life; we can read some of his praises in the psalms he wrote. And in 1 Chronicles, he wrote, “O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things." 1 Chronicles 29:10-11
Praise is simply adoring God for who he is; it's easy to praise God when we take the time to see all the blessings in our lives or when things are going really well. There is always something to praise God for. Last night, I watched a movie that showed the main character making and using blessing bracelets. They were bracelets with beads, and each bead was used to vocalize a blessing. When she had a bad day, she would stop and touch each bead and say a blessing. It changed her attitude on the spot. It worked for others as well.
Mary wrote a beautiful Magnificat, Latin for "my soul." She poured out her heart to God, thanking him for choosing her to be the mother of Israel's Savior. It's recorded in the first chapter of Luke.
47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
49 For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
50 He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
52 He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful.
55 For he made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Luke 1:47-55
Her song is beautiful, and in her humility, she focuses on God alone and all he is and does for his people. And she isn't just thankful for what God did for her but also for what he did for all of Israel. She feels blessed that God has called on her to birth the Christ child.
I think about all the times in my day when I concentrate on everything going wrong, particularly technology. I get so focused on the little annoying things that I lose focus on all the great things God has blessed me with. I don't have a blessing bracelet, but what I have is the book of Psalms, which I read often throughout the year. And sometimes, on bad days, I open my Bible and focus on the Psalms between 100 and 150. Being reminded by the psalmists how great our God is, helps me to praise him, too. And my spirits are lifted.
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