Community Baptist Church - South Bend IN

“O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise.” These words were penned by the Psalmist David in Psalm 108:1. I was recently meditating on David’s resolve to praise the Lord and rejoice in Him with thanksgiving. Independent of circumstances or feelings, David said his heart was “set;” he would praise the Lord, by himself in the morning, in the crowd, and among the nations.

I later shared this with our school staff in morning devotions. Little did I know that very morning my wife would be calling a short time later to inform me that the pipe in our basement I “repaired” the night before was spewing out water while she was doing a load of laundry. That evening, upon examination, I realized that not only was the drain pipe fitting not sealed, but our sump pump was also not working. What began as a small repair quickly escalated into a few evenings of work. As I contemplated the situation, the Holy Spirit brought to mind David’s resolve that I had shared earlier that day with our staff. His heart was fixed.

There will be many times in life when we may not like our circumstances or do not feel like praising the Lord; times when we will be tempted with discouragement, frustration, and pity. However, the command to praise the Lord remains the same. Our praise is independent of our circumstances because our praise is not based on us or on our circumstances. Our praise is based upon our God and Who He is. In Psalm 108, David rejoices in God’s mercy, truth, power, and deliverance. In many other Psalms we are instructed to praise the Lord for His wonderful name and for His many wonderful works.

There is little that is of more beauty than a believer of Jesus Christ who lives his life with his heart fixed on thankfulness and praise unto his Savior. A thankful, praising life is contagious. As you lift up Jesus Christ, your rejoicing will impact your family, friends, and coworkers. Let’s “fix” our hearts to praise the Lord today.