The word the Lord gave me on which to meditate for this year was "praise."
Praise was the word He gave me a few years back so I was actually surprised that He kept giving it to me for this year. I knew we would be praising the Lord with celebrations as our kids got married to the ones He had chosen for them so I figured He was just helping me have an easy word to take through the year! However, as I have walked through this year, the Lord has reminded me to praise Him - but in different ways than what I had previously thought. Yes, I praised the Lord for the weddings, but it was deeper than that.
The verse the Lord gave me for my display on our mantle to keep "praise" in front of my family was Psalm 113:3 -
"From the rising of the sun to its setting, let the name of the Lord be praised."
Unfortunately, earlier in the year we had someone come help clean the house and they accidentally erased most of it off of my display area when dusting. Because there was so much going on between planning two weddings and teaching school, I just never had the energy to write it again. It still is more than halfway erased even though I had summer to fix it.
However, in all of that time, I have looked at that display realizing I must praise the Lord from the rising of the sun to its setting - even when the words have been blurred and I can't see it.
It is so easy to praise the Lord for what we can see.
But we also must learn to praise Him when it is something in the story of our life that has been blurred and we CANNOT SEE. That form of praise is much harder.
This year the Lord had me in a Bible study on the book of Isaiah. It was one of those studies I did not want to end. It taught me more deeply to strive less and trust the Lord more. During this study, the Lord revealed this verse in a deeper way. He showed it to me during a set of circumstances that we just did not understand. A time when it was hard to praise Him for what was happening.
Psalm 12:2 (CSB) -
"Indeed, God is my salvation; I will trust Him and not be afraid, for the Lord, the LORD HIMSELF is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation."
In context, this verse is part of a praise chapter in Isaiah. It is a song of praise for the Lord's deliverance of His people. Because I love to learn the importance of wording, I searched this verse in different versions of Scripture to see how it was conveyed. The way it is written in the CSB really resonated with what the Lord has been teaching me this year.
All versions I looked up began this verse with "behold" - but the CSB beginning starts with "INDEED."
I just had to look up what "indeed" means simply because there are so many words that we commonly use, but forget their true meaning.
According to Merriam-Webster "indeed" means:
- without any question: TRULY, UNDENIABLY
- in reality
- all things considered: as a matter of fact
This verse also repeats the Lord's name twice. In Scripture, anything said twice in a row gives greater emphasis to what is being communicated. Knowing that the Lord, the Lord Himself, is sovereign and in control of all that happens in our lives, we can praise Him, indeed.
Here is this verse as a song of praise using the words from the dictionary:
We can praise Him, INDEED, because without any question, truly, undeniably, in reality, and as a matter of fact it is THE LORD - The LORD HIMSELF - who is our strength, song, and salvation.
HE IS our strength in the struggles.
HE IS our song when we feel we have lost the ability to sing His praises.
HE IS our salvation through it all.
- The good and the bad.
- The blurred lines of life.
- The seen and unseen.
- The highs and the lows.
- The feelings of trust or doubt.
Praise HIM.
INDEED.
