Empty Your Pockets and Put a Praise On It!

 In two days we will as a nation celebrate Thanksgiving. Perhaps this year you have met with disappointment, unanswered prayers, heartache – maybe you don’t see any reason to give thanks. Would you take a look at this portion that the Psalmist wrote:

These are the things I go over and over,
emptying out the pockets of my life.
I was always at the head of the worshiping crowd,
right out in front,
Leading them all,
eager to arrive and worship,
Shouting praises, singing thanksgiving—
celebrating, all of us, God’s feast!

⁵ Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He’s my God. Psalm 42:3-5 (Message)

Most of us tend to rehash those things in our life that we wish could have been different and we cry the "if-only’s". One thing that is impossible is to go back and re-do what has been done. Vain regret is useless!  What we can do is do as the Psalmist did above – he "emptied out the pockets o this life" and what came up the most pronounced was his leading the crowd in worship. Those memories overshadowed whatever funk he was in and he was able to remember that all he had to do was to "fix (his) eyes on God". With that simple act he knew that in no time at all he would be back to praising God again – after all He was David’s God – the kind of God that longed to put a smile on David’s face! That same God wants to do the same for you!

Maria