Praise and Gratitude (Ps. 9:1-2)

I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart;
         I will tell of all Your wonders.   
I will be glad and exult in You;
         I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
(Psalm 9:1-2, NASB)

What a wonderful privilege we have to serve the Sovereign Creator, the one true God, the Savior of mankind! He—the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God—can be known by those who choose to follow Him. He is personal. He desires a relationship with us. He’s not some far-off, disinterested God. Rather, He allows Himself to be intimately known.

How can we help but praise Him?

That’s why I love so many of the psalms. The words of gratitude and praise are so encouraging—and sometimes convicting.

Take the opening verses of Psalm 19. I too give thanks to the Lord with all my heart. I am glad and exult in Him. I do sing praises to His name.

The conviction? Those words, “I will tell of all Your wonders.”

He is a wonderful, amazing God. He blesses beyond expectation. He carries me through the darkest valleys. He causes even the most difficult moments to turn out for good. He loves me as His own daughter.

Yet, how often to I tell others of “all [His] wonders”? Not often enough. I remember hearing someone ask, “If you had a cure for cancer, wouldn’t you tell everyone you knew?” I have the “cure” for soul cancer. I have the best story to tell.

And I need to tell it much more often.

Lord God, I do thank You and praise You. I do give You glory. Please continue to convict my heart to tell Your story to anyone who’ll listen, so they might give You glory as well. Amen.