Fear No Fear

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name” (Psalm 103:1, MEV). It is a great practise to praise the Lord in the morning (Psalm 5:3). When the first thing we do is offer our thanks and praise to God, we set ourselves up for a better day. We may not FEEL like it, but that isn’t important. We don’t always FEEL like saying good morning to our coworkers, our children, or our spouse. But we do. For some of them we add and ‘I love you’ of sorts. Because we care for them and want them to know it. Whether groggy or alert. Whether happy or less than. We want them to know they have a place in our lives and in our hearts. God should occupy the preeminent place in our hearts and lives. He should be first and foremost (Matthew 6:33). It’s more than a good idea. It’s more than a suggestion. It’s a command. Not for His sake. God has no ego to stroke. He is not self-centred. It is for OUR sake that we put God first. That He occupies the highest place in our lives. We NEED what He is and what He has. Yes, you can have a semblance of life without God. The ungodly do it all the time. But with God we can have ABUNDANT life (John 10:10). Life without thorns and hooks dragging us down. Free from shame, depression, anxiety, and all of fear’s babies. We can have a life full of love, joy, and peace. Not human joy or human peace. Not our limited idea of love. But God’s joy. His peace. His love filling us up and training us to love others in the same way. We can have a life full of every kind of blessing no matter WHAT our circumstances or situation. Isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t that worthy of a thank you? Thinking of all that God has done for us, does for us, and will continue to do for us should fill you with the desire to send Him your thanks. Thankfulness is a way of life. It should be our way of life. God loves us so much, the least we can do is wake up and give Him a heart-felt word of praise.