Psalm 107

O GIVE thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!

Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with good.

Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men! For He has broken the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron apart.

He sends forth His word and heals them and rescues them from the pit and destruction.

Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!

And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and rehearse His deeds with shouts of joy and singing! (Psalm 107 - various verses)

Oh, that we would truly see God for all that He is! For His unfailing love that endures forever! For the redemption He has made available to us! That we would give back to Him only a fraction of all that He deserves - which is all that we are! That we would live with thankful and grateful hearts and not waste a minute of our time complaining, grumbling, being discontented and wanting what others have. That we would not disrespect Him by being ungrateful. That we would truly live lives filled with worship. What I would give to see that become reality!

I love time in prayer when I get a real glimpse of His majesty. It's overwhelming and so completely humbling. And I can't help but be filled with love - total love - and I'm left so totally in awe of Him. I love those times.

But the sad truth is, when I get up and get back to life-as-usual, what was so obvious to me not moments before, sometimes gets lost so easily. And something so silly can turn me around in circles and leave me with a murmuring, complaining attitude. Oh, if I would just walk through each moment of each day with Him before me, never losing sight of His beauty! Never forgetting how much I have to be thankful for! Not for a moment allowing myself to complain about my children, or my messy house, or my work load, or the piles of laundry; but instead turn each into an opportunity to praise Him for my beautiful family, my comfortable home, my opportunities to serve others, and plenty of clothes to choose from each morning when I get dressed.

And if I would just not lose sight of how much He has done for me and how much credit and glory and honor and praise I owe Him. If my selfishness, my arrogance, and my pride would not be given an opening to sneak back in and take a hold in my heart. If I could walk in true humility before my King, and before others, knowing that not to myself, but to Him is all true glory.

And, Oh! If the passion for worship would be so evident in my life that it becomes infectious in the lives of those around me! That I would truly worship God in every thing I do. In doing the dishes, and bathing my children, and cleaning my house, and going to the grocery. That I would take every opportunity to worship God, to include Him in every detail of every day. That my life would be wholly centered around Him, and that my love for Him would spill over and impact the lives of others!

Oh, that men would praise the Lord!