"I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth."
Psalm 34:1 NKJV
How do you feel about what David said here when someone has been rude to you. When they've shouted at you in public and embarrassed you. Can this Psalm be in your mouth at such times? Difficult isn't it? You may say, well it's not God's fault, He hasn't done this to me. This may be true, but He still sees how you react to such things. He knows the way you feel and although it may go unsaid, He still knows what you're thinking.
It is so difficult to be a Christian at times.The devil knows what winds us up and so, he plays on it. There is only one way we can react in such situations and that is, 'be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.' James 1:19. 'Isn't that being a doormat, letting people walk all over me?' you may ask. No it is not, it is being like Jesus; it's thinking, how would Jesus react to such situations and acting accordingly.
This is why Paul told us to bless those who do us wrong Romans 12:14. That may cause us to shout, 'Ouch,' at such times but it needs to be done. We need to bless them. Probably, you may find it easier to bless God instead. Our text directs us to 'Bless the LORD at all times.' In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul further says, 'in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.' As we bless and praise God from the heart, it becomes difficult to have bad feelings towards someone who has wronged you.
We are called to forgive; paraphrased, this could read, 'Deal with it.' Otherwise, it will fester away ruining your day and causing you bitterness. When we bless God, affectionately - from the heart, all of the things that mattered to us one minute, diminish as we become enveloped in His love and in His presence. When we do this, our very soul, which is made up of our mind, will and emotions are placed into Jesus' hands. In other words, we are surrendering our mind - all the things that we have been thinking about and becoming angry about; our will - all the things that we would have liked to do to the person who wronged us and finally, our emotions - the way we are feeling about the situation. Put together, we are surrendering it all to Jesus by blessing Him and offering Him our praises.
You may feel that this is difficult to do. I agree, it is; but it needs to be done if we are to enjoy our walk with Jesus and allow people in the vicinity to witness how we handle such a situation. Think for a moment, there are eyes around wherever we go. People love to see people, who claim to be 'religious,' acting in a way that they can use as gossip. 'I saw such and such the other day, and he was shouting at someone in the shop; isn't he supposed to be a 'churchgoer?' Know what I mean?
It's far better to bless and praise God than allowing someone to rob you of your peace.
Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard
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