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Thursday Devotion: Bless the Lord? (Psalm 103)

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“Bless the Lord, O my soul.” The phrase comes up repeatedly, over and over again in Psalms 103 (depending on your translation). And this is something we often hear, sing and maybe even say. But what does it really mean to bless the Lord? And isn’t it supposed to be us being blessed by Him, and not He by us?

The word blessing, most of the time when we use it, we usually mean it for a gain of some kind. However to “bless” isn’t restricted to just that one meaning. It's also words of promise, truth, and encouragement.

When we say “bless the Lord” it means that we are praising God, we are pouring out praise upon him, we are declaring that He has power, we are glorifying Him for what he has done and we are worshipping Him.

God wants us to worship Him, and praise Him, not because He needs it, but because He wants us to know who he is and to recognize who He is. Because the more we understand Him, the more we will grow to love Him, and to find Joy in Him.

Have you ever seen videos of baby ducks who've never experienced swimming? Ponds? They will first be hesitant to go in, scared of what that large body of water is. But the moment they step into the water, they will freak out initially, overcome with so much joy in how fun the water is.

And that’s what God wants for us too. He wants us to draw near to Him, so that we may experience Him and find so much Joy in praising Him because God is the greatest good in life.

Take some time to think about the good you have in life, the good that God has done for you, and thank Him for those things. Praise Him for his goodness.

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