June 10, 2024
Melissa Valerio
“You sit as the Holy One. The praises of Israel are your throne.” Psalm 22:3 NCV
There was a time, in my younger years in the faith, when I thought God sat on His throne in Heaven watching all the things happening on Earth like it was a movie playing before Him. I used to imagine Him slapping His hand to His forehead, shaking His head in weary disappointment at all the evil things we were doing down here. Saying things to Himself like “When is that girl going to LEARN?” or “Why doesn’t that boy LISTEN?” Little did I know (then) that God takes a much more personal approach to us. In fact, He is right here with us as we speak and according to Psalm 22:3, His throne isn’t so much in a far-off, other-worldly dimension, but rather it’s right here in the midst of our praises. Tell me, how much more involved can you be?
God offers us red-carpet access into His courts by simply praising His name — praising Him in Spirit and Truth. He longs for our fellowship, but we are often the ones that pull away from Him; and this is to our own detriment. We are the ones that lose out on such a rich relationship and overabounding favor from our very own Maker unless we intentionally “build” a temple of praises for Him. Yes, He dwells in us, but how much more evident would He be in our lives if we also prepared a throne for Him by our very own praises! Here are some ways we can build that throne:
- Proclaiming WHO God is — reminding yourself that God is the Alpha & Omega, First & Last, the Great I Am, Creator of Heaven & Earth, Lamb of God, etc…
- Reciting what God has done for you — List the ways He’s come through for you, recount the ways He’s blessed you, think of the trouble He’s kept you out of, etc…
- Meditating on Him — Continually think of scripture, repeat it in your mind and think of ways to apply it in your life
- Sing to Him — He gave us a voice, lungs, and the ability to carry a tune. Give Him back a song.
- Thank Him — For everything.
If you build it, He will come; as a famous line from a movie once said. What better time to start than now?
Prayer: Father of all creation, You are the Beginning and the End. You are the Ancient of Days. You are Jehovah Rapha. You are the Everlasting God. You are the Prince of Peace. You are merciful, loving, kind, generous, compassionate, just, holy, pure. We could go on and on and on, and we will, forever praising Your great name.
Action: Pick one item from the list of five (above). Commit to doing that each day this week. Next week, add another. Then another the following week. Keep going until you’re doing all five every week.
image: freepik.com