About gratitude and praise…
Psalms 72:18 Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous
deeds. 19 Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his
glory. Amen and Amen (NIV)
To rest in the love of God requires an outpouring of your spirit to Him. When you can
praise God in any circumstance, you draw near to Him. You draw near to God when you thank
Him for this very moment and all the other moments of your life. When you can say
"thank you for this moment in my life," you are then able to receive back the
full measure of the Lord's love. When you love the Lord, He loves you back instantly. He
pours out His love for you in ways that cannot be measured or easily understood. When you
express your gratitude to Christ, you are instantly drawn to His side. Gratitude and
praise are warranted from you for He is always there when you need Him, even if you do not
ask Him to be. When you feel unloved, He pours His love into your heart. When you are
misunderstood, He understands you. When you are lonely, you are not truly alone, for He is
with you. We praise God because He gives us new eyes to see and new ears to hear. We
praise God, for God the Father, sent His son into the world to die for us, we who are
sinners. We can praise God, for in the times of our most intense pain and deepest
darkness, He is there for us, comforting us, and He is our friend. When we are closed off
from others in the world, we can open our heart to Him. When we praise God and express our
gratitude to Him, we receive back from Him, much, much more than we give Him
