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

This declaration was made by king David in Psalm 34, verse 1. But how did David actually meant to bless the Lord? What did he mean by that? What could he actually give God so that it would be a blessing to Him? The Bible declares that heaven and earth belong to God. The heavens of heavens cannot contain Him. He fills the whole universe and He does not lack anything because He is the creator of all things. So what can king David give to God so that it will bless Him? Can we really be a blessing to God and make Him happy? Yes we can.

King David was a true worshiper. He knew what or who He is worshipping. He did not worship any idol, but he worshiped the creator of the whole universe alone, his creator. He gave Him all His praise, love and adoration. David worshiped God only for who He is. Because He is God almighty, the only One who is worthy of adoration. So how can David bless God? By lifting up his hands in adoration, by lifting up his voice to sing songs of praise, by exalting, extolling and magnifying the only living God simply for who He is, but also by living a holy and pure life. And when was David willing to bless the Lord? At ALL times. It means in the good times and in the bad times. He made up His mind to praise the Lord regardless of what he went through and regardless of his feelings. He was determined to praise and honour God when he was on the mountain of rejoicing and when he was down in the valley of the shadow of death. He knew that God will always be with him in every situation and that He is able to deliver Him and turn His mourning into dancing (see Psalm 23 and Psalm 30).

Because King David acknowledged the greatness of the Lord, he knew that the worship that is due to God should not depend on our circumstances or feelings. It does not matter if we feel good or bad, we should always be ready to offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God. We are to bless and magnify the Lord of lords and the King of kings because He is worthy of all adoration. Job is a good example for us in this regard. Even though he lost everything, his children, his cattles, his servants and his health, he never lost his heart of worship. He still blessed the Lord inspite of the losses because the wisdom of the Lord is unsearchable and He knows why we must go through the situations that we go through. A true worshiper will bless the Lord inspite of the pain (Job 1, 20-21).

So if I fail, I will bless the Lord.
If the people hurt me, I will bless the Lord.
If I am treated unfair, I will bless the Lord.
If my best friends forsake me, I will bless the Lord.
If I am jobless and lack money, I will bless the Lord.
If my prayers have not been answered yet, I will bless the Lord.
If a loved one dies, I will bless the Lord.
If I can't see my way out, I will stil bless the Lord.
It does not matter what comes and goes, I will bless the Lord at ALL times and His praise shall continually be in my mouth!

If somebody really gets mad when we praise God inspite of the pain and while we are going through a though time, then it is the devil. Praising God when we are in pain will shake the foundations of hell. The devil gets the glory when we complain. But the Lord Jesus Christ is glorified when we praise Him in the midst of our trials. The best thing to do when it gets uncomfortable and when we cannot find the answer to our questions is to bless and praise the Lord. Chains will be broken and people will be set free. The Bible records in the book of Acts in chapter 16, that Paul and Silas were beaten and unjustly locked in jail. But at the midnight hour, they started praising the Lord with singing. There was an earthquake, their bounds were loosed, as well as all other prisoners and the keeper of the prison was saved with his family. Praising God in our darkest hour can spark a revival in our family, in our work place or in our community and God is able to turn every bad situation for our benefit and for the advancement of His kingdom (Romans 8, 28).

When we go through trials and tribulations and experience hardship, our carnal mind will have the tendency to react like the wife of Job and say „Just curse God and die!“ (Job 2, 9). But it is a foolish thing to yield to the carnal way of thinking. The Bible declares that Job bowed down and worshiped God when he received the news about all the desasters that had happened. God had allowed the test that he went through because He was proud of his faithful servant Job. He knew that Job would stand in the fire, so He allowed the devil to destroy all his children and possessions and plague him with a terrible sickness. Your ennemy can only do as much as God allows him to do. So do not fret and be of good courage. At the end of his trial, God blessed Job much more than before and the Bible says that he had seven sons and three daughters, which were the most beautiful women in the wholy country. Do not rely on your own understanding and in all things, trust the Lord and remain faithful. For only those who are faithful till the end will receive the crown of life from the Lord Jesus Christ. He who has started the good work in you is faithful and He will bring it to perfection. Bless the Lord at all times and always give Him the praise due to His name. mt