30 Days of Praise-Day 10 Psalm 19:1-3

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

I wrote a poem about these verses while I was still "SLH" (Shanna Lynn Hazard). I thought it would be appropriate to share since in my life the Lord has done all of these things. To God be all the glory!

The morning skies proclaim God’s glory
The warm pinks and oranges splashed across their expanse
Remind of promises and mercies anew
Gone is the cold dark night
Replaced with the beauty of the Son
Gone are the days in murky blackness
For a new Dawn has risen
He has come to free the captives
From their painful bonds
The chains and rags that bind
His precious lambs
He has come to save the lost
Calling their names
Through the steep and dangerous
Hills of their sin and doubt
Determined to pursue until they come back to the flock
He has come to pour the fragrant oil of gladness
On dry, parched hearts,
To give new life where there was once death
To be living Water so those who drink will thirst no more
He has come to give his children new names
No longer to be defined by anything other than what He’s made
Chosen ones, beloved children, saints of God, followers of Christ
He has come to bring truth
Through the muddled confusion of our times
Slicing through the cobwebs with his brilliant Word
Letting in the light
We breathe Him in with every breath
He is in every molecule, everything that’s beautiful
He’s waiting to fill the hole that He created
In those who refuse to acknowledge Him
Those who seek and lust after empty pleasures
When the Lord of all Creation is asking them
If He can come and eat at their tables
If He can show them all He wants to give them
If He can bring the life that He so longs to give
If He can heal their pain, lift them out of their ruts
And take them into life eternal.
He’s knocking…and waiting for an answer…

SLH 12/27/05

30 Days of Praise-Day 9 Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Part of praising God is recognizing and remembering who He was, is and always will be.

Wonderful Counselor:
Another word for "wonderful" that I've read in a couple commentaries is "miraculous". So He is a God of miracles and great power. In Jesus we have a Savior who is there to comfort us, to take upon Himself all of our hurts, cares, struggles and burdens. Yet even in the midst of doing so offering us the true counsel of His word to keep us strong and moving towards healing.

Mighty God:
He is a God who's hand spans the universe, who's robe train fills the temple with glory, who defeated sin and death with "the joy" of the cross set before Him so that we could be with Him in heaven. He is able to defeat any foe, conquer any hardship and deliver us from all temptations. He is a God worthy of our worship.

Everlasting Father:
Some of us have not had fathers that are everlasting. We don't know what that means. Some may have left physically and yet some emotionally, and the end result is that our view of God the Father is skewed. We apply the characteristics of our earthly fathers to the perfect Father in heaven and we are hindered in our relationship with Him. We must apply truth to who He is and who He's proven Himself to be. He is a Father who loves His children, is never-changing, never sleeps or slumbers and in His Word promises to be with us always, even to the ends of the earth. Even better, we will have Him for eternity with no more tears or pain or humanity getting in the way of the love between a Father and a child.

Prince of Peace:
Unfortunately this world is darkened by evil and thus warfare and strife. When Christ comes back, He will establish peace on this earth. This is something that we can look forward to. On a smaller scale, when the winds and waves of my trials seem to be overtaking me, all Christ has to do is speak "Be still" and my heart is full of peace and quiet.

30 Days of Praise-Day 8 Psalm 40:3

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

The verses that preceed this one are important to keep in mind to put this into context:

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

Isn't it true that out of the slimiest pits come the greatest praises? Whether the mud or mire we're experiencing is a difficult trial or a consequence of sin, God is always there to make things new. He puts a new song in our mouths and even though we might have made a mess of things, what's even more incredible is that our lives can actually be used as a witness to others.

What an amazing, powerful God we serve! He is the author of all restoration and redemption, even when we're broken or covered in dirt and stuck in a rut. There is no situation too hard for him, no one too far gone for Him to save. All we have to do is cry out to Him and then wait patiently...which might be the most challenging part about these verses!

30 Days of Praise-Day 7 Daniel 2:19-23

During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king."

I am really enjoying my Beth Moore Daniel Bible Study. Any study in the Word is amazing and leads to peace, righteousness and a better relationship with God. But for some reason, Daniel has been extra rich in my life.

In this particular passage, Nebuchadnezzar has threatened to kill all the wise men of Babylon because none of them could tell him what his dream was and then interpret it for him. That is, except for Daniel. After urgent praying with his friends, God reveals not only the dream the king had but its interpretation, thus sparing multiple lives. Verses 19-23 of Daniel 2 are an outpouring of thanks to God for his wisdom, power and "illumination" of the situation (vs. 22's "And the light dwells with Him").

I love that Daniel gives all the credit to the Lord immediately. Nothing was done in his own power except urgently praying and then waiting to hear from the Lord about this mystery. If we truly believe that God is who He says He is, we can trust in the fact that He will reveal to us the deep and hidden things we ask of Him, give us wisdom and discerning and will answer our prayers one way or another. The key to all of those things is urgent and consistent prayer.

30 Days of Praise-Day 6 Psalm 42:11

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

I thought I would reference a commentary for today's verse. Chuck Smith always has great things to say in his commentaries and I have copied his words below:

It is important that you be honest with God. You are never going to deceive Him. You are never going to fool Him. And if you are upset, confess it. Be honest with God. "Oh God, my soul is disquieted within me." There are some people who say, "How is everything going?" "Oh great, just great, great, great." But in reality they are just covering, because things are going horribly and they are really upset. They are at their wits' end. They don't know what to do. And yet, they put up a good front. And we sometimes carry this over with God. But it is best to be honest with God. "God, I am so upset. My soul is disquieted. It is cast down. That's one of the things that people quite often cast at the Christian when something goes wrong. "Where was your God when that tragedy happened? Where was your God?" As though God is supposed to deliver us from every problem in our lives. God doesn't promise to deliver you from every problem. In fact, there is a promise that you don't really like that says, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous" (Psalm 34:19). I hate that promise. I don't like afflictions. And in afflictions people are always saying, "Well, where was your God then? Where is your God when children are starving to death in Cambodia? Where is your God when earthquakes happen in Algeria? Where is your God when Mount St. Helens blows its top? Where is your God?" It does get discouraging sometimes when we don't have answers.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? why are thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God (Psa 42:11).

Hey, I am going to come through. One of these days I will be praising God even for this trial that I am presently enduring. I will yet praise Him.