Great are the works of the Lord; I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart!

Psalm 111 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
In the company of the upright and in the assembly.
² Great are the works of the Lord;
They are studied by all who delight in them.
³ Splendid and majestic is His work,
And His righteousness endures forever.
⁴ He has made His wonders to be remembered;
The Lord is gracious and compassionate.
⁵ He has given food to those who fear Him;
He will remember His covenant forever.
⁶ He has made known to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the heritage of the nations.

⁷ The works of His hands are truth and justice;
All His precepts are sure.
⁸ They are upheld forever and ever;
They are performed in truth and uprightness.
⁹ He has sent redemption to His people;
He has ordained His covenant forever;
Holy and awesome is His name.
¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;
His praise endures forever.

“Great are the works of the Lord; They are studied by all who delight in them.” When good things happen, even the little every day things, do we acknowledge that they are from God. We take so much for granted from the perfect balance of everything that is required for our planet to exist and sustain life, to the intricate functions of our bodies and to the good things that happen in our daily lives. In my own life I have experienced ups and downs, times of rejoicing and times of difficulty and sorrow. Sometimes these swings last for long periods of time and sometimes life takes turns quickly.

I have found that it is easy and natural to be thankful and praise God during the good times. When we are blessed and provided for, when all is well it is easy to thank God for what he has done, for all that He has provided. If we have received an answer to prayer, it is natural to thank God for that blessing and provision.

When times are difficult, when we are dealing with the trials and tribulations of life, during the low points, it can surly be more difficult to be thankful and praise God. I have found though that in those times when we are seemingly at our lowest, there is nowhere else to look than up. We have come to the end of ourselves and man’s wisdom and ways offers no solution.  Luke 21:28 says: “when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” We look up from the depths and ask God to lift us out and deliver us. Many times the fastest way out is through praise and thanksgiving. If at the lowest points we will praise and thank God, we will begin to see things differently. If we are drawn closer to Him we begin to see from His heavenly perspective. Isaiah saw what it looked like around the throne of God in heaven and in what he saw we see what it looks like from heaven.            Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." (Isaiah 6:2-3) The view from heaven sees the earth as being full of the glory of God. That certainly is a better view than we have from the midst of the mess here on earth.  Hebrews 4:14-16, encourages us to change our point of view, because of Christ, regardless of all else.      

 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

What I have learned through my own life is that it is easy and natural to praise God for the good and great things that happen in our lives. It is more difficult to praise and thank Him when times are hard, but there truly is nowhere else to turn and as I turn to Him in thankfulness for who He is and what He has done to save and redeem me, my perspective indeed does change. I praise God not for the storms and difficulties, but I do praise Him in them. He is faithful and accompanies me and delivers me through. Sometimes the most difficult time to see, thank and praise God is not at the high or the low, but rather in all the time in between.

Regardless of how quickly we move from high to low or good to bad, we spend much of our life in what is normal, routine, in the mundane unexciting unrewarding ordinary of life. What is normal and ordinary may be different for each person depending on life experience and situation. Each of us though spends more of our time in the ordinary than at the highest or the lowest. The problem with the ordinary and the routine is that it is the part of life we are familiar with. It is the things that we do naturally, in our own strength and ability. In the everyday routines of job, family and relationships we function on our own. After all we think, God is concerned about every detail in my life. He’s got bigger and more important things to attend to. So we live the majority of our lives in the normal, routine, in the ordinary and we think there is no need or no place for an extraordinary God in the ordinary of our lives.

God is an extraordinary God. He is the creator and sustainer of the universe. He is omnipotent, all powerful, omniscient, all knowing; He is also omnipresent, He is everywhere. God is with us wherever we are, at the highest high, the lowest low and even in the ordinary. In Matthew 10:29-31, Jesus assures us of God’s knowledge and concern for the smallest detail of our lives. He says:      Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

He is the God of all creation. He knows the stars by name. There is nothing that is too difficult for our extraordinary God. Yet He is also a God of the ordinary. He is concerned and care for our every moment.  Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly. “ Great are the works of the Lord; They are studied by all who delight in them.  Splendid and majestic is His work…”

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, precious Holy Spirit; thank You for who You are and for all that You have done. I do praise You and give You thanks, for all Your splendid and majestic work, for all the great and marvelous things You have done in my life and also I thank You and praise You in the ordinary, the routine and mundane. I lean not on my own understanding, I walk not in my own strength, but in all things I acknowledge You.   Amen.