Tag Archives: Bible

Consistently Inconsistent Praise

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“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Psalm 34:1

I read these words and my first thought was, “Were that it were so!”

David’s resolve is bold: to bless the Lord at all times, to have His praise continually on his lips. But if I’m honest, that’s not the song on repeat in my life. My lips are often filled with other things—complaints, anxieties, frustrations, and the occasional sarcastic remark (sometimes even funny ones). Praise is there, yes, but not continually.

And that’s the sting of this verse. It reminds me of what should be true, while exposing what often is true.

But maybe that’s the point.

David penned this psalm after one of the lowest, strangest moments in his life—pretending to be insane before Abimelech just to escape with his skin (1 Samuel 21). Not exactly a mountaintop experience of victory. And yet, from that place of humiliation, he says, “I will bless the Lord at all times.” Even here. Even now.

That’s where this verse begins to reshape me. Praise is not something reserved for the sunny days when everything clicks. Praise is meant for the shadows too—for the hospital waiting room, for the sleepless night, for the moment when your strength is gone and all you can do is groan. Why? Because God Himself doesn’t change.

Think of the reasons you and I have to bless the Lord:

  • His character—steadfast love, perfect justice, unchanging faithfulness.
  • His work of redemption—Christ crucified and risen, sins forgiven, death defeated.
  • His daily mercies—breath in our lungs, bread on the table, the Spirit dwelling within us.

These reasons don’t come and go with the weather. They are continual. Which means our praise should be, too.

Now, let’s be clear: this is not a call to fake it. God doesn’t need our plastic smiles and forced hallelujahs. But it is a call to reorient our speech, to let praise set the direction—even when we don’t get it perfect. The goal isn’t perfection of praise, but direction of praise.

So here’s the encouragement: start small. Begin and end your day with a simple word of thanks. When you feel a complaint bubbling up, pause and see if you can turn it into gratitude. Open the Psalms and borrow their words when yours feel weak. And trust that God, by His Spirit, will keep tuning your heart so that His praise will be more and more in your mouth—until the day it will be so, perfectly, in glory.

“Were that it were so.” Someday, it will be. And even now, by grace, it can be more than it is.

SDG

After the Storm

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A storm tore through Lennox this week—fierce winds up to 80 mph, trees uprooted, branches scattered like matchsticks, power lines down, and debris everywhere. It was the kind of storm that shakes you. Not just the windows, but your sense of calm, your plans for the day, maybe even your confidence in how secure things really are.

But something beautiful followed: neighbors with chainsaws, strangers with trailers, folks hauling branches who hadn’t even finished clearing their own yards yet. In moments like these, you remember just how much strength there is in a community that cares for one another.

It also reminded me of Elijah.

You probably know the story—how Elijah, worn out and afraid, hid in a cave on Mount Horeb, waiting to hear from God. A mighty wind tore through the mountains, then an earthquake, and then a fire. But God was not in any of those. Instead, Elijah heard the voice of the Lord in a still small whisper.

It’s a powerful image: the God of all creation not needing to shout over the storm, but speaking gently, personally, quietly.

And yet here’s what we must remember—God doesn’t whisper anymore.

That’s not to say He’s silent. Far from it. God has spoken—and with perfect clarity. As the author of Hebrews tells us, “In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son” (Heb. 1:2). He speaks today through His Word, which is sufficient to teach us what we are to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of us. Scripture reveals His will and His ways, not in shadows or signs, but in the fullness of truth centered on Jesus Christ.

We need not wait for another word or chase after whispers and signs, because God has already spoken everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). To look beyond His Word is not an act of greater faith, but of forgetfulness—forgetting that every promise of God is “Yes” and “Amen” in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20).

As Beautiful Eulogy put it in their songs “Symbols and Signs:”

“Silly us, ignore the plain, we prefer a riddle
Dying to see a miracle while holding God’s diary looking for signs“

Or as the old hymn puts it:

“What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?”

We don’t need to chase storms or search caves to hear from God. He has already spoken in His Son. We just need to listen—to His Word, to His gospel, to the truth that still speaks louder than any storm.

SDG