“Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.”
Psalm 103 1-5
I once heard an argument between a married couple that has stayed with me for a long time. In the midst of arguing about their primary problem (I don’t know what it was,) the husband said to his wife, “You never smile anymore.” The wife quickly responded, “What do I have to smile about?”
Sometimes I feel this way too. Sometimes, it seems as if everything is going wrong, my outlook is bleak, and very quickly I fall victim to the “woe is me” syndrome. These periods are part of our human condition, everyone has them.
If you are in one of these places right now, let me affirm your feelings. We encounter some hard places in this life. And it is completely acceptable to feel sad, or maybe even angry about those situations. We have been given those emotions for a reason. It is even more acceptable to share those feelings with God. He is our heavenly Father, and He hurts when we do.
However, I don’t especially like feeling that way. It makes for a long day, and many times, an even longer night. On occasions like that, I take myself back to psalm 103. I remind myself that, although my life might not be what I want at that particular time, there are still good things about it. I remind myself that although things are really bad, I still have reason to praise God and thank Him for His faithfulness in the storm. Surely, I can find one thing to be grateful for, can’t I?
And what if you are in a good place? This is a great thing for you to do too. Have you really sat down and considered deeply the good things you have? If you are like me, that exercise could take all day. Beginning with the fact that I woke up again today, and stretching all the way through the thought that I can go to church without fear. I have many things for which I am thankful.
Regardless of where you find yourself today friends, consider spending some time in deep thought regarding the good things and thanking our Lord for them. You might find your heart filled with praise, and maybe you will find that you do, indeed, have something to smile about.
Heavenly Father,
You are good to me. I thank You for _____________________________________. And I praise Your holy name. Hallelujah to my Jehovah-jireh, my Lord and provider!
In Christ’s name I pray,
Amen
In case you are having a really bad day, I thought I might throw this silly song in to get you started. If you are having a great day, this is the song to sing –by all means! (P.S. I take fully responsibility if it stays in your head all day) Be blessed!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anMDkv9Bqy0
Lectio Divina Passage for Today:
“But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”
But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”
So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.”
1st Kings 17:12-16
mysaviorspeaks 
I love this message! There is always something to be thankful for to our Lord and Savior and that is something to smile about! And I love the YouTube video!!! Totally made my day! And I’m still smiling !!