Praise Him ... Wholeheartedly (Psalm 138:1-2)

Today's scripture: Psalm 138:1-2

I've often written about praise and worship. Not only is it a commandment to do so, it's a wonderful privilege.

We often think of praise and worship as being what we do in church before the sermon. We sing a few "praise songs" and think we've done our duty. If, however, we take verses like today's seriously, praise should be a continual action. We should, indeed, praise God with whole hearts. Complete hearts. Entire hearts.

Our God is worthy of praise for so many reasons. Grace. Mercy. Love. Protection. Provision. Strength.

For some of us, just getting up in the morning is a reason for praise. The fact that we have food and water, a roof over our heads, clothing on our backs ... all reasons for praise.

The relationships with which we're blessed.

Our senses. Our health. Our bodies that allow us to work and play.

The beauty of creation. Mountains. Oceans. Flowers and trees. Animals. Birds.

It should be so easy to praise God continually with all our hearts because we've been given so much. Yet, we're so often guilty of going through our days forgetting by Whose hand we're blessed ... we take so much for granted.

Maybe today—just for today—as we enjoy each and every blessing, we can praise Him ... wholeheartedly.