"Let
your heart overflow with praise, for He is good: His
faithful love endures forever" —Psalm 136:1, The Voice
It may be true that God liked the antiphonal response to the worship
leader's cry so much that He hit the repeat button 26 times in this psalm just so that the
point would be driven home to our often weak, doubting, exhausted hearts. After
about the fourth or fifth response, though, it's tempting to say "OK, I
get it already," and move on. And, also still feeling pretty much the same
as you did before you started reading.
To
which God might reply:
“If you want to really 'get it already,' hang out with Me for a second here. Forget about the fact that I liked to
hit the repeat button 26 times and just soak on that opening phrase. Go ahead. You will
find Me in those words, because I wasn’t kidding when I said ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.’ Take it all in, word by word.”
And
as you do, even while looking at the clock and realizing that you really should
be getting out the door soon, the conversation continues, as a son to his
Father and a Father to His child…
“Well
to be honest, this seems pretty redundant here; what am I missing?”
“OK, check out that fourth word. Endures. I want you to know
without a shadow of a doubt that 'endures' doesn’t mean what you think it
means at all. I am not reluctantly, sighing-ly putting up with your imperfect walk. I
love cheering you on, 24/7! And when I say My Love endures to you, it means
that, no matter how many times or how badly you trip up, or how lousy any particular
day may be going for you, the power quality of that Love that is beyond your
wildest dreams continues to exist in its same high octane goodness without wavering.
Ever.
“Look, I know you’ve got to get on the road to
work, but I want you to know one more thing that will be fuel for your day: One
of the reasons I hit that repeat button 26 times is because there are no pages,
no books, no libraries big enough that can contain the definitions of enduring Love
I have for you. For starters: My Love never quits. My love alone is never
fleeting and is always faithful, always loyal. My lovingkindness toward you is an endless supply of
graciousness, mercy, and compassion, if you will just open your hand and
receive it. Most of all, My Love is in My Son, who I gave for you so we could be talking like this. And not only that, My
enduring Love toward you breaks through every cloudy day, screaming headline,
and whispered joy-sucking accusation. ‘God is Love’ is who I Am, and there is
nothing syrupy or boring or redundant about any of that. There is a reason that everyone seems to be singing that song lately about My goodness.
"Speaking of that, just one more thing: Don’t let the
words stay on the page. The real
power behind Me hitting that repeat button 26 times is not so much in the
repetition itself, but in the declaration that will come from your heart and lips. Go ahead,
do it. Crank up your iTunes in the car, and turn up the bass to the max. Let it out. It will change your
perspective on a lot of things today, change your misconceptions about Me, and it
will change you. Here, try this one on as you're heading out the door…
"O
God, my heart is steadfast, in the confidence of faith; I will sing, yes, I
will sing praises, even with all the faculties and powers of one created in
Your image… For Your mercy and lovingkindness are great and high as the
heavens. Your truth and faithfulness reach to the skies!”—Psalm 108:1, 4
Amplified
"Worship
is forgetting about what's wrong with you and remembering what's right with
God."--Mark Batterson
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