2/28/24 Lent Psalm 66
Okay, this may fall under the “too much information” category but, I am surprised at how noisy getting old is. It’s impossible to tie my shoes without a series of groanings. Getting out of a chair takes a couple of grunts. Every sentence is responded to by, “What?”, and has to be repeated. And we spend a lot more time complaining about the weather and the traffic than we used to.
But there are some other noises that have picked up as well. As we have “groan” (see what I did there?😊) older, we have found a lot more to praise God about. Our story is longer. There are more times He has helped, healed, and delivered us. We have just seen Him come through a lot over the years. And so. we praise.
The psalmist says in Psalm 66, “Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious.” He goes on to recount everything the Children of Israel have gone through, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and how God has worked all of that for their good and His glory.
“Come and see what God has done,
His awesome deeds for mankind!
He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in Him.
He rules forever by His power,
His eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against Him.”
That seems pretty important, especially as I get older. I could get more critical, bitter, more cranky. But I am trying to choose instead to have good noises come out of my mouth, praises to a God that is at work in every part of my existence. What I have discovered is, the better the praise that comes out, the better the stuff He puts in my path each day.
Getting nosier is inevitable, I guess. But I can choose to be a praiser or just a groaner. I choose praise. Though if you are around when I tie my shoes you might hear a grunt or two.