I Will Bless The Lord At All Times

When our family began to memorize Psalm 34, I was surprised at the intensity of the "opportunities" which arose to help us learn its promises and truths. The first verse became particularly important to me: "I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth."

Several weeks ago, I called for the elders to pray for the healing of an affliction (James 5:14-16) which would apparently require surgery. I confessed some sins, including discontent with difficult circumstances. Within two hours, there would be yet another: a cracked tooth that would require immediate extraction. A small thing, perhaps, but could I "bless the Lord at all times"? He has more interest in my attitude than in my comfort and wanted to teach me something I would need for surgery.

About 11:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve, Mary had felt impressed to read her Bible for a special word for our family for 1999. She found it in Psalm 113:3: "From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised." This is a more imperative way of saying, "I will bless the Lord at all times." We had our marching orders.

Surgery lay four days ahead, and on New Year's Day I began to reason, "At least I don't have this or that problem." The Lord immediately reproved me. Couldn't I praise Him in all circumstances, not just in the ones I thought would be easiest to bear?

The surgery went well, but some of the side effects were so painful that I found myself literally crying out to God, both praising Him and asking for His mercy. You see, when we suffer, we pray. When we suffer, our extremity compels us to seek God's sufficiency.

When we suffer, we are more inclined to look through the eye of faith to that fairer shore where we will one day alight with pain-free bodies. We look to assure ourselves that the promises of God are true and that heavenly treasure awaits those who persevere under trial (James 1:12).

Here's what I saw through the broken tooth. As I lay in the dentist's chair anticipating the extraction with some anxiety, I began quoting Psalm 34. Though I could recall less and less as the anesthesia gradually dulled my senses, I never quite lost the first verse. Therein lies the lesson. No matter what trial might come -- and no matter what it might take from us -- we must never lose hold of "I will bless the Lord at all times." If we can praise Him, we can endure.

Copyright 1999 James McAlister

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