Women of Joy, Concluded

So - I've been practicing a bit of what I preach. That's always a good thing, I figure. And yesterday, in the midst of my praise time, I was brought to tears of repentance. That's also a good thing.

I dug deep into the past (well, deep for me - think late '70's...) and dragged out one of those hokey scripture praise songs typically accompanied by the pentecostal two-step. I said hokey and I mean hokey. But guess what folks - it's hard to lose with the Word, no matter what the music may be! So I let it rip:

O, blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
O, blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only doeth wondrous things,
Who only doeth wondrous things,
O, blessed be His glorious name forever.

Again and again I sang out the Psalmist's words: Who only doeth wondrous things.

I stopped to ponder my declaration. (Also a good thing to do. Never hurts to be aware of what you are saying - I think you will find that tidbit of wisdom in the scripture as well.) And so I pondered: He does wondrous things. He alone - only He - He only - does wondrous things.

I sang the words again and again. Soon my heart was smitten. Why? Because so often I had failed to recognize this simple truth and be thankful for His ways and His doings. Instead of gratitude and praise, I had responded with great disappointment and even dislike of the very things He had done. The truth of the matter is this - He does wondrous things. My failure to praise Him had dishonored Him, my wonderful Father, my Redeemer, my King. And He does wondrous things.

wondrous: remarkable, extraordinary, wonderful

I couldn't help but think of a young child's tendency to freely express disappointment. You take them out for lunch and they grumble because they cannot order three different entrees. Or they open that Christmas gift that you went out of your way to find, only to discover that it is the wrong color, and they go out of their way to let you know. We are pretty good at being disappointed and even better at expressing it.

In those situations, the lunch out and the Christmas gift were intended to bless. Wrong color or not, the heart was to please. Now it is true that we, in our brokeness and limitation, may have made a wrong choice. We may indeed have failed to do wondrously. But He never does. He does - absolutely does - wondrous things.

And so I experienced His presence; His light was shining in my life, bringing revelation. A simple turning of the heart, a determination to declare aloud His glorious praise, helped me to see something clearly once again. Repentance and sincere thanksgiving abounded in my heart and joy flooded my soul.

Thought for the day:
Take a Psalm. Sing it. Sing it with a familiar tune, with a new tune, with no tune at all - it is all a joyful sound in His ears; it is a sweet fragrance, rejoicing His heart. He will be blessed! And you just might find yourself blessed, too.